March 19, 2005 ....To all interested in the USS Rattler...I am a dealer in antiques and art here in San Diego CA. I recently purchased 2 original civil war flags from an old family estate in the Los Angeles area. My research on these flags has led to the conclusion that they were from the USS Rattler dating to 1863. I had never heard of the USS Rattler until doing research on it. I have the large revenue cutter flag with a large white eagle on a blue ground, and the 16 1/2 foot commissioning pennant. These came through the family of John Perry Willets the shipmaster at the time. I was doing some fun research on the USS Rattler when I came across your posting. I thought you would want to know these exist. I have sent detailed photos of my flags to experts on the east coat, and I will most likely be auctioning these flags through their prominent auction company. They feel they will do very well. They have told me that several revenue cutter flags have been sold through auctions in the last few years with prices ranging from $25,000 to $85,000, but that none of these other flags could be identified to a particular ship, and no other "Pair" of Revenue Cutter flag with Commissioning Pennant is known to exist. It is wonderful to know these have finally surfaced after 142 years. I have enjoyed reading about the history of this tin-clad side-wheeler. If you would like to see photos of my discovery, email me. <finearts@cox.net> Thanks, Christian T Chaffee