Estimate: $30,000 - $50,000
American Furniture, Folk and Decorative Arts
Auction: May 2, 2023 12:00 PM EDT
With 13 hand-sewn double-appliqued cotton stars arranged in 4-5-4 configuration on wool bunting, hand-sewn flat-felled stripes, hand-sewn linen hoist with two hand-stitched grommets, mounted and framed.
29 in. x 54 ½ in.
According to family tradition this naval flag was carried on the Union flagship the USS Hartford, by Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut (1801-1870), during the important Civil War Battle of New Orleans, April of 1862. The flag pre-dates the Civil War era and was reputedly originally owned by Farragut's father, Merchant Captain George G. Farragut (1755-1817) who served in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. The flag was given to Catherine Beitel (1838-?) of New York City by Farragut's adoptive brother, Admiral David D. Porter (1813-1891). Catherine was the daughter of Henry David Beitel (1809-1892), a carpenter and decorator and Elizabeth Catherine Nagle Wade (1813-1886). The flag was inherited by her niece, Katherine Beitel Wade (1888-1970), and thence decended to the present owners.
The Battle of New Orleans lasted from April 16 to April 29, 1862. After the Union's prolonged bombardment of New Orleans had failed, Flag Officer David G. Farragut made the decision, despite depleted supplies, to engage the entire fleet in an attack on the Confederate forts, earthworks and ships, and prevailed. The significant capture of the City of New Orleans deprived the Confederacy of its largest city and vital port and allowed the Union navy to proceed up the Mississippi. Farragut would eventually become the first Admiral in the United States Navy.
Exhibition History
United States Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland, 1970-2022
Masonic Center, New York World's Fair, 1964-1965
Metuchen Public Library, New Jersey, 1939-1970.