Custer’s “Last Stand Guidon,from $54 to an expected $5 million at auction

Torn, frayed and maybe even a little blood stained , the only U.S. flag lost or captured during  Custer’s “Last Stand” at the Battle of Little Bighorn only  sold for $54 when it first surfaced in the 1890s. Today the 7th U.S. Cavalry flag, known as the guidon, is expected to bring up to $5 million at  Sotheby’s  auction house in New York which is known for Sales encompass the finest masterpieces.”It’s more than just a museum object or textile.

It’s a piece of Americana,” said John Doerner, Chief Historian at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in southeastern Montana. “I hope it ends up with a collector that can share that with the American public.”. The guidon  was found secured  beneath the body of Cpl. John Foley by a burial party that arrived three days after the battle was over, it was one of five carried by Custer’s troops, The other flags were believed to be seized by the  Indians.

The flag  which measures 33 inches by 27 inches and features 34 gold stars  later became known as the Culbertson Guidon, after the member of the burial party who retrieved it.The guidon has been the property of the Detroit Institute of Arts,since 1895.

According to Institute of Art director Graham Beal the flag was hidden from public view, kept in storage first at the museum and later in a National Park Service facility in Harper’s Ferry, Maryland.