Saturday, February 11, 2012

Lt. Hall Rescues the Fort Sumter Flag

I have been writing about Lt. Norman J. Hall in my Saw the Elephant Blog.  He was a West Point graduate who was at Fort Sumter, serving as an emissary between Major Anderson and the Confederates.  He made a name for hamslf by rescuing the US garrison flag after it was knocked down by enemy fire and did so by running through a fire.  Then, he and two others raised the flag again.

He later made a name for himself for bravery as colonel of the 7th Michigan Infantry regiment and then commanded the Third Brigade, Second Division, II Corps.  At Fredericksburg, he commanded troops who crossed the river under fire to secure the southern end of the pontoon bridges and at Gettysburg, commanded the very center of the Union line attacked by Pickett's charge.

Unfortunately, his health began to ebb and he was discharged in 1864 and died in 1867.

Interesting Story.  --Old B-Runner

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