Revolutionary War flag on display at center

The flag cannot be replaced and is considered to be priceless.

CINCINNATI (AP) — A flag believed to be from the Revolutionary War era, one of only two known examples of the Fort Independence design, was displayed Tuesday at the National Underground Railroad and Freedom Center, the first time it has been shown in public since the American Bicentennial in 1976.

“What better place for it to be displayed?” said Jim Mooney, whose family acquired the relic more than a century ago.

The flag will be on loan to the Freedom Center for a year.

“The philosophy of the Freedom Center is to highlight people and activities that helped change society to make it better,” said executive director Spencer Crew. “The founding fathers who led the American Revolution set the cornerstone of what we stand for as a nation and for what we’re striving to become as a nation.”

The Fort Independence design has 13 rows of alternating red and white stripes and a blue field with rows of four stars above and below a row of five. It was named for the fort in Boston Harbor where it was flown.

The stars are made of linen, and the stripes of worsted wool.

There were U.S. flags of many designs before a standard was created. The only fully authenticated original Fort Independence flag is in the Massachusetts State House in Boston — in a safe place, while a replica is displayed in the rotunda.

Textile experts believe the Mooneys’ smaller version of that flag most likely is authentic and may have been made by the same person.

“They are closely akin in style,” said Rabbit Goody, an expert from Cooperstown, N.Y., who did a microscopic examination of the fibers. “We did a technical analysis of the fabric. Nothing I could ascertain would make me doubt its origin.”

Although only two examples of the Fort Independence flag are known, “That doesn’t mean there aren’t more out there,” said Goody, who suspects others are in the hands of private collectors.

“Hopefully, by a little publicity, they will come out,” she said.

The Mooneys’ flag was found in a house in Boston when a family member bought it in 1902, Jim Mooney said. His research determined that a member of the previous homeowner’s family was an officer in the Revolutionary War and may have acquired the flag.

Mooney and Crew declined to put a value on the flag, saying only that it was invaluable because it cannot be replaced.

“There undoubtedly are collectors who would pay six figures for it,” Goody said.

She described the flag as being in remarkably good condition, even though sections are somewhat frayed and threadbare. One of the school children at the unveiling Tuesday asked Mooney about its appearance, and whether holes in the flag were from bullets.

“It looked a lot better 200 years ago,” Mooney said.