Special flag restored and hangs proudly in Harlan-Lincoln House

Editor?s note: As part of the nation?s 150-year anniversary of the Civil War, the Henry County Civil War Sesquicentennial Task Force will be publishing a monthly column, written by Henry County historians. The research for the articles comes from Henry County newspapers published between 1861-1865, as well as diaries, journals and letters written by Henry County Civil War soldiers and their families.

By Joy Lynn Conwell

When Lynn Ellsworth began as director of the Harlan-Lincoln House more than 15 years ago, a faded, cotton flag lay folded and draped over a chair. An exhibit label stated ?A group of ladies, who gathered at the Glover home, assembled this flag for the Northern troops to carry into the Battle of Athens, Mo.? There was no information about the flag on file and no donor name or date of donation could be located.

In 2006, with grants from four local Questers chapters and a matching grant from the Questers of Iowa, the flag underwent conservation treatment. At that time, the Executive Committee of Friends of the Harlan-Lincoln House decided not to commit the additional funds needed to make the flag display-ready. It seems fitting now, however, as part of the commemoration of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, that the final part of the flag project be completed. After several months at the Preservation Lab in Des Moines where it was carefully mounted for display, the flag is now hanging in the Harlan-Lincoln House

The flag is approximately 9 feet long by 5 feet wide, constructed in a modified U.S. National pattern. It has 36 stars. At the time of the Battle of Athens, there were 34 states. One of the stars, larger than the rest, may have represented the Union, and the last star may have been added to the flag after the Battle of Athens, when West Virginia became a state.

Did it really fly over the Battle of Athens?

Legend or Fact?

Research in Mt. Pleasant newspapers of 1861 confirms that a flag was assembled by a group of women in Mt. Pleasant. Accounts indicate that such a flag was taken to the Mt. Pleasant Greys in Keokuk in June of 1861. Senator Harlan wrote an address which was read at the presentation of the flag. Harlan urged the recipients of the flag to:

Love it as you love your heart?s treasures! Defend it as you would defend its donors?those who are praying night and day for your safe return?until the star spangled banner shall float over every traitor?s grave, and again proudly wave from every battlement and turret, from the Lakes of the North to the Southern Gulf, and from the eastern to the western ocean.

The Battle of Athens was fought on Aug. 5, 1861. It is touted as the northernmost battle of the Civil War west of the Mississippi. Cannon balls from this battle landed across the Des Moines River in Croton, Iowa. Col. David Moore occupied the town with his pro-Union forces from July 24 to Oct. 31, 1861. On Aug. 5, Moore?s force of about 350 men repelled Col. Martin Green?s pro-South State Guard of approximately 1,400 men. After a skirmish of an hour and a half, the rebels made a hasty retreat. Col. Moore?s soldiers, with some reinforcements, followed them further into Missouri, but there was no additional fighting.

Is the flag presented in Keokuk the Harlan-Lincoln House Flag?

Jo Bryant, researcher and interpreter with the Battle of Athens Historic Site, finds that most likely it was not. Bryant believes that the flag referenced in the Mt. Pleasant Home Journal articles of June 1 and June 15, 1861, would have been the Regimental Colors of the Mt. Pleasant Greys. Since the newspaper describes an outspread eagle over stars and stripes, made out of silk, Bryant says ?It more than likely resembled the 4th Iowa Infantry Regimental Flag.? The Harlan-Lincoln flag has no eagle and is made of cotton and wool. Bryant?s research indicates that the Mt. Pleasant Greys joined forces with other Iowa regiments to become the 1st Iowa, whose regimental flag is in Des Moines. The 1st Iowa left for Missouri in June of 1861 and went straight to Springfield, where they remained through the Battle of Wilson?s Creek which was one week after the Battle of Athens. They disbanded shortly after Wilson?s Creek.

Did the flag accompany Moore?s forces south after the Battle?

The newspaper makes no mention of a flag during or after the Battle. The Home Journal reported that about 60 men with Capt. Lehew?s company from Marion township, Henry County, Iowa, accompanied Moore?s forces in pursuit of the rebels as did ?Captain Spearman?s Liberty Guards.? According to Bryant, the 5th and 6th Iowa, Croton Guards, and Keokuk Rifles and Rangers all participated after the Battle. Could any of these groups have carried the Harlan-Lincolnflag?

There is no question that this is an authentic flag of Civil War vintage. Sheila Hanke, Conservator and Collections Manager, Iowa Battle Flag Project, performed the conservation and mounting work. She carefully documented the materials used and the construction of the flag.

Whether or not this flag flew over the Battle of Athens, it is a symbol of the passion surrounding the Civil War. Whoever donated the flag may or may not have been correct about its origin. We may never know. The hyperbolic language of the newspaper in relating the story of a group of ladies assembling a flag as their contribution from the home front, Senator Harlan?s patriotic address, and the reaction of the men who were preparing to risk their lives for a great cause informs us of the fervor of the times and helps us identify with this critical moment in American history.