It was summer in Virginia, hot and humid. As she sat on the porch of her house, to catch a breeze and the light, the young wife and mother lovingly stitched a large piece of white silk into a flag. As she did so, she must have thought of her wedding day. She had been 19 years old at the time and her husband had been nine years older.
Catherine Heth Harrison or "Kitty" as she was known, had been married in 1854 to Robert J. Morrison who was a professor at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg. Among her treasured possessions when she arrived in town was her white silk wedding gown, carefully packed away.
Since that time, life had been good. Living with her husband in nearby James City County, Robert and Kitty Morrison were quite happy. A son, Thomas, was born in 1855, followed by two daughters, Gay, in 1857 and Cate, in 1859.
Then the Civil War began and like millions of others, the Morrison's lives were tragically affected. As Virginia joined the Confederacy, the family moved into the town and Robert obtained a commission as a captain in the Quartermaster's Department. It was about this time that Kitty Morrison donated her wedding gown and patriotically converted it into a banner for the troops of the 15th Virginia Infantry, who were camped in and around the Williams and Mary campus.
The flag, white with a blue border, trimmed with silver metallic fringe, consisted of a circle of ten blue stars on each side with the words "15 REG: VA: Vol." on one side and on the obverse side the single word "HOME." Presented to the regimental commander, Kitty's "Wedding Gown" flag, with its thoughts of home, were an inspiration to the regiment.
Sadly, Kitty Morrison's world fell apart soon after her contribution to the cause. Her husband was reassigned to the infantry and died of typhoid fever in Williamsburg on October 31, 1861. Kitty, now alone, left Williamsburg. Despite losing her beloved husband, she survived the war and raised both children, watched them marry, and spent her last years living with her daughter's family in Chestertown, Maryland. She died at the home of her daughter and son-in-law in 1899.
Her flag also survived the war. It flew over the young soldiers of the 15th Virginia as they fought in several terrible battles. At the battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), the regiment lost 59% of its men as casualties, but they carried their flag back with them. It was regarded with reverence by the survivors of the regiment.
In 1911, the veterans held a reunion in Williamsburg. In an address presented by J. Staunton Moore, the flag was remembered:
"The survivors of the Fifteenth Virginia recall with feelings of pride, that when we arrived in your beautiful and hospitable city fifty years ago, Mrs. Morrison, one of your patriotic ladies on the Campus of old William and Mary presented us with the first flag that ever floated over our heads. It was made from her wedding gowns; I recall its colors were white and blue silk, emblematic of the purity of heart of the giver, and of the heavens above us, whose blessings she invoked on our undertaking. This flag waved on many a battlefield and is endeared to us by many sacred ties and tender memories… It is our privilege and our pride to assure the ladies of Williamsburg that this flag was never captured…"
Kitty would be quite pleased to know that her "Wedding Gown" flag was recently conserved and can still be seen in the collections of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
Written by Carson O. Hudson, Jr.
Catherine Heth Harrison or "Kitty" as she was known, had been married in 1854 to Robert J. Morrison who was a professor at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg. Among her treasured possessions when she arrived in town was her white silk wedding gown, carefully packed away.
Since that time, life had been good. Living with her husband in nearby James City County, Robert and Kitty Morrison were quite happy. A son, Thomas, was born in 1855, followed by two daughters, Gay, in 1857 and Cate, in 1859.
Then the Civil War began and like millions of others, the Morrison's lives were tragically affected. As Virginia joined the Confederacy, the family moved into the town and Robert obtained a commission as a captain in the Quartermaster's Department. It was about this time that Kitty Morrison donated her wedding gown and patriotically converted it into a banner for the troops of the 15th Virginia Infantry, who were camped in and around the Williams and Mary campus.
The flag, white with a blue border, trimmed with silver metallic fringe, consisted of a circle of ten blue stars on each side with the words "15 REG: VA: Vol." on one side and on the obverse side the single word "HOME." Presented to the regimental commander, Kitty's "Wedding Gown" flag, with its thoughts of home, were an inspiration to the regiment.
Sadly, Kitty Morrison's world fell apart soon after her contribution to the cause. Her husband was reassigned to the infantry and died of typhoid fever in Williamsburg on October 31, 1861. Kitty, now alone, left Williamsburg. Despite losing her beloved husband, she survived the war and raised both children, watched them marry, and spent her last years living with her daughter's family in Chestertown, Maryland. She died at the home of her daughter and son-in-law in 1899.
Her flag also survived the war. It flew over the young soldiers of the 15th Virginia as they fought in several terrible battles. At the battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), the regiment lost 59% of its men as casualties, but they carried their flag back with them. It was regarded with reverence by the survivors of the regiment.
In 1911, the veterans held a reunion in Williamsburg. In an address presented by J. Staunton Moore, the flag was remembered:
"The survivors of the Fifteenth Virginia recall with feelings of pride, that when we arrived in your beautiful and hospitable city fifty years ago, Mrs. Morrison, one of your patriotic ladies on the Campus of old William and Mary presented us with the first flag that ever floated over our heads. It was made from her wedding gowns; I recall its colors were white and blue silk, emblematic of the purity of heart of the giver, and of the heavens above us, whose blessings she invoked on our undertaking. This flag waved on many a battlefield and is endeared to us by many sacred ties and tender memories… It is our privilege and our pride to assure the ladies of Williamsburg that this flag was never captured…"
Kitty would be quite pleased to know that her "Wedding Gown" flag was recently conserved and can still be seen in the collections of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
Written by Carson O. Hudson, Jr.
It was summer in Virginia, hot and humid. As she sat on the porch of her house, to catch a breeze and the light, the young wife and mother lovingly stitched a large piece of white silk into a flag. As she did so, she must have thought of her wedding day. She had been 19 years old at the time and her husband had been nine years older.
Catherine Heth Harrison or "Kitty" as she was known, had been married in 1854 to Robert J. Morrison who was a professor at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg. Among her treasured possessions when she arrived in town was her white silk wedding gown, carefully packed away.
Since that time, life had been good. Living with her husband in nearby James City County, Robert and Kitty Morrison were quite happy. A son, Thomas, was born in 1855, followed by two daughters, Gay, in 1857 and Cate, in 1859.
Then the Civil War began and like millions of others, the Morrison's lives were tragically affected. As Virginia joined the Confederacy, the family moved into the town and Robert obtained a commission as a captain in the Quartermaster's Department. It was about this time that Kitty Morrison donated her wedding gown and patriotically converted it into a banner for the troops of the 15th Virginia Infantry, who were camped in and around the Williams and Mary campus.
The flag, white with a blue border, trimmed with silver metallic fringe, consisted of a circle of ten blue stars on each side with the words "15 REG: VA: Vol." on one side and on the obverse side the single word "HOME." Presented to the regimental commander, Kitty's "Wedding Gown" flag, with its thoughts of home, were an inspiration to the regiment.
Sadly, Kitty Morrison's world fell apart soon after her contribution to the cause. Her husband was reassigned to the infantry and died of typhoid fever in Williamsburg on October 31, 1861. Kitty, now alone, left Williamsburg. Despite losing her beloved husband, she survived the war and raised both children, watched them marry, and spent her last years living with her daughter's family in Chestertown, Maryland. She died at the home of her daughter and son-in-law in 1899.
Her flag also survived the war. It flew over the young soldiers of the 15th Virginia as they fought in several terrible battles. At the battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), the regiment lost 59% of its men as casualties, but they carried their flag back with them. It was regarded with reverence by the survivors of the regiment.
In 1911, the veterans held a reunion in Williamsburg. In an address presented by J. Staunton Moore, the flag was remembered:
"The survivors of the Fifteenth Virginia recall with feelings of pride, that when we arrived in your beautiful and hospitable city fifty years ago, Mrs. Morrison, one of your patriotic ladies on the Campus of old William and Mary presented us with the first flag that ever floated over our heads. It was made from her wedding gowns; I recall its colors were white and blue silk, emblematic of the purity of heart of the giver, and of the heavens above us, whose blessings she invoked on our undertaking. This flag waved on many a battlefield and is endeared to us by many sacred ties and tender memories… It is our privilege and our pride to assure the ladies of Williamsburg that this flag was never captured…"
Kitty would be quite pleased to know that her "Wedding Gown" flag was recently conserved and can still be seen in the collections of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
Written by Carson O. Hudson, Jr.
Catherine Heth Harrison or "Kitty" as she was known, had been married in 1854 to Robert J. Morrison who was a professor at the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg. Among her treasured possessions when she arrived in town was her white silk wedding gown, carefully packed away.
Since that time, life had been good. Living with her husband in nearby James City County, Robert and Kitty Morrison were quite happy. A son, Thomas, was born in 1855, followed by two daughters, Gay, in 1857 and Cate, in 1859.
Then the Civil War began and like millions of others, the Morrison's lives were tragically affected. As Virginia joined the Confederacy, the family moved into the town and Robert obtained a commission as a captain in the Quartermaster's Department. It was about this time that Kitty Morrison donated her wedding gown and patriotically converted it into a banner for the troops of the 15th Virginia Infantry, who were camped in and around the Williams and Mary campus.
The flag, white with a blue border, trimmed with silver metallic fringe, consisted of a circle of ten blue stars on each side with the words "15 REG: VA: Vol." on one side and on the obverse side the single word "HOME." Presented to the regimental commander, Kitty's "Wedding Gown" flag, with its thoughts of home, were an inspiration to the regiment.
Sadly, Kitty Morrison's world fell apart soon after her contribution to the cause. Her husband was reassigned to the infantry and died of typhoid fever in Williamsburg on October 31, 1861. Kitty, now alone, left Williamsburg. Despite losing her beloved husband, she survived the war and raised both children, watched them marry, and spent her last years living with her daughter's family in Chestertown, Maryland. She died at the home of her daughter and son-in-law in 1899.
Her flag also survived the war. It flew over the young soldiers of the 15th Virginia as they fought in several terrible battles. At the battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam), the regiment lost 59% of its men as casualties, but they carried their flag back with them. It was regarded with reverence by the survivors of the regiment.
In 1911, the veterans held a reunion in Williamsburg. In an address presented by J. Staunton Moore, the flag was remembered:
"The survivors of the Fifteenth Virginia recall with feelings of pride, that when we arrived in your beautiful and hospitable city fifty years ago, Mrs. Morrison, one of your patriotic ladies on the Campus of old William and Mary presented us with the first flag that ever floated over our heads. It was made from her wedding gowns; I recall its colors were white and blue silk, emblematic of the purity of heart of the giver, and of the heavens above us, whose blessings she invoked on our undertaking. This flag waved on many a battlefield and is endeared to us by many sacred ties and tender memories… It is our privilege and our pride to assure the ladies of Williamsburg that this flag was never captured…"
Kitty would be quite pleased to know that her "Wedding Gown" flag was recently conserved and can still be seen in the collections of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia.
Written by Carson O. Hudson, Jr.
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