Flag: 5th Alabama Battalion
Catalogue No. 86.1867.1
(PN10139, PN10178)
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Provenance Reconstruction:

This flag is an Army of Northern Virginia, 3rd wool bunting issue. Flags of this issue were manufactured at the Richmond Depot between July 1862 and May 1864. The flag of the 5th Alabama Battalion was captured on July 3, 1863 during the assault on Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania¹. During this assault (Pickett's Charge) the 5th Battalion was in Archer's Brigade commanded at that point by Colonel Burkett Davenport Fry, 13th Alabama Infantry. The flag eventually came into the possession of Joshua Chamberlain who had commanded the 20th Maine during their defense of Little Round Top on July 2nd. The flag was presented to the Department in June 1943 through Governor Sparks by Miss Rosamond Allen representing the heirs of Joshua Chamberlain.

Sources:
Curator's Object Files, Civil War Flags, Alabama Department of Archives and History.
U.S. War Department. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.

¹In his report, Lieutenant John T. Dent (1st Delaware Infantry) noted that "it was in this charge that Lieut. William Smith, commanding the regiment, fell, and, when picked up, his sword was found in one hand and a captured rebel flag in the other." Based upon the available documentation it is believed that the flag found with Smith was that of the 5th Battalion (see 86.3932.1).