Solon Perkins was born in Lancaster, New Hampshire in 1836. He moved to Lowell with his family in 1840 and was still living here when the Civil War began. Benjamin Butler recruited a full regiment of infantry and three independent cavalry companies from Lowell. Perkins became a lieutenant in one of these companies and went with Butler to New Orleans in April 1862. He was shot in the abdomen on June 3, 1863 and died two hours later. His remains were returned to Lowell for burial. How the flag got back to Lowell is a mystery. It was mounted in the Hall of Flags of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium for some time before being stored and forgotten in the basement until 2014. It has now been restored and returned to its original location and rededicated to the memory of Solon Perkins and the other 500 men from Lowell who died in the Civil War. Dick Howe will fill in many more facts about the flag and its history.