Civil War flag finds home
Veterans Museum unveils silk banner
MADISON - More than 150 years ago, the women of La Crosse stitched together a beautiful flag for their local militia destined to become part of the Iron Brigade that fought in the terrible carnage of the Civil War.
Made of white silk and colorful thread, the flag in some ways was a voiceless witness to the deeds of the La Crosse men who fought at Bull Run, Antietam and Gettysburg — only 27 of the original 130 members returned home. Among the casualties was the unit’s commander, La Crosse Mayor Wilson Colwell, who died in action in 1862 at the battle where the Iron Brigade earned its nickname.
Tuesday night, 156 years to the day after the flag was flown over Camp Randall, it returned to Madison for unveiling at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
Museum Director Michael Telzrow called it the most significant acquisition for the museum in decades. The very rare presentation flag features the date it was presented to the La Crosse Light Guard (July 4, 1860) along with the U.S. motto, and on the back is the earliest known painting of Wisconsin’s seal.
Telzrow said the museum was started in 1901 by Civil War veterans, and 200 Civil War flags are “the heart and soul” of its collection. Flags, Telzrow said, “were the embodiment of everything you left behind at home. There was a great deal of pride in the flags.”
In June 1861 the La Crosse Light Guard became Co. B, 2nd Wisconsin Infantry and was sent to Camp Randall for training and then Washington, D.C., where the flag was kept along with other regimental baggage during the war.
It was never carried into battle, which is probably why it’s still in great shape.
A Co. B veteran found the flag in Washington in the 1890s while serving as a Minnesota congressman and returned it to La Crosse, said John Dudkiewucz, a member of Co. B 2nd Wisconsin Infantry re-enactors group. It was not seen again until the late 1920s, when it was discovered in the attic of another Co. B veteran. The daughter of the unit’s commander paid for the flag to be conserved, mounted and framed for display in the county courthouse, where it remained until the courthouse was demolished in 1965. Next, it moved to the La Crosse Historical Society and at some point was transferred to American Legion Post 52. The re-enactors group raised $5,000 to stabilize the flag in 1994.
La Crosse American Legion Post commander Jack Turner said the post discussed a few years ago what to do with the flag, including selling it or donating it elsewhere. But legionnaires ultimately decided to give it to the Veterans Museum, where it is displayed with other Civil War artifacts.
“How do you put a price on something that’s priceless?” said Turner. “That flag is part of Wisconsin.”