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United States Code Title 4 Chapter 1 — The Flag; §8. Respect for flag:
“The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.”
Those are just words, of course. But those words have meant a great deal to patriots throughout American history.
One writer recounts his memories of an ancestor at the Battles of Chattanooga and Chickamauga while growing up:
I had heard the story often growing up. Men took the flag much more seriously during the Civil War era. To see one’s flag fall in battle was a demoralizing event, and therefore an act much desired by the opposing side. This resulted in many a Flag Bearer feeling as if he had a huge target painted on his chest. It was a dangerous occupation.
“He was in the war at Chattanooga, Chickamauga,” related my mother, “ … his flag bearer was running in front of him, and he got shot and he went down and the flag was falling … and in those days you would never let your flag touch the ground … and he grabbed the flag, pulled it off the [pole], and he shoved it in his tunic.” Charles then promptly got shot himself, and bayoneted, with the blades and musket balls ripping though the flag as well as the flesh.
This Civil War site records the words of William H. Carney, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the 54th Massachusetts Regiment’s legendary assault on Fort Wagner:
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