Mr. Douglas Hinton's Faithful Support of Save the Flags
As a part of the annual Jackson, MI Civil War Muster on August 23, Mr. Douglas Hinton was honored by Save the Flags for his adoption of a flag that he donated to the collection, used by the Governor Austin Blair Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in the early 1900’s. Douglas’ donation of the flag and his donation of $1,000 to help us care for the flags continues his long support of our project. We are in his debt. Our thanks to the owners of the Daisy Saloon for hosting our event.
Additionally, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, Mr. Douglas Hinton III adopted SC-208-90, a flag carried by the 339th “Polar Bear” regiment during World War I. The ceremony was attended by family and friends, the Honorable Senator Sue Shink of the 14th District, and many of her staff.
Save the Flags would like to thank Douglas for his second flag adoption and also would like to thank Senator Shink and her staff for their kind attendance at the ceremony. Douglas also donated a copy of the book that documents some of the history of the 339th, it will become a part of the Save the Flags library.
The 339th “Polar Bear” Regiment was organized, as part of the 85th Division, August 30th, 1917 at Camp Custer, Michigan. Deployed for the battlefields of Europe July 14, 1918, the regiment was separated from its original division upon their arrival in England to become part of a specially created unit called the American North Russia Expeditionary Force (ANREF). They were part of what would be a larger multi-national expedition to support the Russian provisional government in its civil war against Bolshevik revolutionaries, and to secure and prevent large stockpiles of allied war material from falling into German or Bolshevik hands. They sailed for Arkhangelsk (Archangel), Russia, arriving on September 4, 1918. Of the 5,500 men of ANREF, ninety percent were Michiganders and of that number seventy percent were Detroiters, thus their nickname--“Detroit’s Own.”
A Very Special Double Adoption!
Two very special combined flag adoptions took place on Saturday, August 16, 2025. The Michigan Department, Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865 adopted a flag (SC-9-90) carried by the Third Michigan Infantry. The adoption honored Private Peter Myers of the Third, an ancestor of current Daughter Roberta Lipke.
Private Myers enlisted at the age of twenty from Sparta, Michigan, was captured at the battle of Mine Run and spent the remainder of the war at Andersonville prison. Myers died at a very young age as a result of the medical issues he sustained while in confederate confinement, one of the all too many post war deaths attributed to the conflict.
Sally, Samantha, Sydney and Sofia Redinger also adopted a flag (SC-24-90) carried by the Sixth Michigan Heavy Artillery during the Civil War. These Daughters of a Union soldier adopted the flag in honor of the late Steve Redinger, their husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. Before his passing, Steve (who was also a descendant of a Union veteran) was very active in Civil War reenacting as a cannoneer.
Many thanks to the Redingers and the Daughters for their continued support of Save The Flags.
18th Michigan Infantry Flag Conservation Update
This month in the conservation lab, conservation specialists Cambray and May finished removing the 1960s netting from the stripes flag SC-94-90 and gently cleaned these areas using a low-suction, museum-grade vacuum. They will next repeat the net removal and cleaning process on the canton. This will take place behind the scenes as we will be rotating out of the exhibit window at the end of August to make room for an exhibit on the recently conserved portrait of Governor Fred Green. We will rotate back into the viewing window in December.
The Clor Family Visits Flag Storage
Save the Flags was honored to host the Clor family for a visit to the archival flag storage space at the state museum on Monday, August 4, 2025. Trevor Clor, a teacher at Grosse Pointe Academy, has spent his career dedicated to imparting to his students his vast knowledge of U.S. history, including organizing and leading groups of students to historic sites and many battlefields. Trevor was selected this summer to join 100 teachers from across the world at the prestigious Gettysburg Teacher Institute sponsored by the American Battlefield Trust . We are indebted to teachers like Trevor, who daily instill in our youth a respect and passion for history.
Interested in seeing the flags and learning about their care? Give us a call - (517) 373-5157 - to schedule a personal tour of the flag storage room, located within the Michigan History Museum, and the Capitol’s conservation lab!
Visit MSCBattleFlags.org to browse the virtual collection of flags, watch Save the Flags videos, and stay up to date with the latest in Michigan Battle Flag news!