Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-08-10
The Old Flag of the 26th-its History

Quartermaster General LUNp has received
the battle rent flag of the Goth regiment-~or
what the shot, she'll and winds have spared of
(which is now deposited in the Capitol
with the other glorious proofs of the valor
OF the brave soldiers of this State, and the
terils through which they have passed.
Major WNCKLER, III forwarding the flag,
accompanies it with the following very in tie
resting history. He says:
60 The appearance of the flag will attest the
hard service it has seen.
q Its first experience of battle was towards
the evening of the I'd of MAY, 1868, in the
Wilderness, Va, where IL stood in the cen
ire of line of battle which stubbornly re
fused to give way to many times its numbers,
though left without support on either right or
left and did not begin TO retreat until the en-
envy had strongly doubled about both of its
tlanks and the order TO fall back had been twice
repeated by the brigade commanders. During
the retreatit became again and again the rally
ing point OF strong lines which presented bold
front and checked the impetuous advance OF
the enemy The loss Of the regiment was
,rheavy; one color-bearer Was shot through
the eye, and both flags bore the marks ofmauy
bullets.
% On the first day of the battle of Gettys-
burg the regiment partook of the hottest OF
iuc uSHb, WITCH TWO Oh our corps iuuSib tht
whole of Lees army. Every one of the col
or-guard was wounded. The national color,
now riddled by bullets, was brought off the
field by Sergt. Weinreich of Co. Il.
"The State color, during the retreat was
successfully borne by three different men,
each Of whom in his turn was wounded and
disabled. One cI them unable to get any
further, severed it from the staff to conceal
it from the enemy, when he succeeded in
hailing Private Stubanus of Co. g, to whom
re gave it; but he too was Immediately shot
down, receiving one ball III the breast and
one in the leg, and though not fatally injured
was unable to get away, and thus the flag fell
into the hands of the rebels.
''Since then the Z. S. flag and the regi-
ment have borne their part of the most i'm
portant campaigns of the West. They havs
been present and active in the campaign into
Lookout Valley, the battle of Wauhatchie on
the night of the 2Sth Of October, 90, the
battle near Chattanooga the 23d, Path and
25th of November, and the subsequent cam
paign for the relief of Knoxville.
During the present campaign the flag
has been with US in a hot skirmish at Buz-
yards Roost May Sth, in the battle of Resaca
the 18th, 18th and 10Th of May, where we
were on the last day very hotly engaged, in
the battle of Dallas, which opened with
sharp engagement in which we partOok and
suffered severely on the 25th of Nav, and in
numerous skirmshes in moving from there to
our present position in front of Kenesaw
Mountain, and here in a sharp fight on the 22d
inst, in which we charged upon and took
line Of rebel rihe-pits On the 10th inst. we
captured rebel batle-fag in a skirmish,
which is some compensation for the one lost
at Gettysburg, and / should be glad to send it
to the State, but the Commanding General of
the division has appropriated and will not
part with the trophy"