Nice to know that after over 25 years of 18th and 19th Century military flag study that I am wrong.

I belong to an online flag historians group of over 35 members including museum curators, independent flag experts, West Point curators and a former Smithsonian curator, a former president of the North American Vexillological Association and others. Several of us are members of the Company of Military Historians (including myself) and we have a combined knowledge of well over 400 years of serious flag research. Here are some of their responses after I posed the question to them last night:

"The regimental standard now at Little Bighorn Battlefield came from the 7th
Cavalry when much of their regimental archives; papers, correspondence etc was
deposited there in the late 1940's or early 1950's. The pack train story has
been told often, but whether it is precisely true or not, the indications are
that the regimental standard wasn't used. Custer definitely had one of his
personal flags (carried by Sgt Robert Hughes), and each of the 12 troops had
their 1863 swallow tail US guidons. Of these, at least two were recaptured
after Little Bighorn (one from the Indian village taken at Slim Buttes in
September, 1876; the other from a Cheyenne village taken in November, 1876.)
The Slim Buttes guidon is at LBH. Not sure on the other one. There is also a
guidon at Carlisle (AHEC) which came from former Captain Godfrey of K Troop.
There is a story of a guidon being with some of the fugitives left behind in
the valley when Reno retreated to the bluffs, but no indication that it was
saved. Given their situation, possibly not. So, it is possible that the 7th
lost as many as six, and two were recovered later. Interestingly, at West
Point we have three Indian drawings of the battle done by White Bird, who was
15 when he participated in the battle. His detail is amazing; McClellan
saddles, identifiable arms, the death of Isaiah Dorman, the black scout, etc.
In his version of the last stand, he meticulously illustrates five 1863
swallow tail US guidons (and Custer had five companies). Colonel W.A. Graham did an article on 7th Cavalry flags in the early 1950's, and Jim Hutchin's work in Military Collector & Historian on 7th Cavalry uniforms and equipment also touched on them. In all cases, the regimental standard was blue." (This from a West Point curator)

"Some painter's paint for quick sale money, not historical accuracy. The living can make the dead appear to do anything.
The change of field color was authorized in 1884 by the Secretary of War. The new color & design was approved on February 4, 1886 and on April 13, 1887, G.O. No. 31 officially changed the field color to yellow. I don't think the new colors would have been issued before 1887." (This from an independent flag scholar)

So, Joe, we will all look forward to the concrete and irrefutable evidence that you can present that a yellow cavalry standard flew at LBH at least 11 years before they were actually used in the field by US Cavalry regiments.

Greg Biggs