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Home PageCIVIL WAR BATTLE FLAG ON EXHIBIT AT CAPITOL
JEFFERSON CITY, MO., JAN. 22, 2008 -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources invites the public to view the 2nd Missouri Light Artillery Battery "A" flag for the first time since it has undergone conservation. The flag is on display in the Missouri State Museum's History Hall on the first floor of the State Capitol. The flag will be on display through April.
The flag's conservation and exhibition is the result of a long-term project to conserve the flags in the museum's collection. The 2nd Missouri Light Artillery Battery A flag is the most recent flag to undergo conservation. As additional flags are conserved, they will be exhibited on a rotating basis. The Missouri State Museum plans to have at least one Civil War flag on display in the museum until the Civil War sesquicentennial commemoration is completed in 2016.
The 2nd Regiment was originally formed as the 1st Regiment, Missouri Artillery, U.S. Reserve Corps. The designation was changed to the 2nd Missouri Artillery in November 1861. Battery A was formed in January 1862 and assigned to the district of St. Louis, Department of Missouri. The regiment served in the fortifications around St. Louis until February of 1863. Battery A was attached to the Army of Tennessee from December 1864 to June 1865. The unit defended many Union fortifications in Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. The battery mustered out Aug. 24, 1865.
To date, 36 Civil War flags have been conserved, and 17 have been framed for exhibition. The Civil War flags will be a central part of the museum's interpretation of the Civil War in Missouri as it moves toward the commemoration of the conflict that divided the state just as it did the nation.
The Missouri State Museum is open to the public free of charge from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. For more information, contact the Missouri State Museum's office at 573-751-2854 or the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). For information on state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.
