I am fully aware "Flag" predates "Reply".    It is obvious that "Reply" is in fact a reply to "Flag" and that "Reply" was written long after "Flag".   "Reply" above all is far more understanding and pacifist than any song written at the time of the Civil War or before would have been.

In fact I meant to say that the author of "Reply" meant to refer to "Flag", not the reverse.   And my sentence can in fact be read to say this--except to someone who wants to assume the other person does not know what he or she is talking about.    Though this is often a working assumption below the line, it is not reasonable on music threads, lest misunderstandings arise.

To minimize the chance of misinterpretion, I will spell out in the future which song or poem refers to which other song or poem.