The Claiborne Guards battle flag
Early in 1861 war fever swept the North and South alike. Predictions were made that the war would be a short one and men from all walks of life wanted to get in on the action before the war was over. Others felt a sense of duty to their state to rise up and assemble with others to defend the South.
Many local communities contributed men to the war effort. These men were pooled into companies of men who made up larger regiments composed of men from their particular region of the state. Many, if not all, of these community companies were sent to war with a company flag. So was the case of the Claiborne Guards from Monroe County Alabama.
The flag of the Claiborne Guards was presented to the company on Saturday, March 23, 1861 at the Masonic Hall in Claiborne (which still stands along Hwy 84 in Perdue Hill). Seven young ladies presented the flag and each of them was to symbolize one of the seceded states. Miss Henrietta P. Gaillard delivered the flag to Lt. E.A. Scott who was a professor turned solider from Springhill College in Mobile.
The Claiborne Guards was thereafter designated Company "C", 2nd Alabama Infantry and sent to Ft. Morgan where they remained until March 1862. The men next moved to Ft. Pillow, Tennessee where the flag flew in the men's camp beside the other company and regimental flags. While at Ft. Pillow the 2nd Alabama disbanded and most of the men entered service with Co. "A" of the 42nd Alabama Infantry.
After the disbanding of the 2nd Alabama one of the men returned the flag to Claiborne where it was placed in the courthouse (which was also the Masonic Hall where the flag's journey had started).
The men of 2nd Alabama Co. "A" from Claiborne mustered in with the 42nd Alabama around May 16, 1862. The regiment and Company A would go on to fight at Corinth, Yazoo Pass, the Vicksburg campaign, Chickamauga, Atlanta, and countless other battles across the South. As the men of Company A bled on an endless string of battlefields their flag continued to hang in their honor in the Claiborne courthouse that had been its birthplace.
On April 11, 1865 the flag's place of honor in the courthouse was upended by the commotion of Yankee raiders under Major General Morgan Henry Chrysler who turned the courthouse inside out during their raid of the Claiborne area. The flag disappeared from the courthouse and its location remained a mystery for 12 years after the war's end.
In 1877 the postmaster at Claiborne received an unusual letter which was later printed in the Monroe Journal on January 15, 1878. The letter was from General Chrysler who wrote:
"When my command passed through Claiborne, a flag belonging to an independent military organization fell into my hands. I have carefully guarded it with a view of some day returning it.....If you know of anyone authorized to receive it, and tell me in what way I can send it, I will do so at once. Direct your letter to me at Kinderhook, Columbia County, New York."
The flag was returned to the lady who had originally bestowed it to the Claiborne Guards, Mrs. Henrietta Gaillard (now Mrs. Henrietta Hamilton of Mobile). She placed the flag on display at the YMCA in Mobile and in 1941 her nephew, Wallace Parham reclaimed the flag and donated it to the Alabama State Archives on March 13, 1941.
In 1992 the Alabama Archives sent the flag to Textile Preservation Associates for conservation treatment and the flag returned to the archives for permanent display after a $9000 renovation.
Today the flag serves as a memorial to the men who marched away from Claiborne in 1861 towards distant battlefields far from the riverbanks of Monroe County.
Don't miss the Claiborne Pilgrimage October 13-14, 2018. The event promises to give a rare glimpse into the settlement of the forgotten town of Claiborne, Alabama. This event will feature tours of stately antebellum homes, churches and historic sites along the Alabama River in Monroe and Clarke Counties. Ticket information is available through the Old Courthouse Museum in Monroeville at 251 575 7433.
Shadows and Dust Volume III: Legacies is available for purchase in the amount of $30.00+$5.00 shipping and handling to PO Box 579 Atmore, AL 36502 or visit Lulu Publishing.com; Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles.com OR at the Monroe County Heritage Museum in Monroeville, Alabama or by calling 251 294 0293.
