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The 26th Regiment N.C. Troops, Reactivated, Funds Conservation of Battle of Gettysburg Confederate Flag

Descendants of Lt. Col. Christopher C. Cole, the regimental commander of the 22nd Regiment N.C. Troops, attended the Jan. 15 flag dedication ceremony at the N.C. Museum of History. (Left to right) Jack Marshall; Stuart Marshall; Joanne Marshall; J. Matt Marshall; Patti Darnell; Eric Marshall; Jackson Marshall, Associate Director, N.C. Museum of History; and Dalton Marshall.

The N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh has one of the nation’s largest collections of Confederate flags. Conservation of these banners requires specialized textile treatment, costing approximately $7,500 per flag. To help fund this need, the museum has formed a valuable partnership with the 26th Regiment N.C. Troops, Reactivated, the state’s largest Civil War re-enactment group.

On Jan. 15 at the Museum of History, the 26th Regiment unveiled the fifth flag it has helped conserve: the battle flag of the 22nd Regiment N.C. Troops. Carried into the Battle of Gettysburg, the banner was captured on July 3, 1863, by Priv. Michael McDonough from the 42nd N.Y. Infantry Regiment.

The 22nd Regiment suffered terrible battle losses on July 3, the final and bloodiest day at Gettysburg. Comprised of soldiers from Alleghany, Caldwell, Caswell, Guilford, McDowell, Randolph and Stokes Counties, the regiment was part of Brig. Gen. Alfred Moore Scales’ Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia.

            “We are grateful for the support of the 26th Regiment, who spearheaded the fund-raising drive for this important artifact,” states Jackson Marshall, Associate Director of the Museum of History. “The 22nd Regiment battle flag and others that the 26th Regiment and other organizations have helped conserve will be featured in exhibits the museum has planned for 2011 to 2015 during the Civil War Sesquicentennial.”

Members of the 26th Regiment N.C. Troops, Reactivated, presented the newly conserved battle flag of the 22nd Regiment N.C. Troops to the N.C. Museum of History during a Jan. 15 dedication ceremony. Surrounding the flag (left to right) are Capt. Dennis Brooks, 26th Regiment N.C. Troops; Tom Belton, Curator of Military History, N.C. Museum of History; Lt. Col. Chris Roberts, 26th Regiment N.C. Troops; Col. Skip Smith, 26th Regiment N.C. Troops; and Jackson Marshall, Associate Director, N.C. Museum of History.  

Says Skip Smith, colonel of the 26th Regiment, “We are proud to have assisted in the preservation of this battle flag, and we are thankful to the 25 donors, both individuals and organizations, who contributed to the fund-raising project. We are also grateful to the descendants of the 22nd Regiment who gave financially and traveled to Raleigh for the Jan. 15 dedication ceremony at the Museum of History.”

 Smith adds that journalist Don Patterson’s numerous articles in Greensboro’s News and Record about the 22nd Regiment N.C. Troops and the flag project served as a catalyst for fund-raising. One article prompted Illinois resident John H. Newman to become a major donor.

Personal ties to the 22nd Regiment drew Patti and Dwayne Darnell to become major contributors. Mrs. Darnell is a descendant of Lt. Col. Christopher Columbus Cole of Guilford County, the regimental commander who was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville. An avid genealogist, she discovered the Civil War letters of Lt. Col. Cole and his brother James R. Cole, also a soldier in the 22nd Regiment. These letters inspired her interest in the project.

“We certainly considered it a privilege to help conserve the flag, and we were thrilled to be present at its unveiling,” says Mrs. Darnell.

Additionally, four N.C. Sons of Confederate Veterans Camps and many other individuals helped the 26th Regiment reach its goal.

For more information about the Museum of History, call 919-807-7900 or go to ncmuseumofhistory.org or Facebook®. To learn more about the 26th Regiment N.C. Troops, Reactivated, and its 2011 Preservation Project to conserve the battle flag of the First Regiment N.C. State Troops, access www.26nc.org.

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The N.C. Museum of History is located at 5 E. Edenton St. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum of History, within the Division of State History Museums, is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.

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