Tartan Jack

I like that!

Purty!

I’m glad you’re coming!

Holy #%€?~<%£! He’s been found! Great name to see!

Cool! Me like!

Beautiful!

Looks fantastic! How did you do the Mercury wings? Paint on a large piece? -If so, what kind of paint? Or lots of small pieces?

SC Navy flag in context & source images (image heavy) The sources: 2 paintings made after Battle of Sullivan’s Island, 1776- painted a week after the battle (one showing start, & one the aftermath). The artist was stationed at another fort across the harbour 2 British wood cuts based upon the British after-action report 1778 state bill showing the fort & a crescent on the left side Bill showing the SC Navy ship Prosper, with the crescent/Moultrie flag shown fore & aft. (forgot date off the top of my head- but made 1776-17780) The flag is shown flown at the June 2023 “Carolina Day” event at Fort Moultrie remembering the 1776 battle. We were there representing the South Carolina Navy.

I’ve made a few over the years. Recently, I made 2 for pirate & SC Navy (Rev War). I flew the tartan one at Conde & Dauphin. Those are all handsewn, with appliquéd (sewn on) emblems- as fit those designs. I’ve made multi-part one, but much smaller. The SC Navy one is visually based upon images from 1776-1778 of the “Moultrie” flag, as shown in an image of an SC Navy ship on a 1778 state bank note. It’s made of linen. Tartan Jack’s Tartan Jack was finished soon before the September events in Alabama & first flown the weekend before in Camden, SC. It’s made from an unknown material (chosen for color & “feel”- I think it’s cotton, but didn’t do a burn test it when I relocated it a few months ago). I started seaming the fly over 10 years previously. The graphic is based upon the woodcut of Stede Bonnet in Johnson’s General History. The privateer flag will be linen & I’m “back & forthing” just making it red linen (selvedge-to-selvedge top-bottom) 5-6 feet long & add the blue & white rectangles to get the correct pattern (based on 1730s ensign standards for privateers). The intent is to look like it was made by colonial sailors with a marque letter, rather than a professionally-made one (Royal Navy, etc), who serve the local provenancial navy/government. One project is a “Scotttish Navy Red Ensign” which has the Scot saltaire in the canton of a red field/ground. That one will be pieces sewn together, of linen. I have wool for a pirate flag or 2 as well, bit those would be smaller. I have some prefect wool to use- in black & white. The red & navy wool I have are too heavy weave.

Ya’ll have to GET there first!

I have a list longer than my arm of stuff I need to make. 3 of those are flags. BUT … I need motivation to actually MAKE any of them. The colonial privateer flag (for our South Carolina Navy privateer impressions) needs to be priority one.

Off the top of my head … (Edit: Thinking mostly is 1715-25/GAoP tighter dating) Many Caribbean islands, Barbados, Bahamas, & the eastern sea coast from just south of Savannah to north of Massachusetts have historic sites. Many locals may of may not know them & many false-legends have arrisen over the centuries, as half-remembered stories are blended together. Those were British-held territory. What became Georgia was a “buffer area” claimed by both the Charleston & St Augustine. In 1720, South Carolina established a fort (Fort King George) at a disputed riverhead halfway between the 2, in what was basically a land-grab/claim. The Royal Army manned it for a while, then they pulled up everything in 1727 & returned to Charleston. (It was built by South Carolina Navy sailors, whom are likely to include some who were part of the post-blockade Blackbeard hunt that snarred Bonnet & Worley. It was less than 2 years later.) South of there was Spanish territory & raided (such as the storm wrecks) or home to Spanish pirates. Most of the land-sites, sadly, have have changed significantly- as people moved in, farmed, then built “vacation developments” along prime-spots. Many sites because the spot offered the same reasons making it desirable in 1715-20 as in 1970-2023. The above Fort King George is now a Georgia State Park, with the fort reconstructed a few hundred feet from the original site. It had been a sawmill site later, which collapsed & the land was fallow & availsbld for the park service to purchase. The present fort was built in the 1980s & 90s, based on the original 1720-27 one. I was pleasantly pleased when we got to do an event there last weekend. (All photos but the one with the flag are from the web. The solo house is where we stayed & my table is under that flag)

Release the hostages…. The Ransom is here! (Great to see the nane again)

& Jim’s big one has a warped board backbone to really “open it up”