Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1905-04-08
Returning Battle EIaas.

AND 1OUOw where conscience is leading
Amadeus, O. s. F.. in DonahoeS-
Returning Battle Flags.
Now that Congress has passed the
joint resolution that authorizes the
Secretary of War to return to the diff
ferent states the battle flags that
were captured by the federal troops
during the civil war, it is probable
that the 544 confederate flags that
were taken in battle by the federal
troops and the 236 United States flags
that were recaptured after they had
once been won by the confederates
will soon be transferred from the War
department in Washington to the
state capitols from which they orig
inally went forth into service.
Veterans of the civil war who re-
member the devotion generally felt
for the regimental colors will appre-
ciate the qualification that will be felt
by the former soldiers on both sides
III that great struggle on receiving
back the flags under which they
fought. There were many instances
in which when surrender or rout
seemed inevitable, owing to the pres
sure of superior forces, officers or
men would try to hide the flag, SO that
it should not fall into the hands of the
victorious enemy
In that war, while nearly all the
northern regiments were supplied
with double sets of StandardS-the
flag of the state in which they were
recruited and the flag of the United
States-it was the national colors
that held out until the close of the
conflict; and the loyalty of the men
was chiefly manifested in their pride
in and care of the national emblem.
In the South-aS was natural, consid-
ering the tendency of the seeding
states to maintain state sovereignty
the state banners held the first place
in the mems affections.
In the closing weeks of the civil
war, when the Union troops were rap
idly advancing through northwestern
Virginia, a number of the men of the
sixth corps made a practice of getting
out newspaper whenever they cap
tured printing Office. OF course, the
writing, editing and printing were
done by the high privates; the type,
presses and paper were furnished by
fora ging on the enemy. InaSmuch as
the confederacy was in sore straits
as ink and paper, some of the editions
of the Sixth Corps-the name given
to the migratory journal-were rather
odd-looking specimens of typography.
One of the copies sent me by an Off
Ger of the sixth corps was printed on
common yellow wrapping paper, but
l remember that it had a good deal
of clever work in it. Among the con-
tributionS were some verses dedicat-
ed: ITO the battle flags, which will
hang suspended in the state capitols
in memory of the nations glory" Al
though the war was not yet finished,
the writer had evidently taken it for
granted that the result would be ia
vorable to the Union forces, as was
shown by the ideas contained in these
stanzas, which 1 recall as follows:
OUR BATTLE FLAGS.
Nothing but flags, but simple flags.
Tattered and torn and hanging in rags;
Nor think Of the hosts Of the mighty dead
Who have marched beneath them in days
With a burning cheek and kindling eye.
And have bathed their folds in their
young ife's tide.
And, dying. blessed them. and. blessing.
died.
Nothing but flags. yet methfnks at night
They tell each other their tales of fright;
And dim specters come, and their thin
Round each standard torn. as they stand
in line
AS the word is given, they charge, they
And the dim hall rings with the battles
And. once again. through smoke and
Those coiors lead to nations life.
Nothing but flags. but they're bathed in
They tell of triumphs. of hopes. of fears.
Of a mothers prayers. of boy away;
Nothing but flags, yet the tears will start
AS stand beneath them with throbbing
heart
And think of those who ne'er forgot
Their flags come home, why come they
not?
And gaze with awe at those types of
death
Nothing but flags. yet the thought will
THE heart must pray. though the lips
be dumb
They are sacred. pure. and we see no
On those dear, loved flags. come home
Baptized in blood our purest best,
Tattered and torn. they're now at rest.
Nowadays the prevailing tendency
of military custom is to dispense al
together with every kind of flag ex-
cept such as may be necessary for
signaling purposes The celebrated
method of signaling invented by Gen.
Albert J. Myer called for the use of
a small flag which was dipped to the
right to indicate the figure 1 and to
the left for the figure 2; and letters
were formed by the combination of