US Navy rediscovers Macau pirate flag hidden for nearly a century

Charles Swift, managing director and curator of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, stands in front of a case where the flags shown behind him had been tucked away from view behind another flag on display for nearly 100 years

The curator of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum wasn’t exactly sure what would be found: records indicated five display boxes long used to exhibit captured British flags from the War of 1812 actually concealed more banners underneath.

But not until all 61 banners were painstakingly removed in December for a conservation effort did curator Charles Swift, who is also the museum’s managing director, actually see what was hidden. And he was gratified to learn that conservationists had uncovered dozens of other flags — many captured by the Navy in other conflicts of the 19th century.

The 46 newly discovered flags, covered by the others in boxes with large plate-glass lids, speak to an earlier era of U.S. intervention overseas. They include one taken from a Chinese pirate fort off Macau dating to 1854.

A pirate enclave

Macau has a long history of pirate activity, dating back even before the arrival of the Portuguese.

By the early 16th century, the waters of Southern China had become infested with piracy, providing the opportunity for Portuguese naval officers to win favor from Ming China by agreeing to combat the Wokou pirates from Japan.

Some 300 years later, piracy in Chinese coastal waters remained a serious threat. Two of the most famous Chinese pirates, Ching Shih (Madame Ching) and Cheung Po Tsai, commanded the 300-junk Red Flag Fleet, terrorizing the region until their surrender to the Portuguese in 1810, following defeat at the Battle of the Tiger’s Mouth. Ching Shih then notoriously retired from her life of piracy, but kept her loot and set up a gambling house in Macau.

João Guedes, a journalist and writer who is knowledgeable about Macau’s history, said that many pirates settled in the city during the 19th century.

“By the mid-19th century, there were a few naval ships in Macau from Portugal that patrolled the Pearl River Delta, but also all the way up to Shanghai, to protect foreign commerce. There were frequent fights between the Portuguese navy and the pirates.”

“Some of the pirates were transformed [from piracy] to naval officers [working] for the Chinese government,” he said, commenting on the links between the Portuguese enclave and piracy. “Others turned from [state-sanctioned] protectors of the fishermen [in Macau] to a life of piracy.”

Guedes could not identify the fort captured by the Americans without further information, but speculated that it might have been located on one of the islands that are today a part of Hong Kong, such as Lantau.

Never before seen

No one alive had seen the newly restored flags, long hidden from view.

“More importantly than just seeing them was seeing the colors,” said Swift. “It is what struck me immediately. It was sort of dark, but you could see the colors — the vibrant colors — of them having not been in light for 100 years, and so it was exciting.”

Swift said no one had attempted to open the boxes for so long until it came time for needed conservation.

“We are ultimately stewards of these objects that tell important stories,” he added.

Swift also said funding for the conservation, about USD40,000, came from the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, which is tasked with preserving artifacts, documents and other items of that military branch.

The Fowler legacy

In 1849, then-President James K. Polk designated the academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as the repository of flags captured in battle by the Navy. The museum is now home to about 800 flags and trusted with their conservation, Swift said. About 250 of them are trophy flags seized in battle. The museum also houses seafaring instruments, naval uniforms, medals, photographs, art and items recalling past naval expeditions and explorations.

Amelia Fowler, a well-known flag preserver who restored the original Star- Spangled Banner in 1914, was contracted in 1912 to conserve the academy’s collection of trophy flags. She worked with dozens of other women in the museum’s Mahan Hall, using a patented stitching method to help preserve the fabric. All told, they stitched up enough flags to cover two football fields, Swift said.

Camille Myers Breeze is working on a new conservation process for the flags as director of an independent conservation studio, Museum Textile Services, based in Massachusetts. She said Fowler’s work has enabled her crew to handle the flags without risk of damage.

“For us to conserve a collection of flags like this that’s historical — not only for its use, but for how it was preserved and how it has been installed here for 100 years for Naval Academy students and visitors to appreciate and learn from,” she said. “It’s really our favorite kind of project.” MDT/AP