"St. Louis Courthouse Flag" Stickers

Flags of Civil War Missouri:

In the early days of 1861, St. Louis, Missouri, was a city politically divided primarily along ethnic lines. Many immigrants from Europe had made their way to St. Louis, a great number from Germany and Ireland. Two peoples with greate political differences could not be found. The Germans, particularly the leadership, were participants in or sympathizers with the 1848 communist revolutions in Europe. Their goal in 1861 mirrored that of 1848: the establishment of a strong centralized government. They had a natural affinity for the same goals espoused by the new Republican party. The Irish, on the other hand, had had their fill of strong central government and its abuses and supported the states' rights movement.

Each group became the core of an opposing faction in St.Louis. Francis P. Blair, leader of Missouri's Republicans, formed the St. Louis Unionists into militia units called "Home Guards" or "Wide Awakes." The majority of the members of these units were German, most with European military train-ing. The communist revolution had reached St. Louis.

Among the Southern leaders were Kentuckian Basil W. Duke, South Carolinian Colton Greene, and J. Rock Champi-on, described as "a big-hearted, big-bodied Irishman.") The six-foot-two giant was a natural leader of men. The states' rights organization took the name "Minute Men."

Each side began drilling, openly preparing for what both assumed would be a future clash. A major point of question was ownership of the St. Louis Arsenal and its contents. Not trusting the loyalties of the arsenal commander, Blair succeeded in getting Capt. Nathaniel Lyon's Company B of the U.S. Infantry transferred to St. Louis from Ft. Riley, Kansas. In retaliatory protest, the Minute Men planned two flag raisings.

In the pre-dawn darkness of the morning of March 4, 1861, Rock Champion, Basil Duke, Colton Greene, Arthur McCoy, and James Quinlan went to the federal courthouse. Quinlan, Champion, and McCoy "fixed the colors about midnight" while Duke and Greene "stood guard below." This flag is described as "an American ensign" with only one star and bearing the Missouri coat of arms.

Each purchase comes with three stickers.