Approx. 21 1/2 x 22 1/2 in. embroidered silk flag inclusive of fringe (some splitting, light fading to recto, color retained well on verso); in double-sided frame 24 3/8 x 24 3/8 in. (crack to glass on verso pane, not examined out of frame). 

The flag itself is double-sided with the words "Fifth Regiment / Iowa" embroidered around a white calla lily on Prussian blue silk.

Recruited between 24 June and 3 July 1862, the companies rendezvoused in Burlington, IA, and were mustered into service 15-17 July. They saw action throughout the Western Theater at the Battle of Island No. 10, the Seige of Corinth, Battle of Port Gibson, and the Siege of Vicksburg before moving east as a part of the Chattanooga Campaign, where they were especially bloodied by Granbury's Texas Brigade during the Battle of Missionary Ridge on 24-25 November 1863. Notably, it was recorded that during the battle, 82 men were captured along with the regimental colors. (Cozzens, The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga, p. 236-7). In August 1864, the regiment was amalgamated with the 5th Iowa Cavalry. 

It is possible that the flag offered here represents the Fifth Iowa Infantry or Fifth Iowa Cavalry. The size of the flag suggests that it may have served as a flank marker for the infantry regiment. Each typically had two, one for each flank of the regiment in line of battle. No further provenance accompanies the flag, which may have been made during the Civil War or post-war. Z-twist black thread was used in the construction in the flag, further indicating that it may have been produced as a commemorative flag following the war.