2016 Coeur d’Alene Art Auction / Lot 52
J. David Petruzzi, Award-winning Civil War author and historian writes, “Nearly oblivious to his fellow cannoneers blazing away at the Rebel troops, a young Union soldier gazes up at the Federal artillery guidon as it flaps during the warm summer afternoon of July 3, 1863. He realizes this is what they are fighting for - union. But little could he know that many of the nearly 15,000 Confederate soldiers marching at him are walking on the ground what will soon be their own graves. "Pickett's Charge" at Gettysburg will contribute heavily to the final butcher's bill of approximately 50,000 total casualties at the battle. As the flag flies, it is not just a banner of defiance but a symbol of the unity that must be achieved to keep the Union - The United States - together as one.”