An interview with Skip Smith

I recently found a press release about the 26th NCT Reactivated’s latest preservation project: the flag of the 22nd North Carolina Troops. I thought some of you might be interested in learning more about what these great folks do for North Carolina History. Below, please find an interview with my friend, Skip Smith, Colonel of the 26th North Carolina Troops.

Skip, several news outlets are reporting that the 26th NCT Reactivated is going to raise funds to preserve yet another North Carolina battle flag. How did your group get involved in the preservation process?

In 2004 we decided to raise the money to preserve the 26th NC's Burgess Mill flag...initially we had not thought about the big picture but, it did not take long for us to realize that we needed to work on other flags...in talking with Betsy Buford, then NCMOH Director we found that there was a great need in this area as the Mus. did not have the funds to restore much of what they have in storage...we each exchange letters stating that we were formally creating a partnership with the NCMOH to raise money for the restoration of some of the battle flags...it has now evolved into the project and goal to raise the money for one flag per year...

Why is preserving Confederate battle flags important? Some people would prefer to just let them rot.

We decided to focus on the Battle Flags for one reason - they represent all men who marched beneath their folds...they have a story to tell and the only way this could be done was for them to be on display...while we respect other people's feeling and opinions, we do not let that dictate our mission...our focus is on the history and story these flags tell and not the modern politically correct story that some weave into them...these were battle flags that were designed to lead troops into battle...they became the pride of each Regiment...and for us it is important to preserve them for future generations...

What have been some of your most successful fundraising endeavors?

While there are other projects we have completed, there are three that have a special place in our minds...a) we have completed the fundraising for four North Carolina regiments battle flags, b) we raised $27,000 for a creation of a monument to the 26th NC on the New Bern Battlefield and c) the 26th NC led the process of getting the North Carolina Memorial at Gettysburg cleaned....

How do you decide which flag to preserve next - do you look at all of the flags to see which ones are in the greatest need, or are you drawn to certain flags because of their background?

After we completed the Burgess Mill flag of the 26th NC, we decided to first focus on the other flags from the Pettigrew-Kirkland-McCrae Brigade...our second flag was going to be the 11th NC's but, once we got started our friends in the 1st NC came forward and asked to be able to take care of that flag...we were very happy to turn that over and shifted gears to the 52nd NC's flag...once that flag was complete we went after the 47th NC's...once the fundraising for this flag was complete our goal of taking care of the brigade's battle flags was complete...we then looked at the list of flags the Mus. has and decided to work on the 58th NC's flag as this is a unit we portray from time to time...as to the process of picking our flags, we have a )committee that looks at the list of flags and by working with the Mus. we simply select one...

Tell us about your newest endeavor, the restoration of the flag of the 22nd North Carolina Troops.

This year's project, the battle flag of the 22nd NC, came in a different way...two years ago the Greensboro newspaper ran an article on the Adopt-an-Artifact program that the NCMOH had started...in this story they used the battle flag of the 22nd NC as the focus because there was a company from Guilford County in the 22nd NC...several people responded to the story by sending in donations to restore the battle flag of the 22nd NC (about $500)...in talking with the Mus. last year about our 2010 project, we started talking about the fact that this money might sit there for a while and we just did not feel this was right for those people that had sent in their donations...thus, we decided to make it our next project....we have trifolds and posters at each State Historic Site to not only raise awareness to our project but to also encourage others to adopt a flag to restore...at this time there are five organizations working on other flags!!!

What can people do to help?

To help with the restoration of the 22nd NC's battle flag, people can visit our website www.26nc.org and click on the link at the bottom of the homepage...