Fire truck in Albert Lea flies Confederate flag during parade...

[Adsos Letter]

9. First thing I thought of.

My G-G-G and G-G grandfathers (father and son) fought with the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. The father was wounded at Vicksburg and permanently disabled, while the son served from 1861-1865. Studio photos taken of him before and after the war suggest the toll almost four years of campaigning could take on a person. I can only guess at what they would think about that rag flying in a Fourth of July parade.

Or, any of the members of the First Minnesota who happened to survive their role at Gettysburg on the second day of the battle.

Given the tenor of the times it is likely that many of them, including my relatives, might not have cared much about the racism associated with that flag. To them it would certainly have been a symbol of treasonous rebellion, and rejected as such.