Originally Posted - February 19, 2007

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ALBANY----Two new exhibits have opened at the State Capitol. The first, "United Under The Flag," features an exhibit of 10 Civil War battle flags from the collection of the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs that were carried into battle by ethnic regiments from throughout the State. The exhibit provides a silent testimonial to the more than 120,000 foreign-born immigrants, free African-Americans and Iroquois who selflessly defended our liberties and preserved the Union during the Civil War.

The second exhibit, "Lincoln in New York," celebrates Lincoln's impact on New York and is part of the commemoration organized by the New York State Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission in recognition of the approaching 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 1809.

"These two exhibitions in the State Capitol will help us to celebrate the great President who led our Nation through four terrible years of Civil War, and help us remember the debt we New Yorkers and our Nation owe the men of all nationalities and backgrounds who fought to preserve both freedom and the Union," said Governor Spitzer.

The battle flag exhibit is located on the second floor of the State Capitol and features ten original Civil War battle flags that are part of a collection of more than 1,800 flags that were entrusted to the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs after the war. A joint project of DMNA and the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation (OPRHP) to conserve the flags was initiated in 2000. Since then, five different, theme-based, exhibitions of the flags have been organized in the State Capitol and hundreds more have been conserved.

The most recent exhibition, "United Under The Flag," includes the flags of the 37th New York Infantry, an Irish regiment, the flag of the 39th New York Infantry, a unit comprised of Italian immigrants and nicknamed, "The Garibaldi Guard," flags carried by German-American units, as well as two rare flags that were carried by African-American units, the 20th and 26th United States Colored Troops regiments. One of the latter flags was presented to the regiment by the "Ladies of New York" on March 27, 1864. In accepting the colors on behalf of his African-American regiment, Colonel William Silliman said, "I cannot tell you how dear to us will be this banner, the gift of loyal women of the North. We love it, not chiefly for its rare and costly beauty, but for what is beyond all price and more glorious than beauty."

The Adjutant General Major General Joseph Taluto, Jr., said: "These flags, torn and tattered, sometimes bearing the painted honors of the battles they were carried through, or often the bloodstains of those brave men who carried them, are symbols of the fight to preserve freedom. It is a fight and a responsibility that New Yorkers have willingly and selflessly accepted since the earliest days of the Revolution." The exhibition will remain in the Capitol until October 2007 and is open to the public free of charge.

The "Lincoln in New York" exhibit is part of the State's first efforts to commemorate the approaching 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth in 1809 and was organized by the New York State Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, OPRHP and the Heritage New York Program. The exhibit, consisting of four impressive panels and two display cases of Lincoln memorabilia, including a bust sculpture, "Meet Mr. Lincoln" by artist Robert Berks, is located on the first floor of the State Capitol at the foot of the staircase in the southeast corner of the Capitol building. It will remain on display through the celebration of Lincoln's bicentennial in February 2009.

New York State helped to launch Abraham Lincoln onto the national stage. It was Lincoln's landmark Cooper Union address in New York City in 1860 that transformed the Midwestern lawyer into a national candidate for president. Traveling by train, Lincoln made a cross-state journey to introduce himself to New Yorkers on the way to his inauguration in 1861. From whistle stops to major speaking events, New Yorkers cheered Lincoln onward to Washington. In 1865, after his assassination, a funeral train transported his remains across New York, retracing his inaugural route of four years earlier. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers lined the tracks and the streets of the New York's cities to pay final respects to this great man.

The New York State Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission was announced on Feb.19, 2006. The fifteen-member Commission is charged with planning events and activities for the commemoration, in 2009, of the 200-year anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. The State Commission coordinates its activities with that of a federal commission that has been established for similar purpose. 2-19-07

© 2007 North Country Gazette