New Hampshire’s role in the Revolutionary War is on display at the New Hampshire Historical Society’s Park Street headquarters. The public is invited to visit the society to see two flags from the Second New Hampshire Regiment of the Continental Line, which were captured by the British Ninth Regiment of Foot, on July 8, 1777, at Fort Anne in New York. The flags were packed into the personal baggage of the British commander Lieutenant Colonel John Hill, and were taken back to England after the Revolution.
In 1912, Edward Tuck, the philanthropist who donated funds for the monumental Beaux-Arts building which houses the society, was notified that the flags were for sale in an antiques store in London by Hill’s descendants. He purchased them to donate to the society, and they now are framed and on display in the grand central staircase in the society’s Park Street building.
Director of Collections and Exhibitions Wesley Balla said, “Flags from the birth of our nation are extremely rare, and only a handful are known to have survived. As a result, they are prized by both the New Hampshire Historical Society and the country.”
The New Hampshire Historical Society is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be closed for the Independence Day holiday from July 4-7.
