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Elizabeth Bailey
Local Men Loaded With History For 150th
The American flag that flew over Corydon when Morgan’s Raiders came through offered inspiration for St. Paul’s John Settles to participate in the Sesquicentennial Celebration.
Settles has collected guns and military items for more than 50 years, he noted. The flag at the center of his desire to play a role in the Sesquicentennial, he noted, was acquired from a man who purchased it from the William Henry Harrison estate.
“He wanted it to be taken care of,” he said.
At first, Settles explained, the flag that now shows 36 stars had only 34.
“Since things were handmade back then, it was easier to just add stars as states were added,” he noted.
He pointed out that there are four signatures of flag-makers on the flag, along with bullet holes and blood stains.
Now, the flag will be preserved for history under tempered, acid-free glass in a frame constructed by Scheidler Glass.
Settles also brought original Colt revolvers, a Remington and a Henry rifle, a 1780 flintlock firearm and a rifle constructed in Lafayette in 1850. He also displayed a wooden canteen, one of few that survived from the civil war period. In addition, his display included a metal canteen that likely saved a soldier’s life.
“The bullet is still in there,” he said of the dented canteen.
Settles also brought Civil War era swords as well as a hat made of the pelt of a Canadian Lynx.
He noted he has held five auctions of firearms and military items at his home between Greensburg and St. Paul, working to hone his collection to its finest pieces. His Sesquicentennial presentation offered visitors a view into history that has taken Settles a great deal of time and effort to collect and preserve.
Sharing the tent with Settles was Phil Jackson, Jr., presenting guns by Decatur County gunsmith Turner Barns as well as firearms by John Wilder and a Spencer repeating rifle. Between the two men, a history was visible in firearms and other military items.
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