If you’ve found yourself driving down South Frontage Road in Columbus, you may have noticed an unusual flag flying half-staff at the Memorial Gardens Cemetery.
With a quick glance, the flag is easily mistaken for the national flag, but a closer look shows 13 vertical stripes with blue-on-white stars in the canton rather than the horizontal stripes with white-on-blue stars that make Old Glory distinct.
What is this flag and where did it come from? Why is it being flown at Memorial Gardens?
The first civil peace flag
After the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Treasury Department established the Revenue Cutter Service in 1790 to collect revenue through enforcing customs and trade laws, ensuring the collection of tariffs and preventing smuggling along the east coast. The service was the precursor to the contemporary U.S. Coast Guard.
In order to distinguish the service from military ships, Congress authorized the Revenue Cutter Service ships to fly a different flag than Old Glory – one with vertical stripes and an arrangement of an eagle and stars in the canton.
Similarly to the national flag, the original Revenue Cutter Service flag changed over time to become what is sometimes referred to as the civil peace flag. This is the flag that flies at the Memorial Gardens Cemetery.
Commercialization and controversial adoption
Most of the information on the history and meaning of the civil peace flag is found on websites where it is being sold. Festflags.com, for example, says the flag “emerges as an emblem that should grace the skies during peaceful times, symbolizing the absence of military dominion. For its devoted adherents, this flag carries profound importance, encapsulating a powerful representation of the cherished freedoms safeguarded for all citizens of the United States.”
The civil peace flag is not a national flag recognized by the U.S. Government or historical scholarship, but some anti-government movements, particularly sovereign citizens, have adopted it as the “real” national flag that represents civilians and peace. To these groups, the Star-Spangled Banner is a military flag to be flown during wartime that represents the U.S. government. This was born from the Revenue Cutter Service flying the vertically-striped ensign instead of the standard design.
Protest in the cemetery
Because Memorial Gardens is a privately-owned perpetual care cemetery, the owners can fly whatever flag they wish. In December, owner David Koon told The Dispatch he chooses to fly the civil peace flag, instead of the national flag, at half-staff as a form of protest against the national government. He said flying the flag in protest is his call for peace and argued the Star-Spangled Banner is a military flag representative of the nation being at war.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
