American Historical Ephemera & Photography

4 x 6 in. silk flag with 48 printed stars configured in 8/8/8/8/8/8 staggered pattern (some wear to edges). Overprint: "1896. July 29, 30 and 31 Berdan’s Sharpshooters at the Residence of Eli Cook Grand Rapids, Michigan.” Professionally mounted using stitch on board. 

Hiram Berdan was born in Phelps, New York, on 6 September 1824. A mechanical engineer and successful inventor, before the Civil War he was known as the top rifle shot in the country.

When the Civil War broke out, Berdan was commissioned a colonel and given authority to recruit two regiments of sharpshooters comprised of men capable of hitting enemy targets at great distances. The units were known as “Green Coats” and were utilized as snipers and skirmishers to demoralize Confederate troops by picking off their officers and artillerymen at long range. 

Eli Cook served with distinction as First Sergeant of Company I, 1st Regiment, February 1862-January 1865. At the end of the war, he returned to Eaton County, Michigan, where he devoted his life to agricultural pursuits with his wife Elizabeth and three children. He remained active organizing GAR encampments and reunions with his sharpshooter comrades. 

This flag has been exhibited at several museums and is documented in the book The Stars and Stripes: Fabric of the American Spirit, Richard Pierce, LLC, 2005 (page 39).