Flag of the 9th Regiment of United States Volunteers
date: label: Date
content: 1898-1899
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
label: Used by
content: 9th Regiment United States Volunteers, American, 1898 - 1899
label: Subject of
content: United States Army, American, founded 1775
notes: label: Caption
content: As in all of America’s conflicts, African Americans rushed to serve during the Spanish American War. The 9th Regiment was formed in New Orleans in June 1898 out of the stereotypical belief that blacks were “immune” to tropical diseases that were prevalent during this war. Yet 73 from this regiment were lost to malaria and other diseases.
label: Description
content: This blue silk flag and pole with finial were used by the 9th Regiment US Volunteers during the Spanish-American War. The flag (a) has a dark blue silk satin ground. An eagle with wings spread and head turned to the left facing side is embroidered in silk thread in the middle of the flag in tones of brown and cream. A shield with a blue panel on the top with white stars inside it and red and white vertical stripes on the bottom half is embroidered over the eagle's chest. The eagle holds an olive branch in its left facing talon and a cluster of three (3) arrows in its right facing talon. A red embroidered banner above the eagle's head has white embroidered text reading "E PLURIBUS UNUM". The eagle is surrounded by an oval border consisting of thirteen (13) white five-pointed embroidered stars in an arc above it. The border below the eagle is a length of red silk fabric stitched to the blue ground in the form of a banner with white embroidered text inside the banner reading "9th REGIMENT UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS". The fly edge of the flag is made from the same length of blue silk, which is turned to the back and sewn down to form the fly. The other three edges of the flag are bordered by gold silk fringe. Previous conservation treatment includes crepeline adhered to the back side of the silk of the flag and a modern blue silk background fabric behind the flag sewn to a length of heavy undyed cotton canvas. The canvas extends beyond the flag and was likely previously wrapped around a pressure-mounted Plexiglas wall mount system. The fringe along the top edge of the flag is basted with gold cord to the canvas. The interior of the fly has a tube of the modern blue silk fabric sewn inside.
label: Description
content: The pole consists of two wooden shafts (b, c) and an eagle finial (d). The top half of the pole (b) is a piece of turned wood with a brass tube attached to the bottom end. The brass tube is threaded inside so it can be attached to the bottom half of the pole (c). The top part of the wooden shaft is carved down and tapered so the finial (d) can be attached. Two (2) brass knobs, one near the top and one near the bottom are screwed into the wooden shaft for attaching the flag. The bottom half of the pole (c) is a piece of turned wood with a brass tube attached at the top end that is threaded on the outside so it can be attached to the top half of the pole (b). A brass cap with a rounded tapered end is attached to the bottom end of the wooden shaft. The finial (b) consists of a cast metal eagle with spread wings and head pointing toward the left facing side. The eagle is painted gold and is attached to a hollow brass tube, which fits over the top of the pole (b). The eagle's beak is pierced with a small hole.
place: label: Place used
content: Cuba, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: Spanish-American War, 1898
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Textiles and Quilts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2008.2.1a-d
objectType: label: Type
content: finials
label: Type
content: flagpoles
label: Type
content: flags
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public Domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: a: silk satin, silk thread, silk fringe, cotton;
label: Medium
content: b: wood, brass;
label: Medium
content: c: wood, brass;
label: Medium
content: d: metal, brass, paint
label: Dimensions
content: H x W ((a) without canvas mount): 56 1/2 × 69 1/2 × 1/4 in. (143.5 × 176.5 × 0.6 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W ((a) with canvas mount): 71 × 83 in. (180.3 × 210.8 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (bc): 112 1/4 × 1 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (285.1 × 3.8 × 3.8 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (d): 8 7/8 × 7 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (22.5 × 18.4 × 6.4 cm)