| The first colors were presented to the regiment on August 30, 1861 at
its camp of instruction in Readville. Governor Andrew made the
presentation on behalf of Mrs. Caleb Chase and the committee of ladies who
had procured them. The state flag, from a description in the Regimental
history, is clearly the same one that is now at Harvard (pictured above
left). It is approximately five by six feet in size, off-white much
darkened by age, and bound by metalic gold tape. The state coat-of-arms is
on the reverse, which is the side visible. On the obverse, now against the
wall, is an elaborate border like that on the reverse, and the words
across the center "FIDE ET CONSTANTIA". The color was originally
surmounted by an eagle and had some sort of streamer or banerol.
Apparently this color was carried only a short time; nothing certain is
known about its use by the Regiment, but it appears in surprisingly good
condition in a post-war photograph of the surviving officers of the 20th. A national color of early war style is also at Harvard (not pictured), and
it is assumed that it was presented to the regiment at the same ceremony
as the state color, although not mentioned in the regimental history. It
too is well preserved, not much damaged by use, and appears in the post-war
officers photograph. It was given to Harvard at the same time as the
state color. The
national is approximately four feet by six, with an eagle painted into
the Union, surrounded by thirty -four gold stars. It had an eagle finial,
and has no fringe. Judging from the appearance of the painted eagle
union, the
flag was probably made by Thomas Savory of Boston.
State and national colors from the Massachusetts Adjutant General were
presented to the Regiment on September 4, 1861, just prior to its
departure from the state. Judging by their ragged condition it is probably
these two colors referred to in the regimental history: "we sent back to
Boston [in 1862] both stands of colors that had been received in
August(sic) 1861, and carried in all our fights, except Ball's Bluff."
"Both stands" might mean both those from the state and those now at
Harvard, but the colors received by the AG came back in tatters, while the
two colors that would eventually be on display at Harvard show little
damage.
The small but disastrous Battle of Ball's Bluff, fought October 21,
1861, was the 20th's first action. Of some 300 men of the 20th that were
engaged, 195 were killed, wounded, or missing. As the regiment was ferried
across the Potomac and fed into the battle piecemeal, it is possible that
it brought no color at all into the fray. The colors returned to Boston in
1862 were specifically stated to have been in all battles except Ball's
Bluff. If we take that reference to mean only the issued colors that are
now in the State's collection, then it is possible that the "FIDE ET
CONSTANTIA" color and the eagle national were carried in that fight.
On Christmas Day following Ball's Bluff the Regiment received a silk
flag commemorating the event. This is the third of the colors now at
Harvard (the red flag pictured above). The 20th apparently used this flag
as its state color from Oct. 1862, when the first pair of flags from
Massachusetts were returned, until mid-1864 when the much depleted and
worn-out regiment began to carry only a single national color. Between
Christmas 1861, when this color was presented, and October 1862, when the
first set of colors from the AG were returned, the regiment may have
carried three colors--the two from the Commonwealth and the Ball's Bluff
flag--a practice which, while not officially approved of, was not entirely
unusual.
The Ball's Bluff color was a gift of the sisters of Lieutentants Lowell
and Putnam of Company E. Lowell had been wounded and Putnam killed at
Ball's Bluff. It was presented on behalf of the donors by the Honorable
John C. Palfrey, father of Lieutenant-colonel Palfrey of the Regiment. The
flag was of red silk, about four and one-half by six feet, bound by gold
tape. On one side was a pine tree, the traditional symbol of Massachusetts
and New England, with the title "20th REGt Mass.[VOLS.]" above, and the
motto "Stand in the Evil Day" below. On the reverse, the side visible as
displayed at Harvard, was an arm grasping a sword--the crest of the
Massachusetts coat of arms--with the state motto "Ense Petit Placidum sub
Libertate Quietum" in a circle around it. Above this were the words
"Ball's Bluff 21st Oct 1861" in gold, and below, "HAVING DONE ALL, TO
STAND".
A fire-breathing letter accompanied the flag, enlarging upon the state
motto and Massachusetts' expectation of her soldiers. It was read at the
presentation and said in part:
For Liberty and Peace Massachusetts does not shed from shedding her
own blood, and from spilling that of her enemies. Her motto, that you
will carry into battle on this flag, expresses her creed...She seeks for
liberty and peace, and will secure them with the sword. Yes with the
sword, the rifle, or the cannon. She bids you fight. Fight in the name
of your dead and for your captives... Take, then, this flag. Stand by it
in the evil day. Bring it back when the sword has done its work, and let
the stains of smoke and blood upon it..tell us the story of your
deeds.
On May 4, 1862, the national color of the 20th was among the first to
fly over the Confederate fortifications at Yorktown. This may have been
either the national color given the regiment by the state or the
eagle-union color now at Harvard. The Confederate trenches had been
abandoned during the night. According to the regimental history, the 20th
"mounted the principle redoubt" at 7:45 AM. "Colonel Lee immediately
shouted for the regimental flag, and in a few minutes it waved, the first
United States flag on the rebel works at Yorktown."
New colors, both national and state, were received by the regiment on
October 28, 1862, as it lay at Harper's Ferry. The old colors were sent
back on the 30th. This second National Flag was virtually destroyed in the
great battles of the next twelve months, even the earliest post-war
photographs show much of the flag itself missing, the finial gone, the
pike broken off just below the silk. The accompanying state color, on the
other hand, shows no wear or damage at all, suggesting that it was kept in
the rear, or sent home, while the Ball's Bluff banner served in its place.
This supposition is further supported by records showing that the second
state color was not returned to the Commonwealth either during or directly
after the war, but was given instead, fully illuminated with battle
honors, to Governor Bullock on September 12, 1866.
It cannot be ascertained for certain whether the colors now at Harvard
were carried much in the field. Often special presentatation colors were
reserved for special occasions rather than carried into battle. Indeed the
first two colors show little wear. The red Ball's Bluff color is more of a
puzzle. It certainly is in remarkably good shape when compared with the
national color that the regiment carried during the same period. That flag
was nothing but rags when turned in, it had quite literally been shot to
pieces. Could the red Ball's Bluff flag have been carried beside this flag
and remained undamaged? Very few regiments carried only one color during
this period of the war, however, and the second state color of the 20th,
as detailed above, seems to have not been carried in the field at all. The
20th was apparently very proud of its part at Ball's Bluff (being part of
a crushing defeat was not considered a mark of shame, as long as the
regiment had behaved well under the circumstances, which every regiment
always considered that it had) and was probably very proud of the banner
commemorating the event. The flag and its presentation are described at
length in the regimental history. It was saved, along with the other two,
long after the war, photographed with the survivors years later, and
finally presented to Harvard University for perpetual care. Even if it
were not carried on a daily basis or shot to pieces in great battles, it
seems safe to say that it accompanied the regiment in the field, where it
was indeed presented, and was probably carried with pride on ceremonial
occasions.
© Copyright.The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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