The Georgia Historical Society has announced the Savannah Cadets banner is on display as the next installment of “Conquered Banners: Georgia’s Civil War Flags.”

The Savannah Cadets company was organized on May 17, 1861, for home protection of Savannah. Membership was limited to boys between the ages of 14 and 17. The company was accepted into the service of the state of Georgia in February 1862 and joined the 54th Regiment of Georgia Volunteers, Confederate States Army, in May 1862 for the remainder of the Civil War. They surrendered with the army of General Joseph E. Johnston on April 27, 1865, in North Carolina. During the Spanish-American War, the company, enlisted as Company E of the 1st Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment, mustered into the U.S. Army on May 12, 1898, as Company K, 1st Infantry Regiment of U.S. Volunteers.

The Cadets served in 1917 on the Mexican border, and when the National Guard of Georgia entered into World War I, the Savannah Cadets joined as Battery B, 118th Field Artillery, of the 31st Division. They served in France and after their return were not reorganized.

This 12-month exhibit of rare flags made and carried during the first year of the Civil War will be on display in the reading room of the Georgia Historical Society’s library in Savannah. The six beautifully-conserved flags, on long-term loan from the National Park Service, Fort Pulaski National Monument, will be rotated for display every three months through December 2011, the first year of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The free exhibit is available for viewing during regular library hours or through our online exhibit at www.georgiahistory.com.

Other flags and banners that will be exhibited include the Effingham Guards Banner. Fermin Cerveau’s “Touch Her if You Dare” banner, as well as manuscripts and artifacts from the collections of the Georgia Historical Society will remain on display.