Next year the Old State House Museum will mark the American Civil War Sesquicentennial with five years of exciting exhibits, reenactments and programs. The Museum will commemorate this transformational event by hosting five exhibits from 2011 to 2015. Exhibit planning has begun and includes the conservation of two newly-acquired Arkansas Confederate battle flags. We need your help to preserve these irreplaceable artifacts. Watch the Save the Flags video.
One of the two flags is a Confederate Second National pattern battle flag carried by the Consolidated 6th & 7th Arkansas Infantry Regiment. With the acquisition of the 6th & 7th Arkansas Second National pattern flag, the Old State House Museum’s collection is unique – containing examples of all three major patterns of flags distributed to units of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. 
The Old State House Museum also acquired a Confederate First National pattern flag attributed to “Hart’s Battery,” otherwise known as the “Dallas Artillery” as it was organized at Dallas, Arkansas (Polk County), in August 1861. Apart from Hart’s and Key’s (already in the Museum’s collection) flags, no other flags of Arkansas artillery units are known to exist.
Both flags require substantial conservation treatment before they can be exhibited. The total estimated cost of proper cleaning and stabilization of both flags is $25,881. The museum’s goal is to conserve the flags by 2012, in time for our second exhibit commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. You can see our complete collection of Civil War Battle Flags on this site.
Want to make a contribution? You can help the Old State House Museum protect these flags, ensuring their survival for future generations. Please make a contribution to the Civil War Flag Preservation Project. Consider a donation in the amount of $25, $50 or $100. Your support, in any amount, will help the Old State House Museum reach this important goal. To make a donation to the Civil War Flag Preservation Project use our secure online donations form.