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What the 52-year-old Revolutionay War re-enactor and historic house restorer had purchased, according to experts, is the oldest-known relatively intact flag made in America, probably dating to the mid-1700s.

Laube didn't immediately go public, waiting until experts had examined the flag. And all of those who saw the banner have been unanimous: It's the real deal.

The object he found in the trunk was a dark beige wool flag, 31-by-33 inches, with a green-fabric pine tree, the symbol for New England in colonial times, and a red cotton cross of St. George, the symbol for England, in the upper left corner.

In the past few years, Laube has unearthed important new information. While he initially believed the flag came from a Long Island military unit in the late 1600s, he is now certain it came from a Connecticut regiment in the following century.

And he has a strong hunch on who carried it in that regiment and how it ended up in Southold.

After buying the trunk at a sale of items from the estate of Bill and Frances Woodward of Southold, Laube guessed the flag was made before 1700 and later used in the French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763.

"I knew about pine tree flags," he said. "I was pretty sure there were no existing pine tree flags, and with the St. George's cross we had a pre-Revolutionary War flag."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liflag044805400jul03,0,2482374.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines&track=rss