Nebraska to return Civil War flag to Alabama
Nebraska will return a 145-year-old spoil of war to Alabama Wednesday in the nation’s capital.
Representatives from the Nebraska State Historical Society will present a Civil War flag to the state of Alabama. The flag belonged to the 1st Regiment Alabama Volunteer Infantry and was made in Montgomery in 1861. The flag had been in storage in Nebraska since 1949.
“It’s a pretty important flag from a Civil War point of view,” said Mike Smith, director of the historical society.
Smith will present the flag to Ed Bridges, director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Wednesday morning at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. Congressional representatives from both states will also attend in a small ceremony arranged by Nebraska 1st District Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
A symbol that rallied Confederate fighters started its journey to Nebraska after a Union victory in the battles of New Madrid, Mo., and Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River. On April 8, 1862, Brig. Gen. Eleazer Arthur Paine captured the flag after the 1st Alabama Regiment joined some 7,000 Confederate soldiers in surrender.
Paine passed the flag down to his son, also a Civil War officer. Phelps Paine moved to Nebraska five years after the war and lived in both Lincoln and Omaha, where he worked as a federal inspector in packing houses. At about the time of his death in 1919, the flag was given to the Nebraska Grand Army of the Republic, a Union Army veterans organization.
In 1949, the Nebraska GAR donated its collection, including the flag, to the historical society. While staff knew about the flag, it remained in storage because it was not considered central to Nebraska’s involvement in the Civil War, said Deb Arenz, senior museum curator for the society.
About a year ago, Arenz was contacted by an independent Civil War researcher who specialized in tracking down war flags. It turned out the flag was well-documented because of the 1st Regiment’s prior successes in battle.
“The curator had known about the flag for quite a while; he just didn’t know where it was,” she said. “They are thrilled, to say the least.”
While Arenz said she had no idea what the flag might be worth to a private collector, a New York regimental flag recently sold for $150,000 at private auction. Nebraska is giving the flag to Alabama.
Fortenberry’s involvement with the flag return stems from his interest in history and membership on the House Civil War Caucus, said Audra Miller, his communications director. When he heard about the flag, he suggested the transfer ceremony, which also will be attended by Nebraska Reps. Lee Terry and Adrian Smith.
“He wanted to recognize the cooperation between the two states and elevate it, give it a sense of formality,” Miller said.
Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.
Representatives from the Nebraska State Historical Society will present a Civil War flag to the state of Alabama. The flag belonged to the 1st Regiment Alabama Volunteer Infantry and was made in Montgomery in 1861. The flag had been in storage in Nebraska since 1949.
“It’s a pretty important flag from a Civil War point of view,” said Mike Smith, director of the historical society.
Smith will present the flag to Ed Bridges, director of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Wednesday morning at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. Congressional representatives from both states will also attend in a small ceremony arranged by Nebraska 1st District Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
A symbol that rallied Confederate fighters started its journey to Nebraska after a Union victory in the battles of New Madrid, Mo., and Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River. On April 8, 1862, Brig. Gen. Eleazer Arthur Paine captured the flag after the 1st Alabama Regiment joined some 7,000 Confederate soldiers in surrender.
Paine passed the flag down to his son, also a Civil War officer. Phelps Paine moved to Nebraska five years after the war and lived in both Lincoln and Omaha, where he worked as a federal inspector in packing houses. At about the time of his death in 1919, the flag was given to the Nebraska Grand Army of the Republic, a Union Army veterans organization.
In 1949, the Nebraska GAR donated its collection, including the flag, to the historical society. While staff knew about the flag, it remained in storage because it was not considered central to Nebraska’s involvement in the Civil War, said Deb Arenz, senior museum curator for the society.
About a year ago, Arenz was contacted by an independent Civil War researcher who specialized in tracking down war flags. It turned out the flag was well-documented because of the 1st Regiment’s prior successes in battle.
“The curator had known about the flag for quite a while; he just didn’t know where it was,” she said. “They are thrilled, to say the least.”
While Arenz said she had no idea what the flag might be worth to a private collector, a New York regimental flag recently sold for $150,000 at private auction. Nebraska is giving the flag to Alabama.
Fortenberry’s involvement with the flag return stems from his interest in history and membership on the House Civil War Caucus, said Audra Miller, his communications director. When he heard about the flag, he suggested the transfer ceremony, which also will be attended by Nebraska Reps. Lee Terry and Adrian Smith.
“He wanted to recognize the cooperation between the two states and elevate it, give it a sense of formality,” Miller said.
Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.
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