The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-06-10

fortress" Was this Tory flag in the West Point
museum part of the trophy which was dis
played under :" the American standard and was
that American standard the first Stars and
Stripes to float in the face of the enemy? 1t
thrills one even to think that it MIGHT have
BEEN
Close by the British and Hessian colors cap
tured during the Revolution are the colors of
another foreign enemy captured in later war
Mexican flags taken by the troops of Scott and
Taylor below the Rio Grande And there are
American flags there, too, which played an i'm
portant part in that conflict. One of them is
designated as 1.-THE first flag hoisted over Vera
Cruz and the Citadel at Mexico City. The hal
yards on it carried the Mexican flag the Ma
tional palace in the City of Mexico and by the
same halyards was carried this American ensign
on September IA, 1S47.'
But even more interesting is the story which
the pIacard on another American flag tells 1t
reads "Regimental c0Ors of the Eighth United
States infantry, carried by Lieut. James Long
street regmental adiutant, in the storming of
Churubusco. It was the first flag planted on the
Notifications by Capt. ]. V.Bomford and Lieutenant
Longstreet and it was the second flag planted
on the battlements of Chapultepec by Lieut.
George E. Pickett. It claimed by the reg-
ment to be the first American flag to enter the
city of Mexico" Such is the record of this flag
In the. Mexican Is it necessary to remind
any American that these men who carried
it then to greater fame in a greater conflict
later-Longstreet a general in the Confed-
crate army many a hard-fought field from
1861 to 1865 and Pickett as the leader of that
immortal charge up the slope at Gettysburg?
The Civil war flags in the museum are legion,
including such notable colors as General Sheri-
dams headquarters flag for the Cavalry Reserve
Brigade, First Division, Cavalry Corps, Army of
the Potomac, with its record of 80 battles and the
colors of the Fifth cavalry, the Fighting Fifth"
of later Indian fighter fame, with 81 battles on
its record. But perhaps the most historic Civil
flag there is one which is labeled thus: alag
of the First New York Zouaves (Col Ephriam
Elmer Esworth's Zouaves). 1t is claimed that
this flag was placed the staff of the Marshall
house in Alexandria, Va, May "a 1861, by Col
onel Ellsworth after he had pulled down the
Stars and Bars. He was shot dead by the hotel
proprietor while descending the stairs. There
is some doubt as to whether not this is really
the flag since it has SO stars on it and the
American flag did not have that number of stars
until between October 81, 1864, and March
/, 1861"
Not so historic, perhaps as the Ellsworth
flag (ff it is indeed the Ellsworth fag) but hav-
ing connected with it a remarkable story is an
other carried by the Thirteenth United States
Missouri Volunteer Infantry regiment Here is
the story: On Sunday morning April g. 1862 at
the Battle or Shiloh the Confederates attacked
soon after sunrise. The regiment advanced to
bridge near Shiloh, leaving it's camp flag flying
and only few sick men to protect it. One,
boy named BEEN, was a member of the color
guard. The regiment was forced to retreat
through its own camp. Cannon balls were flying
through the air and one of them passed through
the flag. BEEN hauled down the flag undressed
wrapped the flag around his body and dressed in
larger garments made his way safely through
the thick of the fight in time to save the regi-
mental flag. For this he was commissioned as
an officer. This flag was presented to Professor
Church of the military academy faculty in 1874
by Col Crafts j. Wright of Glendale Ohio who
commanded the Thirteenth Missouri during that
historic Sunday battle. 1T was not such a
peaceful Sunday morning" wrote Colonel Wright
MY regiment lost 50 killed and wounded in
about an hour, among them all of my field and
staff officers"
The story of the improvised flag at Fort STAN
wix is somewhat paralleled by another impro-
vised flag which is on display in the West Point
museum, described follows: Handkerchief
flag, made Of a colored handkerchief eight
stars in a blue field. Used by United States
troops in an expedition in the Philippines. Above
is the official record but it is probable that a
small number Of men were detached from the
main body and sent on expedition during the
1nsurrection of 1S991902 Not wishing to be-
without flag wherever they went, they made
this one from the material available
&C by Western Newspaper union.y