IDENTIFIED VIEW OF HARDIN LITTLEPAGE, CONFEDERATE NAVAL OFFICER WHO SAVED THE FLAG OF THE CSS VIRGINIA 

Ninth plate half-length studio portrait ambrotype. N.p., circa 1861-1865. Full leatherette case. There is a fracture to the plate, as shown. 

A rare photograph of Midshipman Hardin Beverly Littlepage (1842 - 1911) of the Confederate Navy. Littlepage is pictured in his grey officer's coat which features the appropriate shoulder straps. 

Littlepage was born in King William County, Virginia. He was a midshipmen at the US Naval Academy when the Civil War began, but immediately resigned to enter the Confederate Navy. He was among the officers and crew of the CSS Virginia who intentionally destroyed the boat in May 1862 after the fall of Norfolk, the ship's home port. The Virginia had a deep draft and could not sail up the James River to safety, so its crew decided to scuttle it to prevent it from falling into Union hands. The crew set the vessel on fire, causing a massive magazine explosion that obliterated the ship. Littlefield had the foresight to save the ship's flag, which survives today. Before this adventure, Littlefield was aboard the Virginia during the epic naval Battle of Hampton Roads.

After the War, Littlepage was instrumental in collecting Confederate naval records for the War Records Bureau, ensuring a lasting legacy. He went on to write several books about his experience as a southern navy man. He died in Washington, D.C. and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

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Thin diagonal fracture.