"...The story of its making, which was fraught with danger and many obstacles, is a lesson in patriotism. As the Fourth of July drew near the prisoners wished to find some way of celebrating the day without attracting the attention of their confederate guards. The plan of making the ensign occurred to Timothy J. Regan , Ninth...Massachusetts , Company E. He confided his plan to hig comrades, entered eagerly into the scheme and united their efforts cautiously for Its accomplishment . Some white cloth was smuggled into the prison, and for the other colors the men supplied parts of their red and blue flannel shirts . The various pieces were skillfully sewn together. This flag, placed against the roof of the prison, which was extremely high, was out of sight of the confederate guards. So it was under the folds of a genuine stars and stripes that the union comrades gathered on that Independence day and sang their songs of patriotism. At night the ensign was as secretly dismembered as it had been secretly put together, the parts were distributed to those who had contributed them.."

-The Colorado Transcript, July 9, 1908