Daily Archive

Abraham Lincoln: 1/4th Plate Tintype, Showing Him Seated in the Famed “Brady Chair”. This image was shot by Alexander Gardner on November 8, 1863. The studio chair had formerly been in use at the U.S. House of Representatives.

Brady Imperial Albumen Photograph, “Sherman and his Generals”.

William Tecumseh Sherman is the central focus of this formal group portrait published by Matthew Brady in 1865.  The other sitters are generals Howard, Logan, Davis, Slocum, Mower and Blair.

Photograph taken from life by Brady in Washington D.C. during the Victory parade in May, 1865. General Blair arrived late and Brady photographed him separately and then “pasted” him into the group photo; bottom right.

1/6th Plate Melainotype of C.S.A. Colonel Gilbert Moxley Sorrel.  This image dates to 1863-1864 when Sorrel was a senior officer on the staff of Lt. General James Longstreet.

He is wearing a colonel’s double-breasted gray uniform coat with three stars on the collar.

Sorrel’s kepi, however, remains regulation headgear being well-endowed with braid. His belt rig is secured with a Model 1851 Federal sword belt plate having an eagle device with an applied silver wreath.

His military career began as a private in the Georgia Hussars, an early colonial unit still active in today’s Georgia National Guard. Sorrel’s well-placed connections landed him on Longstreet’s staff at First Manassas.

He served at the general’s side for over three years, being wounded at Sharpsburg and Gettysburg. In October, 1864 Colonel Sorrel was promoted to Brigadier General. He left Longstreet to command a brigade of Georgians attached to Mahone’s Division.

General Sorrel was lightly wounded at Petersburg and returned to the field only to receive a bullet through a lung on February 7, 1865 at Hatcher’s Run. This, Sorrel’s fourth wound, effectively kept him low for the duration of the war. After Appomattox, Sorrel resumed a working patrician’s life in Savannah. His highly praised memoirs, Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer, were published posthumously in 1905.

Confederate 1/6th Plate Ambrotypes of Alabama Brothers housed together in Double Union Case. The sitter on the left had the foresight to scratch his name - M. Shuttleworth - into the field of his portrait. Professional research reveals him to be Morgan Shuttleworth, Co. “H”, 36th Alabama Infantry.

The fellow in the second image, although not identified, is certainly Shuttleworth’s brother given their shared features. In fact, it is plausible that the second image is that of an identical twin!

1850 Census records show Morgan Shuttleworth to have been one of eight children in the Bibb County, Alabama household of John and Molly Shuttleworth. Further investigation should reveal the identity of his look-alike brother-in-arms.

The 36th Alabama, formed in Mt. Vernon, Alabama in May, 1862, spent nearly a year in the vicinity of Mobile before heading north to join the Army of Tennessee outside of Atlanta.

Shuttleworth’s Service Record indicates that, as a recently exchanged POW, he was hospitalized in May, 1864 for what was likely an unhealed gunshot wound to the chest and shoulder. The circumstances and timing of Shuttleworth’s ailment should suggest he was shot during the Battle of Resaca in Georgia. He died the following month.

The brothers are wearing matching militia shell jackets tailored in dark cloth with tinted red piping and three rows of buttons. The buttons on Morgan Shuttleworth’s jacket are not painted and have visible eagles on the face. It is highly likely that these are AVC (Alabama Volunteer Corps) buttons as opposed to common Federal types.

Both men have light military trousers with one pair sporting a tinted red stripe. Good old Southern slouch hats top off these defenders of Dixie. Morgan’s as-yet unidentified brother is double-armed with a menacing D-guard bowie knife and a pocket revolver.

Patrick Ronayne Cleburne (March 16 or March 17, 1828 – November 30, 1864) was a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of Franklin.

Civil War Recruiting Broadside for the 34th N.Y. Regiment. “GOD AND OUR NATIVE LAND!” is the heading on this 11.5″x 17.5″ medium size poster. Very patriotic in verse with eagle masthead it proclaims, “50 MEN WANTED To complete a Company to be attached to the 34th REG’T. Commanded by Col. Charles Durkee.”

The broadside goes on to list pay, clothing allowance, rations, bounty ($100) and even promises 160 acres of land to each recruit! Printed by Palladium Steam Presses in Malone, New York.

Durkee later became colonel of the 98th New York. It is an excellent example of the patriot spirit in October of 1861.

1864 Abraham Lincoln Ballot Featuring the U.S.S. Kearsarge Sinking the C.S.S. Alabama on the face, California, 1864. The verso of this imprint names Lincoln and Johnson in conjunction with various California Presidential Electors and San Francisco’s Congressional candidate, Donald C. McRuer. By the summer of 1864 the Northern public was demoralized by the endless casualties generated by defeats and hollow victories. The Democratic Party under George McClellan advocated peace and was gaining steam as the November showdown with Lincoln and the Republicans loomed. On June 19, however, the U.S. Navy sank the Confederacy’s most feared commerce raider and this gave Northerners a much-needed boost in morale. Placing a lithograph of the sinking on the ballot gave the voters a reminder that prosecuting the war was getting results.

Lithograph, “Genl Lee At The Grave Of Stonewall Jackson” (New York: John C. McCrae, 1867). This scene was not taken from life, however it would have appealed greatly to sentimental Army of Northern Virginia veterans during the uncertain days of early Reconstruction. Lee is shown in full Confederate uniform standing by the grave of his “right arm”, General T. J. Jackson.

Iowa Volunteers Drum.  The best part about this drum is the old ink inscription on the top head: “F. W. Kimble, Drummer Co B 14th Reg. Iowa Inf. Vols.; War of 1861″.

Francis W. Kimble has a  listed residence of Agency City, IA when he enlisted at age 19 on 10/15/62 as a  drummer. He mustered into Company B., 14th Iowa Infantry on 11/26/62. He mustered out on 11/16/64.

The 14th Iowa saw action at Ft. Donleson, Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), Vicksburg, and engagements related to the Red River Expedition.

Beautiful Lafayette Artillery New Hampshire Volunteers Guidon. A beautiful fringed guidon measuring 25″ x 26″ , circa 1833-1864, silk, with painted details, in modern frame 33.5″ x 33.5″, under plexiglass, fine condition with some minor wrinkling and a very few small holes and minor tears. This guidon presents a striking image starting with a base of beige silk (now slightly toned with age) with crossed cannons on a field of 13 stars and rays of light. Above the center motif is a scroll with “Lyndeborough New Hampshire” and below a scroll with “Lafayette Artillery”. The painted on features have lost almost none of their color and are still bright and complete. Mounted at the base of the guidon is a brass plaque reading “Civil War Union Flag Carried by N.H. Regiment”. Though the company can trace its roots back to 1804, its Civil War history began in 1864 when it was sent to Fort Constitution to assist in relieving the National Guards and Strafford Guards.

Info about this flag and it’s sale at auction found here

Confederate First National Flag with Seven Star “Crescent” Pattern, Captured at the Fall of New Orleans. 48″ x 33″ and accompanied by family provenance and notarized affidavit of Dorothy B. Morrill, the great-granddaughter of Commander Charles Caldwell of the U.S.S. Gunboat Itasca who captured this flag during the fall of New Orleans in 1862.

The flag is made of flannel and the canton is a faded blue with seven white stars hand applied in a very rare crescent pattern. On March 4, 1861, the Confederate Congress created the Confederacy’s First National flag bearing seven stars as only seven Southern states had yet seceded and Congress was hurried to give the new country a standard to rally around. The stars on this flag were arranged in a wreath, or crescent design, and are believed to have been made in New Orleans, the “Crescent City”. It was believed that more states would secede and room was left to welcome the new states on the flag with a star of their own. In early April of 1862, Commander Charles Caldwell of the Union began the perilous duty of opening the way for Farragut’s fleet to come up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico to attack the Confederate forts protecting New Orleans. Commander Caldwell and a small crew from the Itasca went before the forts under cover of night and cut the chains the Confederates had strung across the Mississippi River to block passage. On the night of April 20th, Caldwell returned to the scene in a ten-oar rowboat to make sure the chains had not been repaired. Dodging fire rafts and risking detection by the Confederates within the forts, he discovered that there was indeed a passage enabling free movement along the eastern shore, and he signaled Admiral Farragut of his discovery. With that signal, the Union fleet sprang into motion and the assault of Forts Jackson and St. Phillip began. It ended five days later with the surrender and capture of New Orleans. Commander Caldwell was lauded for his bravery as he undoubtedly ensured the success of Farragut’s Union fleet that night. Family history firmly documents that it was during this engagement and the surrender of New Orleans that he captured this early style Confederate First National flag. Its seven star “Crescent” design dates between February and April of 1861 and corresponds to its early capture in the Civil War with the fall of the Confederacy’s first major city.

Info of flag and it’s sale at auction found here

General S. S. Lee’s Confederate Navy Flag- The Only Lee Family Flag still in Private Hands. Confederate 1st National Flag from Robert E. Lee’s Family owned and carried by Confederate States Naval Captain Sidney Smith Lee, brother of General Robert E. Lee and father of Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee. Measuring 18″ x 24″, this beautiful silk Confederate 1st National flag with 13 stars was handmade for CS Navy Captain S. S. Lee by his wife, Anna Maria Mason Lee at their Virginia home “Ravensworth” in 1862 after Lee received his appointment in the Confederate Navy. Mrs. Lee was the daughter of John Mason, the Confederate States envoy to England. This was Captain Sidney Smith Lee’s personal Headquarters flag which he used when he served as the executive naval officer in command of the Norfolk Navy Yard during the construction of the C.S.S. Virginia in 1862. With twelve five-pointed stars arranged in a circle and the thirteenth in the center, the last star was added with the admission of Kentucky to the Confederacy in December 1861.

This flag is very unique in that it is the only Lee family Confederate flag still in private hands. The provenance is certain as the flag was passed down to Sidney Smith Lee’s son, Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee who was later Governor of Virginia. The great-grandson of Sydney Smith Lee sold the flag making it available for this sale.

Sidney Smith Lee, the older brother of General Robert E. Lee, was born in 1805 at Camden, New Jersey while his mother was visiting a friend. At the early age of 14 he entered the U.S. Navy and saw action in the Mexican War, as did Robert E. Lee. He prospered in the service and later commanded the Philadelphia Navy Yard and was commandant at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. He commanded the USS Mississippi on Commodore Matthew Perry’s groundbreaking mission to open trade with Japan in 1853. Resigning his commission at the outbreak of the Civil War, he received a captain’s commission in the Confederate States Navy. He commanded at the Norfolk Navy Yard where the Confederate gunships were being built and he hung this flag in his office. After the war he retired and died in 1869.

The flag is from the noted William Turner Collection and is accompanied by letters of authenticity from noted flag expert Howard Michael Madaus and provenance including a genealogical chart of the Lee family of Virginia. The flag is beautifully framed by Laurence Gallery.

Flag info and it’s sale at auction found here 

Virginia Regimental Flag Captured by the 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry. This Virginia Civil War flag was captured by Union Captain William W. Van Ormer of the 53rd Pennsylvania Volunteers. This flag has been passed down through his descendants and is being offered for auction for the first time. The war-date portion of the flag is hand-painted on a white central disc that is made by noted flag maker H. P. Keane, probably from Richmond. Keane was commissioned by the state of Virginia to produce military flags for infantry and cavalry regiments and according to noted flag expert and author Howard Michael Madaus, this flag dates from 1861-1862.

The central device is painted on an ellipse (both sides), is approximately 39″ x 37″ (oval), and depicts the Virginia state seal, a standing female warrior with a sword in her right hand and her right foot resting on a prone figure representing the tyrant who has broken chains in his hand and his crown on the ground. Above the figure on a red ribbon is “Virginia”‘ in 1.5″ white block letters while beneath the state motto on a blue ribbon, “Sic Semper Tyrannis”, (Latin for “Thus always to Tyrants”) in the same block lettering. The disc is of wool fabric and has been sewn into the later vibrant blue wool fly for display. This flag is similar to 28th Virginia Infantry Regiment battle flag illustrated in Time-Life’s Echoes of Glory - Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy (p.250). The approximate dimensions of the flag (including fringe) is 56″ x 41.5″ and the overall framed size is approximately 61″ x 45.5″.

Captain Van Ormer enlisted in the 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry in September 1861 and served in the First Division, Second Corps, Army of the Potomac. The unit would see much action in the war. First assigned to the defenses of Washington, they moved to the battlefields of Manassas, Yorktown, Seven Pines, Antietam and Bull Run. Captain Van Ormer was shot in the left hand at Spottsylvania on May 12, 1864. But it was at Gettysburg when the troops would see their most trying times. Only 45 of the men would survive that monumental battle uninjured.

Regimental records and the Van Ormer family histories indicate that the young captain was with the regiment all the way to the surrender at Appomattox. Exactly one week before Lee surrendered, the 53rd would have one glorious day of overwhelming Confederate troops- and taking one of their flags. On April 2, 1865 at Sutherland’s Station Union Major General Andrew A. Humphrey’s Second Corps included the 53rd Pennsylvania facing off against Virginians under Confederate General Henry Heth. The 53rd swept down the breastworks at a “double-quick” pace capturing over 600 Confederates and one battle flag of the 9th Virginia Infantry. It is not known if this Virginia flag is for sure that of the 9th, but we do know that Van Ormer brought home this war trophy from an overrun Virginia unit in from Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. These regimental accounts give us that story.

Confederate ‘Stars and Bars’ 18th Tennessee Infantry Flag; Captured at Fort Donelson. This striking and beautiful silk Confederate Stars and Bars of the 18th Tennessee Infantry was captured at the surrender of Fort Donelson on February 15, 1862 by Sergeant R. F. Larimer of the 66th Illinois Infantry (Birge’s Western Sharpshooters). The Congress of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States adopted this design, known as the Confederate First National flag, on May 4, 1861. First National flag design implementations varied greatly, especially since they were hand sewn and due to the fact that additional stars for new Confederate states were being added as they left the Union. In this First National flag the style is classical, true to the intent of the Confederate Congress with the circle of white stars in the upper left on the blue field, 7 for the original seven seceding states and the 8th for Virginia, dating this flag to sometime after May 7, 1861.

In the first great victory for the North, this fine example fell into the hands of Union troops, specifically Sergeant R. F. Larimer (as noted in an Adjutant General’s report), about whom we know quite a lot. Born in Scioto County, Ohio on October 27, 1838 he began farming with his brother, eventually purchasing a half-interest in a sawmill. After the outbreak of the war, in August 1861 he rushed out to join an elite unit being formed at Paris, Illinois, Birge’s Western Sharpshooters, later named the 66th Illinois Infantry. One had to be an able marksman to make it into the unit led by Colonel John W. Birge as it was soon off to war and action at the Battle of Fort Donelson, the Union’s first great victory.

The 18th Tennessee Infantry was there waiting. Mustered into service the same month as their adversaries in the 66th Illinois, the Tennessee forces were under the command of Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner. In the early afternoon of February 14, 1862 the Federal ironclads St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Carondelet began shelling the fort. Using the eleven big guns in their water batteries, the southern forces repulsed the gunboat fleet under the command of Union flag officer Andrew H. Foote, wounding Foote during the retreat.

The southern celebration was short-lived. The Union infantry, led by General Ulysses S. Grant was being reinforced, quickly cutting off the Confederates’ possible escape route from the fort. Seizing the opportunity to evacuate some of the troops, Confederate Generals John Floyd, Gideon Pillow, and Bushrod Johnson left Buckner in command and took some 2,000 men and headed toward Nashville. Confederate Cavalryman Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest led additional troops across the Lick River to safety. Seeing this, Grant retook any ground lost earlier and demanded the surrender of the fort. Vastly outnumbered and seemingly doomed, General Buckner asked for terms of the surrender. Grant would reply that there would only be one type of surrender that day, “unconditional.” From that day the 18th Tennessee and their comrades were taken prisoner and their flag captured, Ulysses S. Grant would be the first hero of the Union with a new nickname, “U. S.” (unconditional surrender) Grant. It was at this point that Sergeant Larimer came into possession of the flag seen here today.

The members of the 18th Tennessee would spend seven months in Union prisoner of war camps until exchanged to fight again. They had lost 52 men at Fort Donelson but would lose hundreds more later on at Chickamauga and other battles before being paroled in May 1865.

This elegant Confederate First National flag, the Stars and Bars of the Confederacy, is constructed of two layers of silk. The overall dimensions are 59″ on its hoist and 106″ on its fly. The blue canton measures 39.25″ on the hoist and 34.5″ on the fly. The canton is decorated with eight five-pointed stars arranged in a circle of seven with the eighth star in the center. The stars are appliquéd to each side of the canton using a lockstitch machine on the obverse, the reverse using hand stitching. The stars measure 5.25″ to 5.5″ across their points. The flag’s field is composed of three horizontal silk bars, the upper red one measuring 19.625″ wide, the center white and 19.5″ wide and the lower red one 19.75″ wide. All are hand sewn and hemmed around the periphery of the flag. Thirteen pairs of faded red silk ties, each about .875″ wide and about 5″ long are equally spaced for use in securing the flag to its staff. In the center of the bottom bar on each side is appliquéd a 1.5″ x 9.375″ white cotton label stamped with “CAPTURED AT FORT DONALDSON [sic],/ BY R. F. LARIMER, FEBRUARY, 1862.”

The flag has been researched and authenticated by Howard Madaus, the distinguished expert and author on Civil War flags. It has been conserved by Fonda Thomson and is housed in a protective archival frame for display by Thomson as well. An archive of research concerning the flag, both regiments and Sergeant Larimer accompanies the banner. Sergeant Larimer fought on throughout the South’s bloodiest battles, his younger brother being killed at Kennesaw Mountain. His application for an invalid pension after the war states his reasons for disability as “rheumatism and heart disease contracted at Fort Donelson in 1862.” He died in 1908.

Info about flag and it’s sale at auction found here

The Confederate Battle Flag of the 4th Tennessee Infantry: The Famous Beauregard Design. This “artillery”-sized Confederate battle flag was the product of intense lobbying by General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. Realizing that the states were not supplying flags for their troops and being determined to end the confusion of identifying friend from foe on the battlefield, Beauregard lobbied the Confederate Congress to adopt a more distinctive flag for the Southern forces. After failing in that effort, Beauregard solicited design concepts from his commanders. The result was the design shown here which became the prototype of the Confederate battle flag used at the Battle of Shiloh; it is remarkably intact and only one of two known to exist. Descended through the unit’s last commander, the flag of the 4th Tennessee Infantry was manufactured by the noted New Orleans contractor Henry Cassidy and delivered to the regiment in April 1862. It is one of two flags proudly displayed by Confederate veterans at a Shiloh reunion in 1900 in the photograph below.

Cassidy constructed the flag’s field using a red cotton-wool fabric warp/weft. Emblazoned on the field is the dramatic, fine blue 5.5″ wide St. Andrew’s cross bordered by strips of white cotton. On the obverse, twelve white, six-pointed silk stars are sewn at 4.5″ intervals. Reverse, the blue fabric is cut away to reveal the twelve stars at 2.75″ to 3″ across from point to point. A yellow 3.25″ twill weave serge border is sewn to the three exposed sides of the flag. A 2.125″ wide cotton heading contains the five buttonhole eyelets that finish the staff side of the flag. The overall dimensions are 35.5″ on the staff side and 37″ on the fly. Accompanying the flag, once attached, is a white cotton swallowtail streamer measuring 8″ at the hoist and 44.5″ to the tip of the streamer’s points (40″ to the cut of the swallowtail). Also shown in the 1900 photograph below, the streamer bears the inscription “4th Tenn. Inf.” in block letters.

The most recognizable banner of the Confederacy, the design originally called for flags of different sizes to be issued to the infantry, cavalry and artillery. However, in practice, the flags were issued to units based on availability with no regard to protocol. And the 4th Tennessee would need them. Organized near Memphis at Germantown, Tennessee, it was accepted into Confederate service on August 16, 1861. In just over six months the regiment would lose almost half of its effective forces at the Battle of Shiloh with Brigadier General Charles Clark’s Division. While Colonel Rufus P. Neely would be commended for his bravery at Shiloh, the casualties included the regiment’s Major, John F. Henry. However, Colonel Neely would die soon thereafter in May 1862. After the siege at Corinth and the Battle of Perryville, the regiment was so decimated by the time of the Battle of Murfreesboro that it was consolidated with the 5th Tennessee to form the 4th/5th Tennessee Regiments. Forming the right wing of Stewart’s Brigade, the regiment was honored in their capture of many federal pieces during the battle. Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta and Jonesboro, Georgia would follow. By the time of their surrender at Greensboro, North Carolina on April 26, 1865, the few men shown here left standing and holding this same flag they fought under so many years earlier were lucky to be alive.

Info about flag and it’s sale at auction found here

The Confederate Battle Flag of the 31st Tennessee Volunteers, “The Western Stars”. A Confederate battle flag that was never surrendered or captured is a rare find indeed. This flag is just such a rarity. An Army of Tennessee pattern, it was probably delivered to Company A of the 31st Tennessee Infantry when the regiment wintered in Dalton, Georgia from 1863 to 1864 since this pattern is known to have been issued at the Dalton Depot. Ensign William Bellew daringly carried this flag through every battle until the ill-fated Battle of Nashville in December 1864 where he was captured by federal troops. Bellew stripped the flag from its staff before the Union forces could take it from him, concealing it inside his coat under the cover of darkness. Taken to Camp Chase, Ohio as a prisoner of war, he quickly quilted the flag into the lining of his coat. Released in June 1865, he returned home to Gibson County, Tennessee with the flag still secretly sewn inside his coat.

Bellew’s mother is responsible for the flag being transferred out of the family’s hands. When Dr. George W. Nowlin, a medical doctor who had been the hospital steward of the 31st during the war found out that Mrs. Bellew had been flying the flag in her garden to scare off marauding birds, he sent for the flag to keep it secure. The flag has descended to its present owner through the Nowlin family.

Measuring 35″ on the staff and 51″ on its fly, the flag is made of hand-sewn red wool traversed by a 5.25″ wide dark blue bunting St. Andrew’s cross edged on each side with a 2″ wide strip of white cotton. The cross bears thirteen white cotton 3.25″ diameter five-pointed stars set at 8″ intervals from the center star. Accompanying the flag is a 24″ cotton strip stenciled with the words “Co. A 31 Reg. Tenn. Vol.”.

Company A, called the ‘Western Stars’ of the 31st Tennessee regiment of the Confederate Infantry was formed out of Weakley County, Tennessee and organized with the regiment in Gibson County at Camp Trenton in September 1861. Under the command of General J. P. McCown, the regiment moved to Columbus, Kentucky and on to Fort Pillow and by April 1862 was in Corinth, Mississippi. Passing through Tupelo and Chattanooga, the regiment saw action at the Battle of Perryville where it lost 100 men. A contemporary account by a Federal soldier at the battle stated that the 31st Tennessee attacked “with death-defying steadiness, uttering wild yells until staggered by the sweeping crossfire of our artillery…” And the regiment would suffer for their bravery, the casualties only multiplying throughout the rest of the war; 250 at Chickamauga, 300 at Franklin in one day, 600 dead within fifty yards of them. Just two weeks later William Bellew would carry the same flag that he waved in these actions into the Battle of Nashville. His quick thinking on the battlefield combined with the wisdom of Dr. Nowlin and his descendants have preserved this unique treasure from the Civil War.

Info about this flag and it’s sale at auction found here 

Confederate Battle Flag of the 3rd Tennessee Infantry; Captured at Fort Donelson This late 1861 Confederate Hardee 1st pattern design flag with a bright blue field and white canton “3rd Tenn” stenciled in black ink was captured at Fort Donelson by Union forces of the 66th Illinois “Birge’s Western Sharpshooters”. Descended through the family of then-19 year-old Union Private Prosper Bowe of Coloma, Michigan, this flag is believed to be the only one of its kind still in private hands. Private Bowe was one of three brothers enlisting in the fall of 1861 when the federal government ordered ten companies of sharpshooters to be recruited for General Fremont. Due to the strict marksmanship criteria of the troops, the regiment was composed of men from many states. At the same time Confederate Brigadier General William Joseph Hardee was forming what would become the Army of Central Kentucky. While at Bowling Green he designed the distinctive flag design shown here. There is evidence that the wife of General Hardee as well as General Simon Bolivar Buckner’s wife actually made some of the flags. The fact that there are so few examples of the 1st pattern Hardee flag may be due to their early issuance in the war. And many like this were obviously captured.

The 3rd Tennessee Confederate Infantry was formed on May 16, 1861 at Giles County, Tennessee. Composed of ten companies of handpicked men, the regiment immediately traveled to Nashville and camped at the fairgrounds. They received their weapons at the state capitol and were taken by rail cars to Camp Cheatham. Led by Colonel John C. Brown, a strict disciplinarian, the troops’ first real engagement under this flag was at Fort Donelson, Tennessee reaching the post on February 8, 1862 with General Buckner in command. Union gunboats attacked on February 14, 1862 but were repulsed. Due to some Confederate confusion, and thanks to reinforcements to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant, the Confederates surrendered two days later. The North had its first great victory and a new hero in Grant. Nicknamed “U. S. Grant” after that battle since he had demanded “unconditional surrender” from General Buckner, Grant proceeded to take charge of the surrendered troops.

Fort Donelson was the occasion of the 3rd Tennessee meeting the 66th Illinois and of losing this flag that ended up in Private Bowe’s hands. Losing 13 men and 56 wounded, the remainder of the regiment was surrendered. The Confederate officers were taken to Camp Chase, Ohio, the enlisted men and non-commissioned officers to notorious Camp Douglas, Illinois. After 7 months of incarceration, the officers and men were loaded onto boats for the journey down the Mississippi River for parole at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The 66th Illinois continued on throughout the war fighting in Mississippi and throughout Georgia. Private Prosper Bowe survived the war sending accounts of the conflict back home. On July 22, 1864 while in Atlanta, he wrote that the Confederates were “…bound to get to our trains but we had something to say about that.” The Sharpshooters were by then armed with Henry repeating rifles, the forerunner of the Winchester. Of that experience Bowe wrote, “I stood and fired nearly ninety rounds without stopping. My gun was so hot I could not touch it - spit on it and it siz.” Bowe mustered out on July 7, 1865 and returned to Michigan.

Info about the sale of this flag found here