Flag that tripped Booth

[Ed Steers]

            The attached photograph is from the old Oldroyd collection when it was stored in the Lincoln Vault in Union Station. It was displayed for years in the Treasury building with a plaque that identified it as the flag that tripped Booth causing him to break his leg. The original flag wound up in the Park Service collection where it disintegrated into fragments and was disgarded. I photographed fragments of the flag along with pieces of the gold fringe before they were disgarded.    

[BettyO]

Fantastic, Ed!

It's a shame that for the most part, a vast number of artifacts were improperly stored and have therefore been lost to time. I remember the old Union Station Vault well and only wish we could have had freedom to roam through there and look at everything.

Thanks so much for sharing, Ed!

[RJNorton]

Hi Ed. Please let me second Betty and thank you for such a great post. I was just curious to see if I am reading your post correctly. Are you saying that you believe the flag which tripped Booth no longer exists? The reason I ask is because the Connecticut Historical Society claims to have the Treasury Guard national flag which was one of the flags decorating the box on April 14th. The society also says that the Treasury Guard's regimental flag is the one at Ford's today. The society says that when they opened the box with their flag that, "Preserved in the box with the flag was a separate small strip of blue silk with gold fringe, identified as part of the flag that caught Booth's spur, causing him to fall and break his leg. This strip matches the flag at Ford's Theatre."

Ed, can you clarify? I am confused regarding the flags. Many thanks.

[Rsmyth]

Ed, please correct me if I am wrong.

The provenance of the CT flag is strong. It is more than likely the "in the grasp flag", which Lincoln may have held to the side to view the stage. The flag that may have tripped Booth is on display at Ford's

The origin of the deteriorated flag (the flag in question) is swathed in confusion beginning with newspaper accounts from the 1920’s & 30’s that stated a flag being displayed at the Treasury building is the flag that tripped John Wilkes Booth. What is known is that at this time both Treasury flags, the National and the Regimental were no longer present in the building.

In my opinion, the deteriorated flag was misidentified as the flag that tripped Booth.

---

The flag was more than likely the 3rd Treasury Guard flag (from the stand of colors) on display in the box that evening.

[Ed Steers]

The CT flag was mounted on a staff to the left of the box as you look at the box from the stage. I have done considerable research on "all" of the flags that decorated the box and visited CT shortly after they unveiled the flag. The CT flag is a "presentation" flag (not issued by the army). The regt was issued the National Standard along with a regimental flag (blue - on display) - hence, the treasury guards had three flags, two official, one unofficial (presentation). The issued National Standard is the one in the photo I posted. According to the early claim of of the Treasury Dept it was draped on the balustrade and the flag that tripped Booth. You can see the tear in the flag if you examine photo closely. It was displayed at Treasury for several years before going to Oldroyd who displayed it in the Petersen House. Several articles were written about it in the late 1800s and again in the 1920s and 1930s. The flag went into storage with the Oldroyd collection and being silk slowly disintegrated into small fragments. The fringe remained intact for the most part, I photographed the fragments and fringe in the late 1970s when it was storedin Union Station. I am certain the Park Service did not know its history at the time believing the blue regimental flag was the flag that tripped Booth. I believe otherwise after researching the five flags that were displayed. I wrote a lengthy article on all five (plus the Milford flag) which remains dorment on my computer - needs editing. I should edit it and post it as a digital article on Amazon. The confusion about the flags is recent - since the 1950s. There was no confusion up to the 1940s - shows how old I am! I am posting the "tag line" accompanying the photo.

[LincolnToddFan]

Fascinating to see those artifacts...thanks much Mr. Steers!

[Rsmyth]

Ed makes a good case for the flag that tripped JWB being the deteriorated flag from the vault and not the one currently on display at Ford's.
On May 15th 1865 Ferguson stated “I heard some halloo (yell) out of the box, “Revenge for the South!” I do not know that it was Booth, though I suppose (guess) it must have been; it was just as he was jumping over the railing. His spur caught in the blue part of the flag that stretched around the box, and, as he went over it tore a piece of the flag, which was dragged half way across the stage on the spur of his right heel.”
His statement that the flag “stretched around the box” may indicate that the flag was draped across the balustrade in front of the President rather than the Treasury Guard Regimental flag that was more than likely hung vertically between the two boxes.
I have a questions for Ed; the only description of this flag is that it was a silk flag. Could you tell if it was another Treasury Guard flag or an American flag. Either way it could have been the 3rd flag in the stand of colors from the Treasury Guard.

[L Verge]

This discussion sure brings back memories. About 1975, shortly after I joined the Surratt Society and agreed to volunteer at the soon-to-be-opened Surratt House Museum, I began seeing references to a Lincoln Library at Ford's Theatre. I finally called the Theatre and was told that the contents of that "Library" had been put into storage in the top level of Union Station.

At that time, I had an active two-year-old daughter and couldn't do the searches I would need to have done, so I enlisted the help of my sidekick, Joan Chaconas, to finish the search. She made contact with the NPS and was put in touch with a Park Ranger who was in charge of the collection. Let's be kind and say that said Ranger did not play well with others, but he reluctantly let some of us "unwashed masses" inside his temple. Not only did we see some great relics, we also saw rainwater leaking through the roof of Union Station and other serious problems. Eventually, the items were moved elsewhere, with the bulk of them going to a conservation center in nearby Greenbelt, Maryland, and are now in an even newer building in Lanham, Maryland. We have since taken attendees at the Surratt conferences to view these pieces.

During this time, Joan was also given access to the accessions records related to Ford's Theatre and NPS holdings. This led us to an underground storage area in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where we located the Empire parlor table that had been with the Surratts in Surrattsville and in D.C. Through a series of exchanges, we were able to have the table returned to Surratt House. It was in terrible condition, but god-bless a very talented furniture conservator who was able to fully restore it, except for one minor slant in the top. The gentleman went on to be in charge of conservation in Colonial Williamsburg -- but Mrs. Surratt's center table gave him some training!

[J. Beckert]

I'm wondering how the torn Treasury Guards flag at Ford's fits in here. Did he tear both? Ferguson's description of the flag Booth snagged states it was a "State Flag". That seems to fit better than this one, which looks more like ornamental bunting.

[Ed Steers]

Ed makes a good case for the flag that tripped JWB being the deteriorated flag from the vault and not the one currently on display at Ford's.
On May 15th 1865 Ferguson stated “I heard some halloo (yell) out of the box, “Revenge for the South!” I do not know that it was Booth, though I suppose (guess) it must have been; it was just as he was jumping over the railing. His spur caught in the blue part of the flag that stretched around the box, and, as he went over it tore a piece of the flag, which was dragged half way across the stage on the spur of his right heel.”
His statement that the flag “stretched around the box” may indicate that the flag was draped across the balustrade in front of the President rather than the Treasury Guard Regimental flag that was more than likely hung vertically between the two boxes.
I have a questions for Ed; the only description of this flag is that it was a silk flag. Could you tell if it was another Treasury Guard flag or an American flag. Either way it could have been the 3rd flag in the stand of colors from the Treasury Guard.

All five flags that adorned the box were made of silk. The quartermaster issued flags (National Standard and Regimental) were silk according to specifications. This is why so few survive that have not been specially cared for. Also, red dye/paint is quite acidic and over the years attacks the silk fibers destroying them. The three flags from Treasury were the National Standard, the regimental, and the ladies presentation flag.