I would not be so cavalier with Private Baker's statements that he took both flags - the red palmetto and large First National - both in Iowa - in Mobile. His accounts from Iowa newspapers post-war all state "mobile" as do the sources at the Iowa museum.

The 20th Iowa was posted to Mobile from mid-April to July, 1865 so there was more than ample time to hunt the city and ships in the harbor for flags and anything else men wanted to take home for that matter.

Men in combat tend to have very vivid accounts of traumatic events. While I have never been in combat I saw a good friend run over by a car. This was over 20 years ago and I can describe it to you today as if I have videotaped the event. I can tell you what shirt he wore, what car he drove, the color of his pants, the color of the car that hit him and the horror the lady driver felt when she got out of the car. I can tell you what lane of Pharr Road in Atlanta the car was in when it hit him. I can also tell you how shattered his body was when I got to it lying some 50 feet down the road after it skidded to a stop.

Private Baker NEVER said he took the flags in combat or at Ft. Blakely. He consistently said "Mobile." So why do modern people tend to ignore what he clearly stated?

Curious.

Greg Biggs