The American Flag - Part 8

This is a list of surviving flags that have been displayed at or otherwise associated with notable historical battles or events.

Revolutionary War…

War of 1812…

Star Spangled Banner Flag (1814)
The flag that flew over Fort McHenry during a British bombardment in the War of 1812. This flag is depicted by Francis Scott Key in the song “Star-Spangled Banner” which would later become the national anthem of the United States.

Antebellum Period…

Civil War…

Reconstruction…

Little Big Horn Guidon (1876)
The Guidon was used by the 7th U.S. Cavalry during the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. The battle is infamous, for all U.S. cavalry troops engaged in battle were killed, including Lt. Col George A. Custer. Sgt. Ferdinand Culbertson discovered this flag under the body of one of the slain soldiers. In 2010, this flag was sold for $2.2 million.

World War II…

Iwo Jima Flag (1945)
This American flag that was raised above Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in WW2. The photo of this flag being raised by U.S. Marines was captured in the 1945 Pulitzer Prize-winning photo Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.

Cold War…

Freedom 7 Flag (1961)
This American Flag flew on the Freedom 7 mission to space, becoming the first American flag to leave the Earth’s atmosphere. The flag was a last-minute addition after a local student council president asked a reporter if this flag could be taken on board. The reporter took it to the head of the NASA space task group, to which he agreed. In 1995, the flag was again taken to space to commemorate the 100th American crewed space mission.

Modern day…

9/11 Flag (2001)
This flag is believed to have been from a yacht docked in the Hudson River on the morning of 9/11 called Star of America. The flag was later found by three members of the New York Fire Department, George Johnson, Billy Eisengrein, and Dan McWilliams, who raised it over the rubble on a tilted flag pole. This was captured in a photograph taken by Thomas Franklin, who worked for the New Jersey–based newspaper The Record. The photo has been compared to Joe Rosenthal’s WW2 “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima”. Shortly after the famous photograph was taken, the flag disappeared. The flag would remain missing for nearly 15 years until a man named Brian turned an American flag into a fire station along with its halyard. Investigators determined that his flag was genuine after comparing dust samples and event photographs.

The American Flag – Part 8