Damned Red Flags of Rebellion

It has been some time since I read Mr. Rollins' book, but I will try to give my best recollections of it. To me the best parts were first off the chapter on the meaning of the Confederate battle flag. I felt then and still do now that this is the best dissertation on what the battle flag meant to the typical soldier in the field. It would be instructive reading for those who are negative about the flag. Secondly, it is wonderful that for each description of a flag there is a color photograph of that flag. That alone is worth the price of the book. The only negative that I could find was Rollins' description of how the colors were employed by the typical regiment in battle. A color guard (if carrying one flag) usually consisted of 9 soldiers, lined up in 3 ranks of 3 men each. The center soldier in the front rank carried the colors. Just prior to a regiment marching forward, the color bearer and ONLY the other two soldiers in his rank stepped out six paces. The rest remained in the ranks. In Rollins' book he has the entire color guard stepping out. Why would this be a problem? Because as the regiment marched forward, they were to dress towards the center. If there was a gap left because the entire color guard was out in front, the color guard would soon find their place in the ranks gone and would have no place to go. It is simply a misreading of the drill manual. As I said the book is excellent- a good read and reference for anyone interested in the Battle of Gettysburg and the Southern Cross.

The Confederate Battle Flag came to symbolize for both sides the Southern struggle for independence, and gained a place in the hearts of Southerners that time, and misuse by racists and psychopaths, can never erase. Aside from symbolic value, regimental colors had a tactical function as well; the vicinity of the flag being the hottest and most dangerous place on the field, and the locus of that quaint and discredited nineteenth-century notion; military glory. In this excellent study Rollins chronicles the history of Confederate flags and in particular the 42 battle flags captured during the Gettysburg campaign. Each has a story of its own, and Rollins tells it thoroughly and compellingly, with maps, diagrams, admirably clear narrative, and a color photo of the flag as it appears today. A bonus is Rollins' illuminating essay on the heart, mind, and culture of the Southern soldier, which alone makes the book worthwhile. A fine production; highly recommended for all Civil War students, and especially anyone seeking understanding of the Confederate Battle Flag and its meaning. (The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

This is the first and foremost book on the subject of the Confederate battle flags. Not only does it provide a very detailed look at the flags lost at Gettysburg but, it also gives a true relationship of the men and their flags and what it meant to them. It is a book all people, who look at the Condeferate Flag either as a symbol of hate or one of a heritage long past, should read. It places the flag and the people surrounding it in their proper light. It tells the concise story of how the flag came to be, it military as well as social place in the American Civil War and in this country's heritage.