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Originally Posted by cyberia
Good info fellows. Now, follow up questions. Was the position that important to put so many lives at risk, and I can see where a rifle would not be possible but were these color bearers at least armed with a pistol or sword?
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Officially I am not sure about if they were supposed to be armed. They probably were armed with a pistol though if they had one. One thing to remember is that they were often volunteers selected from the ranks and promoted to Cpl and the Head was a Sgt. It contained eight Corporals, the Color Guard, and the Sergeant, the Color Bearer. Union Color Guards had two Flags so I don't know how they worked (although I have a Union Manual open in front of me). The Color Guard was armed with rifles. One on either side of the Color Sgt three right behind and three in the rank of File Closer (behind the battle line).
When the column advances, the three front men (Color Sgt and senior Corporals) take six paces forward at the command "Battalion (or Regiment), Forward". The three in the rear rank fill there spot in the front rank and the three file closers fill the rear rank. At "March" they would advance as normal with the with the Color Sergeant setting the pace. They were positioned on the Left of the Right center Company like a bridge between the two.
When the smoke became heavy the only thing for the men to follow was the banners at the tops of the staffs protruding above the smoke. They were also a sign of honor. If you lost your flag you lost your honor. If you captured one you became a hero. In the heat of battle if the flag went down, which it probably would, one of the corporals would drop their rifle and hoist the flag. It was a beacon of guidance and with out it they would be lost or easily broken.