Museum of Idaho

‘It’s completely unique as far as we know.’

One of the highlights of a new exhibit the Museum of Idaho hopes to open at the end of the year will be a more than 200-year-old American flag that was carried into battle during the Civil War and eventually came to Idaho.

The Lawyer family story is that the banner was in the family since at least the War of 1812, although Carrie Anderson Athay, curator at the museum and a textile expert, believes the flag itself to be older, probably dating to the late 18th century.

“During that time there were a lot of different (American flag) designs,” Athay said.

The homespun, hand-dyed flag features 13 stars, although not in the circular pattern most Americans will be familiar with from the famous Betsy Ross flag. Instead, there are five large stars, spaced fairly evenly on the blue background, with eight smaller ones crammed between them.

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