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 Secretary of State Save the Flags Account 400-42, 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) 651-7600.