New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-02-29
THE BATTLE FLAGS.
Secretary Endicott Furnishes the House an
Exhaustive Reply to the Resolution Call
IT,, forp,atio,


ing for Information.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2O.-The secretary of
war to-day returned to the house his answer
to the Boutelle resolution calling for imfor-
nation as TO the flags captured by the United
States The secretary says:
OF the whole number captured and de-
posted with the department.. 236 were
United States flags originally captured by
Confederates and recaptured from them, and
544 were Confederate flags taken by the
United States troops, making total of 7SO
in the custody OF the deparument When re-
ceived they were deposited in vacant at
tic room OF a building on Seventeenth street
occupied by the clerks of the adjutant gen
erals Office. In 1867 the superintendent Of
the buildings, without instruction. so far as
can be ascertaned. had them removed to his
| office. where a few were placed upon the
| walls and the remainder upon shelves or in
! pigeon holes At this time an inventory of
| these flags was entered III a book in which
was also entered q description and brief
| history of the capture of those that could be
| Identified as belonging to particular organ
| izations. They remained here until the lat
| ter part of 1874.
| It is stated that while some of the Con-
| federate flags have since been given the
companies or regiments capturing them, no
flags have passed out of the custody of the
| department that were in such custody
\ WuGu OCCiSCdly HuulCOUU dSSuultu CudISc VI
| the department. The order to return the
| flags and the order revoking it are given and
| the statement is made that no flags were
| actually returned under The first order.
| ON EXHIBITION.
! The secretary then says:
! AS to the law requiring the public exhibit
| ton of capturing flags and trophies, it is as
| sumed that the construction put upon it by
| former secretaries of the war and navy was
that the law applied to trophies taken from
| a foreign enemy and not to those taken dur
ing domestic hostilities. In the autumn
OF 1914 portion of the flags were removed
from the office of the superintendent
OF the war department. buildings,
it is presumed by The oral direc-
| tlOn Of the then secretary of war, to the
ordnance museum in Winters building and
there placed on exhibition. and others were
sent to the same place in 1879. The larger
part of the flags, however, stillremain in the
Office of the superintendent Such was their
| custody and place of deposit until October,
| 1882, when all the flags, including those in
the museum, We're by direction of the secre-
| tary OF war boxed and stored in room in
| the subbasement OF the new state war and
! navy building then fast occupied by the war
| department., where they remained until Jan
! uary, 1887. They were quite inaccessible
in this place and difficult to find and Identify
| when 1t became necessary to do So 1t was
| also found that they We're decaying rapidly,
and by direction of the present adiutant
| general they were taken from the boxes and
| placed in room in the upper story of the
war department building. where they can be
easily visited and examined. 1t is
we'll known that in many cases
United States troops with the implied,
| it not the express, consent OF the war
| department, retained the flags taken from
the Confederates in BATTLE and during the
war the secretary OF war ordered several capt
| ured flags to be restored to the captors Dur
| ing the whole period of their custody in this
department it has been the practice of the
secretaries of war, from time to time to de-
| liver up recaptured Union flags on applica-
| ton by governors of states whose troops
served in the armies of the United States, or
to organizations, or to distinguished soldiers
| OF the war on the Union side. Upon such an
plication ii was, prior to March, 1885, the
practice OF the secretaries of war to make in
! quiry concerning the loss of the flag ask ed
| for. and il it occurred under circumstances
| which did not reflect discredit upon the col
| dlefly and gallant conduct of the troops it
was returned; and in accordance with this
rule such flags have been returned since
| March, 1875. Such applications have at
times been refused and, in some cases, SUP
sequently granted. Nineteen Union flags
| have thus passed from the custody of the de.
partme by order from the secretary of war.
| and three have been delivered up on ionS
resolutions OF congress.
| A DETAILED LIST.
A full list of the same. giving tries
history and at whose request, and to whom
delivered, and by whose authority, is an.
nexed. Twenty-one Confederate flags werS
also given up prior to May, 1867. A list O.
| these is annexed. Ten of those were taken
from the custody of the war department. anG
| delivered &c individuals, associations OF
states upon the written order of Mr.. Stanton,
| two were given upon an order signed by
| Assistant Adjutant General Nichols, and nine
| were disposed of under instructions not now
ascertain q hla hnE nr0loo hty Wit,
| Mr. Stanton. Some of these were given I'D
| on promises that they would be returned,
| which appeared not to have been kept The
| secretary concludes:
In January. 1887, a Confederate flag was
| loaned bv Gen. Bennett acting secretary of
war, to W. T. Clark, late brigadier general
| United States volunteers, who had originally
| deposited it at the war department and who
/ promised in writing to return it, but has not
| done So Since the date last mentioned no
confederate OF recaptured Union flag has
| been issued or loaned by this department.,
| and no Confederate flag has at any time
! passed from the custody of the latter to any
| OF the states lately in rebellion. In April,
1887, the adjutant general addressed let
ter to the secretary of war in which he sug-
I gested the proprety of returning all the
| flags Union and Confederate) to the author
| tiles OF the respective states in which the
regiments which had these colors were or
! gained for such final disposition as they
may ueLermlne Inls pfOposlLlOn was sub
mitted to the president and approved by
him. Orders thereupon issued that letters
| be sent to governors of states whose
troops carried the flags depositedin the war
department., proposing to return the same.
| Such letters were sent to the governors of
states referred to in the order. But before
! any OF these flags were sent or delivered
under the order thus issued the president.
| upon further consideration, d determined @that
! the return Of these flags in the manner con-
tempIated is not authorized by existing law
or Justified as an executive act" The order
of the department was at once revoked and
notice thereof duly issued. None of the
| flags We're given up. No flags have been re-
| moved from the place where they were dis
played and concealed from the public. Sec.
| retaries Stanton, Belknap McCrary, Ramsey
and Lincoln and the present secretary de-
| ivered up altogether some nineteen re-
captured Union flags
"A full description of the flags remaining ia
the department. that can be identified ac-
companies the report
Thomas Ryburn Buchanan, the Glad
stonian candidate, was reelected to the
house OF commons for the west division OF