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GUEST: Well, it's a pitcher
that's been in my family for
a number of years. And I knew

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my great-grandfather
was in the Civil War,
and it belonged to him.

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APPRAISER: Well, do you
know who the young man
is that's on the bottom?

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GUEST: Oh, is he the man
that took the flag down?

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APPRAISER: May 24, 1861, there's
a inn called the Marshall House
Inn, in Alexandria, Virginia.

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There's a Confederate flag
flying up there. It can be seen
from Washington, right across

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the river. They're, like, "We've
got to get this down." A man
that was friends with Lincoln,

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Elmer Ellsworth, sent over
to get that flag down. He and
his men go up the stairs. They

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take the flag down. And
as they're coming down,
the proprietor of the
house, James Jackson,

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shoots Ellsworth and kills him.
The man that's with Ellsworth,
Private Brownell, he shoots

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Jackson and then runs a bayonet
through him. And that's the
scene that we have here.

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GUEST: Wow.

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APPRAISER: Brownell would later
receive the Medal of Honor
for killing Jackson. We have

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Ellsworth fallen, with the
Confederate flag partially
visible on the side, the bayonet

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going through Jackson.
It's a stoneware pitcher.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: And what's cool
is, it was made in 1861.

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GUETS: Really? The beginning
of the war. (chuckles)

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APPRAISER: Many people believe
that this is actually the first
commemorative pitcher that

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was made by an American
potter. Even though these are
unmarked, we know that they were

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made in Trenton, New Jersey,
by a firm named Millington,
Astbury and Poulson. This one

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is very pretty. They made them
a couple of different ways.
They actually made them with

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a white color, and this is the
polychrome version. They're
the most desirable because

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they're beautiful. You just
look at it, and it's stunning.

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: And at one time,
they would have been embossed
with Brownell's name, right

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through there. And on the other
side, it's embossed-- it's
nearly impossible to see--

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but it's embossed with Jackson's
name, and just below that,
"The Traitor." As we turn

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it around, the imagery
continues. We have a beautiful
large Union eagle, and it has

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the snake, representing the
Confederacy, in its talons.
And along with that snake, we

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have the palmetto tree,
representing South
Carolina, which was the
first state to secede,

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and that first national
Confederate flag, like the one
they took down off the Marshall

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House that day. It's just a
great piece, and it has the
stack of arms with the flag.

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GUEST: Hmm.

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APPRAISER: And on the front,
we have a presentation in gold
that was added after the fact.

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: And... We'll have to
do a little bit more homework
to figure out who those

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two guys are.

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GUEST: Right, oh, yeah. I
couldn't find anything on that.

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APPRAISER: But it's a wonderful
piece of history, representing
a very important time at the

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outbreak of the Civil
War. Ellsworth is actually
referred to as the first
officer killed during

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the Civil War. This moment
was a rallying cry for Union
soldiers. There would later

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be the Ellsworth Avengers.

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GUEST: (laughs)

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APPRAISER: And they would make
photographs of him, depicting
this scene. He was the first

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true martyr for the Union Army.

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GUEST: Wow, and being a friend
of Lincoln on top of it.

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APPRAISER: Exactly. And
actually, after he was killed,
Lincoln has his body sent for.

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They bring him to the White
House, and they put him lying
in state in the East Room.

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GUEST: Wow.

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APPRAISER: Of the White House.
That's how important this
man was to Lincoln. Lincoln

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actually referred to Ellsworth
as "the greatest little man I've
ever met." They actually cut

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the flag up that he
brought down off of the
house and took it home as
souvenirs. And occasionally,

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you will actually see pieces
of that flag for sale. It's a
wonderful stoneware pitcher.

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It's got the age, it's got
the crackling, and to some
people, that will detract from

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it. I think it just
gives it extra character.

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GUEST: (laughing)

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APPRAISER: In this condition,
it's a piece that would probably
retail somewhere between

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$1,500 and $2,000.

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GUEST: Okay, wow, that's great.

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APPRAISER: In mint condition,
they can sell for up to $3,000.

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GUEST: It's great to know.