Flagbearers and Color-guards in the Civil War

 A review of the human cost of carrying an American or Confederate flag during our nation's most costly war.  Among the many inspirational stories of our ancestors, read about the war of attrition between the 24th Michigan and the 26th North Carolina at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. Both regiments suffered the heaviest number of casualties in either army during their encounter. The Union regiment lost 9 Color-bearers and the Confederate regiment lost 14 such men that day. The survivors of the 26th went on to lose another 8 color-bearers in Picket's Charge two days later--a total of 22 men who carried their colors into battle over three days. This doesn't include the loss of several dozen more men who comprised the color guard for the Regiment. To download a PDF version of this program, click HERE.  

A few of the 55 slides for the program are shown below.  We hope that through education about the important role our flag has played in the preservation of freedom in our nation and around the world, that fewer instances of it being burned and destroyed in 'protests' will take place in the future. This version discusses both important examples of heroism on the part of both Union and Confederate flag-bearers and color guards. A SUVCW PowerPoint that concentrates on Union regiments and soldiers is available HERE.