While attending the An Empire In Extent: The Civil War
West of the Mississippi symposium
in Fayetteville last month, I met John A. Nischwitz who has published a book of
Civil War trivia (by the way, John has written monthly trivia quizzes for the
St. Louis Civil War Roundtable for many years).
John, an Army
veteran, has noticed that none of the Army’s Battle Streamers recognize any
actions in the trans-Mississippi. This is a shame, and I agreed with him that
an attempt should be made to redress this. Below is a letter from him that explains
the petition; to download copies of John’s petition go to his Civil War trivia junkie website and click on the download link at the bottom of his home page.
"John A. Nischwitz
5340 Royal Hills Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63129
website:
civilwartriviajunkie.com
Petition
to the Secretary of the Army to Approve a Battle Streamer Recognizing the Civil
War Battle Actions of the Trans-Mississippi Theater
Friends of the Trans-Mississippi Theater,
While writing my book Collections of a Civil War Trivia
Junkie I added a listing of all the Battle Streamers awarded for Civil
War Battles and Campaigns. It became
very obvious that nothing west of the Mississippi was even mentioned much less
honored. All the actions within the
states of Missouri, Arkansas, west Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma (then called
Indian Territory), Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Colorado, Arizona, California, and
New Mexico were completely ignored. We believe it is a serious oversight.
Thousands of Americans wearing Blue and Gray, white
and black, marched, fought, suffered and died in the service of their country. Why should they not be remembered alongside
their comrades in arms who served in Virginia, Tennessee and the other eastern
and western theaters by a streamer on the US Army flag?
This simple recognition would not be particularly
expensive but would be very appropriate.
Please sign the petition and feel free to copy it
and share it with any organization or group that supports the idea of
recognizing the sacrifices of the Trans-Mississippi Theater.
We are planning on having the petition hand-carried
to the Secretary of the Army by a Congressional delegation sometime in the
summer of 2013, 150 years after Gettysburg, Vicksburg and the impending end of
the War.
The Petition and an additional blank sheet are on
the next two pages for your reference and use.
Please send your signed copies to the address above
so an impressive representation can be delivered at one time.
Thank you for your interest and support.
John Nischwitz”
A streamer is attached to a flag of the US Army, correct? If so, to that extent would it only represent the participation of those who fought for the US rather than the Confederacy?
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that the streamer would be attached to the flag of the U.S. Army and that it would represent the service of Union soldiers.
ReplyDelete