CLINTON — “If we get it stabilized to display it, it can’t be vertical anymore, it has to be horizontal, and it’s big,” said Bobbi Perryman, executive director of the Vespasian Warner Public Library. Perryman was referring to the Civil War battle flag in the library’s collection.
“So, we’re scoping out some potential display spaces,” she added. “I hate for it to be rolled up in the archive, which is where it’s been since 2019.”
The flag was made from silk, and because silk was bleached to create white for the white stripes, those stripes had major deterioration.
“That’s why the shattering is especially bad on the white,” Perryman said.
The red stripes on the flag are in significantly better condition, while the blue field behind the stars looks remarkably unaffected by age.
The flag was used by the 20th Illinois Regiment Company E during the American Civil War. The company included many DeWitt County men, including Vespasian Warner, future law partner and son-in-law of C.H. Moore.
Their original company flag was destroyed sometime during 1862-1863.
• Read the complete story in the Friday, Oct. 9 print edition of the Clinton Journal or now in the Journal E-Edition for subscribers.
