Piece Of Civil War History To Go On Display In Green Bay

A 157-year old flag is going on display at Green Bay’s Neville Public Museum on Tuesday May 29 and will remain there until October 2019.

The rare flag with a “Great Star” pattern was hand sewn by Green Bay-local Mattie Underwood for a rally at the beginning of the Civil War. It flew for a recruitment rally in the spring of 1861. And it is believed to have flown over what was Fort Howard in Wisconsin until possibly 1865.

Lisa Kain, museum curator at Neville Public Museum, said there was a special ceremony when the flag was raised at Fort Howard.

“It was one of the last flags to fly over Fort Howard,” she said, adding that the flag is a snapshot of history. “It’s a rare pattern, significant to that time period so that also makes it so special.”

The flag is approximately 12 feet in length and 8 feet tall. It is made of a cotton and/or linen blend and may still have its original rope. Kain said the red stripes are the most damaged, possibly because of the 19th century dye.

Fort Howard was decommissioned in 1853 but its buildings remained into the war years. After the flag was no longer needed at Fort Howard, it bounced between several museums before landing at the Neville Public Museum in 1934.

Kain recently re-discovered it in the museum’s archive, which includes more than 300,000 physical items.

The “Great Star” is a centerpiece of the “Our Brown County” display at the museum which documents 200 years of history. Brown County incorporated in 1818, 30 years before Wisconsin became a state. It and Crawford County, were the first counties in Wisconsin.

The Neville’s foundation paid $10,000 to restore the flag. The work was done by Chicago-based Frank Connet of Textile Restoration Inc.

“Textiles are so very fragile and so it took a lot of time and effort in making sure that we had the right way to display it,” Museum Director Beth Lemke said.

The flag was stabilized with a tulle backing and is in a specially-built box with a motion-sensor lighting system to prevent it from becoming damaged by light.

Lemke said it is a good “way for the public to have access to it.”

The flag will go on public display Tuesday, May 29th which is the day after Memorial Day and is Wisconsin’s 170th Statehood Day.