Regimental Colors of the 14th O.V.I.

This blue silk flag served as the regimental colors of the 14th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 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 six arrows in its left talon. The eagle holds in its beak a scroll with the motto "E Pluribus Unum" (Latin for "one out of many"). A shield emblazoned with red and white stripes and a blue upper portion is positioned on the eagle's breast. Thirteen gold-painted stars are arranged in two arcs above the arms. Above the stars is a gray cloud with five groups of rays extending above the cloud. A gold-outlined banner below the arms features gold text that reads:"14th REGIMENT O.V.U.S.A." The flag has gold fringe on its top, right, and bottom sides. The dimensions are 182 by 165 cm. 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