From the Flags board:

Re: 2nd Arkansas Infantry LossBy:Greg Biggs
Date: 2/12/2014, 11:45 pm In Response To: 2nd Arkansas Infantry Loss (George Martin)
George,

A couple things regarding this flag:

1) There is a competing capture account for it by the 21st Illinois Infantry. In 1890 a Medal of Honor was awarded to Lt. Ninevah S. McKeen of the 21st Illinois for two actions - distinguished service at Stones River and the capture of the colors of the 8th Arkansas Infantry at Liberty Gap, TN.

The 8th Arkansas Infantry of St. John Liddell's Brigade was not at Liberty Gap with the rest of the brigade at the time. They were two miles west of there guarding Railroad Gap. The only flag lost at Liberty Gap was that of the 2nd Arkansas Infantry.

The 21st Illinois was in the fighting at Liberty Gap but they were on the opposite side of where the 2nd Arkansas were across the "bowl" as it were (the main lower portion of the gap where most of the fighting took place is a bowl surrounded by hills). I have been to Liberty Gap many times and know exactly what hill the 2nd Arkansas were posted upon as well as the rest of Liddell's Brigade.

The regiment was posted on the front of the hill with a fairly steep side and the color bearer was shot and fell forward losing the colors.

2) The flag ended up at the Cleveland, OH Sanitary Fair of February 1864. It was listed in the fair book as follows:

C. Goddard, Cleveland, OH. 305 - One Battle Flag, 2nd Arkansas Rebel Regt., taken from Liberty Gap, Tenn. (He also loaned several other items).

Evidently the flag was sold at the fair to raise money for the Sanitary Commission as were a lot of other artifacts. Howie Madaus states that this flag, now somewhere in private hands, came out of Illinois in the 1980s. I am not sure how it got to Illinois from Cleveland nor am I sure how it got to this sanitary fair from an Illinois regiment that took it. I do not have his scale drawing of the flag but it supposedly had four battle honors on it and the unit designation in the center "2nd Arks." The honors were "Shiloh," "Perryville," "Corinth" and "Murfreesboro."

I would like to point out that there is some doubt as to this flag's authenticity. The part of the flag of this regiment going to Cleveland and its display there in 1864 is rock solid however. I also do not know who Mr. Goddard is and how he came by the flag. There are no "C. Goddards" listed in either the 21st or 38th Illinois Infantry - in fact no Goddards at all in either unit.

That's what I have for this one.

Greg Biggs