American Historical Ephemera & Photography

16 x 25 in. wool flag with 13 hand-sewn cotton stars with truncated tips, configured in the Third Maryland pattern, comprised of a 12-star wreath surrounding a large central star (toning, occasional spotting, few scattered holes and small areas of separation). Hoist is cotton, with "Lafayette Post No. 140" stenciled in selvage. Professionally mounted using stitch on board. 

 The Marquis de Lafayette Post No. 140, Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was organized on 18 December 1880 in New York City with eighty-eight charter members, many of whom were present at the mustering-in ceremony. Well-known for its charitable work and social prominence of its members, among the chapter’s founding objectives was to erect a memorial hall to store war relics and a library and reading room.

To promote the spirit of patriotism, Post 140 presented a silk American flag to the City College of New York in June 1888. Prior to this time, flying of flags over educational institutions, or the display of them within the buildings, was almost unknown. The goodwill and publicity surrounding this patriotic gesture inspired twenty-six other GAR posts in New York to undertake a statewide program of presenting flags to public schools during the 1890s.

This flag has been exhibited at several museums and is documented in the book The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit, Richard Pierce, LLC, 2005 (page 45).