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.

New Book

Folks, for the third time in three months, I am proud to announce the publication of a new book. Mitchell County, a part of the Images of America series, was released last week. This is the fourth book in this series that I have done (Avery County, Caldwell County, and Remembering North Carolina’s Confederates are the others).

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:
Nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina, Mitchell County was created in 1862 and named for Dr. Elisha Mitchell, a University of North Carolina professor who died in 1857 while re-measuring the mountain that now bears his name. Although the appropriately named mountain lies in adjacent Yancey County, Mitchell County has no shortage of claims to fame; it is well known for the Clinchfield Railroad, the Carolina Theater, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Penland School, and the infamous Frankie and Charlie Silver murder case. There is also much more to Mitchell County than its best known sites and figures. Mica and feldspar mining, the orchard at Altapass, churches, the Wing Academy, Bakersville, and Spruce Pine all have their own unique histories.

If you are interested in ordering a copy, please check out my web page at www.michaelchardy.com/books.html

Has really been that long since I posted? Sorry about that – more coming soon.