Confederate Unit Flag Returned to Georgia in Pristine Condition after 148 Years

This is a remarkable story. After the fall of Ft. McAllister near Savannah in December 1864, Maj. William Zoron Clayton captured the fort's flag. After he returned home to Maine at the end of the war, he kept it at his home with a note--"To be return [sic] to Savannah or Atlanta sometime." So Robert Clayton, Maj. Clayton's great-grandson, returned the flag to the Fort McAllister Historic State Park. It is to be unveiled April 21, two days before Confederate Memorial Day is celebrated in Georgia.

Here is the entire story.

The fact that so many Civil War artifacts are stashed in attics, cedar chests, closets, basements, and other places of storage in private homes never ceases to amaze me. A couple of years ago, my brother and I went through some footlockers that belonged to our grandfather. They were full of precious historical artifacts. One of the most remarkable was an official furlough pass, signed at Appomattox by a Union officer and given to my great-great-great grandfather, who was a Confederate colonel. We donated everything in those footlockers to the University of Georgia.

Check with your relatives to see what artifacts from history they may hold. You may be surprised what keys to history you might be sitting on without even realizing it!