Historical Society to unveil Crane’s Guard flag

On Sunday, April 14, the Canton Historical Society will unveil the newly restored 1823 Crane’s Guard Militia hand-painted silk flag at the Canton Public Library. The unveiling will take place during the society’s annual meeting, which runs from 2-4 p.m. and is open to the public.

The 1823 Crane’s Guard Militia flag has been beautifully restored.

The Crane’s Guards were a militia organization formed on March 25, 1823, so named in honor of Major Elijah Crane, who was part of the Massachusetts Militia during the Revolutionary War and became one of Canton’s most prominent citizen, serving on the first Board of Selectmen and as Canton’s first representative to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

To show his appreciation for naming the Guards in his honor, Crane presented the group with this two-sided silk flag. One side features the Massachusetts Coat of Arms with the state motto and the other side shows a church and the Crane’s Guards in uniform bearing the words “In Defense of Liberty” and “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” as well as Major Crane’s signature.

At this special event, historians Jim Roache and George Comeau will speak on the background of the flag and textile conservator Deirdre Windsor will discuss the difficult restoration of this historic piece. Other rare artifacts like drums, uniform hats and sheet music all dating to 1822-1823 will be exhibited.

The Canton Historical Society hopes to see you there as they share this piece of Canton history.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Apr 5 2019. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.