13 Star Confederate Infantry Flag of Virginia 1861 Sells for $ 70,000

 

Virginia Infantry Battle Flag, Virginia, circa 1861, plain weave (possibly hand loomed) natural-dyed wool and undyed cotton fabrics, treadle sewn with linen thread, ground fabric triangles assembled from three horizontal panels, saltire fabric cut on the bias, five-pointed stars with traces of fine wool binding stitches on edges, hoist-side border with three hand-embroidered rope holes, overall 46-1/2 x 50 in., well constructed and in good condition given age and use, insect damage, stains, grime, fold marks, late 19th century restorations include replacement of hoist-side border fabric and binding remaining edges with wool fabric Descended in the family of Maj. Richard Kidder Meade, Jr., Engineer Corps of the Confederate States, the great-great uncle of the consigner Usually square, the battle flag of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was constructed in various sizes for the different branches of service: the flag for the infantry was about 48 inches square. An officer in the United States Army who resigned to join the Army of Virginia, Richard Kidder Meade, Jr. was stationed for a time at Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, North Carolina, and planned defenses at Yorktown, Virginia, during the Battle of Bethel Church, June 1861. He was a member of Robert E. Lee's staff during the Peninsular Campaign (March-July, 1862) and provided strategic information about Union troops during the Seven Days Battle (June 25-July 1, 1862) near Richmond--and especially at the Battle of Chickahominy River, June 27, 1862. Over 2,000 Confederate soldiers who were wounded during the week-long battles were taken to Petersburg, Virginia; deaths from pneumonia and typhoid fever were common. Meade died of typhus in Petersburg at the end of July 1862. He could have acquired this flag during any one of these events, or his family may have been presented with the flag after his death.

 

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