Bird of War, Lincoln Oath and War Spoils of a Peace Chief

Learn the truth about an evocative symbol, a swatch of fabric, Native American clothing and a Lincoln signature.

The Royal Oak Museum in Webster, Michigan has a note that Abraham Lincoln signed. Supposedly. The museum’s curator is always suspicious of Lincoln forgeries, so she asks Tukufu Zuberi to verify this signature. The words are scribbled on the back of a square cut from an unfamiliar document. This message, coupled with the document, reveals a key Civil War practice history textbooks often overlook.

Family lore says that George’s great, great-uncle Taylor fought alongside General Custer at the Battle of Washita. Peace Chief Black Kettle of the Southern Cheyenne, lost his life in the confrontation. Taylor returned from the war with an Indian neckpiece and leggings, which he said belonged to the chief. George asks Wes, could the family legend he knows so well actually be true?

Gale Bay finds a swatch of red fabric in an envelope labeled “relics.” She also has a letter from her great-great grandfather Ira Wilson, about a slain commander, Col. Ellsworth. Ellsworth was the first Union officer killed in the Civil War, shot at as he took down a confederate flag near the White House. Gale asks Gwen to find out if this red fabric came from the flag that cost the Col. his life.