Few there could have predicted that a little rummaging through the attic would produce an important local artifact from the deadliest war in U.S. history.
What volunteers uncovered in the attic of the museum at 514 Birchard Ave. was the original banner for the 72nd Regiment OVI of the Union Army, formed in Sandusky County by Col. Ralph P. Buckland in January 1862.
"To me, it's priceless," said Fred Recktenwald, the second vice president of the county's historical society. "It's such an important piece of local history. I'm sure a lot of people in this area can still trace their roots to relatives who fought in the regiment."
Jane Hammond, a textile conservator with the Intermuseum Conservation Association of Cleveland, was conveniently in the area, Recktenwald said, and gave the society a rough estimate of about $8,000 to restore and preserve the banner for display. The museum also would need to make lighting changes to not expose the banner to direct light, Hammond said.
Sandusky County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to commit $9,000 from the countywide expenses fund to pay for the project.
Commissioner Terry Thatcher said it would be a shame to see a historic artifact with such local significance just sit in an attic somewhere out of the public's reach.
"It's a valuable and rare asset that is specific to Sandusky County and those residents who served in the Civil War," Thatcher said.
Commissioner Dan Polter agreed, saying preserving county history, like its historic jail and courthouse, is worth the expense.
"There are things the government just can't do and things the government should do," Polter said. "This is one of the things I think government should do."
Recktenwald said Larry Strayer, a private Ohio collector whose Civil War collection is currently on display at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, told volunteers the restored banner might be worth up to $35,000 to the right collector.
The banner itself, which carries an image of a soaring eagle on a field of azure, is inscribed with "72nd Fort Stephenson Regiment." According to research done by Nan Card, curator of manuscripts at the Hayes Center, the embroidery was done by the ladies of Fremont and the flag was presented to the nearly 900 men of the 72nd regiment by Mayor Homer Everett on January 24, 1862.
As the story goes, the soldiers carried the banner from Fremont to Tennessee and into the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862. During the battle, the banner was captured by Confederate troops.
Gloria Miller, Fremont resident and one of the museum's directors, said her great-grandfather served in the 72nd regiment and was trampled by a horse during a charge at the Battle of Shiloh.
"I think it's great that the commissioners were willing to do it," Miller said. "Seeing the flag, it's just fantastic."
The soldier and Miller's relative, Joseph Shell, was later sent back to Fremont to recuperate and later returned to battle, serving in the 3rd Ohio Calvary for the remainder of the war, she said.
By June 1862, Sandusky County's women had prepared another, nearly identical banner that was preserved throughout the rest of the war, despite the bloody battles the regiment's soldiers endured.
According to historic records, color bearer Archibald Purcell ripped the replacement flag from its staff, wrapped it around his chest and concealed it beneath his shirt as he ran from Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry during a desperate retreat at Brice's Cross Roads.
Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard kept the original flag until giving it to close friend Gen. Thomas Jordan, who bequeathed it to his daughter in 1865. She donated it to a fundraiser in New York City to benefit Cuban insurgents.
In October 1896, Ohio Governor Asa Bushnell had friends track down the flag and about 200 72nd OVI veterans and family posed for a photo with the flag in Clyde.
Where the flag went from there remains a mystery, though members of the historical society were elated it found its way into their attic.
Recktenwald said they will entrust the flag to Hammond, who will be able to provide a more precise estimate of the cost of restoration. He said he hopes the process will be complete by April, in time for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh.
The museum already has a spot picked out on a wall for the banner, where volunteers hope to preserve the local artifact indefinitely. Recktenwald said an American flag and the regiment's replacement banner were also found in the attic, but said they would take much more work to restore.
For now, he said, he is thankful for the volunteers who discovered the banner in the attic and the government officials who saw fit to fund the restoration.
"In this day and age of tight budgets, I am certainly thankful they saw fit to preserve such an important piece of history connected to Sandusky County," he said. "This is an opportunity to have something that was actually carried into battle."
The museum is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays, but is closed on holidays and for the week of the Sandusky County Fair, Aug. 23-28.
You can see a photo of the flag if you click the link below.