Excerpt from original post. I'm a mod on the site where these photos and explanation was posted, and a regular on the "Mississippi in the Civil War" board:

"Bought this flag 10-15 yrs ago.And no, I did not buy it on eBay/online. Came with an auction manual from 1950's from Shore Galleries in Illinois where the flag is listed just as "confederate flag". Still has a Shore Galleries tag on the flag..

Additional documentation was a newspaper article explaining the sale of a large collection of civil war relics from a storage locker that had been in a families rental since the 1920's. The article is titled" collection of Civil War artifacts to be Sold for Storage Charges". The collection ,the article states, was from a Union General(decendant of the family who had died, leaving no relatives to claim the locker)who arrived in Chicago in 1885.

The article has 4 photos with everything from small cannon,drums a wall full of civil war firearms and the final picture is, the caption states, of the editor of a magazine called Gun Journal standing in a room of artifacts wearing a Union Generals Jacket with this flag in the background and the flag is mentioned in the caption where it states "Confederate Flag in background discontinued in 1864 because it's resemblance to white surrender"

The flag measures 74"x61" and the stars are hand stitched. Has what appears to be canvas pocket on end which I take was for a pole? The flag is folded in the picture, the bottom 1/2 of the white field is on the underside of the fold."

The 2nd Wisconsin Cavalry spent a short period of time around Memphis, was in Grant's entire campaign to get to Vicksburg, and was in the campaign leading up to the siege of Vicksburg. They spent the rest of the war in the mid-southern Mississippi area.

After some thought, though this man was a cavalry company commander, he was also obviously a collector after the war. If he took it himself, it probably came from western Tennessee or somewhere in Mississippi. But really, it could have come from anywhere if he purchased it or was given it after the war. Of course assuming that it is original.