The Fathers and Saviors of Our Country: A Presidential Sale

25 3/4 x 16 1/2 in. flag, paint-printed on cotton, wreath surrounding large eagle and colored shield, flanked by a star in each corner, printed with the words "Lincoln and Johnson."

Flags from Lincoln’s second campaign survive in markedly smaller numbers than those issued in 1860. At the beginning of 1864, Lincoln privately doubted his prospects for reelection, as the Civil War continued without clear resolution and public support for the administration appeared fragile. In August of that year, he acknowledged the likelihood that he would not be returned to office, anticipating instead the election of a successor willing to pursue peace negotiations. Only after major Union successes later in the year—most notably General William T. Sherman’s capture of Atlanta in September—did Lincoln’s political position solidify. Campaign production followed this trajectory. Materials associated with the 1864 election were produced later, and in more limited quantities, than those of the earlier campaign.
Wartime conditions further restricted the manufacture of decorative political material. Shortages of labor, textiles, paper, and printing capacity limited the production of parade flags in particular. The surviving record reflects these constraints. A small number of known Lincoln–Johnson flags show evidence of expedient reuse, having been adapted from earlier 1860 campaign material by altering or overwriting existing names and inscriptions.

Lincoln–Johnson flags also carry added historical weight as a result of events following the election. Andrew Johnson’s elevation to the presidency after Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865 transformed these campaign objects into artifacts bearing the names of two presidents. Independent of its political associations, the present flag is further distinguished by its iconography. American parade flags incorporating a large eagle as a dominant design element are among the rarest known examples. Although the eagle was a familiar national symbol during the Civil War, it was infrequently employed as the primary motif in small-format campaign flags, particularly within the canton.
As Pierce observes, “During both the War of 1812 and the Civil War, army regimental flags were produced with an eagle and the name of the regiment painted on a scroll beneath the shield. As America expanded into the western frontier, explorers carried eagle flags and presented them to Indian tribes as a symbol of peace” (Pierce, The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit, p.62). The present flag closely corresponds to the example illustrated in that publication, differing only in the placement of six stars—two positioned near the eagle’s head and four below its talons—rather than clustered within the wreath.

This iconography takes on additional resonance when considered alongside the political symbolism of the stars themselves. The 34-star flag, which represented Kansas’ admittance into the Union, was the last to signify an intact nation. Following Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, six states seceded before Kansas was formally admitted on 29 January 1861, with five additional states leaving the Union in the ensuing months. Some Northerners argued that the national flag should exclude the stars of the secessionist states and display only those representing loyal members of the Union. Lincoln, however, firmly rejected this position, insisting that no stars be removed. He declared that he “would rather be assassinated” than “remove stars from the flag,” arguing that such an act would acknowledge the legality of secession and lend legitimacy to the rebellion.

While making his way from Springfield to Washington to be inaugurated as the sixteenth President of the United States, Lincoln participated in a special thirty-four-star flag-raising ceremony at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on 22 February 1861, Washington’s Birthday. On that occasion, Lincoln addressed the assembled crowd, declaring:

"FELLOW CITIZENS, I am invited and called before you to participate in raising above Independence Hall the flag of our country, with an additional star upon it... I propose to say that when that flag was originally raised here it had but thirteen stars. I wish to call your attention to the fact, that, under the blessing of God, each additional star added to that flag has given additional prosperity and happiness to this country until it has advanced to its present condition; and its welfare in the future, as well as in the past, is in your hands. Cultivating the spirit that animated our fathers, who gave renown and celebrity to this Hall, cherishing that fraternal feeling which has so long characterized us as a nation, excluding passion, ill-temper and precipitate action on all occasions, I think we may promise ourselves that not only the new star placed upon that flag shall be permitted to remain there to our permanent prosperity for years to come, but additional ones shall from time to time be placed there, until we shall number as was anticipated by the great historian, five hundred millions of happy and prosperous people..."

EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND POSSIBLY UNIQUE: We could locate only one other example of a heraldic eagle Lincoln flag offered at auction, and that example was considerably smaller—nearly half the size of the present flag—while its canton also lacked the additional red coloring applied to the eagle.

REFERENCES:
Not in Threads of History