Help save the flag of the 58th NCT

Late last year, I talked to Skip Smith of the Society for the Preservation of the Twenty-sixth North Carolina about their 2009 preservation project. They were discussing a couple of different projects. If you will recall, back last May I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a program at the History Museum in Raleigh. That program was to welcome home the flags of the 26th NCT, 37th NCT, and artifacts that belonged to Bryan Grimes. The living historians and descendants in the reactivated 26th NCT facilitated those items coming to the North Carolina Museum in History. The great folks in the 26th NCT have raised numerous funds to help with various projects, like the monument on the battlefield of New Bern, and preservation of flags from other regiments, like the 47th NCT.

For 2009, they have chosen to concentrate their efforts on preserving the remnants of the flag of the 58th NCT, an effort that I wholeheartedly concur with.

The Museum of History in Raleigh has remnants of two different 58th NCT flags. The more traditional looking part of the flag comes from, what we believe, the canton of the Second National that the 58th NCT was issued sometime in 1863. The “58” and the “NC” come from a different flag, an Atlanta/Dalton depot issued flag the regiment received probably in February 1864. It would appear that neither flag was captured or surrendered during the war. Both of the above remnants were taken home by Maj. G. W. F. Harper at the end of the conflict, and remained in his family until donated to the museum in 1929.

In my mind, I have that the Atlanta/Dalton depot flag was cut up before the regiment surrendered at Greensboro in May 1865, each member of the regiment receiving a piece of the flag, and Harper taking the “58”and the “NC”. However, I cannot prove that at this time. It would be nice if this could be confirmed.

Would you not consider helping preserve the flag of the 58th North Carolina Troops? You can go here for more information.