5th Vermont Infantry (Veterans) Regimental Flag

5th Vermont Infantry (Veterans) Regimental Flag

Manuactured by Charles Eaton

5th Regiment, Infantry (Veterans) Regimental Flag. Attached to staff by ties. Fringe present. 5th Veteran Vols. Could have been issued after war ended. Place of issue: Virginia. Date of issue: 1865. After less than a year of service, the regimental color was in tatters. The 5th Vermont subsequently received a replacement regimental. Interestingly enough, there is no documentation for the manufacture of this specific color -- this 5th Vermont color is probably the flag refused by the 7th Vermont. This new color had to have arrived in the late winter, for it was to become part of a significant incident in Civil War history. Early in the morning of April 2, 1865, thousands of Union troops awaited the signal to charge the Confederate works protecting Petersburg. One party of the 5th Vermont, led by Captain Charles Gould, veered to the left and clambered up and into the Confederate works. Close behind him, carrying the new regimental, was Sergeant Jackson Sargent. Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Kennedy acknowledged in a report written April 4, "Color bearer Jackson Sargent, being the first to scale the works, and plant the State Colors of Vermont upon the parapet..."

1865

55 x 72 inches

1870.001.027

Boston (Mass.)

Vermont State Curator's Office, 2 Gov. Aiken Avenue,
Montpelier, VT 05633