Preserving a National Treasure in the Nation’s Capital
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2002–The Star-Spangled Banner, one of the country’s most fragile treasures, once waved in the sky while weathering a storm of bullets and bombs during the War of 1812. The morning after, a Washington lawyer named Francis Scott Key saw the flag still flying high and mighty over Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, and it inspired him to pen the words to the future national anthem.
“[The flag] is the meaning of America,” said Marilyn Zoidis, 52, a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Today, the Star-Spangled Banner is undergoing a continuous preservation process in a state-of-the-art laboratory at the museum. The flag is being preserved rather than reconstructed because the tatters, stains, and inscriptions are part of its history, according to Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss, chief conservator of the project. The three-year, $18-million project is one of the largest preservation efforts the Smithsonian has undertaken.
“Flags are historic artifacts rather than ‘fine art’ so those subtle changes writ on their surfaces by the people who cared about it throughout time are important,” Thomassen-Krauss said. “Seeing very significant but fragile artifacts preserved is a reminder how easy it would be to lose our history if we stop trying to preserve it.”
The wool-and-cotton flag weighs about 50 pounds and measures approximately 30 by 34 feet. It originally had 15 stars and stripes, as mandated by Congress in 1794. However, one of the stars is missing from the flag today, as are nearly eight feet of its length.
“The practice at the time was to remove the good sections from the fly end (the end farthest from the flagpole) and piece them into damaged areas,” Thomassen-Krauss said.
She also noted that pieces are missing because of “souveniring.” Various owners of the flag cut off pieces as souvenirs for party guests and family members and survivors of the battle at Fort McHenry.
“We haven’t been able to determine how much of the fly end was lost through use, so it is difficult to know how much was souvenired from the flag,” Thomassen-Krauss said.
The flag is housed in a climate-controlled environment, ranging in temperature from 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, with special lighting to prevent further damage to a flag that has seen the best and worst of days. It is rolled out on a mobile platform, and conservationist team members work on their stomachs from a scaffolding several inches above the flag.
The flag is extremely fragile and no stitch is left unexamined. The team has removed 1.7 million stitches from linen backing sewn onto the flag from a previous preservation effort by flag restorer Amelia Fowler in 1914.
“[The project] is an ongoing process, with new information revealed at every stage,” Thomassen-Krauss said.
Eben Appleton, who had inherited the Star-Spangled Banner from his mother, selected the Smithsonian as the flag’s permanent home in 1912. Appleton was a descendant of Lt. Col. George Armistead, the commander at Fort McHenry, who had commissioned Mary Pickersgill and her young daughter to make the flag. It is said that Appleton not only wanted the flag to remain in a safe, protected environment, but also wanted to allow visitors from around the country to enjoy a nation’s treasure.
The flag is one of the most popular stops in the museum, attracting youngsters and adults. For many, the September 11 attacks reminded them of the cultural and symbolic importance of the Stars and Stripes.
“[The flag] is worth preserving,” Mitch Williams, a museum visitor, said. “It reminds you, ‘Is your freedom worth fighting for?’”
A school group peered into the laboratory through the floor-to-ceiling glass window, admiring the size and fragility of the famous flag.
“Anything is worthwhile when it comes to educating our kids,” Ira Green, a museum security officer, said. “And if I can learn at 41 years old, anyone can learn.”
Published in The Kennebec Journal and The Morning Sentinel, in Maine.
