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| FLAGS in the MARYLAND STATE HOUSE COLLECTION PREFACE Chapter 485 of the Laws of Maryland for 1900 provided for the establishment of a Battle Flag Commission and appropriated funds for the purchase of display cases to preserve and exhibit the flags carried by Maryland Union and Confederate units during the Civil War. Governor John Walter Smith appointed John R. King and George W. Johnson as members of the Commission to represent the Federal units, and James R. Wheeler and Spencer C. Jones to represent the Confederate units. The group first met at the direction of Governor Edwin Warfield and, because the appropriation was inadequate for the purchase of the type of case required by the law, he contributed an additional sum from his Contingent Fund plus the amount required to procure a case for color8 carried by Maryland troops in the War for Independence and in the War of 1812. The Commission completed its work during the administration of Governor Warfield and, as provided by the act, custody of the collection then was assigned to The Adjutant General of Maryland. During the first administration of Governor Albert C. Ritchie, additional cases were purchased for the display of other colors that had been presented to the State, and in 1929 the General Assembly appropriated funds to restore certain flags which had deteriorated. Miss Julia A. Reckord directed a staff of ladies in the restoration work and, soon after it was completed in 1984, a booklet describing the collection was issued. In 1959 new bronze flag cases were provided by the Legis-lature, the old cases were refurbished, and all were equipped with modern lighting. This provided some additional needed spaces in order to display the flags properly. |