CONFEDERATE FLAG RELIC FROM SIEGE OF FORT PULASKI, GEORGIA

Fragment of coarse bunting (likely cotton), the edges frayed with traces of original color now oxidized to tan, affixed by two small tacks to a contemporary paper slip inscribed in period ink: “Rebel Flag, — from Ft. Pulaski.”

Fort Pulaski guarded the approaches to Savannah, Georgia. On 10–11 April 1862 Federal forces emplaced rifled artillery on Tybee Island and, under engineer Q. A. Gilmore, breached the brick walls with unprecedented rapidity, compelling Col. Charles H. Olmstead to capitulate. The fall of the fort closed Savannah as a Confederate port and announced the obsolescence of masonry seacoast works.

Small, documented relics from Pulaski’s flags are scarce.