Space, money issues keep Soldiers & Sailors treasures hidden from view

The triangular flag with the red Maltese cross marked spots from where Union Col. Jacob Sweitzer directed troops against a Confederate onslaught in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg during some of the fiercest fighting of the Civil War.

Such command flags showed staff officers and messengers where to find commanders on battlefields and moved as the battle changed, said Michael Dreese, a Civil War author from Harrisburg.

Almost 150 years later, the torn and tattered flag bearing 70 bullet holes is confined to a small room at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Oakland, kept away from damaging sunlight and the public because of its fragile condition. It is one of many artifacts that visitors never see.

Space, money issues keep Soldiers & Sailors treasures hidden from view - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

 

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