Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1905-10-15
ARKANSAS BATTLE FLAGS
DESCRIPTION OF THE cAERsHE RELICS WHICH WE'RE ne 'o'
ED TO THE STATE THE U klTEo STATES WAX oerN''
MEN1 WRITTEN HARLEY

udS lDdl plOti uNCu - oAi 'iiNSi 'Ai1
ribbon and found a letter ''R.' 1t
had been neatly painted and then
stitched on nicely, and subsequently
taken off. leaving the painted letter.
as we'll as a stitched letter. | care
fully unloosened one edge of the rib
ton and to my delight | was face to
face with my old company flag, the
one | had marched from home under
May 80. 1861 Then before me in
plain letters was Dallas Volunteer
Rifles" / felt as if l had suddenly
met long lost friend. one whom
almost knew was dead. What emo
tions filled my heart and brain upon
that discovery.
Then l remembered that our COM
pany flag was taken for the regi-
mental flag when the regiment was
organized, because of it's size, beauty
and the fact that it was flag of the
Confederacy, and l believe it was the
only one in the regiment, but | am
/
flag adopted by the southern congress
on March 4, 1861, had but six stars
upon it, one for each state which had
seeded UP to that time. but as THIS
| flag was made after the secession OF
other states it has twelve on it, one
more than we had. One was contem-
platiye. ! suppose, of either Missouri
or Kentucky joining us later 1t was
the regimental flag until after the
Kentucky campaign of 1862, but not
the battleflag 1t was not the little
blue battlehag which Sergeant Ben &.
Selman carried aloft so couraSeously
at Shiloh. nor the one Theodore
Goodwin carried at Murfreesboro. az
ter the consolidation with the Seventh
Arkansas. who waved it so deflantly
in the face of the enemy in the sec
ond fight we had with them on the
ast of December. 1862 nor was II
tie flag that Theodore Goodwin car
ried to his death at Ghickamausa,
guard WAS killed or wounded, and the
flag picked up and carried through
: the remainder of the battle by Private
f George Williamson of Company II
:. That flag is the one with the blood
. Stains upon il that was captured at
J. Jonesboro, Ga, September j. ls64
bp,. nf tho fptnfnP (
, flags. AS we'll as | remember George
8 Williamson was killed at Ezra church
;, July 2S. 1864, while carrying this flag
Z While in Kentucky in 1862, our reg
iment was marched into large town
, on some sort of public occasion. and
. our flag was taken and holsted upon
:. a public building. 1t could not have
I been when the provisional govern
, ment was organized, for that was
at Frankfort, and have no recollec
ion of our regimen being in the cap
, ital of Kentucky. nor were we al
eXipeton. remember Gen. j. K
y Chalmers made a speech. not a Word
, ting on his horse, which at time:
a stood on its hind feet, reminding me
of the picture in one of McGutfv,s
). old readers of Bonaparte crossing the
I Alps. My mind is no. clear as te
i. what tho occasion was when our hae
!. was hois.ed in commemora1ion of it
,hnn hap
! msuic, a parade of troops etc. bu
what the event was memory refuses
s t( disclose.
i. The flag is eight feet three inches
4 in length. four feet eleven inches
i. wide. A three-feet square. deep blue
spot, color we'll retained. with clever
!. stars in circle and one somewha
q larger in the center. occupies The UP
j., per left hand corner. Lower bar O
6 silk. nineteen inches wide. was red
q but now a fade 4 white, extends acfos
q he flag. full lengIh. upper bar. wa
o red. but now like the lower bar.
3 faded white. nineteen inches wide an
y ends on blue square, FIVE feet, thre
!, inches long The central bar Wa
r. White. bnt is now soiled. ends ol
# hue square. five feet three inche
II long and twenty inches wide, sill
- fringe all around it, one inch wide
Cannot tell what color it was. and
silk cord with which to attach it I
III the staff
u The sewing throughout is of the fir
~ est kind. showing that i was made b
'e tender hands of loved ones. 1t wa
once very beautiful flag, but th
es ravages of time have left but little t
s. show how beautiful it was.
Ii.
re If l am not very much mistaken
r. was made by Mrs. G. G Lea, mothe
h. of Judge r. j. Lea, Mrs. O. C. Ora.
I Col. Gray's first wife, and Miss Lo
e. Holmes. daughter of Capt w T. "