General Custer's Personal Flag
Elizabeth "Libbie" Custer, the spouse of General George Armstrong Custer, created his famous battle flag and delivered it to him on the battlefield at Dinwiddle Court House near Petersburg, Virginia on March 31, 1865. The swallow tailed handmade silk flag featured red over blue bars and two white hand cut, crossed Cavalry Sabers sewn into it’s center. I have read several dimensions listed for the flag ranging from 47 to 68 inches in length.
General George Custer flew this flag in every battle for the rest of his life, losing both the flag and his life at the Battle of The Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876. The flag was usually carried by a sergeant who rode directly behind General Custer. While the original was lost to Indian Warriors, two others were left at Fort Abraham Lincoln Dakota Territory while the famed US 7th Cavalry was participating in the Little Big Horn expedition. General Custer's United States of America flag, flown at the Battle of The Little Big Horn, was later recovered from the Sioux by General Anson Mills, a fellow Hoosier.
One of the surviving "Custer" flags was passed down through the Custer family. Noted Custer biographer Dr. Lawrence Frost purchased it from Lt. Colonel Charles Custer, a nephew. The flag was authenticated by flag expert and historian Howard Michael Madaus prior to being sold in the Heritage Auction Galleries' Civil War Signature Auction, held on June 24, 2007 in Gettysburg, PA.
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That's me displaying a "Custer" flag at the US 7th Cavalry Monument on Last Stand Hill. |
This the flag that was sold on June 24, 2007. |
Photo of the United States of America flag recovered by General Anson Mills. |
General Custer's recovered United States of America Cavalry flag.
