Flag: 18th Alabama Infantry
Catalogue No. 86.1869.1
(PN10096-10098)
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Provenance Reconstruction:

This flag conforms to the pattern of those issued to the corps of Major General William J. Hardee, Army of the Mississippi and Army of Tennessee. The date and place of manufacture are unknown. The flag was captured on November 25, 1863 during the Battle of Missionary Ridge by Lt. Simeon T. Josselyn of Co. C, 13th Illinois Infantry. Josselyn was recommended for and received the Congressional Medal of Honor. On December 13, 1863, the flag was forwarded to Major General Daniel Butterfield by Peter J. Osterhaus, Brigadier General of Volunteers. The flag was eventually forwarded to the U.S. War Department, where it was assigned Capture Number 86. The flag was returned to the State of Alabama effective March 25, 1905.

This flag received conservation treatment and was prepared for display by Textile Preservation Associates, Inc. of Sharpsburg, Maryland in May 1992 (see conservation report).

Sources:
       Curator's Object Files, Civil War Flags, Alabama Department of Archives and History.
       Madaus, Howard Michael. The Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1976.
       U. S. War Department. American Decorations 1862-1926. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1927.
       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.