Historic Kansas civil war battle flags in desperate need of restoration

TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas Museum of History (KMoH) houses over 40 Civil War battle flags in desperate need of costly restoration.

Boone Dodson is a curator at the KMoH who has been helping create the new gallery, selecting artifacts and writing narratives for the last two and a half years. His main contributions have been to the Civil War and Kansans at War sections.

The museum currently has 75 flags associated with the Civil War all the way through the Spanish American War. Over 40 of these flags are in desperate need of restoration.

“Many of these flags were on display immediately after the Civil War all the way through the 1970s,” Dodson told 27 News. “Over 100 years of exposure to light makes them extremely brittle, so much so that parts would disintegrate if I touched them.”

Restoring these flags is no small task either. Most of them were made of silk and hand painted in the 1860s. Restoration efforts like these are best left to highly skilled companies across the country that charge tens of thousands of dollars for their services. In the last 30 years, the KMoH has only been able to get 16 flags restored, largely thanks to donations from private donors and organizations.

Some of the flags currently housed at the museum include the “Palmetto Guard” flag that flew over the Eldridge Hotel during the 1856 raid of Lawrence, the 2nd Kansas Militia, and more. But one flag that stands out among the others is the original 8th Kansas Volunteer Infantry National flag issued in August of 1861.

This flag was flown not only in Kansas, but across the country. The 8th Kansas Infantry served in The Battle of Chickamauga, Siege of Nashville, Siege of Chattanooga and more. This particular flag is estimated to cost over K due to the extensive damage over the years.

“The Eighth Kansas Infantry Regiment suffered heavily at the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia,” Dodson said. “After Corporal Rovohl fell, Corporal Will Wendell took the national flag from the dying man’s hands. Shortly after, the remaining color guard erupted to claim seniority and the right to carry the national colors. Wendell, however, refused to relinquish the colors and carried the flag for several hours until he himself was wounded in seven places and collapsed. When Wendell was finally carried off the field, he was taken past the regiment’s commander, Colonel John Alexander Martin, and inquired: ‘Colonel, have I done my duty today?'”

Dodson says that the museum’s priorities are the stories behind these artifacts. The 8th Kansas Infantry flag is has been on the wait list for restoration for several months, and it has some more time to wait. Pieces can often wait over a year for restoration, and the restoration process itself takes another year on top of that.

“We owe it to them (Civil War veterans) to save these pieces,” Dodson said. “The last veterans of the war are flags, they were there.”

When the museum opens in November, it will be worth the wait. There will be more Civil War flags on display since the 1970s, and a number of overhauled exhibits, as well as some new ones.

“We’re facing a large scale problem of preservation,” Dodson said. “We can’t do it without help from the public. If you or someone you know is interested, spread the word, or donate to the museum. Anything helps.”

The museum will also be debuting its “Adopt a Flag” program, which will allow donors to “adopt” a flag, experience exclusive tours of unrestored/non-display artifacts. All the money donated will go towards the museum’s flag restoration program. You can find out more about the program here and more about donating to the museum at their online store.

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