Four prized Civil War artifacts are being returned south, to two museums in North Carolina — at least temporarily.
The Worcester Grand Army of the Republic Board of Trustees voted recently to return three captured Confederate flags to the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, N.C. The flags were captured at the Battle of New Bern, in North Carolina on March 14, 1862, by two Union divisions manned with residents of Central Massachusetts.
The panel also voted unanimously to send a bell that was on the CSS Albemarle, which was an ironclad boat that rammed Union boats before it was sunk on Oct.27, 1864, to the Port O'Plymouth Museum in Plymouth, N.C.
One of the flags — a 36-inch tall, 66-inch wide Confederate flag that displays the words Freedom and Victory — captured at the Battle of New Bern, and the more than 50-pound cast bronze bell, are currently on exhibit at a Civil War display at the Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm St. They will remain there until Nov. 11.
Two of the Confederate flags captured by Union Infantry Divisions 21 and 25 at the Battle of New Bern are in storage at the National Guard Armory, 701 Lincoln St. Those flags will be sent to the Museum of the Albemarle soon, according to GAR Chairman Daniel J. McAuliffe. The one on display at the Worcester museum will be sent south after Nov. 11, he said while noting that an agreement between the GAR and the Museum of the Albemarle will be signed perhaps as early as this week.
The flags will be part of the Museum of the Albemarle's exhibit on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War that is scheduled to run until 2015, museum director Edward A. Merrell said late last week.
Meanwhile, the final paperwork on a 10-year lease with the Port O'Plymouth Museum on the bell is expected to be done soon, said Mr. McAuliffe, who noted he plans to drive the bell to the museum once the Worcester exhibit closes.
“All four items are very highly prized,” said Mr. McAuliffe, who noted they have been kept through the years at the former GAR Hall on Pearl Street as well as the Worcester Historical Museum. “Of all the artifacts that were brought back, these were four of the most prized possessions.”
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GAR panel votes to return WBTS items to N.C. museums
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