Background Information:
Flags
What is a flag? It is a piece of cloth that represents something -- an idea, a group of people, or an organization. Flags can represent countries, states, cities, churches, clubs, teams, and other organizations. They come in many different sizes, shapes, colors and designs.
The United States of America has a flag that represents the country. The first Stars and Stripes ordered in 1777 said that the flag should be “thirteen stripes, alternating red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” As more states entered the Union, Congress decided that a new star should be put on the flag for each new state. The thirteen stripes would not change, reminding us of the original thirteen colonies. Today the United States flag has fifty stars representing the fifty states.
During the Civil War, both the United States of America and the Confederate States of America had a flag. The United States flag looked the same as it does now, except there were fewer stars. The Confederate States changed the design of their original flag two times during the war. They also had a special flag just for battle.
Flags were important in battles because they helped to tell which side was which. When fighting took place, smoke and dust often filled the air and made it hard to see. The tremendous noise of battle made it difficult for a soldier to hear orders. Many times only the flags carried by a regiment were visible to tell the soldier where his or other troops were located. Often the flag was necessary to determine who was friendly and who was not. If the soldier could not hear orders he would follow the direction of the flags, fighting and moving wherever the flags went.
Each Union regiment (full strength of 1000 men, or 10 companies) might carry two flags: the flag of the United States, and a flag representing the regiment called the regimental colors. The Confederate regiment generally carried one battle flag. Soldiers of both sides took great pride in their regimental flags. These flags represented their country or state, their beliefs, and their way of life. Wherever the flag went, so too went the regiment with great pride and patriotism. To carry the flag (color bearer) was a great honor, even though you became a prime target during battle. As regiments went through battles, the names of those battles were often sewn onto the flag itself. To have your flag captured by the enemy was considered a major disgrace for the men of the regiment. The capture of a Confederate flag was such a coveted prize in the Union army, you would win the Congressional Medal of Honor. Nearly half of the 63 men who won the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg did so by capturing Confederate battle flags.
