Regimental Colors of the 16th O.V.I.   Save
Ohio Battle Flag Audiovisual Collection
Description: This blue silk flag served as the regimental colors of the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The flag was manufactured in the United States between 1861 and 1864. The United States arms is positioned in the flag's center. The arms consists of an embroidered, gold-colored bald eagle holding an olive branch in its left talon and a bundle of three arrows in its right talon. The eagle holds in its beak a painted red scroll with the motto "E PLURIBUS UNUM" (Latin for "one out of many"). A shield with red and white stripes and a blue upper portion is positioned on the eagle's breast. The eagle has a beaded eye. Thirteen copper-colored stars are arranged in two arcs above the arms. Above the stars are white clouds with 29 painted rays extending above the clouds. Below the arms is a gold-outlined scroll with the text: "16th REG'T. O.V.I., U.S.A." The flag has gold-knotted fringe on its top, right, and bottom sides. The dimensions of the flag are 182 by 191 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. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01900
Subjects: Flags--Ohio; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Civil War 1861-1865
Places: Ohio