State House Celebrates "Return of the Colors"
On this day in 1865, Governor John Andrew officially received the battered regimental colors of Massachusetts units of the Union Army in a solemn State House ceremony called "The Return of the Flags." It had been customary since revolutionary days for the governor to present each regiment about to leave for battle with its own distinctive flag, a symbol of the regiment's honor. The units carried their colors into battle, and since the 1865 ceremony, every Massachusetts regiment returning from war has presented its flag to the governor. That historic collection of over 100 flags adorns the Hall of Flags in the State House, a memorial to all Massachusetts soldiers.
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