color guard

I think I was able to put two and two together this morning and come out with the original color company of the 58th NCT. The color guard of a Confederate regiment was composed of six men: the color sergeant and his guard, usually five corporals. Usually, only the color sergeant, or, after June 1864, the ensign, is listed in the records. I went through several of the Troop books put out by the state looking for comparisons. William E. Weaver of the 29th NCT was formally 1st Sergeant of Company H. He was promoted to color sergeant on July 2, 1863. However, the next entry states that John R. Rich enlisted in August 1861, and was mustered in as color sergeant. He was promoted to ensign in September 1864, and took the oath in 1865. Hmmm, maybe the 29th NCT had two color sergeants. In comparison, the 30th NCT, has no one listed as a color sergeant or ensign. The 22nd NCT has two men listed: Jesse H. Pinkerton and Sion H. Oxford. Even the 26th NCT, whose role during the battle of Gettysburg is highly documented, only lists Jefferson B. Mansfield as a color sergeant. His record simply states that Mansfield “Was apparently detailed to serve as Color Sergeant on various occasions during the war.”

For the 58th NCT, we know that Green B. Woody served as color sergeant, and later ensign, from October 1, 1863, through February 1865. Woody was a 2nd Sergeant in Company C. In a post war letter written by Lt. Col. Samuel Silver, he states that during the battle of Missionary Ridge, all of the companies had been sent from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain save the center company, which was Captain Suel Brigg’s Company C. The color guard would have been attached to the center company of the regiment, with that company being designated as the color company. The entire regiment would have dressed on the color guard, and the color company.

So, I know where two of the twelve companies were in line – Company A was on the right, and Company C was in the center.