|
| |
Save the Flags
Campaign
The Georgia Capitol
Museum flag collection includes 82 historic flags carried by Georgians on
battlefields at home and abroad from the early Georgia militia, the Civil War,
the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War,
Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. These flags have been
admired by countless numbers of visitors, including generations of school
children. Bullet-torn and bloodstained, they must be preserved for future
generations as symbols of valor and dedicated service.
For decades these flags were on display without proper controls for light,
humidity and temperature. They suffered from smoke, infestation, and time. Some
are literally in pieces. A number of heritage organizations and state agencies
have combined forces in a campaign to provide these flags with the latest
conservation techniques. After being carefully treated, the flags are placed in
a storage facility specially designed to protect them. Thirty-eight flags which
have undergone the restoration process are now available for exhibit in proper
museum cases in the "Hall of
Valor" flag display room
on the
first floor of the Capitol. A bronze plaque, which hangs on the wall to
the left of the entrance, honors donors who have contributed to the care and
preservation of the state's historic collection.
Modern conservation
techniques are extremely expensive and sophisticated for the labor is
specialized and time-consuming. Flags must be delicately removed from their
staffs, carefully cleaned to remove previously applied preservatives or other
contaminants, and placed to lie flat in storage. Storage furniture secures and
protects the flags from the agents of destruction: handling, dirt, light, heat,
and humidity.
Estimates for the conservation, and in some cases restoration, range from $5,000
to $25,000 per flag. The cost for the entire preservation project is
approximately $500,000. The flags in the most desperate condition are
treated as soon as funds
become available. Currently, we
are halfway through the project.
These flags are one of a kind; each has its own story and reflects its own
unique place in history. Although the market value of the flag collection is
over six million dollars, the significance of the flags to the state's history
makes them priceless. Immediate conservation and/or restoration will insure
their survival for future generations.
Can you help? Contributors
of $500 or more will have their names included on the plaque at the entrance of
the flag display room. Your donation is tax deductible.
Donations, payable by check to Friends of the Georgia Archives, should be mailed to Georgia Capitol Museum, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, West Tower Suite 820, Atlanta, GA 30334. For additional information, call the Capitol Museum at (404) 656-2846.
|
