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Flag of our fathers
Reactivated 114th seeks to preserve battle standard
By LAURA CAMPER
STATE CAPITOL BUREAU
Published Saturday, March 24, 2007, Springfield State Journal-Register, Springfield, Illinois

The flag of the 114th Infantry Regiment Illinois Volunteers, although tattered and torn, is a rich symbol of Civil War history that present-day members of the 114th, a re-enactment unit, want to preserve.  During the Civil War, members of the 114th carried the flag in battles in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri, said Bob Brauer, a current member of the 114th.  "That flag traveled many miles," said Brauer.  The regiment, which was formed in September 1862, was organized at Camp Butler and included 895 men from Sangamon, Menard and Cass counties. The 114th was disbanded at the end of the war in 1865, and its flag was turned over to the state.  In 1969, however, the 114th was reactivated by Gov. Samuel Shapiro as a symbol of Illinois's role in the Civil War.

The 40 members of the regiment now do re-enactments at battlegrounds where the 114th fought, as well as perform flag retreat and presentation ceremonies in central Illinois. Members also have participated in movie productions, such as "Glory," "North and South" and "Gettysburg."

Along with the battle flags of other Illinois regiments, the 114th's was displayed in glass display cases in the Hall of Flags at the Howlett Building, Second and Edwards streets, from 1924 until 2003. By then, however, the flags had become fragile and worn.  All 464 flags were taken off display and moved to the Illinois State Military Museum at Camp Lincoln. There, they are stored in flat trays between sheets of Mylar in a climate-controlled chamber to prevent further deterioration, said museum director Mark Whitlock.  The flags also show other damage, something Brauer and others think occurred when members of the original 114th and their families took pieces of the flag as souvenirs, Brauer said, pointing out long strips of missing fabric.  "People took mementos of the flag that they carried and fought for under the Civil War," Brauer said. "That's what we think happened." Jim Patton, president of the 114th, said that in the 1920s, black silk backing was sewn onto the flags in an effort to preserve them. "Fortunately that was done, because that's what held these flags together," Patton said.

The reactivated 114th has been raising money for years to have its original flag cleaned, preserved and mounted so it again can be displayed in the military museum. "There is no state or federal money for conservation of any of those flags that are out there," Patton said. Donations received at events the regiment attends have been put toward the flag fund, as have donations from individuals. The regiment has raised about half of the cost, but time is getting short.

The flag of the 114th, along with four other flags from the Hall of Flags, is at the Textile Conservation Lab in New York, awaiting conservation. The flag will be finished in about a year, Patton said. "And when the bill comes due, the bill comes due," he said. The regiment needs to raise another $10,000 this year.
                                                                                                     
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Members are looking for businesses in Springfield to spearhead a fundraising drive. Chesapeake Seafood House on Clearlake Avenue in Springfield has already enlisted. For the last two years the restaurant has paid to print 20,000 booklets about the 114th and its flag conservation effort. The restaurant also displays photos of some of the regiment's original soldiers and the regiment's commission certificate.

"There are some companies ... in Springfield that are still in business that were here during the Civil War," Brauer said. He hopes they might be interested in helping the regiment raise money for the flag.  Members of the unit are excited by the prospect of educating people about the Civil War and the 114th. That's what drew them to join the 114th in the first place.  "Re-enacting can become a very strong passion with people," Patton said. "A love of history, that does it - and, I think, wanting to educate." Laura Camper can be reached at 782-6882 or laura.camper@sj-r.com.

This poem is set to the music you hear playing
The Torn Battle Flag
(1864)
by J. E. Hartel [Hartle?]

In front by the color sergeant borne,
Is the battle flag that each loves well,
Grimy with battle smoke and torn,
By the whistling bullet and bursting shell;
And long and loud the people cheer,
At sight of the flag that each hold dear.

Ah, through what scenes of strife since then
Has that tattered battle flag been borne!
What meaning is there to these valiant men
In each fluttering remnant stained and torn!
            And proudly they follow it up the street,
While the shrill fifes scream and the loud drums beat.





And now they have brought it home at last,
Though black with the battle's smoke and torn--
What takes it well tell of the stirring past,
In future years to the child unborn,
When gazing mute, at the arsenal wall,
His eye on that tattered flag shall fall!

Its stars were once of a glittering gold
On a field of glorious azure bright,
Of newest silk was each shining fold,
With stripe of crimson and purest white,
And delicate hands of women made
The women tassel and corded braid.

 Beat, beat, ye drums, still louder beat!
Play fifes, with shriller, merrier sound!
Roll out, oh drum, along the street,
Till trembles all the solid ground!
And cheer ye people long and louder cheer
For the brave old flag that your hearts hold dear!

DONATIONS MAY BE SENT TO:
ING & Militia Historical Society
1301 N. MacArthur Blvd.
Springfield, Il 62702
Donations MUST be marked "For the 114th Regimental Flag"