A RARE U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS BATTLE-HONORS FLAG INSCRIBED WEST POINT AND YORKTOWN

U.S. Army Signal Corps Battle Honor Flag, inscribed WEST POINT and YORKTOWN, Peninsula Campaign, 1862. Silk, approximately 47 1/4 x 35 in.; framed, 46 1/4 x 36 1/2 in.

Among the most seldom encountered flags associated with the Union war effort, this exceptional Signal Corps flag is dominated by a great red five-pointed star, identifying it as one awarded to a Signal Corps officer singled out for conspicuous service. Its rarity can scarcely be overstated. Surviving Signal Corps battle honor flags appear only sporadically in institutional collections: the New York State Military Museum records a small group attributed to Lieutenant David A. Taylor, while the National Cryptologic Museum describes its own five-inscription star flag as one of only two known examples in which all five points bear battle names.

The surviving honors, WEST POINT and YORKTOWN, place the flag in the crucible of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, when McClellan’s Army of the Potomac advanced up the Virginia peninsula between the York and James Rivers toward Richmond. “Yorktown” represents the month-long siege that opened that campaign; “West Point” refers not to the Military Academy but to the sharp action at West Point, Virginia, at the head of the York River, where Signal Corps communication helped coordinate Union land and naval response in real time.

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

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