Guidons of the 1st O.V.L.A.

This is a photograph of two guidons of the 1st Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery. At left is the Stars and Stripes guidon that was taken into battle by an unknown Battery of the 1st O.V.L.A. Its blue canton bears 34 stars in rows of 7-7-6-7-7. The represents the states of the Union at the beginning of the Civil War. At the right, below crossed cannons is red text on a gold field reading, "LADY CLEVLAND". A horizontal line runs through the middle of the flag separating it horizontally. This flag was manufactured in the United States before 1861. These flags have not been cataloged. The regiment was called upon April 21, 1861 in a letter to Colonel James Barnett from the Governor, William Dennison. Each Battery of the 1st has its own history and operated independently in battle. Their initial appointment was for three months, though most returned for a 3-5 year campaign Ohio battle flags were on display at the Ohio Statehouse until the 1960s, when the state formed a committee to oversee the efforts to restore the fragile flags. Some of the battle flags were on display on the Plaza Level of the Ohio Historical Society from 1970 until 1989. For conservation reasons, the flags have been in storage since 1989. In the 1960s, the collection was photographed and commercial artist Robert Needham painted illustrations of many Civil War flags. Photographs of the flags and the paintings are now part of the society's archival collections