A PROCLAMATION.

The twenty-fourth General Assembly of the state of Iowa enacted a law providing for the better preservation of the colors, standards and battleflags borne by Iowa regiments and batteries during the war of the rebellion. In compliance with the provisions of said law, hermetically sealed glass cases have been provided and placed in appropriate positions in the corridor of the capitol, in which the battleflags will be preserved. The 10th day of August, 1894, has been selected as an appropriate day for the transfer of the battleflags from the state arsenal to the capitol building. This great occasion, one of the last official acts of our state in patriotic remembrance of that heroic army which she sent forth to defend the flag while yet in the very infancy of her statehood, is one in which every true citizen of Iowa will be deeply interested. The hardships and sacrifices, the alternating victories and defeats, and the final triumph and after glory of that army are matters of history; but the battleflags around which our Iowa soldiers rallied, and under the folds of which they marched through smoke of battle to victory or death, are left to us, a precious heritage toward which the hearts of all Iowans go forth in grateful remembrance.

Now, therefore, I, Frank D. Jackson, governor of the state of Iowa, do hereby recommend that the 10th day of August , 1894, be known and referred to as Battleflag Day, and that it be observed as a public holiday consecrated to the memory of the patriotism and valor of Iowa's soldiers, living and dead.

Let the subject of patriotism, as represented in the one hundred and thirty-three flags that led the seventy thousand Iowa soldiers into battle, be the inspiring sentiment of the day, and I hereby request that all the people of this commonwealth refrain upon that day from unnecessary labor and join in appropriate exercises in commemoration of this patriotic occasion.

Let as many as possible of the surviving members of Iowa regiments take a personal part in the exercises of this day. Let regimental reunions be called to meet at the capitol city on the day previous, so that as far as possible these battleflags may be carried by their own respective color bearers, surrounded by the broken fragments of regimental organization.

With a spirit of reverent solemnity, let the people of Iowa devote this day to the consideration of the relations of the citizen to the flag; of liberty as distinct from license; of loyalty, patriotism and heroism. Let us again renew our devotion to the flag--our fidelity to the law.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the great seal of the state of Iowa.

Done at Des Moines this twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four.

By the Governor:
Frank D. Jackson
W. M. McFarland
Secretary of State

Iowa General Assembly

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Last update: Sun Dec 24 00:57:33 CST 1995
URL: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/resources/battleFlag/flagb2.htm
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