Henry Lynden Flash was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 20, 1835. In 1839 his family relocated to New Orleans, and he spent his formative years in the South. Ten years later he enrolled at Kentucky's Western Military Institute, graduating in 1852 at the age of 17.

When the War Between the States began, Flash volunteered for service in the Confederate army and served as an aide-de-camp to General W.J. Hardee and General Joseph Wheeler (who later wrote an introduction to a volume of Flash's verse, paying high tribute to both to his literary talent and his bravery upon the field of battle).

After the War, Flash served as editor of the Macon Telegraph in Macon, Georgia, before returning to his boyhood home in New Orleans. In 1884 , he moved once again, this time to Los Angeles, California, where he died in 1914.

Thanks to John Watts for contributing "The Confederate Flag" and "Memories of the Blue and Gray" and for supplying details about the life of this extraordinary Southern poet.

The Confederate Flag | Memories of the Blue and Gray | Death of Stonewall Jackson

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Last modified 16-April-2001