Monmouth Flag
Periodca. 1775 - 1776
MediumSilk, and silk brocade
Dimensions56.75 × 64 in. (144.1 × 162.6 cm)
ClassificationsNeedlework
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Marguerite Potter Bixler, 1943
Object number1982.400.1
DescriptionA rectangular flag consisting of a yellow silk ground, pieced from four lengths of fabric sewn horizontally along selvedge edges. In the upper left corner, a British union canton sewn to the yellow silk, offset three inches from the top edge, pieced together of plain weave white and blue silk, with red silk brocade central cross. A pole sleeve on the left edge of the flag has been folded underneath.Curatorial RemarksRestored in 1944 by Helena M. Fouche, New York City; restored in 1984 by Helene Von Rosenstiel, Inc., New York City; conserved in 2016 by Virginia J. Whelan of Filaments Conservation Studio, Merion Station, PA.NotesThis flag or color has been known historically as Monckton's flag. It was presented to MCHA in 1943 by Mrs. Marguerite Potter Bixler, a great- great- granddaughter of Capt. William Wilson of the First Pennsylvania Regiment. According to family tradition, the color was captured by Capt. Wilson at the Battle of Monmouth, which took place on 28 June 1778. It was supposedly the regimental flag of Lt. Colonel Henry Monckton, 45th Regiment, Royal Grenadiers, who was killed leading his regiment in the battle. Wilson also captured a sword believed to belong to Monckton (accession number 1982.401.1). Both trophies were depicted in a ca. 1860 - 1870 painting being presented to George Washington during the heat of the battle (accession number 2068). However, certain features of the flag indicate it may actually be American rather than British - possibly a division color of the First Pennsylvania Regiment. The presence of the British union canton, frequently used on American colors in the early years of the war, could have led to the tradition that the color was British. The recorded history of the flag starts with an 1874 account in the American Historical Review that the color had been seen at the Bellefonte, PA, home of Capt. William Wilson Potter, grandson of Capt. Wilson, and that it was stained and torn along its staff edge. Some recent authorities believe the flag to be American rather than British for the following reasons: there is no emblem or unit designation on the field, and American divisional colors were generally plain but a British color would have had both a symbol and a unit designation. Also, a British color would not have had an inset canton, although a number of surviving American colors do. The red and white crosses and blue field of the canton are formed of red silk (figured damask), blue silk (watered or moire effect), and white silk. The use of figured silk, the relative proportions of the crosses, and the very wide white edging to the Cross of St. George are not correct for an official British flag. The materials and construction techniques used in the Monmouth Flag suggest that it was quite probably "home-made" of fabrics available to the seamstress.
Collections
ProvenanceCaptured on the Monmouth Battlefield on 28 June 1778 by Capt. William Wilson; to his daughter Maria Wilson (Mrs. James James Potter III; to her son William Wilson Potter; to his son George L. Potter; to his daughter Marguerite Potter (Mrs. S. A. Bixler. Mrs. Bixler came into possession of the flag in 1917, having received it by inheritance from her mother, Elizabeth Sanderson (Mrs. George L. Potter).
