Rolling up the reunion flag of a Civil War regiment, the 116th U.S. Colored Troops

What makes a retired 48-star American flag even more special? A story that goes along with it! In the case of one flag in the museum collections at Camp Nelson National Monument, its story is written on it- quite literally. Recently I had the privilege of preserving a reunion flag of the 116th U.S. Colored Troops- an African American unit in the Civil War.

Disclaimer: This entry is in a series of posts documenting my experiences as an employee of the National Park Service. Any opinions expressed are solely my own and do not represent the National Park Service. The purpose of this series is to educate others on life in the service and to answer any related questions.

The 116th USCT Infantry

From enslaved to freedmen

A hot summer’s day. Nicholasville, Kentucky. July 1864. The beat of drums vibrates across the fields and sinkholes of Camp Nelson. Recruits scurry into formation, with muskets at the ready. The men don blue uniforms- freshly issued by the quartermaster. Their posture is erect and faces stern. They are new but learning quickly. In less than a year they will help force the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A particularly special honor for many of them, who as Black men, endured enslavement. These are the soldiers of the 116th USCT Infantry.

The 116th United States Colored Troops (USCT) Infantry Regiment was not unique, racially. In May 1863, the War Department established the Bureau of Colored Troops to coordinate and organize regiments of African American soldiers for the Union Army. Approximatively 180,000 free Blacks and freedmen would bear arms.

A total of 175 regiments of infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers, were formed. They were led by White officers. As the war dragged on, however, some African Americans received commissions, primarily as surgeons and chaplains.

The driving force behind the creation of the USCT was the Emancipation Proclamation. President Lincoln’s address freed enslaved persons in Confederate states, while also officially accepting Black men into the U.S. Army and Navy. The majority of volunteers came from areas liberated in the South. Of states in the North, Kentucky supplied the most at 23,703 soldiers.

Despite its large contribution, Kentucky was slow to mobilize colored troops. Although a loyal Union state, it was on the border, and had a large, enslaved population. Its White politicians strongly opposed the organization and enlistment of Black men. Only in spring 1864 did the government finally authorize colored recruitment in Kentucky. Enslaved recruits had to ask permission from their owners to join but received freedom upon enlistment.

A major recruitment center for Colored Troops in Kentucky was established at Camp Nelson, a Union supply depot in Nicholasville. Eight USCT regiments formed here- including the 116th Infantry. Soon after arriving, the men of the 116th set out on guard and picket duty, protecting Camp Nelson from potential attack by Confederate guerilla forces. They then departed for Virginia in late 1864.

Campaigning in Virgina and garrison duty

During its service the 116th USCT Infantry participated in the sieges of Richmond and Petersburg. Although late comers in the war, the regiment did see action in several engagements and smaller skirmishes. Yet, as all soldiers knew, military life was not all about fighting.

The men did their fair share of fatigue duty. This entailed ditch digging, building fortifications, loading or unloading supplies, and other types of labor. Often at times these tasks fell to Colored Troops, who despite taking up arms, found themselves doing the same work as civilian Blacks employed by the army. Still, fatigue duty could be hazardous.

During construction of the Dutch Gap Canal, for instance, Union troops with the bulk of them Colored, came under shellfire. The canal was dug so that Union forces could bypass a meandering loop on the James River, fortified by Confederate artillery. Company C of the 116th USCT labored on the project, from late 1864 to early 1865.

It was at the canal that one officer of the regiment showed heroism in an act that earned him the Medal of Honor.

On January 1, 1865, Union soldiers carried out a controlled demolition of a massive earthen bulkhead. A group of officers lit the fuse from a protected area. Immediately, they realized no one ordered a picket party in the blast area to withdraw- a grave mistake. Risking his own life and on his own initiative, 2nd Lt. Walter Thorn rushed from cover, ran across open terrain, and leapt onto the bulkhead, warning the picket in time.¹

The regiment saw its last major action at the Battle of Appomattox Court House on the morning of April 9, 1865. It took position on the extreme left of the Union Army and advanced forward, helping to almost completely encircle Confederate forces. Later that afternoon General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia- a victory contributed to by seven USCT regiments.

Civilian life did not come soon for the 116th USCT, however. In May 1865, the regiment set sail for Texas, where it carried out guard and fatigue duty on the southern border for over a year. A cholera epidemic ravaged the unit in August 1866 and claimed the lives of 45 men. Several months later in September the regiment left for New Orleans.

Finally, on January 17, 1867, the regiment mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky.² Civilian life came at last.

Rolling up history

Reunion flag of the 116th USCT Infantry

Not long ago I had the honor of handling a treasure from the 116th USCT Infantry. In the museum collections at Camp Nelson National Monument, where I work as a museum technician, is an American flag from a regiment reunion!

Aged, slightly soiled, and with a few holes, the flag has seen better days. Its 48 stars dates it to sometime between 1912 and 1959- before Alaska became the 49th state. An otherwise unremarkable relic, what makes the flag unique is not the number of stars and stripes, but the writing on it. Stenciled on it in black ink is the following:

“116TH UNITED STATES COLORED INFANTRY… REUNION: LOUISVILLE, KY.”

Who the flag belonged to and when the veterans held the reunion, if it actually happened, is unknown. The provenance is lacking. It came into the collections at Camp Nelson as a donation from a local non-profit, specializing in genealogy research, wishing to honor the USCT and Black refugee legacy of the camp. Along with it came a 116th USCI (Colored Infantry) marked knapsack, from the 1860s, and a veteran’s trinket box.

For some time, the flag laid flat in a protected storage cabinet. It sat safely wedged between two pieces of archival corrugated cardboard. Although protected, there was a better way of storing it- by rolling it up. This option prevents the fragile material from creasing.

After consulting with a museum curator in the National Park Service, my manager gave me a final design. I was to wrap the flag around a storage tube and secure it onto a foam plank base. The hardest part was creating the cradle, which involved cutting, that my friend in maintenance was more than happy to walk me through!

The right stuff and measurements

The materials we needed had to be archival grade. Not any old cardboard or tissue paper would do. It had to be acid-free with a neutral pH level. Otherwise, long-term exposure to unstable materials would damage the flag. Regular brown cardboard, for example, is highly acidic and overtime its chemicals break down, turning the cardboard yellow.

We also had to consider the measurements of the flag, 22 x 34.5 inches. The storage materials had to be larger than the actual object to ensure complete protection from outside elements.

Long-term preservation is a fundamental mission for museums. Thus, our ordering list was short but essential:

• 1 archival unbuffered storage tube, 3 ft long with a 6-in diameter
• Sheets of acid-free archival buffered tissue paper
• Roll of cotton tape
• Plank of archival Ethafoam, measuring 24 x 12 x 4 inches

I began the project by crafting the base that the storage tube was to rest on. This consisted of carving two identical 4-in wide cradles from a block of Ethafoam, first marking the material with a stencil, then using a plasterboard saw for the cut. An actual foam cutting knife or a cheaper hot wire would have been more efficient. The saw left a mess!

Next, I prepared the work area where I was to roll up the flag. The space had to be clean and large enough to complete the task. A table in my office space did the job.

Rolling was simple and straightforward. I placed two pieces of tissue paper on the table, set the flag down, and made sure there was at least 6 inches of free paper at one end- where I would start. Once I completed the first roll, I added two sheets of paper on top of the flag, acting as an extra layer of cushion. Then I rolled all the way.

Three strips of cotton tape secured the flag in place on the tube. Two were tied at each end, on the excess paper that extended past the fabric. The third strip went in the center of the tube. The knots were not too tight.

Finally, I moved the rolled-up flag into a cabinet in the museum’s storage room, setting it on top of its foam base.

Altogether, the project took a day to complete.

1. Another Medal of Honor recipient from the 116th USCT Infantry was fellow officer Ira Hobart Evans, who went on to have a political career in Texas during Reconstruction and as a businessman, supported the education of African Americans.
2. The regiment published a detailed history of its service while still stationed in New Orleans. See Lt.Col. Charles Kireker, History of the 116th Regiment U.S.C. Infantry: From Its Organization in the Early Part of the Spring and Summer of 1864, to the Present Time, Giving a list of Names of all Officers and Enlisted Men Who Have Ever Belonged to the Regiment…. (Philadelphia: King & Baird, Printers, 1866). Available online: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/924062c0-a87d-0131-c7b6-58d385a7bbd0 (accessed 30 March 2025).