Musters – Events
The First Defenders meet at 6:30 PM on the second Tuesday of each month from September through May. Meetings include dinner and a speaker who may be a guest or a member. Meetings are held at Giannotti’s Country Restaurant on Pricetown Road in Alsace Manor, and will also be provided virtually for members who are unable to attend due to COVID-19 concerns.
A book raffle is held each month with all proceeds donated to battlefield preservation, and members who attend virtually will have the opportunity to participate even if they cannot attend a program.
Guests and new members are welcome. Space is limited in the restaurant, so please contact a board member or the First Defenders by email (see the Regimental Staff page).
MEMBERS ONLY! Sign up to attend the upcoming event!
"Rally 'Round the Flag": Color Bearers at Gettysburg
presented by Dan Welch
Civil War color bearers played both a practical and symbolic role in the final years of 
Napoleonic warfare. Aligning on the colors provided soldiers with direction when smoke, noise and confusion made it difficult to hear bugle calls or the shouted orders of officers. Soldiers assigned to carry the national or state colors were honored to do so even though they did not carry weapons and were a conspicuous target for opposing riflemen. In this program, we learn more about the heroic stories of color bearers during the three-day Battle of Gettysburg.
Dan Welch is a public educator in Ohio and the former educations program coordinator for the Gettysburg Foundation. Dan holds a bac
helor's degree in instrumental music education and a master's in military history with a Civil War concentration. He is the author of "The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign, 1863" part of the Emerging Civil War series. Dan continues to serve as a seasonal ranger at the Gettysburg National Military Park
