Fighting and Dying for the Colors at Gettysburg

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Like the 147th New York, the 55th North Carolina marched to Gettysburg as an untried unit. Nonetheless its commander, Colonel John Kerr Connally, a former attorney and U.S. Naval Academy midshipman, had already earned a reputation for his impetuous behavior and fierce unit pride. A year earlier Connally had challenged a fellow officer to a duel over a disputed report that censured the conduct of his regiment.

As Davis’ men confronted the 147th New York and other Union infantrymen in the ripening grain fields north of the pike, the Confederate battle line advanced steadily up the slope. Because of the undulating nature of the ground, the Tar Heels popped into view moments before the two Mississippi regiments advancing on their right, and thus drew the first infantry volley of the battle. Connally soon realized that his battle line extended far beyond the right flank of the Union position. To maximize this opportunity he ordered the 55th to execute a right wheel. This maneuver would allow his soldiers to fire directly down the length of the Union formation, thus exposing the Yankees to a deadly crossfire.

Several color-bearers of the 55th were shot down during the movement. At this critical juncture, the regiment’s colonel seized the battle flag and rushed out several paces in front of his men. The rash move attracted the fire of the enemy, and Connally fell to the ground after sustaining wounds to his left arm and right hip. Major Alfred Belo rushed over to his superior and asked if he was badly wounded. “Yes, but pay no attention to me!” came the reply. “Take the colors and keep ahead of the Mississippians.” As his men rushed after the now-fleeing bluecoats, Connally was borne to the rear on a stretcher.

The colonel would never again be well enough to resume command of his unit. After a successful postwar career as a lawyer and politician, Connally developed into an eloquent preacher in Asheville, N.C. In 1904 the United Confederate Veterans awarded him the Cross-of-Honor for his bravery at Gettysburg.

The 13th Massachusetts vs. the 5th Alabama

Later on July 1, during the sanguinary struggle for Oak Ridge north of the unfinished railroad bed, two beloved color-bearers fell within a hundred yards of each other. The 13th Massachusetts was organized in the Boston area during the summer of 1861 as patriotic fervor swept through the North. Roland Morris, a 22-year-old Nantucket native, was studying in Germany when the war broke out. He immediately rushed home and joined the 13th. Young, attractive and highly popular with his comrades, the former scholar was a natural choice for the position of color-sergeant.

As the I Corps marched through Maryland en route to Gettysburg, Morris left the ranks without permission to visit some friends he had made there during the regiment’s early service. After he was discovered missing, Colonel Samuel Leonard punished him for the infraction by taking away his flag. On the morning of July 1, with tears in his eyes, the sergeant begged the colonel to return his colors. The wish was granted after Morris promised not to repeat his transgression.

In a postwar reminiscence, Lieutenant William Kimball narrated the tragic ending of the story:

The writer will ever remember how our beloved comrade, Color-Sergeant Morris, on the morning march from Marsh Creek was the life of the company, full of fun and making us all feel “gay and happy” with his jokes and high spirits….As we approached Gettysburg we could hear firing ahead of us….We reached an oak grove near the Mummasburg Road. Across the road was a barn occupied by some of the rebels who made us their mark; and it was here and from one of their sharpshooters that Morris received his mortal wound. I saw him when he was shot; he leaped into the air and fell to the ground, struggling and crying in agony. The rebel bullet passed through his breast apparently. I detailed two comrades to take him to the rear, and I never saw him again.

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