Unidentied Confederate veterans holding flag remnants

CSA Today

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Honored Fallen Comrade
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Location
Laurinburg NC
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"Oh, how it thrilled the heart of a soldier, when he had been long away from the army, to catch sight again of his red battle flag, upheld on its staff of pine, its tatters snapping in the wind! A red rag, (there be those who will say),-a red rag tied to a stick, and that is all! And yet - that red rag, crossed with blue, with white stars sprinkled the cross within, tied to a slim, barked pine sapling, with leather thongs cut from a soldiers shoe, this rough red rag my soul loved with a lover's love."

Berry Benson, 1st South Carolina Inf.
 
Isn't it strange how important flags were to the men who fought in the Civil War?
How men, or boys from each side would rush forward to lift the banner if it fell, how they would literally risk life and limb to capture the other sides flags?
If you read the citations for many of those who received the Medal of Honor you read it over and over again, how they died lifting the colors, or died trying to take one from the other side...as much as I find the notion romantic, it would seem that while it was a brave act, it certainly was symbolic..there were many fighting hand to hand, sword to sword, beating each other with rocks, and the guy that gets the medal, picked up a flag !
 
I think its beautiful what Barry Benson said about his flag. But after reading what you said dam Yankee, I kinda had ...I could have had a v8 moment thing going .But you are so right!! Well said !!
 
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Isn't it strange how important flags were to the men who fought in the Civil War?
How men, or boys from each side would rush forward to lift the banner if it fell, how they would literally risk life and limb to capture the other sides flags?
If you read the citations for many of those who received the Medal of Honor you read it over and over again, how they died lifting the colors, or died trying to take one from the other side...as much as I find the notion romantic, it would seem that while it was a brave act, it certainly was symbolic..there were many fighting hand to hand, sword to sword, beating each other with rocks, and the guy that gets the medal, picked up a flag !
A regiment's colors were not just important during the Civil War, but have been the most praised items of a regiment throughout history. Banners and field ensigns have been used in warfare as early as the Bronze Age. Battle flags were usually used to mark a unit on the field and help rally and coordinate the men in battle.

A regiment's battle flags were a representation of their unit and a rallying point for their men, and held personal pride and honor, since the men swore to defend them and in some cases their colors were sewn by members of their community. If you were to lose your colors than that was the worst disgrace, since your colors almost represented your pride and devotion to your cause. For an artillery battery, their guns were almost of the same importance. If your guns were captured that was just as dishonorable as have your colors captured and it was considered an honor for a infantry regiment to capture a battery of guns.
 
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I remember one reenactment at Guyandotte, WV, when my Union reenacting infantry outfit talked with our opposing Confederate reenactors and made an arrangement to let the Confederate unit 'capture' our Regimental Colors (not our National US Flag) in the first day's reenactment. I was to be the color bearer for that part of the day's battle.

Saturday day came with a Confederate attack on all corners of the town. Our Union forces were driven back to the town jail, fighting back the entire distance in the face of heavy Confederate forces. Finally, we were pinned to the front of the jail, surrounded and called upon to surrender.

Our surviving officer gave his surrender and the Confederate Colonel strode up to me and said, "Sir, I will relieve you of your flag." I was utterly astonished at how choked up I became at the thought of handing over my regimental colors to the man, even though we had carefully planned out this scenario. My hands were actually shaking when I thrust the staff of the flag to the man and I had tears in my eyes when he took it, turned and waved it at his men who cheered at taking our colors.

I can well understand the devotion and love the men showed their flags from the time, just a bit, if the experience I had shook me so badly in a reenactment, how much more so for those men, whose banners were torn by shot and shell and were stained with the blood of friends and comrades?

Just some memories,
Unionblue
 
I can see that. It's become something of a faux pas, or kind of announcing one's membership in a certain kind of political movement to have an allegiance to one's flag in 2013. Just not cool, and God forbid we should blow our cool in this present society of judgement and adverse opinions to every sneeze, squeak, and hiccup.

One of the nicer things about being 55 is this tendency to discover you just do not care. I'm an avowed, unreformed or reformable flag nut- it means what it means to me and no one is going to pin a political party to it or tell me why there are 20 of them lining my front lawn.
 
Flags had a much great value during war in the years past, mostly symbolic, in the case of the regimental colors they were rallying points, the place where a leader would be. Which is probably one reason leaders on the field didn't last very long. Reading newspapers of the time you see prints where the angles are hovering just above the smoke of the cannons etc.
today the last thing you want is to let the enemy know where your assembly area is, officers do not want to be saluted in a battle zone, and the idea of gathering under a flag where numbers of your men can be cut down is considered pretty much suicide.
I have nothing but respect for the men of both sides of our Civil War, the fighting men that is, but lets face it, the way they fought is the reason the death toll was so great..lets put a flag up, and have everyone run for it while artillery and men armed with long guns try to kill everyone within 15 feet of it!
I'll pass...
 
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