Alan Pitts
the lyin', thievin' Yankees,
Wed Jan 17 00:01:06 2001


I hates 'em wuss and wuss.

The lines to "I'm A Good Old Rebel" come to mind when dealing with our fellow Americans from the great State of Iowa. I've met reasonably well-educated people from Iowa who insist that Iowas wasn't a state at the time of the war. That helps them explain why they know nothing about Iowa's participation in the war. The desires of GAR veterans from Iowa who composed a hefty volume of their wartime exploits so future generations would appreciate their sacrifices and service have evidently not been fulfilled. Or perhaps the Birmingham Public Library has the only copy still in existence!

Dave Neel and I once read correspondence on file at the Archives about return of the captured flags. The general tenor of letters written by civil servants from Iowa was distinctly unpleasant. One of the earliest replies to a request by Dr. Owen was a rather terse, formal "I am instructed to say by the Secretary of State that the State of Iowa has no such flags in its possession," or words to that effect. We read the note, looked at each other and repeated the lines from "I'm A Good Old Rebel" above.

To answer your question, they say that those flags are the property of the people of Iowa, and an act of the Iowa state legislature would be required to change their disposition. Bob Bradley at the Archives would know if anything has changed in recent years. Personally, I think we've a better chance of getting our missing POW's back from North Korea. Someone from Iowa was kind enough to forward a catalog with descriptions of captured flags, and it seems there's a few held by their state historical society, too. I hope to live to see the flag of the 31st Alabama brought home. It was captured at Port Gibson or Champion Hill and has the legend "God and Our Native Land" over a cross in the upper left quadrant. It may take an act of the Alabama National Guard to bring it back.

• You're A Good Ol' Rebel — Jim Martin, Wed Jan 17 00:08