The N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh has one of the nation’s largest collections of Confederate flags. Conservation of these banners requires specialized textile treatment, costing approximately $7,500 per flag. The 26th Regiment N.C. Troops, Reactivated, the state’s largest Civil War re-enactment group, has helped fund this need. On Dec. 12, 2009, the group unveiled the newly conserved battle flag of the 47th Regiment N.C. Troops during a dedication ceremony at the museum. The 26th Regiment raised the funds necessary to restore this historic artifact.

The 47th Regiment’s colors were captured at the Battle of Hatcher’s Run in Virginia on Oct. 27, 1864, by Sgt. Daniel Murphy of the 19th Regiment Mass. Volunteer Infantry. The flag was sent to the U.S. War Department in Washington, D.C., and returned to North Carolina in 1905.

“Since its return to North Carolina in 1905, the battle flag of the 47th N.C. Troops has remained in storage and could not be displayed due to its condition,” says Tom Belton, Curator of Military History. “With the support of the 26th Regiment N.C. Troops, who spearheaded a conservation drive, we can now include this important North Carolina artifact in upcoming exhibits.”

This Confederate flag and others are being conserved in preparation for the N.C. Civil War Sesquicentennial. From 2011 to 2015, exhibits and programs will be presented in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in North Carolina.

The 26th Regiment has begun its 2010 Preservation Project: the battle flag of the 22nd Regiment N.C. Troops. The organization has inspired several other Civil War re-enactment and remembrance groups to adopt other flags in the museum collection.