Regimental Colors of the 4th O.V.C.

This blue silk flag served as the regimental colors of the 4th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. The flag was manufactured in the United States between 1861 and 1865. The United States arms is painted in the flag's center. The arms consists of a bald eagle holding an olive branch in its right talon and a bundle of arrows in its left talon. The eagle holds in its beak a red scroll with the text "STONE RIVER." A shield emblazoned with red and white stripes and a blue upper portion is positioned on the eagle's breast. Superimposed over the shield in gold is the number "4." Eight gold-painted stars remain in a double-arc pattern above the arms. Due to deterioration some stars have been lost. Below the arms is a red painted banner with a gold border. Gold text in the banner reads: "4TH REG'T OHIO VOLUNTEER CAVALRY." The flag has gold fringe on its top, right, and bottom sides. The dimensions are 66 by 76 cm and the fabric is silk. 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