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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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Good question. "Short Arms" were available for them, but in the course of the war, they would have been of little help. If they had come upon close quarters with the enemy, they had individuals provided for their protection.
From diary accounts, the staffs and flags were enough to occupy both hands, particularly in the wind. If the advance was successful, the color bearers would "plant the flag", and allow the troops to go forward.
Side light: "Colors" occupied such an important mind frame of the times, that the Union automatically issued a "Medal of Honor" to any soldier that recovered a Confederate Flag. Tom Custer won 2 MOH, Douglas MacArthur's Father won one in the same situation. There were so many issued that it began to diminish the award.