Custer's Last Flag Could Fetch $5 Million

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jun 25th 2010 at 12:45PM

It was 134 years ago today, June 25, that George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry fought and were overwhelmed by Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne at Little Big Horn River. There were no survivors among those who fought under Custer's direct command and very few artifacts remained on the field. But one relic, a cavalry guidon, or swallow-tail flag, was hidden under the body of a dead trooper and discovered three days after the battle by Sergeant Ferdinand Culbertson, who was assigned to a burial party. Sothebys New York will sell this flag in October in a sale titled: October 2010: Custer's Last Flag: The Culbertson Guidon from The Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Since 1895, the delicate silk flag has been preserved at the Detroit Institute of Arts. It had been given by Culbertson to Charles and Rose Fowler of Detroit in approximately 1880 and was purchased from Rose Fowler Reidel by a public contribution in 1895. The flag carries an estimate of $2 to 5 million and proceeds from the auction will be used by the museum for future art purchases. The guidon will be unveiled to the public in September.

"This immortal battle flag represents the spirit, the bravery and the tragedy of one of the most dramatic moments in American history," commented David Redden, Vice Chairman of Sotheby's. "Battle-worn and bullet-torn, the Culbertson Guidon conjures the ferocity of that terrible battle."

"The Detroit Institute of Arts has been a steward of this flag for more than 115 years," said Graham W. J. Beal, DIA director. "In 1895, the flag fit in with the wide range of artifacts collected and displayed at that time. It remains, without doubt, an important historical treasure, but has long since ceased to meet current criteria as a work of art. It makes sense for us to sell it for the benefit of the collection." According to an article in the Detroit News, the museum has not revealed any information on what objects might be bought instead. The flag itself will hopefully find a home in another museum's collection.

For more information on rare flags, check out our recent piece on the Stars and Stripes as folk art.

Tags: Battle of Little Big Horn, custer, custers last flag, custers last stand, george custer

Filed under: Auctions

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)

Wil Jun 26th 2010 5:16PM

but has long since ceased to meet current criteria as a work of art.
WHAT? It is not now, nor ever has been, a "work of art." It is a battle flag, which is part of American History and should not be part of a private collection. In fact, it should be displayed under glass with the TRUE history of the Battle of Little Big Horn alongside it.

Snuffy Jun 26th 2010 5:34PM

It was purchased by the public--it should remain in the public archives. Who has the right to sell this? Absolutely no one.

jim Jun 28th 2010 4:59PM

Ditto Wil.........

David S. Jun 26th 2010 5:36PM

I could not agree more. Why is this flag being auctioned off and not in the Smithsonian? Disgusting greed.......

roy Jun 26th 2010 6:01PM

it seems ifthe irs can make money, whatever it is is okay with the government, morals aside...

DrL Jun 26th 2010 8:48PM

Add to that any government or tax entity... Doesn't it then follow that government spending and taxation should be kept to a minimum to lessen all this inevitable "misuse of funds"? How about more restrictions on officials exempting themselves from laws, giving themselves and their friends special benefits, fattening up the occupations they're about to enter when they leave office, etc. Fat chance, huh?

Pat Hovey Jun 26th 2010 6:01PM

Why was the allowed to be purchased by civilians when it was military issue? It should have been in the National Archives for all to see !!

Robert Jun 26th 2010 6:17PM

Remember the dates involved in all this? Found in 1876, given away in 1880 by the finder, and the last possessors sold it 1895. Artifacts then didn't have the protection they do now, public attitudes were vastly different, and any laws passed are generally not retroactive.

jim Jun 28th 2010 4:58PM

Amen, Pat!!!

John F.C. Taylor Jun 26th 2010 6:50PM

It was military property. Unless the military gave the finder permission to dispose of it, it should still be considered government property. As such, it should be in the Smithsonian.

randy Jul 4th 2010 1:33AM

Wrong -- many items were provided via private sources such as being puchased through a local seamstress, or through a sutler ordering from a company. Custer fashioned his own battle flags in the Civil War and a swallow tail guidon for the Plains service. Libby made the latter for him. There is no way to assume that the flag in question is government issue. Literlally it could have been made or purchased by anyone in his command.

stormfield Jun 26th 2010 7:39PM

This utterly priceless, historical artifact should be purchased by the U.S. government and never sold again. It unquestionably belongs in the Smithsonian Institution. And that our government can not or will not be securing it because it "can't afford it" is telling: There's millions for, say, "Cash for Clunkers" yet this flag could conceivably be purchased by a snot-nosed foreigner! Is this absolutely nuts, or what?!

Toni Walton Jun 28th 2010 12:20PM

I agree whole heartedly with your stance on the flag being a military item, and should be sent to the National Archives or the Smithsonian. Even better yet, it should be with the Lakota Sioux archives!

TMZ SUCKS AND IS ENTERTAINMENT FOR MORONS Jun 28th 2010 8:33PM

Or, if there's any such thing as poetic justice, a rich Indian casino tribe will buy it!!!

stormfield Jun 26th 2010 7:45PM

DrL Jun 26th 2010 8:26PM

It's amazing how many people think that if they will something to a museum, they are preserving it for the public forever. Virtually all museums sell items "to benefit their acquisition fund," sometimes right after the donation is received, and regardless of what they have promised the donor. Where the money actually goes is another matter, and can vary immensely. Recently, an Orange County. CA museum director hired an appraiser to declare the value of several of the museum's masterpieces at about 10% of their actual worth (an appraisal was required before a sale). He then sold them to private parties, names kept secret, at that 10% value. He and his friends are presumably enjoying their profits. The deal sparked a brief public outrage, which was quickly put down by the declaration that the deal was entirely legal, which it was, at least by what could be proven. There are several lessons and changes that could result from these episodes, but I offer a few:
1. Try to be sure that you have a signed and legally lasting contract that forbids the museum from selling or giving away the item and requires public access to the item. Don't be surprised if the museum snobs think that's too restrictive. Either agree to a compromise or take your item somewhere else.
2. Know what will happen to your item if the museum declares bankruptcy, is sold, etc.
3. Be sure that the museum keeps good records, takes inventory regularly and has bylaws requiring checks and triple checks to prevent scams such as the Orange Co. caper.
4. Art Museum thefts are common, and stolen artworks are rarely recovered. At least verify that the museum maintains great security, and is required to continue it.
5. Reconsider your relatives, who possibly feel attached to the item. Are they really inconsiderate greedy people who don't deserve it and will probably sell it for cash anyway? (Quite possibly!) Are they possibly decent people, no worse than most others, who would cherish the item or could really use the money? After all, you will not receive immortality by making a donation, even if organizations try to make you feel that you will, and it is your family. If you do donate, please make the effort to try to assure it goes where you expect it to go.

Kath Jun 27th 2010 4:48AM

DRL - Your post is so very well stated! Bravo!!!

ptango Jun 26th 2010 8:41PM

As a historian and genealogist I find the Custer saga a sad tale indeed. Here we honor a man who waged war against Indian villages and slaughtering the women , children, the old men using overwelming numbers of well fed, well equipped men. I have read the accounts and find them lacking in all of the core values that I consider worthy of praise. He slaughtered , as a matter of government policy tens of thousands of southern civilians. Burning farms and small towns that were defenseless and posed no military threat. A sad figure on the American stage, but my research into that era has proven that he was not the only US Officer that engaged in such atrocities. They should burn the flag and tell the truth about this bastard.
A Hero indeed, I think not. I suggest that the book " The Real Lincoln" may give the reader a different take on those times. If you believe the govenment version then you have not heard the whole story.

roundtowngirl1 Jun 26th 2010 9:20PM

THANK YOU!!

DrL Jun 26th 2010 10:01PM

PTANGO, your comments are too extreme, and equally violent as well. History and it's artifacts are to be learned from, not "burned". The conquering of the Americas contained many positive world advancing events, and many negative, and many in-between. Welcome to planet Earth. The first Americans, who largely migrated from Mongolia, and who many idealize, also had many desirable, and many undesirable qualities, beliefs and events, including the murder of neighboring tribes, and not just "for food", as if that's all right. None were perfect. Everyone who lived then is gone, and, like it or not, history has turned the page. You certainly don't know who the "real Lincoln" was, and you (or I) would not be here today if these events had not occurred. It's time to stop the war. It's time to realize that we all live here, were born here, and most of us wish to make this a better place. However, I wish to thank you for bringing up the continued hero worshiping of Custer, who seems to have been little more than a well trained dog, and who certainly asked for his demise. Shouldn't this flag and a lot of other artifacts be on display, along with all sides of this tragic story?

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