AN IMMORTAL TWAIN
IT is a coincidence worthy of note, and heretofore unremarked by historians, that, as in the hour of birth of the National Flag there was given to posterity the name of a great Revolutionary hero, the hour of birth of the Confederate Battle Emblem immortalized the name of a hero of the Confederacy.
At four o’clock in the afternoon of that hard-fought battle of Manassas (Bull Run), July 21, 1861, the Federals were thinning out the lines in gray. Now they were directing their efforts against the wings of Jackson and Beauregard. Jackson’s solemn visage was growing more solemn; Beauregard was anxiously scanning the landscape beyond, in the hope of discovering the approach of badly needed reënforcements.
Over the hill a long line was seen advancing. The day was hot and dry and not a leaf stirred in the dust-laden air. Clouds of smoke and grime enveloped the advancing troops and obscured their colors. General Beauregard raised his glass and surveyed them critically.
General Beauregard raised his glass and surveyed them critically.
He then called an officer and instructed him to go to General Johnston and inform him that the enemy was receiving reënforcements and it might be wise for him to withdraw to another point. Still, he was not fully assured that the coming troops were Federals! The flag hung limp and motionless and could not be accurately discerned.
If these were Federals the day was surely lost. But if they were Confederates there was a fighting chance to win.
He determined to hold his position, and called out,
“What troops are those?”