Description: Captain Schuyler Hamilton carried this national flag, the colors of the 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.), in the Battle of Monterrey in September 1846 during the Mexican War. It measures 65.35 by 188.11 inches (166 by 300 cm). Parts of the flag are missing. Six white, six-pointed stars remain on a blue silk canton above United States arms. Instead of the customary U.S. shield, there is a shield with a side-wheel steamboat bearing the text "Rio Grande," a rising sun, a plow, and a river. The annexation of Texas, American desire to annex New Mexico and California, and Southern politicians' hopes of expanding slavery all contributed to the Mexican War. Among Ohio Whigs in Congress, opposition to the war and the extension of slavery was strong. In the end, however, 7,000 Ohioans enlisted in the war. Many of them served under Zachary Taylor in the northern provinces of Mexico and under Winfield Scott in Mexico City. The Mexican War ended on February 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which set the southern boundary of Texas and gave the United States control of New Mexico and California. Ohio battle flags were on display at the Ohio Statehouse until the 1960s, when the state formed a committee to oversee efforts to restore the fragile flags. Some of the battle flags were on display on the plaza level of the Ohio History Center 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. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1330_1664678_008
Subjects: Military Ohio; Mexican War; 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry (O.V.I.); Flags
Places: Ohio; Monterrey (Mexico)