NORWICH – In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Chenango County Council of the Arts and the Historical Society will be presenting a Civil War commemorative weekend beginning Aug. 25. In preparation, The Evening Sun presents the second in a series of articles about items and locations around Chenango County that were relevant to the Union war effort and the men and women involved.

In July of 2003, the Honor Flag of the 114th New York Volunteers, a regiment consisting of enlistees from Chenango, Cortland and Madison counties, was presented to the Historical Society folded in a box and layered with tissue paper. It was decided that the flag was in need of conservation and was given to conservator Gwen Spicer for a two-year plan of treatment.

Conservation, not to be confused with restoration, was explained as “providing stability and minimizing future degradation of an object.” The goal was to remove dirt and return the flag to as close to its original appearance as possible. Due to the relatively good condition in which the flag was maintained, the process of unfolding and conserving process was much easier, reported Spicer.