Images of flag of 6th Alabama Cavalry Regiment before (L) and after (R) conservation treatment.

Flag: 6th Alabama Cavalry
Catalogue No. 86.3972.1
(PN10138, PN10181)
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Provenance Reconstruction:

Flags of this pattern were manufactured in Mobile, Alabama, and issued within the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana¹. On July 16, 1903 two former members of the 6th Alabama Cavalry stated that the regiment was formed in March 1863 and that they "soon thereafter marched to Montgomery" where they received their regimental colors.² The flag was captured on March 25, 1865 during an engagement which took place between Canoe Creek, Alabama and the Escambia River by Private Thomas Riley, Co. D, 1st Louisiana Cavalry. Private Riley was recommended for and received the Congressional Medal of Honor. The flag was forwarded to the U.S. War Department where it was assigned Capture Number 453. The flag and its staff were returned to the State of Alabama effective April 26, 1905. The staff, which had been separated from the flag, was located and positively identified in July, 1998.

This flag received conservation treatment and was prepared for display by Textile Preservation Associates, Inc. of Sharpsburg, Maryland in March 1999 (see conservation report).

Sources:
       Curator's Object Files, Civil War Flags, Alabama Department of Archives and History.
       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. Washington Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.