Ohio Historical Society - Save The Flag Campaign

Ohio’s Civil War Battle Flags are being preserved through the Save the Flags Campaign. The project evaluates the condition of the flags and determines which are conservable and the estimated cost for potential adopting groups. The property of the Ohio Adjutant General’s office, the battle flags have been under the care of the Historical Society since 1970. To date, 19 of the almost 400 Civil War battle flags in the collection have been conserved.

Why does it cost so much to conserve the flags?

In the 1960’s the flags were mounted on a nylon backing with an adhesive to stabilize them. While this process prevented the flags from literally falling apart, today they have become very brittle. The process to remove the backing and carefully mount the flags in a sealed glass case is expensive. However, once completed, each flag is essentially permanently conserved. Current costs to conserve a flag run between $8,000 – $30,000 depending on size and condition. Without this conservation process, the flags cannot be displayed to the public.