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Patriotic themes and motifs have been incorporated into quilt designs since the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. Union quilts, featuring the American eagle, were popular from the late 1780s until the 1840s and again during the Civil War. The design of this impressive quilt, dated 1853, was influenced by early nineteenth-century patriotic quilts and reflects the growing political tensions in antebellum America.
The quilt depicts a stylized central eagle, surrounded by a wreath of thirteen stars. From the eagle’s beak floats a streamer with the Latin mottom E Plubribus Unum, which means “one out of many”.
The eagle, the stars and the floral borders are appliquéd. The center of each pieced star is embroidered with the name of one of the thirteen original states: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
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