Revolutionary War Flag Fragment with Exceptional 1883 Provenance 

Description

Revolutionary War Flag Fragment with Exceptional 1883 Provenance 

An extraordinary surviving fragment of an American Colonial-era flag represented as having been carried during the Revolutionary War, accompanied by remarkably early provenance documenting its presence in the collection of the United States War Department in Washington, D.C. Few classes of American relics possess the historical gravity of an original flag carried during the struggle for independence, and surviving fragments with provenance extending into the 19th century are exceptionally scarce. 

The small textile fragment retains portions of its original colored fabric and is mounted directly to an old card bearing the period handwritten inscription: “Piece of flag carried in the Revolutionary War, and now kept in the War Department, Washington.” The card is additionally dated “G.A.R.—1883.”  

This is particularly significant provenance, placing the identification of the fragment approximately 140 years ago and recording its association at that time with a Revolutionary War flag preserved by the War Department—not a later attribution developed by the modern collecting market. 

Accompanying the relic is a second handwritten provenance card reiterating the history: “Fragment of Colonial flag carried in Revolution, & now kept in the War Department, Washington.” It is signed “Frances C. Connor.” Together, the two period inscriptions provide an unusually strong documentary chain for a relic of this age and character. 

During the 19th century, historic flags and military trophies belonging to the Federal government were preserved under the auspices of the War Department. Small fragments of deteriorated or damaged historic flags were occasionally obtained as treasured patriotic relics, particularly during the great post-Civil War period of interest in preserving tangible connections to the nation’s founding generation. The 1883 dating is especially compelling, predating the modern field of militaria collecting and bringing the documentation substantially closer to the Revolutionary generation than most surviving relics encountered today. 

Revolutionary War flags themselves rank among the rarest and most important surviving American military textiles. Most were lost through battlefield use, deterioration, family dispersal, or simple attrition during the nearly two and a half centuries since the Revolution. Even fragments are seldom encountered.  A true rarity. 

Inventory Number: REV 074