John,

I found the Ron Needham drawing online for this flag. It is their 1861 regimental color, embroidered by local flag makers - either Longley & Brother or the John Shillito and Company. I think it was the former. The style overall is very similar to other early war Ohio regimental colors.

Early war flags for Union units could be made by local women, especially on the company level, or a subscription raised to hire a professional flag maker, like those above, to make it, or it could be sponsored by a business like the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton railroad did for this flag. The Chicago Board of Trade sponsored a full artillery battery and their colors. The St. Louis Mercantile Exchange sponsored a regiment and their colors.

Later war flag tended to be less fancy and,other than some Tiffany embroidered special flags, they tended to be painted onto the silk. Over time, embroidery and silk do not get along.

Greg Biggs