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Visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center will have an opportunity to see and learn about “The Colors of the Blue – Flags of the Union Army” on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019 in the Group Lobby from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Throughout the day, Dr. Lawrence Keener-Farley, retired Education Director at the National Civil War Museum, will present brief talks on the various flags.
Reproductions of the most common flags of the Union Army infantry, cavalry and artillery units, and the flags designating corps, division and brigade commanders will be on display. Artifacts from the July 4, 1866, “Return of the Colors” will also be on display. The “Return of the Colors” ceremony was when the Pennsylvania units returned their flags to the state in a ceremony at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Among the relics are a souvenir flag carried by war orphans who marched in the parade (perhaps the only surviving example) and a bronze version of a gold medal presented to Maj. Gen. George Meade. The bronze medals were given to other officers who served in the Civil War.
The display is being presented by the Civil War Dance Foundation (CWDF) as part of its educational outreach programming. The flags in the display are on loan from the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, Camp Curtin Historical Society, 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry, James Fouts and Annette & Lawrence Keener-Farley.
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