- Civil War Art Prints
- >
- Rebel Colors - Confederate Color Guard
Rebel Colors - Confederate Color Guard
Rebel Colors
A Color Sergeant and company of the Army of Northern Virginia as they would have appeared in the fall of 1862
by Mark Maritato
The American Civil War had no shortage of brave and heroic men. Perhaps the most noted of which were the Color Sergeants who bore the regimental flags aloft in front of their regiment as they marched into a fight. Being a member of the regimental color guard was not only the most perilous of all posts, it was considered by the solders of that unit to be the most glorious positions of honor. The flag was the symbol of the regiment and an emblem of pride to the soldiers who fought and died under it.
Soldiers were trained to habitually follow the flag into battle and never allow it's capture by the enemy. A color guard was made up of from 6 to 10 the regiment's biggest; stoutest and steady men. They were charged with the defense of the flag and were not allowed to fire or use their weapons for any other purpose unless if the flag was in danger of being captured. They were only to hold their arms at the "shoulder arms" unless the flag was threatened. The color Sergeant's only duty was to carry the flag aloft and make sure it was seen not only by the men in his unit, but by the enemy as well. If the color bearer was killed or wounded, the next man in the color guard would pick up the flag and carry it onward. This act of heroism to keep the flag aloft was repeated in countless instances on many a bloody battlefield throughout the Civil War.
There were numerous examples during the Civil War of soldiers who would lay down their lives in order to keep the flag flying. During the opening phases of battle of Sharpsburg,(Antietam) Maryland in September of 1862, the First Texas regiment of John Bell Hood's vaunted Texas Brigade charged into a cornfield and was caught in a three-way cross fire. The Texas regiment lost 82 percent of it's men and both of it's regimental banners. A Pennsylvania Union soldier later found the Texas state flag under the body of it's last bearer with no less than 13 of his dead comrades around him. On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania the 26th North Carolina regiment faced off in a brutally fierce firefight against the 24th Michigan of Iron Brigade in McPherson's Woodlot. The North Carolina colors were shot down fourteen times until the young Colonel Henry King Burgwyn, Jr. was among the last to pick up the colors and attempt to carry it forward. Burgwyn, the youngest Colonel in the Confederate Army was killed in the attempt and the 26th lost 588 out of 800 men it took into the battle.
On the third day of the battle of Gettysburg, the 26th North Carolina participated in the Pickett and Pettegrew charge upon the Union center. The colors of the North Carolina regiment was shot down an additional eight more times along with their unfortunate bearers. The flag was planted upon the Union earthworks and captured at the cost of an additional 120 men. Also on the afternoon of the first day of the battle of Gettysburg, the Color Sergeant of the 143rd Pennsylvania, 18 year-old Benjamin Crippen was shot down as his regiment fought a rear-guard action to cover the retreat of their brigade from ridges west of the town. As his regiment fell back; Crippen, while carrying the national flag, halted periodically to plant his flag in the ground and defiantly shake his fist in the face of the oncoming attackers.
These are just a few examples of the heroism and valor that would be displayed by regimental color bearers, both Northerners and Southerners on countless battlefields during the Civil War. Their stories of unflinching bravery in the face of unimaginable danger continue to astound us to this day.
AVAILABLE SIGNED EDITIONS
• Signed Open Edition Paper Print
13in x 18in
$59.95 Ea.
• Signed Open Edition Paper Print
17in x 22in
$98.95 Ea.
• Signed Open Editions are not numbered and do not include a certificate.
• Please Note: We add a watermark to images on our website to protect against unauthorized use of the image. The print you purchase will not be watermarked.
• Shipping fee and taxes added upon checkout.