N.C. flag returned by New Jersey family

By Josh Shaffer, Staff Writer, The News & Observer

RALEIGH, N.C. — The N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh has acquired a Confederate battle flag carried by the 18th Regiment North Carolina troops, the group responsible for accidentally shooting Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, museum officials said.

The museum first learned of the flag when it received a letter from the flag's owner in 1992. It was recently purchased from the owner, a New Jersey college professor, and is on view in the museum's military history gallery.

On May 2, 1863, Jackson and his staff moved in front of the Confederate line at Chancellorsville, Va., on reconnaissance. Jackson was wounded when troops from the 18th North Carolina fired into woods at what they thought was federal cavalry. The battle flag was captured by federal troops the next day.

The flag acquisition comes in anticipation of the Civil War Sesquicentennial Celebration, which will take place from 2011 to 2015. The celebration, sponsored by the Office of Archives and History, N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, will commemorate the war's 150th anniversary and feature events and activities, according to a press release.

Used with permission of The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.