The included analysis report from Fonda Ghiardi of Fonda Thomsen L.L.C., conservator and fellow at the American Institute for Conservation, lists the flag as size 47 with a 46 1/4 inch leading edge and 48 inch fly and provides a detailed analysis of the materials and construction. The report concludes: "After a thorough examination of the materials and construction of this flag, as well as a comparison of these materials with previous examinations of documented period flags, it is my opinion, as a Textile Conservator, that the materials in and construction of this flag appear to match documented Civil War Confederate battle flags with the following qualifications: 1. The wool buntings and method of construction are consistent with flags manufactured at [the] Richmond [D]epot in the mid nineteenth century of the 3rd bunting issue. The use of 2 ply S Navy bunting indicates it was assembled after the capture of bunting from the Naval yard at Norfolk (Gosport Naval [Y]ard). 2. The condition of the flag suggests it was manufactured and issued towards the end of the 3rd bunting ANV production in 1864. This would also correspond with the suggested capture at the [B]attle of Spotsylvania in May of 1864. 3. The condition of the flag suggests very minor exposure to combat but an extended period of being hung by a series of thumb tacks in a space with exposure to significant airborne combustion products like soot from a heating source." Also included is a detailed research paper from military historian and flag specialist Greg Biggs who has worked with several museums including the Museum of the Confederacy and the National Civil War Museum as well as the Civil War Trust. He states that historian Les Jensen (West Point Museum Curator of Arms and Armor) identified the flag as having been captured at Spotsylvania Court House by a former officer of the 8th Ohio Infantry on May 13, 1864. Jensen sold the flag in 1980 to collector Sam Higginsbotham and indicated he had purchased it at the Greenbelt, Maryland Gun Show that year. He indicated the flag had been purchased from a man who received it from his deceased step-father who had obtained it from a cousin. The family history stated that it had been captured in Virginia by Captain F.W. Butterfield of the 8th Ohio Infantry. Jensen's own research into original records found that a flag had been captured by Butterfield on the morning of May 13, 1864, after a day of heavy fighting at the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania, Virginia, and also found that the flag had never been sent to the War Department who would have catalogued the flag and given it an identification number. "It can be presumed that Butterfield may have been allowed to retain this flag. The flag probably remained in Butterfield's family until being sold to the private market by descendants where Mr. Jensen secured the flag." Biggs then outlines the historical events surrounding the battle and capture, including that the Official Records declare that "On May 13th, Hancock reports, 'Nineteen colors are sent here, with 3 captured May, 6, 15 and one this morning. . .many others are in the possession of individuals, but it is impossible to collect them at once." Pvt. Lewis Rounds of the 8th Ohio Infantry also captured a flag and received a Medal of Honor. Col. Samuel Carroll led men over the Mule Shoe on the morning of the 13th and was shot in the arm in the process while leading his men. When he wrote his report on September 9th, 1864, while still nursing his wounds back in New York, he wrote, "My thanks are due Captain Butterfield, Eighth Ohio, assistant inspector general. . .Captain Butterfield, in charge of the skirmish line, captured a stand of colors from the enemy on the morning of the 13th." Biggs notes, "Butterfield was a staff officer on Carroll's staff at this time having been detached from his regiment for this purpose." In his analysis of what unit the flag belonged to he wrote, "it will be nearly impossible to figure out what unit this flag came from baring new documentation from F.W. Butterfield turning up that might shed some light on this. From the sounds of things the flag was a battlefield pick-up left behind by some Confederate unit who had fallen back and lost their colors in the confusion of events." Historian Frank O'Reilly of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park stated, "Odds-on favorite is that Butterfield never engaged in any combat close or big enough to warrant capturing a flag, so the flag he captured probably was one lost/abandoned the previous day or night, in conjunction with the action around the tip of the Mule Shoe. . .I suspect that Butterfield might have kept the flag rather than turn it in because his commanding officer made such a hasty departure on May 13 and Colonel Theodore G. Ellis then assumed command of Carroll's brigade. I wouldn't be surprised if Butterfield also held onto the flag because the skirmishers were largely from another brigade, so his brigade and brigadier wouldn't get the full credit." Biggs also provides a detailed history of flag making at the Richmond Depot, including that they were made from pre-cut kits like the clothing made there. He concluded the flag was like made in 1863 or 1864 after cloth saving measures were taken at the Richmond Depot. He also notes, "the blue cross is atypical of the crosses on the Richmond Depot flags. Usually, the cross was one long piece with two short pieces sewn to it with flat fell seams. In this flag's case, the cross is made of two long blue strips, one laid over the other. So far as I know only one other ANV flag is made like this; the flag of the Palmetto Sharpshooters of South Carolina which was made in May 1863 and issued a month later. This adds to the uniqueness of this flag." He concludes his paper with: "This is a wonderful example of a Richmond Depot Third Bunting flag made more exciting by being a battlefield capture from one of the most famous battles of the Civil War. A number of the holes through its field attest to the ferocity of the combat this flag faced. Also of great interest is that the flag was never sent to the War Department but was retained by Captain Butterfield, its captor, and descended through his family. . .the fact that the flag was part of one of the most ferocious Civil War battles, the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania, is most certainly a value multiplier and greatly enhances its history."