The below is from Deborah S Wood, Museum Curator, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. It does leave me with further questions. Note there is no mention of Drew's 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles who were present a Locust Grove. Drew's and Watie's regiments were kept separate for fear fighting would break out between the two. It seems more likely the captured flag was that of Drew's Regiment. Also, I have never run across an account that mentions the words 'Cherokee Braves' on a flag nor have I found any instances where the Cherokee or others referred to them as the "Cherokee Braves" or just 'Braves". This leads me to wonder if the wording was added after the capture -- as Curtis Payne mentions in an earlier post, this is not unheard of, having occurred with two other flags in the possession of the KHS.

Cherokee Braves Flag
Request for Information
• We have a letter from David Whittaker (who was a 2nd Lt. in Co. B, 10th Kansas Regiment of Volunteers, Infantry, at the time of the Battle of Locust Grove, July 3rd, 1862) to J.G. Adams, Secretary of the Kansas Historical Society, dated July 30th, 1892. Whittaker was asked for a personal history. The letter states he was born in Huntingdon, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania on July 9th 1831. He moved to Kansas in 1857. In June 1861 he was appointed County Clerk of Atchison County. Later in 1861 he joined the 10th Kansas Regiment. He states he was on active duty in the summer of 1862, and was present at Locust Grove. He said he was there when Colonel Clarkson was captured with over 100 of his band. He states “I had the honor of capturing two rebel flags in that affair.” One flag was the Cherokee Braves Flag, and the other flag was Clarkson’s. As you know, we have both flags here at Wilson’s Creek NB. The letter includes the rest of his personal history to July of 1892.
• Whittaker sent the flag home to his family in Huntingdon County PA. along with a handwritten note that said, “This flag was captured at Locust Grove in the Cherokee Nation, the 3rd day of July 1862---at that time we took 110 prisoners, killed 40 and captured 320 horses, mules, and all the camp and garrison equipage for two regiments.” We have the note in our museum collections.
• The Whittaker house and contents, including the Cherokee Braves flag, was donated to the Huntingdon County Historical Society, Huntingdon, PA, by the niece of Whittaker. Also, a descendant of Whittaker was Charles Evans Whittaker, who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Eisenhower.
• In 1981 the Kansas State Historical Society tried to buy the flag after James H. Nottage, Research Historian, investigated the flag and confirmed its authenticity. The society was not able to raise the funds because of other commitments. We have a letter written by Nottage.
• In 1985 Dr. Thomas Sweeney, Springfield, MO., communicated with Mr. Bruce Bazelon, former registrar for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and in 1985, the William Penn Museum in Harrisburg. Dr. Sweeney communicated his desire to learn more about the Cherokee Braves flag and to possibly acquire it. Mr. Bazelon suggested he contact Mrs. Nancy Sheed, President of the Huntingdon County Historical Society. Dr. Sweeney wrote her a letter giving his credentials and telling her he was interested in purchasing the flag. Dr. Sweeney was at the time a collector of Trans-Mississippi West Civil War objects in order to conserve and preserve them. He was (and still is) a member of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Foundation of Springfield, MO., a member of the Company of Military Historians, the Greene County Historical Society, and the Civil War Round Table of the Ozarks. Dr. Sweeney conducted extensive research on every object he purchased, and is an excellent source of information on Trans-Mississippi West artifacts. In 1986, the Huntingdon County Historical Society agreed to sell the flag to Dr. Sweeney on the condition that he have the flag assessed by a professional conservator and stabilized. Dr. Sweeney bought the flag and a sent the flag to a professional conservator (one recommended by the National Park Service) for conservation. We have a series of personal letters and the communications between Dr. Sweeney and both historical societies.
• About 1995 Dr. Sweeney created the General Sweeney’s Civil War Museum on property adjacent to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. The Cherokee Braves flag was displayed in the museum. After Dr. Sweeney retired, he offered to sell the property, a house on the property, and the General Sweeney Museum and all the museum objects, to the National Park Service to expand Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield and to provide federal protection for the Civil War objects he had collected over the years. The National Park Service purchased everything offered in 2005. All of the objects were researched, and the original objects were validated. The NPS and Wilson’s Creek NB have confirmed the Cherokee Braves Flag is authentic through our conservators and subject matter experts.
• According to documents of the Battle of Locust Grove, including the Falconer/Ellithorpe Diary that is in our museum collections, the Confederate command at Locust Grove consisted of a portion of Col. Clarkson’s and a portion of Col. Stand Watie’s regiments. Watie was not present but was on his way to Locust Grove with the rest of his regiment to rejoin forces with his men and Clarkson at the time of the battle. A previous skirmish had delayed Watie and his men and they did not reach Locust Grove in time to warn Clarkson of the Union forces bearing down on them. According to Major E.C. Ellithorpe’s account of the battle, the Union command included a force of 200 Creek Indians from the 1st Kansas Indian Home Guard, commanded by Lt. Col. S.H. Wattles and Adjutant A.C. Ellithorpe, and about 100 men from the Kansas 9th and a small detachment of infantry from the Kansas 10th, with 3 guns in Captain Allen’s Kansas Battery.
• Your request for information regarding all references and accounts for the use of the words Cherokee Braves Flag, Cherokee Braves, and/or Braves by Indian and non-Indian people would require in depth research through all of our library and museum collections which include many thousands of books and documents. We do not have anyone available to conduct that research for you. You are welcome to visit Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Research Library and Museum Collections and conduct the research. We can assist you and provide a place for you to work.