Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Petition Drive!


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”

2 comments:

  1. 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?

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  2. My 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.

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