U.S. 1st Tennessee Reunion Ribbon - James O. Berry, 1896.
Acquired with a thirty-five star flag, original size approximately 84" x 47", has a blue canton printed with three rows of eight and two rows of six stars. Printed in black ink on the field is the unit designation "2nd CAV./Tenn. Vols." The flag was accompanied with a documenting provenance from the consignor, a descendant of Captain Charles Berry's, Capt. Berry's commission as a Captain in the regiment (October 1862), signed by Andrew Johnson, Governor of Tennessee and letters which mention the flag specifically.
Also included are a number of documents relating to Captain Berry's son, James Overton Berry, who served as a Major in the 1st Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry: a document and letter concerning Major Berry's widow's pension, a GAR encampment ribbon from 1896 for the Tenth Reunion of the 1st Tennessee Cavalry Regiment and a copy of a letter to the Denton (Texas) City-County Public Library acknowledging receipt of his GAR medal and mentioning this flag, as well as a copy of Major Berry's obituary. The flag thus is associated with both Charles Berry and Major James Berry, as indicated by the family history. This Civil War era flag also has a history of post-war GAR encampment use.
The flag shows numerous tears and losses. Captain Berry's commission has separated at the folds with some losses.
Companion Piece to ZFC3561 & ZFC3560
ZFC Significant Flag
Item is Framed
Provenance:
• 2nd Tennessee Vol. Cavalry Veterans, 1890s.
• Major James Overton Berry, until passing.
• By descent in Berry family.
• Sold at auction via Bonham's San Francisco, CA, to Zaricor Flag Collection, 2010.
Sources:
Dyer, Frederick H. "2nd Regiment Cavalry," In A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, 1636-1647. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.,1908, Reprint, Dayton, OH: The Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1978.
Goodspeed Publishing Co. "Federal Military History." In History of Tennessee, Vol. 1, 477-512, Nashville, TN: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887. Reprint, Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1979.
Tennessee Adjutant General. "Second Regiment Cavalry," In Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Tennessee, of the Military Forces of the State, from 1861 to 1862, 648-650. Nashville, TN: S. C. Mercer, 1866.
2ND TENNESSEE CAVALRY REGIMENT, U.S.A., Tennesseans in the Civil War, 30 October 2011, from: http://www.tngenweb.org/civilwar/usacav/usa2cav.html
2nd Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, Wikipedia, 30 October 2010, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Regiment_Tennessee_Volunteer_Cavalry
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
