Attala Chapter 2592 of the United Daughters of Confederacy met in the conference room of the Kosciusko-Attala Partnership (KAP) office. After a meal, President Sylvia Purvis led the chapter in the opening ritual and flag ceremony.
Attala Chapter was recognized Sept. 22-24 at the Division Convention when it received ten special awards from superior chapter to an article being published in a magazine. Chapter member Patricia Parrish was elected division president and Sylvia Purvis, division historian. Chapter members, Blanche Burrell and Wylodean Edwards received honorary past division president awards.
Patricia Parrish and Sylvia Purvis were recognized for giving programs, “The White Table” and “Cemetery Grave Seeker” for two different UDC chapters.
Sylvia Purvis gave the program on “The Color Bearer and the Flag” of the War Between the States. This one object carried by the “flag bearer” was often the only thing clearly seen after the battle. Marching with the flag bearer was a “color guard” whose main purpose was protection of the flag and man carrying it.
When a soldier was chosen as “Flag Bearer” he would follow commands. The raising of the flag would never falter for these men were truly committed to their positions. If the bearer was wounded or unable to fulfill his duty, another would immediately take his place. During the Battle of Monocracy, four bearers of the Confederacy lost their lives, but with the Battle of Gettysburg, 14 died from the 26th North Carolina and seven from the 20th of Georgia. The “Flag Bearer” of the 11th Alabama was wounded in both legs and arms and had his comrades tie the flag to his body.
The greatest importance of the regimental flag was to mark its position after the battle. This is when they all looked for their flag, which became a rallying point for the unit.
Excitement filled the air when the flag of a defeated unit was recovered. Flags belonging to the enemy seized in combat were among the most cherished of all battlefield memorabilia, and a true price of capture. This did not happen many times, for the defeated soldiers would tear their flag and distribute it to many of the unit who would hide them in their uniforms or bury pieces. One bearer tied a rock to his unit’s flag and totally emerged it into a river. It was a disgrace for the unit to forfeit their flag.
The flag of the 7th Mississippi Regiment was returned home and presented to the State of Mississippi after the Battle of Shiloh, where it sustained great damage rendering it unfit for active duty. It, like many other flags after the War, was preserved in various museums and private collections, but just as the fallen soldiers, several were only remembered but never seen again.
