45th U.S. Colored Troops [regimental flag]

I wasn’t able to locate an image of the 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry regimental flag  I found images for the Pennsylvania regiments in which my father’s ancestors served. Joseph Bryans (1842-1913), 45th U.S. Colored Troops, was my great-great-grandfather. His brothers William Alexander Bryans (1845-1929) served in 127th U.S. Colored Troops and Stephen Batch Bryans (1847-1928) served in 24th U.S. Colored Troops. The family name is “Bryans” but the great-great-uncles’ names were incorrectly entered into the military record as “William E. Bryan” and “Stephen O’Bryan.”

The regimental flag had several purposes. It was a source of morale for members of a regiment who tended to be from the same geographic area and developed a sense of loyalty and pride.  Battlefields were noisy, smoky, and confusing. Regiments could get scattered. Bugles and vocal commands couldn’t be heard. Soldiers were trained to follow the flag. The flagbearer followed the officer’s orders and rode directly into battle — unarmed. Gven his visibility, it’s no surprise that he was often the target of enemy fire; the mortality rate was high. If he was injured or killed, his comrades picked up the banner. The color guard typically included a color bearer for the American flag, another color bearer for the regimental flag, and two other soldiers who guarded the color bearers. Losing a battle flag was considered a disgrace; capturing the enemy’s flag was a triumph.