It was twenty years ago when Gettysburg resident Bob Mcilhenny received a phone call from then borough manager Charlie Sterner.
“Sterner said he thought it would be a great idea if we had a town flag,” said Micilhenny. “He called me because I ran a business that fabricated banners and flags.”
Mcilhenny said he started the design using a letterhead seal from the 1960s that had been created by Eugene Sickles, a Battlefield guide and artist. “The seal contained a lot of Gettysburg-related images. I thought that was a good place to start, but I boiled it down into something that was simpler,” he said.
Mcilhenny said the council adopted the flag at its meeting on March 10, 2003. He noted that the original seal says “Ordained on Mar 10, 1806,” which is the day the state legislature officially created Gettysburg as a separate municipality from Cumberland Township.
“March 10 is Gettysburg’s Ordination or Independence Day,” he said.
“I added color to arrive at the final design which represents the intersections of the roads that led the armies here, a stylized representation of Lincoln Square, and a field of blue with 3 gold stars representing the 3 wards and also the 3 days of the Gettysburg battle.”
McIlhenny said he got a lot of support and advice during the project. “I talked to a flag expert named Whitney Smith who ran the flag research center in Massachusetts. Smith coined the term vexillology which refers to the study of flags.”
“I asked Smith about the design and he wrote back saying. ‘I hope that you will be in a position to encourage the adoption of this handsome, distinctive, unique, and symbolic flag.’”
Mcilhenny said Caroline Smith on the borough council was instrumental in getting the flag approved.
“Sterner told the captain of the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg about the flag, and the ship adopted it as its house flag. It’s displayed on board and flown in battle and while special guests are on board,” said McIlhenny. “Crew members sometimes come to town to help out, and they wear the emblem of the Gettysburg flag on their work shirts. The ship uses the flag as a symbol.”
Featured image caption: USS Gettysburg; Modern flag; Mcilhenny
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.
Is is ok to use this on tshirts? For example a local band would want to have it included in their design? Thanks
According to the designer, “no one can claim exclusive rights to the Gettysburg Town flag because it’s an emblem that represents everyone and cannot be claimed by any one person. So anyone is free to use the flag image.”
I think it would look better with a cannon as well !
I liked Bob’s design the first time he showed it to me. But I remember the opposition from so many people who couldn’t imagine a Gettysburg flag without a cannon on it! I’m so glad that Charlie, Bob, Caroline and so many others prevailed.