A Missing Piece of History
You never know where you’ll find a missing piece of Michigan history!
While the Capitol Battle Flags are very well-documented, sometimes new flags – or pieces of flags are rediscovered. We recently received a very exciting addition to the collection when Kevin Christensen donated a fragment of an original Civil War flag!
Christensen purchased this treasure 15 years ago at an antique mall in Allegan, Michigan. The fragment consists of a framed piece of torn silk, beautifully painted with the head of a bald eagle. The back of the frame holds a handwritten note identifying the fragment as a part of the flag carried by the 15th Michigan Infantry Regiment.
“Relic of the banner of 15th Mich. VV cut off by the bursting of shell fired by the confederates July 22nd 1864 at Atlanta Geo. pieces fell near me and I preserved them. The banner was the state flag. And was completely torn to pieces.”
A member of the regiment, Sergeant George W. McBride rescued the fragment from the battlefield when the flag was torn by an exploding shell at the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. McBride continued his service with the 15th through the end of the war, rising to the rank of Second Lieutenant. He returned to Michigan after the war and ended his career as the Prosecuting Attorney for Ottawa County.
In June 2024, Christensen reached out to Save The Flags to have the fragment authenticated. Curator Matt VanAcker was able to find record of McBride’s service and identify a regimental flag carried by the 15th infantry in the collection. Only about a third of this original flag is left intact, and amazingly, the fragment seems to match this flag perfectly!
This summer, Conservation Specialists Cambray Sampson and I, will be traveling to West Virginia for additional training with Textile Preservation Associates. We plan to take the fragment with us so we can safely remove it from the frame and determine what kind of treatment it needs. When we return, the fragment will be reunited with the rest of the 15th’s flag in our storage area at the Michigan History Museum.
We’re thrilled to have this fragment in our collection! Thank you to Kevin Christensen for entrusting it to us and adding to the story of the 15th Michigan and their flag.
May Oyler
Conservation Specialist