{"id":2979,"date":"2016-01-28T07:07:06","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T12:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=2979"},"modified":"2025-04-07T13:32:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T17:32:53","slug":"kansas-and-civil-war-arrive-together-in-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/kansas-and-civil-war-arrive-together-in-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas and Civil War arrive together in U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Lincoln<\/a>
Lincoln prepares to lift the 34-star flag to mark the admission of Kansas to the Union in 1861. (Library of Congress)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One hundred and fifty-five years ago, the U.S. got a new state \u2013 and a state of war. The state was Kansas, which celebrated its addition to the Union in 1861 with expressions of loyalty to the American flag<\/a> and preparations to become a battleground of the North vs. the South.<\/p>\n

An iconic moment of that Kansas history occurred miles to the east \u2013 in Philadelphia. As Abraham Lincoln, the newly elected president, was traveling from his home in Illinois to Washington, D.C. Flag<\/a>, for his inauguration, he stopped along the route to try to cement loyalty and stave off the coming Civil War Flags<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A drawing of Lawrence, Kansas, in 1856 shows a flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of those stops was in the City of Brotherly Love, and it came on an iconic day: Washington\u2019s birthday. Lincoln\u2019s gesture toward national unity was to raise the new 34-star American flag<\/a> to recognize the admission of Kansas on Jan. 29.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In 1961, Kansas officials hold engravings of President Lincoln’s raising of the 34-star flag to mark Kansas’ entry into the Union in 1861. (Photo from Kansas Memory)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cEach additional star added to that flag has given additional prosperity and happiness to this country,\u201d Lincoln told a crowd at Independence Hall. \u201cI think we may promise ourselves that not only the new star placed upon that flag shall be permitted to remain there to our permanent prosperity for years to come, but additional ones shall from time to time be placed there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warning that \u201canarchy stalks the land,\u201d a newspaper in Atchison, Kansas, remarked on \u201call the fruits that flow from a well-knit Union.\u201d It also told readers about a man who came to town, and \u201ctook off his hat and carried it in his hands until he passed\u201d a building displaying the Stars and Stripes. He \u201cconsidered it impolite to pass without taking off his hat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"On<\/a>
On the 100th anniversary, Kansans portray President Lincoln’s 1861 hoisting of the 34-star flag in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when their state entered the U.S. (Photo from Kansas Memory)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another newspaper, this one in Leavenworth, printed an image of the star-spangled banner<\/a> above a poem that read in part: \u201cInvincible Banner! The Flag of the Free!\/O, where trods the foot that would falter for thee?\u201d<\/p>\n

Later in 1861, the Atchison journal informed readers that, on the Fourth of July Flags<\/a>, President Lincoln, his Cabinet and other officials had watched \u201ca grand and brilliant spectacle sufficient to strike terror into the hearts of all secessionists.\u201d They were viewing 20,000 volunteers from New York State. When the parade ended, \u201ca large and beautiful American flag was raised by the President amidst the deafening cheers of the crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kansas<\/a>
Kansas state seal (Kansas Historical Society)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kansans focused so much of their attention on the national banner for a simple reason: Their state didn\u2019t have its own flag when it entered the Union. In fact, the Kansas state flag<\/a> wasn\u2019t officially designated for more than 60 years, although the basic idea was used unofficially.<\/p>\n

In 1927, Kansas finally adopted a state flag<\/a>: a blue banner on which appeared both the state seal and crest. It\u2019s wasn\u2019t an immediate success, according to the Associated Press, which said, \u201cKansas citizens apparently have no desire to [display] their state flag\u2026.Only one such emblem is known to exist,\u201d and it belonged to the governor.<\/p>\n

\"Kansas<\/a>
Kansas state flag. (Kansas Historical Society)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crest is a sunflower, while the state seal, which had been approved in 1861, consists of many elements, much of it reflective of Kansas\u2019 agriculture. The flag also carries a motto: \u201cAd astra per aspera.\u201d It means \u201cthrough hardships to the stars.\u201d In 1961, its centennial of statehood, the word \u201cKansas\u201d was added to the design for good measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One hundred and fifty-five years ago, the U.S. got a new state \u2013 and a state of war. The state was Kansas, which celebrated its addition to the Union in 1861 with expressions of loyalty to the American flag and preparations to become a battleground of the North vs. the South. An iconic moment of… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[334,43,333,335],"class_list":["post-2979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-34-star-american-flag","tag-civil-war","tag-kansas","tag-kansas-state-flag"],"yoast_head":"\nKansas and Civil War arrive together in U.S. - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/kansas-and-civil-war-arrive-together-in-u-s\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kansas and Civil War arrive together in U.S.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"History of Kansas joining the Union and of the Kansas State Flag.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/kansas-and-civil-war-arrive-together-in-u-s\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-28T12:07:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-07T17:32:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Kansas-state-seal-Kansas-Historical-Society.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"499\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Breig\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Breig\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/kansas-and-civil-war-arrive-together-in-u-s\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/kansas-and-civil-war-arrive-together-in-u-s\/\",\"name\":\"Kansas and Civil War arrive together in U.S. - 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