The 33rd Regiment North Carolina State Troops first saw battle at New Bern on March 14, 1862. There the unit lost 32 men and 28 were wounded. Union Brig. Gen. John G. Foster reported the capture of the 33rd Regiment’s commander, Col. Clark M. Avery, and 150 of his men during the battle. It is likely that the regiment’s flag, a standard wool bunting flag of North Carolina, was captured at the same time.
This historic banner is part of the Confederate flag collection, one of the nation’s largest, at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. Conservation of these banners requires expensive, specialized textile treatment. To help fund this need, the museum has formed a partnership with the 26th Regiment North Carolina Troops, Reactivated, the state’s largest Civil War re-enactment group.
During a Dec. 13, 2014, presentation at the Museum of History, the 26th Regiment unveiled the newly conserved colors of the 33rd Regiment North Carolina State Troops. The flag will be featured in a future exhibit.
“This early war flag, an example of the first state flag design, represents the service and sacrifice of those North Carolinians who volunteered to defend the state from Federal invasion,” says Jackson Marshall, Deputy Director, Museum of History. “It is the eighth North Carolina Confederate flag from the Civil War that the 26th Regiment organization has raised the funds to conserve, totaling over $55,000 donated to the museum since 2004.”
The 33rd Regiment eventually became part of the Branch-Lane Brigade and saw active service in the Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until the end of the war, when 119 members were paroled at Appomattox Court House, Va., on April 12, 1865.
According to an Oct. 15, 1917, article in the Raleigh News and Observer, Brig. Gen. Foster gave the 33rd Regiment’s flag to his friend Col. John L. Lay, who passed it on to his sister, Mary A. Ensign of Buffalo, N.Y. Eventually, the banner came to the attention of Rev. Charles A. Jessup, a friend of Ensign’s, who urged that it be returned to North Carolina. Jessup contacted Mary Eugene Little of Wadesboro, who then informed North Carolina governor Thomas W. Bickett of Ensign’s wish to return the flag. The regimental colors were returned to the Hall of History (now North Carolina Museum of History) on Oct. 14, 1917.
“Artifacts, such as the colors of the 33rd Regiment, must be conserved so that the story they tell will carry on,” notes Chris Roberts, colonel of the 26th Regiment. “Only by stepping forward and committing ourselves to preservation will these precious elements of our past be there for future generations.”
For information about the N.C. Museum of History, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org or follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ or YouTube. To learn more about the 26th Regiment North Carolina Troops, Reactivated, access www.26nc.org.