Union Forever / Bumper to the Flag

Datec. 1863

MediumNon-flint clear pressed glass

Dimensions3 1/4 × 2 3/4 × 2 3/4 in. (8.3 × 7 × 7 cm)

ClassificationsDecorative Arts, Glass

Credit LineGift of the Iowa State Questers. In the Iowa Quester Glass Collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object numberUM2012.52

Status

On view

Collections

CultureAmerican

Label TextProduced in 1863, in the midst of the American Civil War, this whiskey glass features two hands clasped in a brotherly handshake beneath the words “Union Forever”. Most famously used in George F. Root’s 1862 popular wartime song “The Battle Cry of Freedom”, where it is used to open the chorus, the phrase became a popular rallying cry among Northerners, expressing commitment to preserving the United States. Following South Carolina’s secession on December 20th, 1860, and the subsequent departure of ten additional states, many in the North viewed the preservation of the Union as a central war aim, honoring the nation their ancestors had valiantly fought to create. While the Civil War and Reconstruction left many questions unresolved, the conflict decisively answered one: the Union was indeed forever. https://songofamerica.net/song/battle-cry-of-freedom/

PeriodCivil War

Locations