Flag Bearers of the Civil War

Flag Bearers of the Civil War

This article relates to How to Dodge a Cannonball

Anders, the protagonist of Dennard Dayle's How to Dodge a Cannonball, describes himself as a "flag-twirler": he twirls flags for the Union, then the Confederacy, then the Union again. Throughout the novel, Anders name-drops increasingly baroque flag-twirling maneuvers, including the Sumter Two-Step, the Jackson Lift, and the Delaware Cross.

These maneuvers may not be real, but flag-twirlers—or "flag bearers" or "color bearers," as they're properly known—certainly were. And although How to Dodge a Cannonball highlights the absurdity of the enterprise and plays it for laughs, flag bearers did serve a valuable purpose during the Civil War.

One of the roles of a flag bearer was a practical one: the colors of the flag helped soldiers see where their units were located. Even modern battlefields, with state-of-the-art communication technology, are loud, chaotic places; back in the Civil War, it would be almost impossible to hear verbal commands over shouting and gunfire. By hoisting a flag, flag bearers told everyone else where a particular regiment stood, getting the message across loud and clear. And because flag bearers couldn't carry weapons and were expected to do their duty no matter what happened, they were considered exceptionally brave (making Anders' opportunistic side-switching that much more ironic).

Another aspect of flag bearing was, of course, symbolic. A flag represents a country, and so flag bearers carry that country wherever they go—and if they lose the flag, a small part of their country ends up in enemy hands. (For example, one Confederate flag ended up in the hands of a Union regiment from Minnesota, who took it back to their home state; to this day, Minnesota refuses to give it back.) As such, flag bearers were incredibly important for morale and soldiers' pride. As Anders repeats throughout the novel, "If morale fails, the enemy prevails."

A tintype of a flag bearer holding an embattled American flag, from California State University Northridge Digital Collections.

Filed under People, Eras & Events

This article relates to How to Dodge a Cannonball. It first ran in the July 2, 2025 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.