National Colors of the 1st O.V.L.A., Battery B, painting   Save
Ohio Battle Flag Audiovisual Collection
Description: This silk Stars and Stripes guidon with gold fringe was taken into battle by Battery B of the 1st Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery. Its blue canton bears 36 stars in a grid of 6 columns and 6 rows. Text on flag reads: Presented by officers of 1st Brig. 2nd Div. 21st Corps. To Standart's Ohio Battery; Wild Cat, Mill Springs, Chaplin Hills, Stone River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga. 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. The regiment was called upon April 21, 1861 in a letter to Colonel James Barnett from the Governor, William Dennison. Each Battery of the 1st has its own history and operated independently in battle. Their initial appointment was for three months, though most served an additional campaign for three to five years. Battery B was quickly appointed to another 3 year campaign at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati and mustered into service on September 9, 1861. Major engagements in which the battery took part include Mill Springs, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, the Atlanta Campaign and Sherman's March to the Sea. The battery was mustered out at Camp Cleveland on June 15, 1865. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02314
Subjects: Ceremonial artifact; Communication artifact; Military flags; Flags--Ohio, Civil War, 1861-1865; 1st Regiment, Battery B, Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery; Statehouse--Ohio; Textile--silk;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)