On January 18th, 1862, slightly more than one month after the 28th Massachusetts had been accepted into Federal service, the Mayor of Boston Joseph Wightman presented the Regiment with a distinctive green Regimental color. This flag came to be known as “the Pilot Flag” after an article appeared in the Boston Irish-Catholic newspaper The Pilot describing the presentation ceremony and providing an accurate drawing of the obverse side of the flag. (image below)
The Pilot Flag replaced a state-issued Regimental color issued only the week prior – that earlier flag had a white field, the state seal of Massachusetts, and a ribbon with the Regimental name.
The Pilot flag was carried by the Regiment through late November 1862 when the 28th Massachusetts joined — as originally intended — the Irish Brigade and received the “4th Regt Irish Brigade” Tiffany color. There is however some indication that Regiment did not abandon the Pilot Flag and maintained both in active use. At a minimum, the Pilot Flag was carried by the Regiment in its first 5 battles — Secessionville (June 1862), 2nd Bull Run (August 1862), and Chantilly, South Mountain, and Antietam (all Sept 1862.) In late 1862 or early 1863, a replacement and near identical Pilot Flag was issued by the City of Boston to replace the war-tattered original.
The Pilot flag was replete with Irish and American imagery and was somewhat unique in that the two sides of the flag were not identical.
Obverse Side: The Obverse (or front) side of the Pilot Flag is pictured below. (Note: this is a recreation of the Pilot Flag carried by the modern 28th Massachusetts, Company B.) This side has both Irish and American imagery.
Green Field: The Green silken field of the flag represents Ireland. The golden edging is likely for dramatic or artistic effect. The choice was in stark contrast to the dark blue of standard US Army Infantry Regimental flags and the white field of the previously issued Massachusetts flag. Green had over the previous half-century become increasingly identified with Ireland, a deliberate outcome of the United Irish movement of the 1790s, who had adopted the color as a symbol of Irish Nationalism.
Upper Symbology – the Scroll, the sunburst, and the American Eagle: The upper scroll, resting upon rays of golden sunshine, combines American and Irish sentiment. The golden sunshine is likely a reference to the Fenian movement to free Ireland from British occupation as that movement had adopted a sunburst as their principal symbol. Alternately, it could suggest glory. The words on the scroll “Fostered under her wing, we shall die in her defense” is a reference to the promise of the United States, the adoptive home of many — most— in the Regiment. That the scroll is unfurled from a bald eagle holding arrows and an olive branch, and a shield with 13 stripes, representing the original 13 colonies – AKA the Great Seal of the United States — further underscores this point.
Center Symbology – The Harp, Shamrock wreath, and American and Irish Icons: Centered on this side of the flag, is a golden Irish harp with a ribbon reading “Fág a bealach.” The harp is a a late-medieval Gaelic harp (a cláirseach) and has long been the heraldic symbol for Ireland – the Arms of the Republic of Ireland to this day contains an identical one. Fág a bealach is an Irish battle cry meaning “Clear the way.” Surrounding the harp and ribbon is a shamrock wreath, another classic Irish icon, one especially associated with Saint Patrick, who used the three-leaves of the shamrock as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity.
To the left of the Harp are American Flags fronting a cannon; to the right sits an Irish Wolfhound fronting Irish and Fenian flags, also fronting a cannon. In combination, the symbology is strikingly a combination of American and Irish sentiments and history.
The lower scroll proudly proclaims the Regiment as the “28th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers -1862.”
Reverse Side: The Reverse (or back) side of the Pilot Flag is pictured below. (Note: this is a recreation of the Pilot Flag carried by the modern 28th Massachusetts, Company B.) This side has both mostly American imagery, although some Irish symbology – the green field and the sunburst – remain prominent.
The symbology on the reverse side of the Pilot Flag is simpler then the obverse. The scroll proclaims the city of Boston as the presenters of the flag. Against the green backdrop and under the Fenian starburst are a trio of ovals containing the seals of the Unites States (upper), Boston (left) and Massachusetts (right.). Centered on the seals are stacked rifles, the principal weapon of an infantry Regiment. Draped over the triangle of seals is the American flag, which, as on the obverse, shows the mouths of cannons peaking out, left and right. The lower scroll repeats the Regimental name and year from the the front as well.