Large Piece of Captain William Driver's "Old Glory" Flag - Famous Civil War Flag

Description

OLD GLORY
.  The name "Old Glory" was loudly proclaimed in 1824 by Captain William Driver as he hoisted the flag given to him as a birthday present.  The flag would accompany Driver on his numerous voyages around the world.  When he gave up seafaring and moved inland to Nashville, Tennessee in 1837, Driver continued to display the flag proudly by hanging it from a locust tree.  He even updated the flag in 1861 to reflect thirty-four stars and added an anchor in the corner to indicate his sea service.  When Tennessee seceded from the Union, Driver defiantly flew the flag and later hid it inside a quilt, which was overlooked in numerous raids on his house.  Old Glory remained in the quilt until February 25, 1862 when General Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Donelson and occupied Nashville.  On that day, Driver uncovered the flag, marched through the streets to the capitol building, climbed to its dome, and hoisted the flag for all to see.
LARGE PIECE OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM DRIVER’S “OLD GLORY” FLAG, ONE OF THE MOST HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT FLAGS OF THE CIVIL WAR
Large piece of Captain William Driver’s “Old Glory” flag measuring 4.5 by 1.5 inches and beautifully matted and framed with a carte-de-visite of Driver, a contemporary photograph of the flag, a reproduction print of a map of Nashville, a reproduction print of the city’s capitol building, a reprint of The New York Herald, No. 931, New York City, New York, March 9, 1862 newspaper article highlighting Driver’s patriotism during a time of national strife, and a contemporary printed story of Captain Driver to an overall size of 36 by 23 inches.
THE PIECE WAS ACQUIRED FROM A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF CAPTAIN DRIVER WHO REPAIRED AND GIFTED PIECES OF THE FLAG TO HIS FAMILY AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
Accompanied with 1989 to 2011 documentation from Case Antiques: Auctions & Appraisals, Sykes & Flanders: Antiquarian Booksellers, and the Peabody Museum acknowleding the authenticity of the flag and CDV and how they were acquired from a direct descendent of Captain Driver.  After the Civil War, Driver had the flag repaired and sent pieces to his family in Salem.  “Old Glory” remained in the possession of Driver’s descendants until 1922 when it was acquired by the Smithsonian.  We were unable to locate any other pieces of “Old Glory” available for sale at auction making the present fragment extremely rare and highly desirable.
National Museum of American History.
Old Glory Flag
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