Fort Sumter Flag and Staff

[NH Civil War Gal]

This is from the Adams County Historical Society at Gettysburg - I didn't think anything existed of Fort Sumter's flag.

They received this donation in 2022. It is a piece of the flag and flagstaff from the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861.

It is an incredible donation and incredible that someone, back in 1861, had the foresight to gather the pieces and keep them.

 

[History hoarder63]

This is from the Adams County Historical Society at Gettysburg - I didn't think anything existed of Fort Sumter's flag.

They received this donation in 2022. It is a piece of the flag and flagstaff from the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861.

It is an incredible donation and incredible that someone, back in 1861, had the foresight to gather the pieces and keep them.



View attachment 474967

Original Fort Sumter relics from April 1861 are very rare. Much more material exists from the 1864 bombardment. A few years ago the small collection of 1861 Fort Sumter relics belonging to Peter Hart was sold at auction. Hart was a New York City police officer who was friends with Major Anderson and who traveled to Fort Sumter before the bombardment to serve as a bodyguard for Anderson's wife. Hart was present at the fort during the bombardment and is best known for being the man who rehoisted Sumter's flag after it had been shot from the flagpole. He was a national hero whose name has largely been forgotten today. He is also the man who smuggled Sumter's main National flag back to the north after the surrender along with a small assortment of relics he picked up around the fort. Since he was a civilian, the Confederates allowed him to go home along with his unsearched luggage. The flag was presented to Major Anderson and was hoisted again at Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865.

Once his collection was sold and broken up, I was able to purchase one of the bullets he has picked up in 1861 along with a photocopy of the tag from his collection.

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

Other fragments of the flag staff which were auction off in December 2010.

https://historical.ha.com/itm/military-and-patriotic/civil-war/-fragments-of-the-fort-sumter-flag-staff-april-12-and-13-1861-/a/6050-52015.s

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Does anyone know what these relics went for at auction? I couldn't seem to find that out.

 

[History hoarder63]

Does anyone know what these relics went for at auction? I couldn't seem to find that out.

$1,434.00 including buyer's premium.

 

[History hoarder63]

$1,434.00 including buyer's premium.

Here is another collection of Hart relics that was sold a few years ago. Not all of these were from Sumter in 1861. I now own one of the 1861 Sumter bullets from this lot.

 

[History hoarder63]

Original Fort Sumter relics from April 1861 are very rare. Much more material exists from the 1864 bombardment. A few years ago the small collection of 1861 Fort Sumter relics belonging to Peter Hart was sold at auction. Hart was a New York City police officer who was friends with Major Anderson and who traveled to Fort Sumter before the bombardment to serve as a bodyguard for Anderson's wife. Hart was present at the fort during the bombardment and is best known for being the man who rehoisted Sumter's flag after it had been shot from the flagpole. He was a national hero whose name has largely been forgotten today. He is also the man who smuggled Sumter's main National flag back to the north after the surrender along with a small assortment of relics he picked up around the fort. Since he was a civilian, the Confederates allowed him to go home along with his unsearched luggage. The flag was presented to Major Anderson and was hoisted again at Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865.

Once his collection was sold and broken up, I was able to purchase one of the bullets he has picked up in 1861 along with a photocopy of the tag from his collection.

From my personal collection…bullet and cartridge picked up on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter by Peter Hart. The tag is a photocopy of the original.

 

[SeanMichaelChick]

Part of the flag staff was presented to the Orleans Guard Battalion by Beauregard at 716 Dauphine Street in the French Quarter. The unit was made up of elite Creoles, including his friends and family. He led them in a charge at Shiloh on April 7 carrying the same flag.

The Civil War museum in New Orleans has the Orleans Guard Battalion flag but I do not think they have the staff. I will ask next time I stop in.