How the Flag of the 48th Ohio Inf. was Saved (Defiance County History 1883 Page 130)

Capt. Daniel Gunsaullus 48th Ohio Vol. Inf. Company F

    When the 48th Regiment, to which Company F (Defiance Ohio), was overpower and captured at the battle of Sabine Cross Roads, La., April 8, 1864, the color-bearer, Isaac Scott, in the midst of the excitement threw down the regimental flag, but an old man sprang forward and tore the old flag  from its staff and slipped it into his haversack. He was left sick on his way to prison, and did not arrive for some time after; but through all his sickness he clung to the flag, and upon arriving at Camp Ford, Tex., to which place the regiment had preceded him, delivered the flag to the officers of the regiment for safe keeping, and it was sewed up in Capt. Gunsaullus' (Co. F), inside of the lining, where he wore it in safety up to the time of their being  exchanged, at the mouth of the Red River, on the Mississippi, October 23, 1864, after an imprisonment of six months and fifteen days. Passing down the Mississippi a short distance, they left the rebel craft and were turned over to Col. Dwight Commissioner of exchange. He order them on board the St. Mary's, where a band of music from New Orleans, and a number of ladies-wives of Union Officers were awaiting their arrival. Upon boarding the vessel, they proceeded immediately to the upper deck. The old flag was then torn from its place of concealment (Capt. G.'s blouse), and hastily tied to a staff prepared for the occasion. At this signal, the band struck up the "Star Spangled Banner>" and the old flag of the 48th Ohio Inf. was unfurled to the breeze, with waving of handkerchiefs and amid the wild shouts and deafening cheers of the released prisoners.
    The flag was afterward placed in the flag room of the State House at Columbus, Ohio,
    The rebel Assistant Agent of Exchange, Capt. Birchett (who accompanied the prisoners), on his return to Camp Ford related to the remaining prisoners how the flag of the Forty- eighth Ohio, in his presence, was torn from the coat of one of the officers, after they were exchange at the Red River. He said it was one of the most exciting scenes he ever witnessed, and that the regiment deserved a great deal of credit for preserving their colors during their imprisonment.