Extract, Pilot, Volume 25, Nr 3, 18 January 1862, Boston, MA.
The Pilot, in continuous publication since September 5th, 1829, is the Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. At the time of the Civil War, it’s Publisher, Irish-born Patrick Donahoe, was a strong supporter of the raising of Irish regiments for the Union. The below article ran for three columns on page 1 of the paper.
Photo Credit: Boston College Libraries
PRESENTATION of
A Green Flag by the City of Boston
And the Colors of the State by Gov. Andrew
SPEECHES by Mayor Wightman, Gov .Andrew and Col. Monteith
Departure of the Regiment for Fort Columbus, N. Y. Harbor
Friday (10 th itst.) was a glorious day at Camp Cameron. The 28th regiment, M. V., Col. Monteitb, left on the 11th for Fort Columbus, New York harbor, and the last day before its departure was seized upon as the occasion for the presentation, of the new flag prepared for the regiment by the city of Boston. Accordingly. Mayor Wightman, and Aidermen Pray, Rich and Willis, and several others of the City Council, went to the Camp on Friday afternoon, and were warmly received at the headquarters of the regiment. Shortly after the Governor, attended by the Adjutant General, Quartermaster General, Csl. Lee, Aide-de-Camp, and others, appeared upon the ground for the purpose of presenting the National and State ensigns to the regiment, and taking a look at it before its departure. This combination added to the joyousness of the occasion, and a large crowd of citizens honored it with their presence. About 4 o’clock the guests were conducted to a convenient platform near the officers’ quarters, accompanied by Col. Monteith, and the regiment was brought round by Lieut. Col. Moore, and formed en masse by divisions near by. The regiment made a very creditable appearance, and gave evidence of thorough drill while they have been in camp. The following speeches give the spirit of the occasion:—
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Remarks of Mayor Wightman.: Mr. Commander :—As the representative of the City Council of the city of Boston,! am here to present in their behalf this standard as a testimonial of their interest in the regiment under your command, and in the glorious cause in which you are engaged.
The duty is one of pleasure and gratification from the large number of my friends and fellowcitizens which are enrolled within your ranks, sir, I congratulate you and them that after so many trials and disappointments this regiment is to leave the inactive life of this camp for the inspiring service of a campaign. I rejoice with you, Mr. Commander, in this prospect of wintering your regiment with the advancing columns of our Union army, and with this opportunity to distinguish yourselves in the approaching conflict.
On all occasions let this standard float side by side with our own national flag ; let them, be borne together in the centre of your regiment; on the march let them wave in the same breeze; on the field let them be enwrapt in the smoke of the same battle. Let the emblems and words emblazoned upon it nerve every hand and inspire every heart in defence of our national existence. On the one side are the arms of our Nation, our State, and our city, the cherished symbols of law, order and free government; on the other is the insignia of lreland’s nationality, amid which the harp shines resplendent, to inspire her sons with the spirit of liberty, and to emulate in this land of their adoption the heroic deeds of the founders of their own warlike race.
This standard I present to you as a gife of the city of Boston, confident that it will be honored and protected by every man in your regiment. And when the sword shall hays won for us a peace, and you return again to your homes, fail not to bring it back, unsullied by dishonor. Its bright et cutcheons may be defaced, and its golden letters end legends may be dimmed and obscured by the storm and the battle, but let it be unstained by a single act of wanton destruction to life cr property. Then, although its beauty may be lost, its colors faded,and its fabric torn, we shall regard it as an honorable trophy to the character of our citizens and our government.
The Mayor’s remarks were received with applause, and when he had concluded, Colonel Monteith received the flag and delivered it to the color Sergeant.
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Gov. Andrew’s Remarks.
Gov. Andrew then presented the flag of the Union and the flag of Massachusetts in the following words:—
Col. Monteith: Into your hands and the hands of the men of the 28th Regiment of Massachusetts, volunteering to expose their undaunted foreheads to whatever foe shall assail our government, I am here to present two flags : the flag of Massachusetts which will remind you and your command of home, of hearthstone, of family altar, of wives and children, fathers, mothers, sisters and friends, whose sweet memory shall keep your hearts whole, fresh and pure amid all temptations of the camp and life away from home. It will remind you also of the tender solicitude of those who are not endeared to you by ties of kindred. Bear it wherever you go, proudly, confidently and honorably.
But what shall I say, Mr. Commander, as I transmit to your charge the glorious ensign of the Republic. Here is the banner which our fathers, men of your blood as well as ours, labored and fought for in the times of the Revolution. Remember that it represents the unity of the Republic, the rights and honors of the States, the welfare and happiness of the people, the liberty of America.
In this conflict, which is not only of opinion but of arms, you stand among the representatives of democratic republican liberty before the face of all the world. For here, alone, on American soil, is the citadel of democratic liberty. Live for it; die for it, if need be ; surrender it never. Fight like heroes ; die, if need be, like demigods. Never wear out your life, Mr. Commander, never allow one man of your command to wear away the tedious hours in Southern captivity ; but rather fight for the last splinter of the staff and the last thread of the flag.
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Colonel Monteith’s Remarks.
Gentlemen : —ln behalf of the 28th Regiment of Massachusetts Irish Yolunteers, the “Fag an Bealacs,” of which I have the high honor to be in command, allow me to return you and the worthy, patriotic citizens of Boston, our most cordial, sincere and unfeigned thanks for the signal favor you do us this day, in presenting to us, as a token of your esteem and lively interest in our future hopeful destiny, these beautiful colors, emblazoned, one with the Stars, whose dazzling light, I trust, shall illume our onward march to victory; and the Stripes to remind the foeman who dare impede our progress, of the just chastisement in reserve for those deluded rebels and their foreign fomentors and abettors, who have the bold daring and reckless temerity to offer an indignity to our glorious flag, and who madly but vainly strive to dim its lustre by plucking a few of the brilliant luminaries from its venerable maternal folds.
The other—oh! that thrice glorious old flag —the flag for many ages, of the brave and the free the flag of Old Erin, the land of our forefathers, the banner of Liberty, though lost, yet often wrenched and wrested from the grasp of tyrants by the heart’s blood of our martyred sires, emblazoned with the sunburst of freedom, shedding its genial rays on all who march beneath its sacred folds to the inspriring music of the heavenly harp, whose magic tones recall to mind the deeds of by-gone days, and, quick as the lightning’s flash, inspire the exiled Sons of the Emerald Isle, in the charge’s mad career,, to smite and crush at once the doomed, ilkfated foe, who would dare in this land of liberty, to lay sacrilegious hands on its venerated borders. Yes! these valiant Sins of Erinhs Isle will guard and protect that venerable their own loved “Standard of Green,” with its ancient Harp and Shamrock entwined ; as it iff lepresented to be guarded by that emblem of fidelity unto death, the Irish wolf-dog, which, gentle when stroked, but fierce when provoked, will, in deadly confi.ct, pounce upon the prowling wolf, entering with thirst for carnage and slaughter the united fold, nor suffer the flock entrusted to its vigilance, fidelity and protection, to be invaded or preyed upon only when the last drop of its life’s blood has ebbed, amd its courageous heart been rent asunder.
And this third, and last though not least, this: popular, honored, and ever to be venerated flag of the Old Bay State, the worthy successor of that glorious old Continental flag of the Revolution, which in days of old, on the proud, summit of Bunker Hill, defiantly fluttered in. the breeze, and waving aloft over crimsomeel hill and well contested plain, exultingly proclaimed salvation to nations, and liberty, equality and freedom to all people.
Gentlemen, in the course of our progress for the maintenance of that sacred inheritance, bequeathed us when we wrenched feom the deadly grasp of those insatiable enemies to human freedom, and committed to our safe keeping and protection by that noble, heroic, self-sacrificing band, who fought and bled in the holy cause of liberty ; led to fame, honor and glorious victory by that greatest and choicest of heavenly gifts, the brave warrior, the invincible chief, the venerable father of his now afflicted country, the immortal Washington, it will be our pride and pleasure, as well as imperative duty, to guard and protect, to the last extremity, this proud standard of our national freedom,, this sanctified banner of our American redemption, this mightiest flag that ever was unfurled since the dawn of creation —ushering in a new era of the peace and tranquility, wealth and signal prosperity, to a regenerated and hopeful people in the Western World, To guard and protect it, I say, intact and inviolate, unsullied and undefiled, until it sheds its lustre once more over all its hereditary dominions, and its star spangled folds wave triumphantly in the breeze on every citadel and house-top throughout the length and breadth of this grand and mighty republic. And I firmly believe, that not before the right arm of every stalwart man of the “Fag an Bealac” shall drop paralyzed by his side, and himself erased from the role of the living, shall its dignity be insulted with impunity by either a domestic or foreign foe, one rent be made in its virgin border.
And when the din of battle is over, and peace: proclaimed, and tranquility restored —I trust forevermore—may we fondly hope to return at the glad and joyful tidings, to the friends and homes we now abandon for a time for our country’s weal, at our country’s call, and with fond greetings deliver into yaur hands, safe and sound, these sacred deposits which you now confidingly entrust to our keeping and care.
In conclusion, gentlemen, I embrace this opportunity of returning to you, in my own behalf, to his Excellency the Governor of Massachusetts and his honorable aids, to yourself the Board of Aldermen, the Common Council of Boston, and to the respected citizens at large as well as many gentlemen in various sections of the State, my most sincere and heartfelt thanks for the invariable courtesy you and they have shown me during my sojourn in this city, and the proverbial kindness and marked favors I have received at all hands and at all times since I came amongst you.
Should Providence spare me, long shall I remember the debt of gratitude I owe to the respectful, urbane and noble-minded people of Boston, and the many deep obligations they have imposed upon me; and never, whether at home or far away, in social circle or on the battle field, until this heart cease to beat and life’s current to flow, shall these lips fail to lisp all honor to the proud name of Massachusetts. May she ever continue to shine forth in the starry galaxy of onr national flag, the guiding and the brightest in that brilliant cluster, and always maintain her foremost position in our political horizon, as a beacon light to her sister States and the nations of the earth, whereby to guide the ship of state, when tossed and lashed by the foaming billows of war’s troubled ocean, and safely moor her in the blissful haven of peaceful security, the grand port of her destination,—is the wish and hope of the soldiers of the 28 th regiment.
Rounds of cheers were then given for the colors, for Gov. Andrew, for Mayor Wightman, and for Col. Monteith, and the interesting exercises were closed. The soldiers were marched back to their parade ground, and the guests took their departure, well pleased with the entertainment which they had received at the bands of the 28th.
Description of the Flag.
It is of green silk, splendidly mounted, and one side bears the Federal, State and Municipal arms, with the inscription—“ Presented by the City, of Boston.” On the reverse are the national insignia of Ireland, in which the harp and the shamrock figure prominently. The whole design is very tasteful, and the banner decidedly brilliant.
The Departure.
The regiment left the camp early on Saturday morning,and arrived in the city about noon, After parading through seme of the principal streets, they proceeded to the Common, and, after partaking of a collation, furnished by the city, they left for Fort Columbus, (New York harbor), by the Norwich route. The streets were lined with spectators, who’cheered the gallant Fag an Bealacs as they proceeded to the depot.
Text of the Pilot Article with illustration retrieved from the Boston College Libraries, 1 July 2025.