| Show TROPHIES OF THE TH WAR HAR A glance at the lie captured confederate rias flags carried by an elevator five stories up under the roof of tho the war department ar dae almost burning la in this his washington ashy summer weather tho the key being by my guide in III the door of an tittle room I 1 stood an in amant later in a little space hardly more anoro than ton ten fact square aquaro nearly within reaching all sides aides of 01 these battered ino of the war the very mention of which has hag met lot afire the hearts of of peo alfew few rags saturated with altti the explosive wash of out but the first thought on seeing thena them in this ill 1 pent up splice of ulc attic is of clift liness nf 0 lh he 0 causa 11 US a to tile size of the effect the flats flags heaped beeped about the tha room appear at first eight only a hand handful f u appear at the he most but counted separately there hero bra are in ILI all over of them being confederate and the roma remainder inder federal flags recaptured from their captors one half of the entire fin ill her are attached to their slaves As 10 they were originally taken the flags of ill the a two wo sections sec tlona being stacked atac kail in HB ou masses galiot two sides of the room dicing the other half folded and protruding pr from pigeon coleson holed on the opposite walls walla the ali of the stars and Strip stripes tim keeps always familiar but tho the farat took look at the dark red heap of the banners of tho the rebellion plied here against the eido aide of the attic blots out twenty five years from the memory bud and brings back as if it II were yesterday the red years when they waved at the head of their regiments tha there is hardly a ilag among them all t fiat bat has not lla its history recorded in the book jn in the hands handa of the keeper of the room all nearly are riddled with bullets and many like those carried through such battles j the wilderness and tho the second bull run bun were shot allot lit literally orally into tatters and a almost unrecognizable sprays of raff ag the tha contrast la in the appearance of tho the southern and union standards Is significant of the ho history of the war thi the 9 latter are rigged on clean claim polished poles and are ara of firm rich material many of them of ellk showing itu an abundance abunda in tile the north of it tho 0 fabrics of which they continued to bo be made tho the of the confederate Coo federate flues flags are ara of the wretch edest shoddy bunting nils arable in color as la in substance while great numbers of them are ar mounted 0 it rude un barked gods end and lastoly cut from the woods on tile the fairch recalling the blockade and the plu pinch ching ing days daya whoa when war had rallon fallen on a section without manu manure fac tares tales bud and the intense desperate ol ora a people forgot seem 01 and absorbed abi abed orbed every thought by the W inning of their night flight many blany of the be flagin j lying lylo folded in the boxes and taken out to bo be exhibited by the guardian of the room roam recall still more vividly the narrow of rebellion on its last leg being literally independent of dig die crimination in ili color find and made of patches iron from dresses and under undershirts underskirts skirts of nearly every hue and material pitiful reminders of the spartan poverty and courage that were still to fall of their end arid ubera there are some exceptions however in this bia storeroom of battle trophies to ebele mo mementos of the tha sterner days of if the war for the south tho the attendant t drew from the pigeon holes bolfa on an the walls and unfolded for my cay inspection three or four banners bannera of heavy silk fringed with laa iela of if BO gold id arid and ornamented with pictures in oil and rich itch embroider ings angion on a field of blue these flags represent the early and halcyon days of the lost cause when ichen they were ore imade by local associations of ladles and presented to botho the in military organizations Izat loca ions which carried them ono one of those flags belonged to the appa lachico lat guard whose name Is stitched in gold letters on its fold above tho the exultant mottoes in god 1 ti our our we will maintain the finest of them all la Is the banner presented by III iho ladles ladies of norfolk norola to the norfolk light air with fl an oil 11 portrait of washington in the centra of its ha field flold the mottoes on the tha reverse side being the same as ai those or of the flag alae just juit described r mho diio flays ay when the tha confederate armalea a could ili I 1 afford such luxury in ia ensigns quickly passed away how covets ever as is ii evidenced by the colito tion lion representing every period of the war in the beginning of the tha c civil war var tile designor design of the flag cat car ried by the southern regiments regiment was that of the I 1 ho stars and lara bars two red bars and one white at a later late period od to a red field with the SO southern the brit hh union jack A study of be re cord cora kept bythe by the war department of the nanne nod gd capture of each of these flags thong ti a work of days dais would be 10 of 0 intense interest to the veteran soldier adeller ller it would recall to 10 him the triumph on an half tile tha fields of the civil war the sight odthe of the haci flags themselves thema elves would do more hla his heart beats with memories of the great tight that not a low few of those a standards tan dards have been the contort conten of deadly personal encounter ii evident from the numerous blood stains sill atall I 1 trace traceable atle upon thorn them the staves also or of many of thom them aru are ragaei witt the gnaw i tw of bullets the lead in some instances their centers centera and remaining Im bedded in the wool wood everything in fact in tile the appa r the whole collection it ai 4 it laii lod here in tho narrow gir ret rat faded aid abd soiled and tattered wl chows dhows that these are no banners of holiday parade but have pissed pis darl through the tha fire bre and extremity of actual warthe sorrowful weeds blasted and falleo fallen from its 3 wrath ar for tny aal 1 not a soldier but a reu re u deal eat of ton during the war period Fre I 1 recalled called the abo stirring joel den ts or of their presentation to tin tilt war department as aa they weri bil F straight from the fl bolda el ds 0 of their capture on one ut if ocea alom thirty of these thase standards standard HI I 1 remember ere carried it here ere t two w lit ilni jay a af after I 1 er t the h 0 figlia bt winchester hy by a delegation handi had bad actually prized them it in the leht ouster with it lila is johir yellow at their h awl 0 all blanton airnton ai anton tile ibe gri koliu in secretary tary unbent stanton loved rt results rebUl ts and thom worn wore the eviden evidences cei is il I 1 r I 1 a 1 3 out of 1110 alln d den 0 ahli 1 i onich tu lies lie i soldier by the hand land iud w e loomed them an a body wl with 1 1 a ch As ae the ile little grot croup body p stood to d b before age for ha h I 1 door listening lo 10 ahli address the captured standards hold held above their I 1 heads eadi in the narrow hall ot of the old war department made a picturesque cloud of color which together with the on entire scene it was not way easy to forget when the was over the aol aal idlers started again fur for tile the field and stanton taking custers cutteta Cua teta arm walked slowly down the steps step ot of the war office stich was hla his habit with any odthe of the brilliant leaders of 0 the war after a visit to did bid department dopart ment william jackson armstrong Anna Arma tronc trong in now new york world lir orld |
