Existing comment:
Virginia State Battle Flag:
This flag was carried by Lieutenant Gabriel Shank of the 10th Virginia Infantry Regiment, a Shenandoah Valley native. At the Battle of Fisher's Hill, he gave the banner to a farmer to keep it from falling into enemy hands. Shank himself was captured just minutes later and was taken to a prison camp, where he later died of smallpox.
Years later, the farmer ran into Shank's daughter and gave her the banner as a gift. She carried it to Oregon, where it remained until 1981, when her family generously donated it to the National Park Service. |