Nav: Home > Articles > The Flag

28th New York Infantry Regiment

Civil War and Reenacting Articles

The Regimental Flag of the 28th New York The New Flag Early in the service of the 28th Regiment of New York Volunteer Infantry, the ladies of Batavia, NY, made a regimental flag for them to carry into the war. The flag was finished and, while the regiment was encamped at Muddy Branch, Maryland, (around Thanksgiving 1861), was presented to Captain Charles H. Fenn. Sergeant George Hamilton, of Company F, was assigned to carry the flag and the men of the regiment marched the flag over to the Brigade Headquarters to display it before General Alpheus Williams. As today, during the American Civil War Regimental flags were a sign of great pride among the soldiers of the regiment and many soldiers would risk their own lives in order that their regimental or national flag would not fall into the hands of the enemy. The 28th New York carried their flag with them from Muddy Branch to Frederick and onto Hancock, Maryland. In spring 1862 the 28th New York marched down the Shenandoah Valley under the command of General Nathaniel Banks. However, with the Confederates, under the command of General Thomas Jackson, threatening the Union supply line, the Union army was forced to withdraw north and the 28th was engaged in battle at Winchester in an effort to delay the approaching Confederate army. Losing the Flag - Cedar Mountain, August 9th 1862. Following the retreat from Winchester, the Union forces reorganized and advanced back into Virginia. This time, the army came across Confederate forces at Cedar Mountain, Culpeper on August 9th 1862. The two Federal brigades who were present at the battle (numbering about 6,000 men in total) were engaged against a force several times larger than their own. General Banks ordered the brigade of the 28th New York to advance across the battlefield and look to take the extreme left of the Confederate position. Initially, the assault, consisting of 5th Connecticut, 28th New York, 46th Pennsylvania and elements of the 3rd Wisconsin covering the flank, had great success. They advanced over the open wheat field through heavy enemy fire from the front and right flank, reached a tree line, managed to drive back two Confederate brigades and capture an artillery battery. At this time, the flag of the 28th New York was being carried by Sergeant William Lewis of Company D. With him was a color-guard of about 25 Corporals, made up of men from all of the companies of the regiment. However, despite the initial successes, the Union brigade was not reinforced and, with the Confederates reformed, the enemy drove soldiers around the left of the brigade and charged causing significant casualties to the three Union regiments. The brigade gradually broke and began to retreat back across the open field. The Confederates, hidden by a sunken road, had been able to move large numbers of men around the flank of the Union forces and had them almost completely surrounded. During this retreat, every officer of the 28th was killed, wounded or captured and the color bearer, Sergeant William Lewis was wounded in his leg. He handed the flag to a Corporal from Company H, and dropped to the ground. Sgt Lewis watched the Corporal moving back but he too was wounded. Several of the remaining members of the color-guard were also hit trying to recover the flag before they were surrounded and overrun being either wounded or killed in the fight. As the last member of the color-guard was wounded and cut off from assistance, he tore the flag from its staff and tried to conceal it in his jacket. However, the flag was found and taken by a soldier of the 5th Virginia Infantry of the Stonewall Brigade. That evening, after the battle, a number of Union prisoners were waiting to be taken away by rail, a member of the 28th New York came across the flag of the regiment among other trophies of the battle. He secretly cut out a small section of the flag and carried it with him through his time at Libby Prison until he was paroled at Aiken’s Landing. Upon his return to the regiment, the section of the flag was handed to Colonel Edwin Brown and he treasured it for the next 20 years. Returning the Flag - Reunion with the 5th Virginia In 1882, Colonel Brown visited the flag-room at Washington DC housing a collection of recaptured Union colors which had been found when Richmond had been taken in 1865. Among the flags stored here one caught his eye and he found that the piece of the old flag which he had kept since 1862 perfectly fitted a rectangular section missing from this flag. Colonel Brown immediately wrote to the Secretary of War and, on behalf of the surviving members, asked that the flag be restored to the regiment. The request was granted and the flag was turned over to Colonel Brown. Following a discussion to arrange for an official handing over of the flag, it was decided that the men who had served with the 5th Virginia at Cedar Mountain should be contacted to suggest a joint reunion to hand over the flag. Such a thing had never been suggested to that point and the invitation was accepted by the 5th Virginia. On May 21st, 1883, at Niagara Falls, 153 Virginians, from the Shenandoah Valley, took the 28th New York up on their invitation. Of this number 83 were veterans of the 5th Virginia. On the following day, May 22nd 1883, twenty-two years after the 28th New York was mustered into Union service, Major J. W. Newton, of Staunton, Virginia, in the full uniform of an officer of the Confederate Army, returned the flag to the 28th New York. “In the Name of the Fifth Virginia Infantry, I now present this flag to its honored and worthy owners and as an eye-witness at the time of its capture, in justice to you I delight to say that, losing it under the circumstances you did , reflects no discredit on you. Take it, my valiant friends, and treasure it as the emblem of a reunited country, signifying the return of the affections and good-will of brave men who met in strife on the field of battle.” ~ Major J. W. Newton, 5th Virginia. May 22nd 1883. The flag was handed over to Colonel Brown with great cheers from the men of the 28th New York. Colonel Erwin Bowen, who at the time of Cedar Mountain had been Captain of Company D, the color company, stepped up and requested to kiss the flag which had been lost so many years earlier and this was again met with renewed cheers. Return to the Shenandoah The following year, the 28th New York received an invitation from the 5th Virginia for a return visit to the Shenandoah Valley. The invitation was accepted and 100 men of the 28th New York made the journey to Staunton, Virginia, via Baltimore, Harper’s Ferry and Winchester. Upon their arrival at Harper’s Ferry, the veterans were greeted with a cannon salute in greeting rather than defiance and addresses were made at Woodstock and Harrisonburg to welcome the 28th New York back to Virginia. On May 22nd, 1884, following a march through the bunting decorated streets of Staunton, a meeting was held at the opera house in Staunton where members of both regiments made speeches. After these ceremonies, accompanied by members of the old 5th Virginia, the members of the 28th New York then made the journey on to Lexington, where, on behalf of the 28th New York, flowers were laid by Colonel Brown on the tomb of General Robert E Lee. The Flag - Recreated Into the modern day and, in 2004, the re-enactors with the 28th New York set out on a project to make an accurate reproduction of the Regimental Flag. As 2007 was the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Cedar Mountain, an event was chosen on the schedule at which we would carry out a reenactment of the battle of Cedar Mountain and to represent part of the battle we would lose our flag to the 5th Virginia Reenactment Group, with whom we have enjoyed a long friendship. In order to represent the return of the flag in 1883, we would follow the battle by carrying out a ceremony to return the captured flag. Much to the surprise of the unit founder and Vice President, 1st Sgt Darin Everdyke, it was the recently finished reproduction of the regimental flag which was returned to us rather than the flag taken during the reenactment of the battle. The Returning of the Flag - 28th New York, 136th New York, 12th US & 5th Virginia. The Regimental Flag of the 28th New York State Volunteer Infantry