Regimental Colors of 29th O.V.I.

This blue silk flag served as the regimental colors of the 29th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The flag was manufactured in the United States between 1861 and 1863. The United States arms is painted in the flag's center. The arms consists of a bald eagle holding an olive branch in its left talon and a bundle of arrows in its right 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 is positioned on the eagle's breast. Thirty-four gold stars are arranged in a double-arc pattern above the arms. A red banner is positioned below the arms. The flag has gold fringe with plied-cut ends six centimeters in length. The dimensions of the flag are 182 by 192 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