The FReeper Foxhole Enjoys a Lazy Sunday and Reviews Civil War Regimental Colors - Nov. 21st, 2004

http://www.nps.gov/mana/education/Rally%20Around%20the%20Flag.pdf ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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Regimental Colors
During the Civil War



Very few things were as important to the Civil War soldier as his regiment. Regiments were organized in different ways and around a variety of themes. Geographically, regiments came out of city neighborhoods, congressional districts, counties, regions and other areas. There was a “teacher’s regiment,” a “lead miners regiment,” ethnic regiments and regiments recruited around a core of volunteer firemen. The regiment was the centre of the soldier’s life; he identified with it.



In turn, the soldier identified himself with the regiment’s flag, or colors. The ideals and honor of the regiment were embodied within and represented by the regimental flag. The flag was the symbol of the regiment. When a regiment was being mustered in a particular town, it was often the women of the area who would join together and make the unit’s colors. The completed flag would then be presented to the regiment during an elaborate ceremony, often attended by hundreds of people.


The inscription reads: God Help the Right 140th Regt. New York S.V.


The inscription reads: Presented by 34 Young Ladies of Rochester N.Y. to the Monroe Co. Regt.

To the homesick soldier, who was far from home and engaged in the most terrifying episode of his life, those regimental colors were a concrete reminder of their mothers, wives, and sisters who had helped make the flag. A Georgia captain’s response to the women who had just presented him with his unit’s flag in 1861 is typical of the feelings of most soldiers:



“Those tri-colors are emblematical of your . . . fair cheeks, and your blue eyes; in the future when we look up at those glorious stars . . . whose radiance will guide us to victory and fame, we will fondly remember the loved ones at home.”



To help build a sense of esprit de corps, the regimental colors were also designed to set the unit apart from others and, often times, to proudly display the unique characteristics of the regiment. For example, the 69th New York Infantry regiment was recruited in New York City from a very strong Irish community. Their regimental colors were illustrated with pictures of shamrocks and a Celtic harp on a green background, reminders of their Irish heritage. Another New York regiment, the 11th New York, had been recruited from firemen of New York City. Their colors contained the tools of their trade: a fireman’s helmet, ladder, hoses, and axe all appear on their regimental colors.



Once on the battlefield, the colors had the added importance of guiding the troops in the field. With scores of regiments and thousands of men often involved in the chaos and confusion of combat, the flags served as a way of keeping the various units together. A soldier who might become separated from his regiment could look for the unit’s colors to be reunited with his regiment. The colors were carried by a soldier known as the color bearer. He would be charged with carrying the flag and keeping it aloft for all to follow. While the color bearer was a position of great prestige, it was also one of the most dangerous assignments of the regiment.

Recognizing the importance of the flag for direction and morale, the enemy often targeted color bearers when battle commenced. In the early months of the war, however, many of the young, naive soldiers disregarded the danger and eagerly sought the honor of carrying the colors in battle.



A young color bearer prior to the First Battle of Manassas wrote home:

“I have a position just under the flag and woe be to the Yankee who tries to take it from [me] for we’ve sworn to preserve it, or perish beneath its folds. What a glorious death!”

Accordingly, once on the battlefield, these soldiers would go to great lengths to ensure that the colors were protected. If a color bearer were shot (as was often the case), another man would pick up the flag and carry it, continuing to hold it aloft for all to see. A Union soldier could be awarded the Medal of Honor for capturing a Confederate flag, or going to great lengths to ensure that his own banner was not lost.

Because a regiment’s flag was a source of immense pride and because such steps were taken to protect it, the colors also played a prominent role in the disciplining of troops. For troops who had misbehaved, or performed poorly, a serious blow could be dealt to the unit’s pride by stripping them of their flags. The hope was that, in order to have their colors returned, the men would work that much harder to prove they were worthy of the banners.



Shortly after the First Battle of Manassas, the 79th New York Infantry mutinied when they were denied a furlough that would have allowed them to return home for a visit with their families. To teach the men a lesson after the mutiny was put down, General George B. McClellan ordered “the regiment will be deprived of its colors, which will not be returned to it until its members have shown by their conduct in camp, that they have learned the first duty of soldiers - obedience - and have proven upon the field of battle that they are not wanting in courage.” Of this punishment, one of the New Yorkers wrote, “you have seen in the papers the punishment awarded to the Regiment - the taking of our colors and the disgrace from which we are suffering.”

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

Loss of Colors

1. There is no official definition of the term "loss of colors." However, the term, in common usage, refers to the capture of a unit's colors (flags) by the enemy in battle, or the taking away of a unit's colors as a punishment or disciplinary measure.

2. "Colors" or unit standards have historically served as a means of identifying units of the battlefield. During the Civil War, men were trained to follow their colors in battle, to "rally" around them, and generally to use them to maintain unit cohesiveness. Unit colors were a great source of pride, and victories or defeats were often expressed in terms of colors being captured from or lost to the enemy. During the Civil War, many awards of the Medal of Honor were made for the capture or defense of colors. Even then, however, units which lost their colors remained intact and continued to fight.

3. Modern warfare tactics do not call for rallying points in the open, with large numbers of men performing intricate maneuvers. Therefore, today's armies use colors in ceremonies but do not carry them into battle.

4. Official Army records contain no mention of any unit of the United States Army having lost its colors to the enemy during World War II, the Korean War, or the war in Vietnam. There is also no record of any unit having its colors taken away as a punishment for any action at any time in the history of the United States Army.

5. There have been several rumors concerning various units losing their colors. These are generally false. Some of these include:

a. The 1st Cavalry Division in Korea. The incident that apparently gave rise to this false rumor appears to be the Unsan Engagement which took place on 1 and 2 November 1950 at Unsan, Korea. In that battle, the 8th Cavalry, a component of the 1st Cavalry Division, was pushed back from positions in and around the town of Unsan by vastly superior Chinese forces. The regiment was severely battered, suffering heavy casualties and losing a considerable amount of equipment. This was one of the first major Chinese operations in the Korean War and, like the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir Battle of this same period, it took the United Nations Command by surprise. Considering the circumstances, the 8th Cavalry fought very well, and it has never been criticized for its conduct in this operation.

b. The question of the loss of colors by the 7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn has also generated considerable debate. Although this office has no conclusive evidence one way or the other, it has been suggested that Custer's personal flag along with several troop guidons were taken, but that the regimental flag was not captured. A regimental flag subsequently turned up at the Custer Battlefield National Monument in Crow Agency, Montana, but it has never been verified that this was the flag at Little Big Horn. There is also a rumor that the 7th Cavalry lost its colors in Korea. This can be tracked back to the 7th's association with the 1st Cavalry Division and the incident detailed in para 5a (above).

c. It was also suggested that the 27th Infantry lost its colors. This rumor was traced by Mr. John Wike, [a historian in] this office, to a request made by the regimental commanding officer, August 19, 1919, on the basis that the old colors, which were fourteen years old, had become "so rotten that [they] cannot be repaired." The replacement colors somehow were missent to the Philippine Islands Quartermaster Depot, where they were discovered during an inventory nine years later. Meanwhile, on April 21, 1922, the 27th's commanding officer again made a request for new colors. In doing so, he stated that the regimental colors then in use were so tattered and torn as to present an unsightly appearance, having been in service for more than sixteen years.

These are not the only units rumored to have lost their colors. They are, however, the ones most frequently mentioned regarding the issue of "loss of colors."

Originally prepared by DAMH-HSO [laterDAMH-FPO] 12 October 1989

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Educational Sources: www.army.mil/cmh-pg/lineage/Loss.htm www.nps.gov/mana/education/Rally%20Around%20the%20Flag.pdf

[snippy_about_it]

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[snippy_about_it]

Here are the recommended holiday mailing dates for military mail this year:

For military mail addressed TO APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Parcel Post - November 13
• Space Available - November 27
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - Mailing date is December 11 to all locations
  • EXCEPT for locations starting with ZIP 093. For all locations starting with ZIP 093 the mailing date is December 6.
• Express Mail - December 20 to locations where Express Mail service is available. Check with your local post office to determine which APO/FPO addresses can receive Express Mail. Note: This service is not available to ships.

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For military mail FROM APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Space Available - November 20
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - December 11
• Express Mail - December 18 from APO/FPO addresses where Express Mail can be accepted. Check with your local military post office to determine if they can accept Express Mail. Note: This service is not available from ships.

Thanks for the information StayAt HomeMother

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Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

Thanks to quietolong for providing this link.

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

[Jaysun]

The 28th Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized March 29, 1862 at Shelby Springs (located about half way between Calera and Columbiana) to serve for three years or the duration of the war. The recruits were to report to Shelby Springs, the site of a large Confederate military training camp known as Camp Winn, on 13 March; they remained there until 18 April 1862.

It was captured November 23, 1863, at Bald Knob, near Chattanooga, after a fight that depleted the command and gave it the same glory that fell to the famous Light Brigade. Union and Confederate alike tell of the glorious fight it made when under the impression that it had been ordered to hold the position taken at all hazards. Some of the best men of Alabama were on its rolls, and many of them never came back to tell of its glories.

[radu]

Good morning y'all!

To all our military men and women past and present, military family members, and to our allies who stand beside us
Thank You!

I'm doin' it now.......*HUGZ* all 'round!

[Jaysun]

In 1993 eighty-three-year-old Father John Hardy and his ninety-seven-year-old sister, Sister Frances Claire, presented Governor John Engler with the flag their father, Captain John Hardy, a color guard with the Second Michigan Infantry, carried during the Civil War.

Second Michigan Infantry Regiment

[Jaysun]

This battle flag of the 33rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment was captured by the 26th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment on July 20 1864, at the Battle of Peach Tree Creek. It is the Second National pattern, a white field with the square Army of Northern Virginia battle flag in the canton. The canton is red with dark blue diagonal stripes with white stars along the stripes. The flag was returned to the state of Mississippi 25 Mar 1905.


33rd Mississippi Infantry Regiment

[alfa6]

Sunday Morning Nite Shift Freeper Foxhole Bump

and that ain't allllll

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freerper Foxhole.

[Godebert]

26th South Carolina Volunteers
(my g-g-grandfather's regimental flag)

[GailA]

Good morning

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on November 21:
1495 John Bale England, bishop/anti-catholic playwright (Kynge Johan)
1694 Voltaire [Francois-Marie Arouet], France, thinker
1729 Josiah Bartlett US physician/judge/signer (Decl of Independence)
1785 William Beaumont surgeon (studied digestion)
1787 Sir Samuel Cunard founder (1st regular Atlantic steamship line)
1817 Richard B Garnett Brig Gen, killed during Pickett's charge
1828 William McComb Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1918
1831 John Franklin Miller Bvt Mjr Gen (Union volunteers), died in 1886
1834 Joseph Jackson Bartlett Bvt Mjr Gen (Union volunteers), died in 1893
1854 Benedict XV 258th Roman Catholic pope (1914-22)
1863 Arthur Quiller-Couch editor (Oxford Book of English Verse)
1904 Coleman Hawkins virtually created tenor saxophone for jazz
1907 Charles Korvin Piestany Hungary, actor (Berlin Express, Ship of Fools)
1907 Jim Bishop author (The Day Lincoln was Shot)
1908 Franz Pfnor Germany, slalom (Olympic-gold-1936)
1912 Eleanor Powell Springfield MA, actress/tap dancer (Broadway Melody)
1916 Sid Luckman NFL QB (Chicago Bears)
1920 Ralph Meeker actor (Anderson Tapes, Night Stalker)
1920 Stan Musial outfielder (St Louis Cardinal, 7 times NL bat champ)
1921 Vivian Blaine Newark NJ, actress (Guys & Dolls, Skirts Ahoy)
1927 Joseph Campanella NYC, actor (Dr Steffen-The Nurses, Lou-Mannix)
1932 Jim Ringo NFL center (Green Bay, Philadelphia)
1933 Henry Hartsfield Jr Birmingham AL, astro (STS-4, STS 41-D, STS 61A)
1933 Jean Shepard Pauls Valley OK, country singer (Ozark Jubilee)
1937 Marlo Thomas Detroit MI, actress,[Mrs Phil Donahue](That Girl!, Jenny)
1939 Richard Lenz Springfield IL, actor (Hec Ramsey, Scandalous John)
1940 Natalia Maskarova Lenningrad, ballerina (Kirov) defected 1970
1941 Juliet Mills London England, actress (Nanny & the Professor, QB VII)
1943 Larry Mahan Oregon, rodeo champ (1967-70)
1944 Earl "the Pearl" Monroe Philadelphia PA, NGA Guard (NY Knicks, Baltimore Bullets)
1945 Goldie Hawn Takoma Park MD, actress (Laugh-in, Private Benjamin)
1950 Alberto Juantorena Cuba, 400m dash (Olympic-gold-1976)
1953 Tina Brown journalist publisher (Tatler)
1961 Nadia Comaneci [Gheorghe] Romania, gymnast (1st 10/Olympic-gold-1976)
1963 Nicollette Sheridan Worthing England, actress (Paige-Knots Landing)
1964 Marjorie Judith Vincent Oak Park IL, Miss America (1991)
1975 Cherie Johnson Pittsburgh PA, actress (Cherie-Punky Brewster)

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Deaths which occurred on November 21:
1555 Georgius Agricola mineralogist, dies in Germany at 61
1624 Jakob Bohme German philosophical mystic, dies
1899 Garret Augustus Hobart 24th VP, died
1916 Franz Josef of Austria, dies
1941 Juanita Spellini first woman executed in California
1958 Mel Ott NY Giant baseball star (1926-1947), dies at 49
1959 Max Baer US, heavyweight boxing champ (1934), dies at 49
1982 Lee Patrick actress (Henrietta-Topper, Maltese Falcon), dies at 75
1987 James E Folsom (Alabama-Gov, 1947-51, 1955-59), dies at 79
1991 David "Sonny" Werblin AFL owner (NY Jets), dies at 81
1993 Bill Bixby, actor (My Favorite Martian), dies of prostate cancer at 59

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1964 NIPPER DAVID---ATLANTA GA.
1965 TOMS DENNIS L.---ROCK MN.
[FELL OFF SHIP?]
1967 REYNOLDS DAVID R.---BUFFALO NY.
1972 STAFFORD RONALD D.---OXFORD NE.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0235 St Anterus begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0496 St Gelasius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1620 Leaders of the Mayflower expedition frame the "Mayflower Compact," designed to bolster unity among the settlers
1654 Richard Johnson, a free black, granted 550 acres in Virginia
1783 Pilstre de Rozier & Marquis d'Arlandes make 1st free balloon flight
1787 Andrew Jackson admitted to the bar
1789 North Carolina ratifies constitution, becomes 12th US state
1794 Honolulu Harbor discovered
1818 Russia's Czar Alexander I petitions for a Jewish state in Palestine
1824 1st Jewish Reform congregation established, Charleston, SC
1837 Thomas Morris of Australia skips rope 22,806 times
1847 Steamer "Phoenix" is lost on Lake Michigan, kills 200
1871 Moses Gale patents a cigar lighter
1877 Tom Edison announces his "talking machine" invention
1902 1st night football game, Philadelphia Athletics beats Kanaweola AC, 39-0
1917 M Gorki calls Lenin a blind fanatic/unthinking adventurer
1917 Polish soldiers organize a pogrom against Jews of Galicia Poland
1925 Red Grange plays final Univ of Illinois game, signs with Chicago Bears
1933 1st US ambassador to USSR, W.C. Bullitt, begins service
1934 Yanks buy Joe DiMaggio from San Francisco Seals
1935 1st commercial crossing of Pacific by plane (China Clipper)
1945 General Motors workers go on strike
1946 Harry Truman becomes 1st US President to travel in a submerged sub
1952 1st US postage stamp in 2 colors (rotary process) introduced
1953 "Pitdown Man," discovered in 1912 proved to be a hoax
1959 Jack Benny (violin) & Richard Nixon (piano) play their famed duet
1967 Phillip & Jay Kunz fly a kite a record 28,000 feet
1968 Supremes & Temptations release "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"
1970 NY Knicks 1st game against Cleveland Cavalier, Knicks win 102-94 at MSG
1971 NY Rangers scores a NHL record 8 goals in 1 period
1975 Linda McCartney drug charges in US are dropped
1977 1st flight of the Concorde (London to New York)
1980 Dallas' "Who Shot JR?" episode (Kristen) gets a 53.3 rating
1980 Fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas kills 84
1980 Gene Michaels replaces Dick Howser as Yankee's 25th manager
1980 John & Yoko pose nude for photographer Allan Tannenbaum
1981 Olivia Newton-John's "Physical," single goes #1 & stays for 10 weeks
1986 The Justice Department begins an inquiry into the National Security Council into what will become known as the Iran-Contra scandal.
1990 Michael Milken is sentenced to 10 years for security law violations
1990 Signing of Declaration of "End of Cold war" in Paris
1992 Oregon Sen Bob Packwood issues apology for unwelcome sexual advances
1993 Neo-fascists MSI win 36% of municipal elections in Rome
1995 Israel grants jailed US spy Jason Pollard, citizenship
1995 China jailed well-known dissident Wei Jing-sheng and charged him with trying to overthrow the government.
2000 In a setback for George W. Bush, the Florida Supreme Court granted Al Gore's request to keep the presidential recounts going; Democrats were jubilant, Republicans bitter and angry.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Day of Lulkukan (Mayan holiday).
North Carolina : Ratification Day (1789)
US : National Children's Book Week Begins (Monday)
US : Farm City Week Begins
International Doll Collectors Month

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Religious Observances
Orthodox : Feast of St Michael the Archangel (11/8 OS)
RC : Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Religious History
1638 A General Assembly at Glasgow abolished the episcopal form of church government, adopted the presbyterian form in its place, and gave final constitution to the Church of Scotland.
1852 Union Institute was chartered by the Methodists in Randolph County, NC. Renamed Trinity College in 1859, the campus moved to Durham in 1892. Tobacco magnate James B. Duke endowed the school with $40 million in 1924, upon which its name was changed to Duke University.
1907 Birth of Jim Bishop, American journalist. He gave new life to great historical moments through his "day" books, including his 1957 chronicle of "The Day Christ Died."
1943 German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter: 'A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes...and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.'
1948 The Sunday morning religious program "Lamp Unto My Feet" first aired over CBS television. It became one of TV's longest_running network shows, and aired through January 1979.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit"

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Excuses for Being Late for Work...
"I had to take extra time this morning to wrestle with overwhelming aggressive impulses by reassuring myself that nothing would happen today that would push me over the edge."

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Things I learned from children...
The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earth
worms dizzy.

It will however make cats dizzy.

Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

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Dictionary of the Absurd...
hundred
fear of Attila.

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Things We Would Have Seen Under a Kerry Administration
Inaugural address drowned out by the sound of Hillary Clinton's teeth gnashing.

[Humal]

Good morning! This article goes along with your article from last Sunday and my question about the meaning of "lost their colors". Thanks for more details on this.

[soldierette]

Good morning everyone!

Thanks for this bit of history.

[The Mayor]

November 21, 2004

A Unique Sacrifice

Read: Hebrews 10:1-18

This Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. —Hebrews 10:12

Bible In One Year: Ezekiel 16-17; James 3

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What do you think of when you hear the word sacrifice? We may use the term when we see parents who follow a strict budget and drive an old car so they can send their children to college. It certainly is a good word to describe the selfless action of a soldier who throws himself on a live grenade to take the full brunt of the explosion and save the lives of his companions.

Such noble sacrifices, however, pale when compared to what our Savior did for us on the cross. His sacrifice was unique. Jesus suffered and died "for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Because of His death and resurrection, all who accept His offer of salvation receive complete forgiveness and eternal life (John 3:16).

In Hebrews 10, the Bible speaks about the animal offerings of the Old Testament and compares them to the death of Jesus. Verse 4 states, "It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." Those sacrifices pointed to the need for Christ's death.

The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ provides full salvation to all who have placed their trust in Him. Hallelujah, what a Savior! —Herb Vander Lugt

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood,
Hallelujah! What a Savior! —Bliss

Believing Christ died—that's history; believing He died for me—that's salvation!

[Soaring Feather]

~Josh Groban~You Raise Me Up~

Good morning everyone.

[aomagrat]

Howdy,

Just because I haven't been posting doesn't mean I haven't been lurking. I'll get back to posting as soon as my sabbatical is over. Say hi to Sam for me.

[snippy_about_it]

Sweetie, you know if you're gone too long we come lookin' for you.

I'll tell Sam, thanks for letting us know.

[snippy_about_it]

I did it just for you!