A torn and battered flag that is thought to have been carried at the Battle of Appomattox Court House will see strong bids at Heritage Auctions' June 8 Civil War and Militaria Signature Auction in Dallas.
The 34 star silk cavalry guidon, which is fully restorable, is expected to sell for more than $30,000. Heritage Auctions describe it as "one of the most historic civil war US flags we have ever catalogued".
 The flag's provenance was discovered from a 1920s tag that is still attached |
The remainder of a tag attached to the flag, which dates to the 1920s, reads:
"This guidon of a company of the 5th U. S. Cavalry was at Appomattox During the Surrender 9 April, 1865. Captain Julius W. Mason commanded the 5th Cavalry as H. Q. Escort to General Grant.
"After the War Mason gave this guidon to Col. Rob't Orr of the 61 Pennsylvania Vols., who in turn gave it to Reginald Hart, a famous military collector C. 1890."
 Mason, pictured in the bottom right, was commander of the 5th Cavalry that served as GQ escort to General Grant |
The flag looks to have been mounted while in the possession of Reginald Hart, and some portions have moved while inside the frame over time.
It is being sold alongside a photograph from the National Archives that shows the Fifth Army Corps headquarters at Harriso's Landing on August 1, 1862 with Julius Mason seated to the lower right.
The top lot of the sale is a US Model 1875 Colt Gatling gun on its original naval boarding carriage, which is expected to sell for $100,000+.
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