Flag

Object Name:

Flag

Object ID:

2016.018

Place of Origin:

Salisbury, NH

Date:

1850-1880

Description:

Flag. United States. Canton, 61" x 106", four-panel construction, with 38 hand-appliqued and stitched 6" cotton stars arranged with two rows of seven (first and sixth row) and four rows of six, on a blue field resting on a white stripe. 13 8-8.5" alternating wool stripes, seven red and six white, hand flat felled 0.5" running stitched seams. Second white stripe measures 9" (later addition). Text stenciled in black on three cotton plain-weave 7.75" long strips, each top stitched to the obverse side of a white wool stripe; on the third white stripe "LIBERTY", fourth "&", fifth "UNION." The same material and label with three raw edges and one selvedge stitched to the reverse side of the fourth white stripe with text "INDEPENDENCE FOREVER." Two 90" x 1" strips of the same fabric, double appliqued on the obverse (three raw edges, one selvedge) and reverse (four raw edges) fly end with text "HANCOCK & ENGLISH." running vertically. Red and white striped fly end hemmed 1.75", with hem concealed by strips with text. Hoist end bound with a 2" plain-weave cotton header, 11 handmade buttonhole stitched grommets, with 11 metal loops; four 1.25" diameter loops are painted black and secured with hemp cord through the buttonholed grommet, seven 1" diameter metal loops feed directly through the handmade buttonholes. The first red strip torn on the horizontal 22" in front the fly end with the fragment knotted and hanging, the remaining edge of the white and red stripe is hand whip stitched with 0.75" stitches of white thread. The same treatment is repeated along the hoist end halfway down the canton edge. The large white stitches suggest a contemporary repair. Smaller hand-darned clusters of previous repair in cream-colored cotton thread are located along the second through fifth red stripes. First and seventh red stripe hemmed 0.5".

Material:

Textile
Wool
Cotton
Metal

Dimensions:

W-108 L-196 inches

Provenance:

Nancy Friese found the Hancock-English campaign flag in the attic of her home, the Pingry-Dunlap House in West Salisbury, NH. The house was built in 1802 by William Pingry (1771-1846) and enlarged in 1818-1819. Alpheus Pingry Dunlap (1843-1922), a grandson of William Pingry, purchased the house and farm at the time of his marriage to Mary M. Kenniston in 1869. Alpheus was the son of John Bartlett Dunlap (1815-1895) and Ruth M. (Pingry) Foster (1810-1901) of Salisbury. John B. and Ruth Dunlap lived in the Pingry house with their son Alpheus and his family. John B. Dunlap was a merchant and served as a tax collector for the Town of Salisbury during the 1860s and 1870s. Known as "Captain," Alpheus was a farmer and probably served in the New Hampshire National Guard. Circumstantial evidence suggests that either John B. Dunlap or his son Alpheus were probably members of the Democratic Party and used the flag to campaign for Winfield Scott Hancock and William H. English during the 1880 presidential campaign.

Credit Line:

Gift of Jan Coville and Nancy Friese, in memory of David A. Hodges, Sr.

People:

Hancock, Winfield Scott (1824-1886), English, William Hayden (1822-1896), Dunlap, Alpheus P. (1843-1922), Dunlap, John B. (1815-1895)

Subjects:

Flags, Political campaigns, Presidential candidates, Presidential elections, Liberty, Independence, Stars, Cotton, Wool, Metals