Lewis P. Buckley,
William T. Fitch,
Old Cols. of the Twenty-ninth Ohio.
| Headquarters Twenty-ninth Ohio, | ⎫ |
| Bladensburg, Maryland, June 5, 1865. | ⎭ |
Colonels Buckley and Fitch, and S. A. Lane, Esq.:
Gentlemen:—In the name of the officers and men of the Twenty-ninth Ohio veteran volunteer infantry, I herewith acknowledge the receipt of the beautiful flag presented the regiment, and in return I present to you the old one, which it has been our proud honor to carry victoriously over many hard-fought battlefields. That dear “old flag” which has been our companion through years of fearful war and carnage, and which symbolizes our glorious nationality, tells its own story. We return it to you, but not so beautiful in form and color as when presented to us eighteen months ago. But whilst its external beauty has been defaced, yet the great life-giving principles of which it is the exponent, are all the more deeply enshrined in the hearts of its defenders, and Liberty receives through this standard another bright and shining star to her beautiful constellation. Take it, then, and place it among the archives of the nation, that it may be preserved as a sacred memorial, and handed down to latest posterity as a glorious legacy and standard that was borne, as by angel hands, in opposition to oppression and rebellion. Be assured that it is with a renewed national pride that we look upon this beautiful flag presented to the Twenty-ninth Ohio, by the patriotic and loyal citizens of Summit and Ashtabula counties. The past history of almost four years in war, speaks for our conduct as soldiers and patriots for the future. We promise never to desert this flag, nor will we permit traitors or rebels to wrest it from our hands. We will always be willing and ready to unfurl it in defense of the principles of our glorious, free Republic. Truly our country’s faith has learned a new interpretation of her standard. The white typifies the purity of purpose which belongs to her true ruler; the red points to the crimson tide in which life flows forth a willing offering; the blue reminds her of her home in heaven, to which all the good are gathered; the stars in her banner tell of light in darkness, and she shall learn to range them in a new and beautiful order, as the constellation of the cross. It is that flag which has solved most conclusively the long disputed problem of a free republican form of government. It was that flag which was so bravely and triumphantly carried through the ordeal of war by our Revolutionary sires, and encircled them with a halo of glory that shall be handed down untarnished to millions of unborn freemen. It was that flag which, under God, enabled our forefathers to gain our glorious independence, and here, in this beautiful land of lakes and rivers, rear a temple of liberty which stands first among the nations of the earth, the envy and admiration of all. It is the flag which we have learned to love and to defend, and which we cherish in our hearts as the guardian angel of our country.
May that same God who has given so many brave hearts to defend it, continue to preserve it, and may it give light and liberty to millions who are yet groaning under tyranny and oppression. But we would not pass by unnoticed the many noble brave men who offered themselves a willing sacrifice upon our country’s altar in defense of that national banner. The voices of our fallen comrades are borne to us in solemn silence by every breeze that fans our brow. The South is billowed with the graves where sleep the patriot martyrs of constitutional liberty, until the resurrection morn. We hold them dear to our hearts, for may it never be forgotten that their deeds of valor facilitated the consummation of the glorious results which have just been achieved. Though they be dead, they yet speak, and will continue to speak to the end of all time, and dear to each patriot heart will ever be the memory of those who died in defense of the Union.
“There are many
Patriots have toiled in their country’s cause,
Bled nobly, and their deeds, as they deserve,
Receive proud recompense. We give in charge