Osprey [MAA] 252.Flags.of.the.American.Civil.War（美国内战军旗）

7/27/2019 Osprey [MAA] 252.Flags.of.the.American.Civil.War

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mmDMILITARY MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 252FLAGS OF THE

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR1:CONFEDERATE


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FLAGS AND STANDARDS

And in 1865, at the war's end, it was the furling of thedefeated Confederate banners that marked the finalclosing of that episode in history. 'For want ofstrength,' sang Confederate veteran in their songWearing of the Gl'ey, 'we yield them up the day, andlower the flag so proudly borne, while wearing of thegrey.'

The generally accepted jargon for the elements offlags and their components is used throughout thisbook. The canton is the square or rectangle placed onthe top of the flag next to the pole or staff. A border is

INTRODUCTIONThe vel' heart of the Confederate fighting unit wasits flag, which came in a variety of designs andcolours. The flag was the rallying point on the field ofbattle; it marked the unit headquarters in camp. Inthe South in 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War,Private Sam Watkins of the 1st Tennessee InfantryRegiment recalled: 'Flags made by the ladies werepresented to companies, and to hear the youngorators tell of how they would protect the flag, andthat they would come back with the flag or come notat all, and if they fell they would fall with their backsto the field and their feet to the foe, would fairly makeour hair tand on end with intense patriot ism, and wewanted to march right offand whip twenty Yankees.'

The regulation FirstNational Flag flies overfortifications inCharleston, SouthCarolina, harbour in this

/86/ Harper's WeeklyilJustration. ot e that theseven stars are arranged inthe proper circle.

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the flag's edging when rendered in a different colourthan the field, the main part of the flag. Fimbration isthe narrow edging used to separate different colourson a flag; it is often white. T he hoist is the side of theflag next to the staff, while thefty is the opposite side.When, as is normal, the flag is shown with the hoist onthe left and the fly on the right, this is the obverse orfront of th e flag; the side seen when the hoist is on theright and the fly on the left is the reverse, or rear. Thestaff itself is the stave; the metal top of the stave,usually a spearhead, an axehead or an eagle, is thefinial; the metal cap at the bottom of the stave is theferrule. Many flags have cords and tassels hangingfrom the finial, al though this was rare among Confederate flags; collectively, these are simply referredto as cords. Finally, ensigns are national flags used on aship, as well as th e rank of a Confederate commissioned colour bearer after 17 February 1864;jacks aresmall flags flown at the bow of a ship in port; a colouris carried by an infantry or foot arti llery regiment; astandard is carried by a mounted unit; a camp colourwas a small flag used to indicate the location in campof the unit (these seen to have seen little useamong Confederates); and a f t ~ g is, strictly, that flownfrom a building or over a post and is not actuallycarried-although 'flag' is a generally accepted generic term for all flown cloth insignia that representsome nation or organization.

THE FIRSTNATIONAL FLAG

When Jefferson Davis was sworn into office as th ePresident of the provisional government of th e newConfederate States of America on 18 February 1861in Montgomery, Alabama, the flag that floated overthe scene was that of th e state of Alabama. Th e stateswhich had so recently left the almost hundred-yearold United States to form their own government hadno flag to represent their new nation.

The first flag used to represent the secedingsouthern states as a whole had a blue field with asingle white five-pointed star in its centre. This flagwas first displayed during the Convention of thePeople in Mississippi, 9 January 1861, as th e flag ofthe Republic of Mississippi, which had been inexistence for only one month. T he flag was describedin a widely popular song, The Bonnie Blue Flag,which was written by Harry Macarthy and first sungin ew Orleans a short time later. Texans en route tojoin the Army of orthern Virginia sang th e song inthat city in September 1861. Although this designwas used by several southern states and became asouthern symbol, it was never officially adopted bythe Confederacy as a whole.

Some military units also carried this flag; one was

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This regulationFirstationaI Flag, one starhidden by a writtendescription o fhow i t wascaptured, was taken froman unknown Confederateunit on the Peninsula inI862. Made entirelyo fcotton, itmeaSUreS]Iinches by 57 inches.(Courtesy Mike Miner)


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The First a tionaIFlagcarried by the 2ndRegi11lent, orth CarolinaState Troops. Theregi11lentaldesignationhas been stencilled on thehoist border, which alsohas three eyeletholes forattach111ent to the staff.The entire flag is hand-sewn. (1 orth CarolinaMuseu11l o fHistory)

carried by the 8th Texas Cavalry with its unitde ignation 'Terry's Texas Rangers' in yellow abovethe tar.

On 9 February the new country's ProvisionalCongre s appointed six of their members to acommittee to select a new flag from among the dozensof proposals which had been submitted to theCongre s. In less than a month, in early March, thecommittee had four proposed sample flags hung onthe wall of Congress.

ccording to the final report of the committee toCongre , the search was a difficult one. The committee, they wrote, had 'given this subject due consideration, and carefully inspected all the designs andmodels submitted to them. The number of these hasbeen immense, but they all may be divided into twogreat classes.

'Fir 1. Those which copy and preserve theprincipal features of the United States flag, withslight and unimportant modifications.

, econd. Those which are very elaborate, complicated, or fantastical. The objection to the first class is,that none of them at any considerable distance couldreadily be distinguished from the one whichtheyimitate. Whatever attachment may be felt, froma sociation for the "Stars and Stripes" (an attachment which your committee may be permitted to say

they do not all share), it is manifest that in inaugurating a new government we can not with any propriety,or without encountering very obvious practical difficulties, retain the flag of the Government from whichwe have withdrawn. There is no propriety in retaining the ensign of a government which, in the opinionof the States comprising this Confederacy, hadbecome so oppressive and injurious to their interestsas to require their separation from it. I t is idle to talkof "keeping" the flag of the United States when wehave voluntarily seceded from them. I t is superfluousto dwell upon the practical difficulties which wouldflow from the fact of two distinct and probably hostilegovernments, both employing the ame or verysimilar flags. It would be a political and militarysolecism. I t would lead to perpetual disputes. As to"the glories of the old flag," we must bear in mindthat the battles of the Revolution, about which ourfondest and proudest memories cluster, were notfought beneath its folds. And although in more recentt imes-in the war of 1812 and in the war withMexico-the South did win her fair share of glory,and shed her full measure of blood under its guidanceand in its defense, we think the impartial page ofhistory will preserve and commemorate the fact moreimperishably than a mere piece of striped bunting. . . .

'The committee, in examining the representa-5


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This First ational Flag,with its randomly placedstars, was carried by the34th Regiment, orthCarolina State Troops.The number '420' stampedin black on the white bar isthe US Army's WarDepartnlent capturenumber. ( orth CarolinaMuseum ofHistory)

tions of the flags of all countries, found that Liberiaand the Sandwich Islands had flags so similar to thatof the United States that it seemed to them anadditional, if not itself a conclusive, reason why wehould not "keep," copy, or imitate it. . . . It must be

admitted, however, that something was conceded bythe committee to what seemed so strong and earnest ade ire to retain at least a sugge tion of the old "Starsand Stripes." So much for the mass of models anddesigns more or less copied from, or assimilated to,the United States flag.

'With reference to the second class of designsthose of an e l a b o ~ a t e and complicated character (butmany of them showing considerable artistic skill andtaste)-the committee will merely remark, that however pretty they may be, when made by the cunningskill of a fair lady's fingers in silk, satin, andembroidery, they are not appropriate as flags. A flagshould be simple, readily made, and above all,capable of being made of bunting. I t should bedifferent from the flag of any other country, place orpeople. It should be significant. It should be readilydistinguishable at a distance. The colors should bewell contra ted and durable, and, la tly and not theleast important point, it should be effective andhandsome.

'The committee humbly think that the flag whichthey submit combines these requisites. I t is very easy6

to make. It is entirely different from any national flag.The three colors of which it is composed - red,white, and blue-are the true republican colors. Inheraldry they are emblematic of the three greatvirtues-of valor, purity, and truth. aval menassure us that it can be recognized and distinguishedat a great distance. The colors contrast admirably andare lasting. In effect and appearance it must speak foritself.'

The first hung on the chamber's walls, althoughnot the committee's final choice, eventually becamethe symbol of the Confederacy as the battle flag of theArmy of orthern Virginia as well as other Confederate military organizations. It featured a blueSt. Andrew's Cross, or 'saltire' (or 'saltive' - theformer is the older spelling), edged or 'fimbrated' inwhite, on a red field, with a white star representingeach state on the saltire. It had been designed byCongressman W. Porcher Miles of South Carolina,the committee chairman.

The second flag was a close copy of the US 'starsand stripes ' national flag, save that the stripes weremade of red and blue, whilst the canton or 'union'remained blue with a white star for each state.

The third rectangular flag was described as 'a redfield with a blue ring or circle in the centre' .

The fourth flag was that which was finally chosenand is now known as the 'First ational Flag' of the


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gressional journal with language unchanged. Theresult was that the so-called First ational Flag wasnever officially adopted as the flag of the Confederacyby a full Congressional vote in a formal 'flag act' orbill. evertheless, for fully two years this flag wa theone flown over official buildings and by many militaryunits in the field. Indeed, since generally eachConfederate regiment or independent battalion orsquadron carried only one colour, although it wasusually referred to as 'colors', the First ational Flagwas the only colour carried by such organizations ase.g. Georgia's Cobb's Legion.

In one respect the committee's language wasrather vague: it included no proportions of the heighton the hoist, or staff, to the length of the fly. Eachmaker was free to produce a flag of this design thatbest matched his or her aesthetic tastes. A study of

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Confederacy. On 4 March, after giving members achance to examine the four leading candidates, thecommittee recommended in its final report 'that theflag of the Confederate States ofAmerica shall consistof a red field with a white space extending horizontally through the center and equal in width to onethird of the width of the flag, and red spaces aboveand below to the same width as the white, the unionblue extending down through the white space andstopping at the lower red space, in the center of theunion a circle ofwhite stars corresponding in numberwith the States of the Confederacy'.Two men claimed to have designed this flag. The

first was icola Marschall, a Prussian artist living inMontgomery, Alabama, who also claimed credit forthe Confederate Army uniform design. He said thathe took the basic form from the Austrian flag whichhad three horizontal stripes, the top and bottom oneof red and the middle one of white. The letterugge ting this de ign was dated 2 March 1861 andwould seem to back his claim. Marschall offeredeveral variations of the canton placement, having itin the centre of the white stripe or against the hoist onthe white stripe as well as in the traditional unionlocation.The other person who claimed to have designedthe flag was Orren R. Smith, a orth Carolinian. His

de ign, he said, came from the Trinity, with the threebars standing for the state with its judiciary, legislative, and executive branches; the church; and thepress. They were bound by the blue canton, with thestars in a circle signifying mutual defence.In 1915 the United Confederate Veterans ac

cepted Smith's claim, although in 1931 the AlabamaDepartment of Archives and History produced astudy done by the state legislature which acceptedMarschall's claim. In fact, both men probably offeredimilar design virtual ly simultaneously, since thefairly plain de ign was quite similar to that of thenited States. Indeed, as seen, the committee noted

in its final repor t tha t 'the mass of models anddesign ' for flags it received were 'more or less copiedfrom or assimilated to, the United States flag'.

At any rate, in a hurry to get a flag approved intime for a scheduled flag raising on 4 March, the datenited States President Abraham Lincoln was to

be sworn into office, Congress approved thecommittee's findings, taking its report into the Con-

This First National FlagsholVs an arrangement o fstars in the canton for the/inal, maximum numbero fstars used in

Confederate flags, TJ. Thestars are actuallyembroidered on thecanton. ( orth CarolinaMuseum o fHistory)


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Confederate flags produced by H. Michael Madausand Robert D. eedham shows that a lmost a third(30 per cent) of surviving First ational Flags areproportioned 2:3 (hoist:fly). However, 21 per cent ofthese flags have proportions of 3:5, 13 per cent haveproportions of 5:9, and some ten per cent each haveproportion of 1:2 and ]:4. First ational Flagsproduced west of the Mississippi River appearligh tly more than the average proportioned I :2 , aproportion not at all common in English flags.

Equally, although officially the blue canton was tobear a circle of equally sized stars, in fact Firstational Flags came with a variety of designs,

especially as additional states joined the Confederacy.By the third week of May Virginia and Arkansasadded two more stars to the original seven. As of 2July the canton had I I stars, following the admissionof orth Carolina and Tennessee to the Confederacy.Missouri 's addition on 28 ovember gave the flag 12stars, while the final number of 13 was reached on 10December with Kentucky's joining the Southerntates.The style of star, i.e. the number of rays, was

not spelled out by Congress; however, the five-

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pointed star as used in the United States flag was themost common style used.

In many cases a single star, often larger than theothers, was placed in the centre of the circle torepresent the local state. This violated the originalconcept of having each s ta r the same size to indicatethe equality of the states in the Confederacy.

Many flags, especially those used by Texas unitsfrom the 'Lone Star State', had bu t one star in theThe avalBa tt erynearManassas, Virginia, afterthe battle ofFirstManassas flew this First1 ationalFlag with th estars in the cantonarra.nged in a St. George'sCross.

Company C. 20th VirginiaInfantry, carried thisvariation of the FirstNational Flag with it smilitia designation, 'FlatRock Riflemen'andmoceo'OUR RIGHTS' within th ecircle ofbadly faded stars.(Museum of theConfederacy)


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canton. Flags with one star in the canton were carriedby e.g. the 25th Virginia Infantry (which also had thestate name painted in gold Roman letters around thewhite star); and Co. E, 6th orth Carolina InfantryRegiment State Troops, which had its gold starwithin a gold laurel wreath and the gold Romanwords 'I GOD WE TRUST/VICTORY ORDEATH' above and below the star and wreath.

Some stars were placed in an apparently random

design; some in rows as in the United States flag; somestars were formed into either a Greek or aSt. Andrew's Cross; and some stars were placed in anarch, the'Arch of the Covenant' which was symbolicof the Bread of Life, the symbol of spiritual nourish-ment. The latter design was used on Robert E. Lee'spersonal headquarters flag.

State seals were often painted onto the cantoninstead of sewn stars. Co. E, 1st Georgia Infantry

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Regiment, for example, carried a First ational Flagmeasuring 42 inches on the hoist and 66 inches on thefly with the Georgia state seal painted on the bluecanton on the obverse side, and on the reverse sevenwhite stars in a circle with a red scroll above andanother below with the gold block words 'WEYIELD OT TO/OUR COU TRY'S FOES' onthe scrolls. Co. E, 1st Maryland Cavalry Regimenthad the Maryland state seal painted on the canton oftheir Fir t ational Flag, which is 27t inches on thehoist and 46t inches on the fly.

Materials also varied according to maker. Silkwas the preferred material, and many First ationalFlags made by hometown ladies were of this fabric.The standard carried by Co. K, 3rd Texas Cavalry atOak Hills, Missouri , and Pea Ridge, Arkansas, wasmade entirely of silk by the ladies of the company'shome town. However, when the women of Tyler,Texas, made a First ational Flag for Co. D, 15thTexas Infantry, they used cotton on the white bar and10

T)'picall)' proportioned forWestern-made FirstNationalFlags, thisparticular example wascarried b)' Frazer'sCompan)' o f th e u s tTennessee Infantr)'. j\tladeo fwool bunting with silkstars, it is I7 f inches b)'36inches in size, with acanton measuring I I f

inches b)' I2f inches. Thestars are 2 inches indiameter, edged with asilver metallic coveredcord; th e same cord edgesthe top and bottomborders and is used for fiveties. The staffand fl)'edgingsare bordered witha i-inch silvermaterial.(Courtes)' Mike Miner)

stars as well as the canton, but a wool/cotton mixturefor the red bars. A FirstNational Flag captured at PeaRidge from an Arkansas brigade was entirely made ofwool flannel, with the words 'JEFF. DAVIS' workedin black velvet Roman uncial letters on its obver e.

One of the strangest First ational Flags still inexistence is that used from time to time by the 43rdBattalion of Virginia Cavalry, Mosby's Rangers. Theunit carried out guerrilla warfare behind Union linesin orthern Virginia, and therefore rarely carried itsstandard into action. However, the flag, whichmeasures 51 inches on the hoist by II4 inches on thefly, was used atMosby's headquarters. According to aveteran some years after the war: 'Bunting was ascarcity in those days, and the blue field of this flaghad been cut from the blouse [fatigue coat] of aUnionsoldier; the red stripes are of a fair quality bunting,while the white stripe is of unbleached cotton.'

There was also no regulation finial, cords, or stavesize or colour. In practice, most units used brass orgilt spear point or halberd finials; eagles left over frombefore the war and captured with US Army colourswere also used. Staves were left their natural woodcolour. Cords rarely appeared with Confederatecolours.

Military versions of the First ational Flag alsooften had the unit designation painted or sewn on thewhite middle stripe.


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THE SECONDFLAG

ardly had the seamstresses turned out their first setFirst ational Flags when complaints about thelems' appearance began to be voiced.From the mili tary viewpoint, the similari ty be

the two sides' flags led to confusion, especiallythe first big battle of the war, First Manassas. 'Thetake of supposing Kirby Smith's and Elzy'sproaching troops to be Union reinforcements for

right was caused by the resemblance, atdistance, of the original Confederate flag to the

of Federal regiments,' recalled ConfederateGen. James Longstreet. 'This mishap caused thenfederates to cast about for a new ensign, brought

ut our battle-flag, led to its adoption by Generaleauregard, and afterwards by higher authority ase union shield of the Confederate national flag.'Civilians were also generally unhappy with the

milarity between the northern and southern flags.is little room for doubt that the resemblance of

e Confederate flag to that of the United Statesnders it displeasing in the eyes of more than three

of our population, ' editorialized the Dailychmond Examiner on 13 December 1861. 'Theire for a change in the present banner has been so

generally manifested that is nearly certain that it willbe made.' The newspaper's editor further suggestedthat the new flag should not have stars or the coloursof red, white, and blue, preferr ing instead a gold orscarlet national emblem in the canton or centre of thefield.

A Joint Committee on Flag and Seal was appointed by both housesofthe first Confederatecongress,and on 19 April 1862 it submitted its recommendation as a joint resolution: 'Resolved by the Congress ofthe Confederate States ofAmerica, That the flag of theConfederate States shall be as follows: red field,charged with a white salt ier, having in the centre thedevice of a sun, in its glory, on an azure ground, therays of the sun corresponding with the number ofStates composing the Confederacy.' After a great dealofdebate the House ofRepresentatives voted 39 to 21to postpone further consideration of the resolution,which the Senate never formally discussed. Therefore, it died in Congress; and apparently few if any ofthese flags were made, as no physical examples existtoday.

Nevertheless, unhappiness with the Fir t a-tional Flag continued. In the Confederate fieldarmies the problem of a flag that looked like that ofthe enemy-an important objection when the coloursregiments carried on the field were a major means ofidentification-was solved by local commanders (see

e painted lettersou t 'ROA OKETE \lIE ' and theeath have rotted awayrom this Firs t ationaIcarried by Co. A, 4thorth Carolina Volunteers'hen they were firstNote that theld stars are painted onlyver the top ofthegold-d circle within thenton. This silk flag is allnd-sewn. (Northina NluseulTl oftory)I I


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the section on battle flags, below). Indeed, the battleflags of the Army of orthern Virginia were thosemost seen in the capital city of Richmond, and mostinfluenced Confederate legi lators.

Consequently, on 22 April 1863 Senate Bill o.132 was introduced, which read: 'The Congress of theConfederate States ofAmerica do enact, That the flagof the Confederate States shall be as follows: a whitefield with the [Army of orthern Virginia] battle flagfor a union, which hall be square and occupy twothirds of the width of the flag, and a blue bar, onethird of the flag, in its width, dividing the fieldotherwise.'

Passed by the Senate, the bill was introduced onthe floor of the House on I May to a great deal ofdebate. One proposed motion removed the blue barfrom the field and instead edged the field with red.Another suggested simply adopting the Army of12

This small First 1 ationalFlagmeasures I] inches by20 inches. It was capturednear ashville, Tennessee,

on I I December I864 froman unknown Confederateartillery battery.(Smithsonian Institution)orthern Virginia battle flag, in a rectangular shape,

as the national flag. In the end, however, the bill thatpassed the House and was agreed to by the senatedescribed the flag as follows: 'The field to be white,the length double the width of the flag, with the union(now used as the battle flag) to be a square of twothirds the width of the flag, having the ground red;thereon a broad saltier of blue, bordered with white,and emblazoned with white mullets or five-pointedstars, corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States.'The Second ational Flag was approved by bothhouses and became official on I May 1863. It was firstused to cover the coffin of the beloved Lt. Gen.Thomas Jonathan ( 'Stonewall ') Jackson, who hadbeen badly wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsvilleon 2 May and died of pneumonia on 10 May. Hiscoffin, draped with the new Second ational Colour,lay in state in the chamber of the House of Representatives on 12 May. As a result of this connection, aswell as due to the fact that both this flag and Jackson'spicture appeared on the 100 dollar bill of the 2


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ebruary 1864 issue, the Second National Colouroften called the 'Jackson flag'. The pure whitealso led to the Second National Flag being

cknamed the 'stainless banner'.On 26 May 1863 the Second National Flag wassignated by the Secretary of the avy as the officialaval jack, or ensign. The orders establishing the jackso spelled out the specific proportions of 2:3. A flaginches in the fly would be 108 inches long with auare canton 36 inches on each side. The arms of thetier were to be 1/4.8 the width of the canton, so on a54 inches in fly they would be 7.5 inches wide.

e white border on the saltier was to be 212 the widthfthe canton, or in this case It inches wide. Each star

to have a diameter of 1/6.4 the canton width; theyuld be 5.5 inches in diameter in this example.As it turned out, surviving examples differ widely

rom both the regulation flag and each other. Theecond ational Flag used as the standard of the 8thirginia Cavalry measures 53 inches by 98 inches;at used by Lt. Gen. Jubal Early in his headquarters

was 47 inches by 72t inches; and the headquarflag of Maj. Gen. J. E. B. (Jeb) Stuart was 46

nches by 74 inches.Moreover, Second National Flags were used

ostly by the government on its buildings and fortsnd the navy on its ships; army units in the field didot as a whole take to the new flag. Indeed, Firstational Flags were still being used as late as the

Battle of Gettysburg by some units in the Army oforthern Virginia, despite the new flag's intro

duction.Some Second ational Flags were apparently

issued by the Richmond Clothing Depot, whichmade unit colours and standards as well as clothing, tounits in the Virginia and North Carolina theatres,although plain First National Flags continued to becarried-e.g., by the 44th and 60th Georgia InfantryRegiments-in that theatre even after the new flag'sintroduction. The Second National Flags from theRichmond Depot weremade ofcotton and bunting inthe correct 2:3 proportion. The dark blueSt. Andrew's cross bore 13 white five-pointed stars.The white fimbration overlapped the ends of thecross.In large part, however, Army of Northern Virginia units that received the new flags cut off thewhite field and flew only the small battle flag when onactive service. As mentioned above, a number ofSecond ational Flags were used as headquarterscolours by various Army of Northern Virginiageneral officers, among them Stuart and Early.Soldiers in the Western theatre, however, appar

ently took to the new flag more than those in theEast. There a small number of infantry regimentsreceived these flags and carried them as their regimental colours. These flags generally lacked thewhite overlap at the ends of the cross. The lIth

This SecondNational Flagbears the US WarDepartment capturenumber '234' stamped inthe canton. (Museum ofthe Confederacy)

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I .hk \: First '\.lIion.1i Fl . \:s

f'1agsize35X 65t36x8 t57 x6446 x6742 x 6623* x 24t42 x 5547t x 7649 x 7639 x 8,48 x 6534 X 6936t xnt53 x9217t x 3619t x 32t49 x 103.4-2 x 6627t x 46t

Unit rypeCa,"alry banalionCavalry companyJnf30rry companyInfaorry companyInfantry companyCavalry regimentInfantry regimentInfantry companyInfantry companyJnfaolry campan)'Artillery batter)'Infantry regimemCa\'31r)' regimenrInf3ntr)' regimem(nf3nrr)' camp3n)'Infamr)' regimemInfantry regimemInfantr), companyCa\'3Iry camp3ny

First National Flags came in a ,-ariety of different sizes according to the type of unit which carried them: below are somercpresemati,"c sizcs, in inches.UnitBorder's Texas CavalryBully RocksCo. C. 2nd KentuckyCo. F, 17th TexasCorinth Rifles11th Tcx:J.s18th VirginaFloyd GuardsJefferson DavisGuardsRutherford VolunteersSt.Mary's Cannonicrs6th Texasloth Texas20th Texas21St Tennessee22nd/35th Arkansas25th VirginiaWashington RiflesWinder Ca,"alry

Tennessee Infantry Regiment even painted its unitdesignation in dark blue on the field over battlehonours for Rockcastlc, Cumberland Gap, Tazewell.Murfreesboro. Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge.Its colour measured 33t inches by 67 inches, and didhave overlaps on the ends of the St. Andrew's cross.The 8th Virginia Cavalry Regiment embroidered itsunit designation in white on the field, along with abattle honour for White Sulphur Springs in the samematerial.

THE THIRDNATIONAL FLAGFrom the first day the Second National Flag was runup the flag pole, complaints were made about itsappearance. The most serious one was that whenlimp, in a windless day, it looked like an all-white flagof truce. Many flag makers attempted to resolve thisproblem by making the eanlOn disproportionatelylarge (see Plate Bt).

This did not solve the problem, however. TheDaily Richmolld Ext/miller suggested that since thehorse symbolized the 'equestrian South', it should be14

used in black on a white flag as a new national flag.Indeed, the Confederacy's 'Great Seal' featuredVirginian George Washington mounted on his warhorse. Although this suggested flag met some acceptance, there was also opposition, especially 10 givingup the battle flag, which had flown over so manyhard-fought fields, as an element of the new flag.

Therefore, on 13 December 1864 Senate Bill o.137 was introduced, specifying a new flag designed byan artilleryman, Major Arthur L. Rogers. I t legislated 'That the flag of the Confederate States ofAmerica shall be as follows: The width two-thirds ofits length, with the union (now used as the battle flag)to be in width three-fifths of the width of the flag, andso proportioned as to leave the length of the field onthe sideof the union twice the width of the field belowit; 10 have the ground red and a broad blue saltierthereon, bordered with white and emblazoned withmullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding in num-ber 10 that of the Confederate States; the field 10 bewhite, except the outer halffrom the union to be a redbar extending the width of the flag.' According toRogers, the white symbolized purity and innocence,and the red fortitude and courage. The cross ofSt. Andrew indicated descent from British stock,while the red bar was taken from the French flag, as


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Second ational Flagusedas thearters flag o fMaj.Robert F. Hoke, whotroopsPetersburg,until ordered inr864, to orth

where he servedsurrendering withJohnston's armyBentonville. ( orthlWuseum o f

machine-sewna donalFlag isproducto ftheClothing Depotd bears the unitaround thestar in the canton

ong with battle honours,e latesto fwhich is(r-3 July r863).orth Carolina MuseumHistory)

other Southerners were descended fromnch stock.After a great deal of consideration the bill wased by the Senate without change on 6 February

and by the House of Representatives on 27I t was signed into law on 4 March 1865-

at which time the Confederacy measured its continued political existence in weeks. Indeed, becausethe Confederacy was so short-lived, few Third

ational Flags were made and most of those thatwere, were made by simply shortening the fly ofSecond ational Flags and adding the red bar.

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BATILE FLAGSThe Army of orthern Virginia

A indicated above, the first major battle of the war,Bull Run or First Manassas, brought to light problems in u ing the First National Flag on the field ofcombat. For example, then-brigade commanderJubal Early was advised at one point during the battlethat hi regiments were firing on friends. Although hethought it was not so, he halted his men and rode outto where he could see a regiment drawn in battle line

several hundred yards away. 'The dress of thevolunteers on both sides at that time was verysimilar,' he later wrote, 'and the flag of the regiment Isaw was drooping around the staff, so that I could notsee whether it was the nited States or Confederateflag.' It was not until the regiment in question fellback that he 'saw the United States flag unfurled anddiscovered the mistake'. In the meantime, precioustime had been lost.

After this problem became evident the commanderofthearmyin northernVirginia, Gen.JosephE.Johnston, ordered that his regiments carry their state

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Only Virginia regiments were able to obtainough state flags for this purpose. Moreover, some

tate flags were too similar to colours carried bynion forces. The dark blue field of the Virginia state

for example, when lying limp, would lookctly like that of the US Army infantry regimental

olour, which also featured a dark blue field.To solve this problem, Congressman Williamrcher Miles suggested to Gen. Beauregard that the

rmy adopt as a battle flag the pat tern which he hadesigned for the First National Flag-a patternhich Congress had rejected twice. On 27 August

Miles sent Beauregard a drawing of his sug-sted flag, adding that his design called for, ' . . . theround Red, the Cross Blue (edged with white),tars, White. This was my favorite. The threeofRed, White, and Blue were preserved in it.t avoided the religous objection about the cross . . .

it being the "Saltire" of Heraldry and significant ofstrength and progress . . . The Stars ought always tobe White or Argent because they are then blazoned"Proper" (or natural colour). Stars too show bet teron an Azure field than any other. Blue Stars on aWhite field would not be handsome or appropriate .The "White edge" (as I term it) to the Blue is partly anecessity to prevent what is called "false blazonry". . .I t would not do to put a blue cro therefore on a redfield . . . The introduction of the white between theBlue and Red adds also much to the brilliancy of thecolours and brings them out in strong relief.'

Beauregard liked the design, writing to Miles on4 September 1861: 'I regret to hear of the failureabout the change of flag; but what can now be done is,to authorize commanding generals in the field tofurnish their troops with a "field, or battle flag,"which shall be according to your design, leaving out,

s first pattern Army oforthern Virginia battlewas carried by the 6thh Carolina Infantry.large block battleurs were the first styleand were issuedLongstreet's troops.outh CarolinaRelic RoomMuseum)

The Army of orthernVirginia batde flag carriedby the 16thRegbnent,orth Carolina ScateTroops. (, orth CarolinaepartmentofArchivesandHistory)

17


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however, the white border, or rim separating the bluefrom the red. I would have it simply a red groundwith two blue bars crossing each other diagonally, onwhich shall be the white stars; a white or goldenfringe might go all around the sides of the flag.'

Beauregard took the idea to Johnston, who alsoliked the basic design bu t changed its shape to squareon the recommendation of the army's future quartermaster, who' aid that a square flag would save cloth.He also restored the white fimbration. Examples ofthe new battle flag were made in September 1861 by18

EITl8nuel Rudisill, Co. M,r6th orth Carolina, wasth e regimental ensign. Hewears th e regulation stateuniform in this post-warphotograph wh ich a l soshows t he re gi ment al

battle flag reproduced int he ac c ompanyi ngphotograph. o t e t heaxehead finial on th e staff.( orth CarolinaDepartment o fArchivesa nd History)

three Richmond belles, Hettie, Jennie, and Constance Cary. According to Constance, 'They werejaunty squares of scarlet crossed with dark blue edgedwith white, the cross bearing stars to indicate thenumber of the seceded States. We set our beststitches upon them, edged them with golden fringes,and, when they were finished, dispatched one toJohnston, another to Beauregard, and the third toEarl Van Dorn, then commanding infantry at Manassas. The banners were received with all possibleenthusiasm; were toasted, feted, and cheeredabundantly.'

The original flag sent to Van Dorn survives in thecollection of the Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. It has a red field with a blueSt. Andrew's cross with white fimbration and hoistedge, with three white ties to hold it to the staff.Three gold stars are set on each arm of the cross,clustered close to the centre; there is no star where thearms of the cross meet. I t has 3-inch-long yellowfringing, and is actually 31 inches by 30 inches in sizerather than perfectly square. The name 'Constance'has been embroidered on the lower arm of the crossnear the hoist.

Three sizes were established for the battle flagsmade to this design and finally issued throughout theArmyof orthern Virginia. Infantry versions were tobe 48 inches on each side; artillery versions, 36 inchessquare; and cavalry versions, 30 inches square.

The first pattern Army of orthern Virginiabattle flags were made as the samples were, sewn ofdress silk by Richmond ladies under contract. Theirblue crosses were eight inches wide, edged with t-inch-wide white silk. The 12 white stars were 41-inches in diameter, set 8 inches apart from the centreof the cross. All the edges bu t the hoist were bound inyellow silk; the hoist had a blue silk sleeve. Finally,the fields tended to be pinkish rather than scarlet.

ot all of these flags were made by officialcontractors from the start. The 4th Texas Infantry,for example, received in ovember 1861 a variant ofthis flag which was made by Miss Lula Wigfall,daughter of one of Texas' senators. This 47-inchsquare silk flag was very similar to the first patternexcept that it featured a single star at the point wherethe arms of the cross met which was larger than theother stars-symbolic of the Lone Star of Texas. Theother stars were placed rather towards the outer part


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the arms of the cross, rather than being clusteredwards the centre as on the first silk pattern flags. Itedged in yellow, with the edge on the hoist side

lded around to make a sleeve for the staff. Thistle-worn flag was retired to Texas for storage on 7ber 1862.

By that time, most of these colours had been wornt by much use in the field. However, in early 1862e Richmond Clothing Depot had acquired suffient stocks of bunting, both by purchase fromngland and by the capture of the US avy Yard atorfolk, irginia. The Depot began manufacturingd issuing its own machine-sewn First Bunting

Army of orthern Virginia battle flags.ese were very similar to the First Silk Pattern flagst made of bunting, with true scarlet fields. Insteadyellow silk edging they were made with orange

It inches wide; the orange rapidly became amewhat dirty tan in colour after some time in the

The thi rteenth s tar was added at the centre of

the cross, and the cotton stars were smaller, only 3inches in diameter. They were set 6 inches apart fromthe centre of the cross. The fimbration was made oft- inch wide cotton. The staff side was made with a2-inch-wide white canvas or linen heading with threewhipped eyelets for ties.

These flags, often lacking any sort of designationsuch as battle honour or unit designation, quicklybecame the standard Army of orthern Virginiabattle flag first issued to Longstreet's Right Wing inMay 1862. One of these unmarked flags, for example,was carried by the 3rd Georgia Infantry throughoutthe war.

In the spring of 1862 the Depot slightly changedthe colours i t had been issuing. The blue cross wasnow made only st inches wide. The stars were alsoreduced in size, to 3t inches in diameter. The socalled Third Bunting Pattern flag appeared in late1862, when the orange borders were replaced withwhite 2-inch-wide bunting.

16th North Carolinaso carried this buntingArnlY o f orthernbattle flag withunit designation mark e dyellolV a r ou n d t h e centreTh e flag carries USDepartment capture'57' on the lower(North Carolinaeum "n- listory)

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ide blue crosses and i-inch wide fimbration. Thers were 51 inches in diameter, placed 8 inches apartm the centre stares in a staggered orientation.Apparently to conserve fabric, the Depot rever

d to the original sized colours in November 1864.e cross was made 5 inches wide, but the stars werew 41 inches in diameter and 9 inches from each

In the winter the Depot began placing the stars8 inches apart; and in March 1865 it changed the

t tern to leave 7-inch intervals between them. Allld, between 1862 and 1865 there were eight

of the Army of orthern Virginia battlemanufactured officially and issued to its regi

Moreover, since its initial proponents,and Johnston, went on to serve in many

her theatres, its design formed the basis for mosther armies' and departments' issue colours.Yet these were not the only flags carried in the

of Northern Virginia. Various national andate flags were used by some units . Some headquar-

ters also used other types of flags, especially, as noted,various national flags. The army's engineering headquarters was marked by a large all-red bunting flagbearing the letters 'Chief Engineer.' on the top lineand 'A.N.V.' on the bottom l ine, all in crude II-inchwhite letters; the flag itselfmeasures 3 feet 81 inchesby 5 feet 9 inches.

The Army of TennesseeThe major army defending the heartland of theConfederacy, the l ine from the Mississippi River toVirginia, was the Army ofTennessee. It s leaders, too,found that the First National Flag was too similar tothat flown by US troops and switched to new bat tleflag patterns. Instead, however, of one army-widecolour being regulation, each army corps carriedcolours of its commander's choosing. By 1863 thesecolours were fairly uni form within each corps,although this uniformity did not extend to thematerials from which they were made until 1864.

Table B: \L,,'ked \ t - 1 1 1 ~ of "\orthem \ i r ~ i l 1 i a Battle F l a ~ ' S :The units listed below, all but one of which are infantry regiments (the 1st Maryland was officially a battalion rather than aregiment) which served in the Army of orthern Virginia, are known to have carried second bunting pattern Army ofNorthernVirginia battle flags with the unit designation painted in yellow Roman uncial letters around the centre slar, the number of theunit above the star and the two letter state designation below it (seePlates C4and D4 for examples). Battle honours were paintedin black Roman uncial letters on the field before the flags were issued. These flags were generally issued in September 1863.Unit ANV Brigades in which served Unit A V Brigades in which served14th Georgia Hampton's, J. R. Anderson's, E. C. 18th orth

Thomas' Carolina Branch's, Lane's35th Georgia Hampton's, J. R. Anderson's, E. C. 23 rd orth

Thomas' Carolina Early's, Garland's, Iverson's, R. D.45 Georgia J. R. Anderson's, E. C. Thomas' Johnston's49th Georgia J. R. Anderson's, E. C. Thomas' 26th Northloth Louisiana McLaw's, Semmes', Starkes', Carolina R. Ranson's, Pettrigrew's,Nicholl's, Iverson's, Strafford's, Kirkland's, MacRae'sYork's 28th North1StMaryland Carolina Branch's, Lane'sBattalion Elzy's 30th orth1st orth Carolina Ripley's, Colston's, Steuart's, Carolina G. B. Anderson's, Ramseur's,Cox's Cox's2nd orth Carolina G. B. Anderson's, Ramseur's, 33rd NorthCox's Carolina Branch's, Lane's4th orth Carolina Featherston's, G. B. Anderson's, 34th orthRemseur's, Cox's Carolina Pender's, Scales'7th orth Carolina Branch's, Law's, Lane's 38th orth13 th orth Carolina Pender's, Scales'Carolina Colston's, Garland's, Pender's, 47th North

Scales' Carolina Pettigrew's, Kirkland's, MacRae's16th North Charlotte Artillery Reserve artilleryCarolina W. Hampton's, Pender's, Scales' 55th Virginia Field's, H. H. Walker's, Barton's

21


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The coloursergeanto f therzth Virginia InfantryRegiInent, believed to beWilliam C.Smith, holdsthe regiment's Army o forthern Virginia battleflag. This shows the size o fthe flag in comparison to a22

man. The flag also hascords and tassels, whichhave been colouredgold onthe originalprint-cordswere unusual amongConfederate flags. (LeeA. Wallace,]r., Collection)

Most of these early colours were made by H.Cassidy in ew Orleans. In r864 the job of supplyingcolours was taken on by the Atlanta and Selma,Georgia, Clothing Depots. James Cameron, of Mo-bile, Alabama, also made the colours under Quarter-master Department contract. Cameron also providedcolours to the Army of Mississippi, which laterbecame Polk's Corps of the Army ofTennessee.

The earliestWestern battle flag appears to be thatflown in Hardee's Corps of the Army of Tennessee.This was supposedly designed by Gen. SimonBolivar Buckner for Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston'sarmy in about September r861. According to Buckner in later years, Johnston 'wanted a battle flag sodistinctive in character that it could not be mistaken. . . a blue field and a white centre. . . . My wife madesuch a flag for each regiment at Bowling Green. . . .The first time the battle flag was used was atQonelson. The troops that I commanded mostly fellto Hardee's command afterwards, they continued touse the flag, and it came to be known as Hardee'sBattle Flag.''Each regiment carried a "battle flag,'" wrote

Col. Fremantle after visiting Liddell 's Brigade ofHardee's Corps, 'blue with a white border, on whichwere inscribed the names "Belmont," "Shiloh,""Perryville," "Richmond, Kentucky," and"Murfreesboro.'" Hardee's Corps' battle flag wasdark blue with a white border and a white oval orcircle in its centre. The unit designation was oftenpainted on the white disc, often called a 'silver moon',while battle honours were most often painted in darkblue on the border and sometimes in white on thefield. At least one example exists, carried by anunknown unit, with the battle honour 'SHILOH' indark blue on the white oval in the centre of the field.Hardee's Corps battle flags were smaller than

Army of orthern Virginia battle flags ranging from3r to 34 inches on the hoist. They were often dyedwith a poor quality blue dye and faded to a shade ofpea-green after much use.Regiments in the short-lived Army of Kentucky

in the Department of East Tennessee, which weremerged into the Army ofTennessee, apparently useda variation of the Hardee's Corps battle flag. It , too,had a blue field and white border but, instead of adisc, it had a white St. Andrew's Cross. Such a flagwas described by Beauregard after the war, with the


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Army o fNortherninia ba td e flag carriedthe 24th Regiment,rth Carolina Stateis al l hand-sewnhas the unitstencilled onupper border. Note US

Department capture'275'marked onupper border. (NorthMuseum o f

is unidentified Army o fthern Virginia batdeoneof the last buntingpes produced, wasat the Battle o fylor's Creek, Virginia,6April r865. (Museumthe Confederacy)

23


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The5th South CarolinaCavalry's battle flag hasthe evenlyspaced starsassociated with theDepartment o fSouthCarolina,Georgia,andFlorida, although it wascapturedat TrevilianStation. (South CarolinaConfederate Relic ROOInandMuseum)

addition of ' blue or gold stars', as having been inPolk's command. surviving example, without stars,was carried by the 30th Arkansas Infantry until it wascaptured on 31 December 1862. It measures 40inches on the hoist by 46 inches, with white lettersoutlined in black on the top border '30th REG' and'ARK I F' on the bottom border. The flag also hadwhite outlined battle honours for 'FARMI GTO /MISS' on the top field and 'RICHMO JD/KY' onthe bottom field.

The colour adopted in Polk's Corps possiblydraws its inspiration from Polk's pre-war service asan Episcopal bishop. Adopted in March 1862, itfeatured the cross of St. George, the emblem of theEpiscopal Church, on a dark blue field. Typically,with these battle flags the cross of St. George was red,edged in white, with I I five-pointed white stars.However, battle flags from Alabama regiments,including the 22nd and 24th Alabama Infantry fromWithers' Division, lacked the red cross and stars.These battle flags, too, came in a wide variety of sizes,that of e.g. the 1st Tennessee Infantry being only 28inches on the hoist, while that of the 22nd Alabama is41t inches on the hoist.

On 23 ovember 1862 Maj. Gen. Benjamin F.Cheatham authorized the placing of a pair of crossed24

cannon on the battle flag of any regiment in hisdivision of Polk's Corps that had overrun andcaptured Union artillery in action. A month later thisorder was made army-wide. These cannon appear inboth dark blue on a white field and white on a darkblue or red field; the muzzles usually point downindeed, they are often noted as being ' inverted'-butthey sometimes point up.

Bragg's Corps was added to the Army ofTennessee in February 1862. At that time regiments in the

c o r p ~ , which had no uniform type of battle flag, wereissued battle flags very similar to the first Army ofNorthern Virginia pattern. Since Beauregard designed the flags the similarity between these and theArmy of orthern Virginia battle flags comes as nosurprise. The Bragg's Corps models were, however,made of bunting instead of silk, with a broad pinkborder and 12 six-pointed, rather than five-pointed,stars. One of these battle flags, carried by the 7thMississippi Infantry, measures 48t inches on thehoist and 42t on the fly.

Several months after the first shipment ofBragg'sCorps battle flags appeared a second issue was made.These flags differed from the first issue in beingrectangular instead of virtually square. An originalcarried by the 57th Georgia Infantry measures 42t


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I: First ational Flag2: Co. E, 1st Kentucky Infantry Regiment3: Co. D, 21st Mississippi Infantry Regiment

A


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-~ ~ = - = = - = = ~1 3

4

1: 9t h Arkansas Infantry Regiment2: W au l' s T ex as L eg io n3: Third ational Flag4: Upson County Guards

2


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1: 8th Virginia Infantry Regiment2: 4th orth Carolina Infantry Regiment3: 5th Florida Infantry Regiment4: 49th Georgia Infantry Regiment

4

c


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1 3

1: 7th Virginia Infantry RegiInent2: 28th orth Carolina Infantry Regiment3: 9th Virginia Infantry Regiment4: Co. C, 10th orth Carolina Regiment Volunteers - 1st Artillery

4


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1

2

1: 4th Missouri Infantry Regiment2: 15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment3: 1st Missouri Cavalry Regiment4: 3rd Kentucky Mounted Infantry Regiment

4

E


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1

3

2

1: 18th Alabama Infantry2: 3rd Confederate Infantry Regiment3: 22nd Alabama Infantry Regiment4: 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment


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2

1: 4th Mississippi Infantry Regiment2: 6th Kentucky Infantry Regiment3: 7th Mississippi Infantry Regiment4: 38th Alabama Infantry Regiment

3

4

G


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I: 57th Georgia Infantry Regiment2: 26th South Carolina Infantry3: Shea's Vernon's Texas Battery

2


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battle nag' or the 'Johnston battle nag'. Most'Confederate nags' nown today arc of this pattern.

The officers and men of Maj. Gen. PatrickCleburne's Division of Hardee's Corps stronglyobjected to losing their prized battle nags. Theirfeelings were heeded; and Cleburne's Division, to theend, continued to carry their unique battle nags whilemost of the rest carried the Army of Tennesseepattern. After the war Hardee wrote: 'This was theonly division in the Confederate service to carry inaction other than the national colors: and friends andfoes soon learned to watch the course of the blue nagthat marked where Cleburne was in battle. '

A hero of the Army of Northern Virginia, Lt.Gen. John Hood, was given command of one of the

hes on the hoist by 73t inches on the ny.oreover, the rectangular battle nags were edgedth a pink border on all four sides, with a narrowite bunting border on the hoist through which

ne holes were provided for nics to attach the nag tostaff.Regiments of the Army of Tennessee's Reserve

rps, commanded by Gen. John C. Breckinridge,rried the First lational Flag.

In December 1863 Gen. Joseph Johnston asmed command of the Army of Tennessee andued orders to replace the hodge-podge of battle

with a single army-wide model. The selectedttern was that of the Army of Northern Virginia,the new regulation colours were to be rectan-

lar, lacking a border, some three feet on the hoistfour and a quarter feet on the ny for infantry andvalry, and two and a halfon the hoist by three and aird on the ny for artillery batteries. These newttle nags were issued throughout March and April.

hey became known as the 'Army of Tennessee

This Arm}' o fTennessee or'johnston"' blltLlc Ilag wascarried by t.he 39th NorthC.'1rolina State Troops.The unit dcsignation andba ltle honours ha li e been

applied with white cottonletters and numbers. Theblack capture number '456'is scamped in th e upperfield. (North CarolinaJ\1uscum ofl-listory)

)]


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T.lhlc ( : \ r I l l ~ of Tl'lI I I l'SSlT, Ilardl'l'" ( orp ' Fl.q.:'The following representative \"ariations ofl-lardee's Corps flags are known. The differences in theways the unit designation andbattle honours have been applied give some idea of the latilUde gramcd unit commanders [0 alter even regulation corps flagswithin the Army of Tennessee. If the honours were on the border, they were in dark blue; if on the field, they were while.

l4

18th Ala Inr8th Ark In f

8th & '9th Ark In f(combined)

3rd CS Inf

18th ALA. in disc, othcrwise plain8lh ARKS in disc; PERRYVILLEon top bordcr; SIll LOH on hoistbo,der; MURFREESBORO on flyborder8th & 19th Ark. Rcgts. o\'er crossedcannon in disc; ARK. in whiteletters on left of disc in whitc,battle honours SHILOH, ELKI-lORN, Perryville,MURFREESBORO, Post Libert)',Chickamauga, T NNEL HILLTE N., Ringgold Gap on Field3rd CONFEDERATE REG'Taround crosscd cannon in disc;batLie honoursII'OODSONVILLE. SH ILOII.FARMINGTO, .PERRYVILLE.MURFREESBORO.CHICKAMAUGA. RinggoldGap. on field

4th K)' In f

17th Tenn Inf

Swett's Btr)'

UnknownUnknown

4th Ky in disc; SHILOH.VICKSB RG 1862 on top border;BATON ROUGE on fly border;MURFREESBORO.CHICKAMAUGA on bortomborder17th Tenn REG.,.. around crossedcannon in diSC; PERRYVI LLE ontop border; MURFREESBOROon bottom borderBanery name and crossed cannonin disc, battle honours 51-II 1...01-1,M RFREESBORO,CHICKAMAUGA,TU, NELHILL on blue field,Plain with battle honour SI-IILOHin discPlain (captured 24 Novcber 1863)


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Thc 1St Virginia Ca vulrywere sketched in lateAugust 1862 in A'larylandjust before the Ba tde ofSharpsburg carrying asmallArmy o fNorthernVirginia b.'1rrle flflg f.S apennon.

The fl.'1g c.'1rricd byMorton's Banery, whichserved with Forrest'scommand in the West, is ( Imriacion of th e Army ofNorthern Virginia bf;ttlcfl:Jg madc withoutlimbnuion. Alcf.suring 18inches by 24 inches, it ismade ofcotron Sf. ve {or [heSt. Andrew's cross which ismade ofsa tin {rom thcdress worn by the b:lttcrycomnwnder's wife on thed:.y that the two mct.Sc \'cm Istars arc missing.(Courtesy A'like A1iner)army's corps on I February 1864. On 20 April heissued his corps' General Orders No. 54: 'I . Theregiments of this corps will have their battle-flagsplainly marked with their numbers and the Slate towhich they belong. This is done that in the event ofthe loss ofcolors no misunderstanding may arise as towho lost them.

'II. But one stand of colors will be used by anyregiment in time of battle.'

On 21 April 1864 a circular directed that unitswhich had served honourably in battle or capturedenemy artillery could inscribe the battle name ontheir battle flags. On that same day a circular wasissued in Hardee's Corps which read: 'The battleflags of this corps, known as the "Virginia battleflag," will have inscribed on them the number of theregiment and the State to which it belongs; thenumber in the upper angle formed by the cross andthe name of the State in the lower angle.'

Actually, there was some variety among flags evenafter the Army of Tennessee pattern battle flag wasadopted; e.g. the 5th Company of Louisiana's Washington Light Artillery received a Second ationalFlag in early 1864 which had a red crossed cannoninsignia on the white field over the n am e' 5T H CO.W.A.' and six battle honours. Similar flags werecarried by the 32nd Alabama Infantry and AustinsBattalion.

In an attempt to further regularize flags withinthe Army of Tennessee, on 19 February 1864General Orders No. 25 authorized a system ofcommand flags. They were as follows:Army Headquarters: 'battle flag of the Virginiaarmy.'Hardee's Corps:

Corps comlllllllder: flag with three horizontal bars,blue-white-blue.Division commanders: flag with two horizontalbars, white above blue.Brigadiers: all blue flag.

Hilldmttll's Corps: same, with red instead of blue.

OTHERCOMMANDS

S o u th C a r ol i na , Georgia, an d FloridaOn 29 August 1862 Beauregard was named tocommand the Departmenl of South Carolina andGeorgia, which was expanded with the addition ofthe state of Florida on 7 October. At its strongest, inJanuary 1864, some 38,277 officers and men were ondepartment rolls. ntil Beauregard arrived thereunits within the department, which was charged with

lS


36/4936

Field grade olIicers pose infront o fan Army ofTennessee or 'johnston'version of the Army ofJ orthern llirginia battleflag carried by the 27thTexas Cavalry RegiInent.The flag is verymuch thesaIne as that carried by theJrd Texas Cavalry, also aunit ofRoss's Brigadewhich served in the Armyo fTennessee until the r864Tennessee campaign.(Houston Public Library)


37/49

astal defence, had flown a mixture ofFirst 1 ationalstate flags.Shortly after assuming command, in September,

eauregard issued orders for a common design forand colours; however, it [Ook some time for

the units within the department to receive the newFor example, it was not until late April 1863at Beauregard presented units on James Island,outh Carolina, with their new battle flags-flagshich were received, according to one eyewitness,' three cheers and a Tiger'.

The new flag was basically the Army of Northcrnrginia battle flag (see Plate 1-12), with some basic

The department flag was made in onlysizes: infantry, foot artillery, and cavalry had

lours four feet square, while light artillery batteriesthree-foOl-square standards. These flags alsobunting sleeves which were blue for infantry andfor both artillery and cavalry. Finally, the stars in

e St. Andrew's cross were spaced evenly, ratheran bunched towards the centre star as they were on

ofNorthern Virginia battle flags.The department's flags were made by bothJartermaster Clothing Depots within its domain;by a private contractor, Hayden & Whilden,

hich was located in Charleston, South Carolina,here department headquarters was located untilctober 1864 when its new commander, Hardee,

it to Savannah, Georgia, in preparation for theof that city.Department General Orders No. 35 datcd 5 Aprilordered that ambulance depots be marked with

plain red flag so that they would be easily visible byunded and stretcher bearers.

Meridian, Mississippi, and had orne 35,676 officersand men on paper; only 12,000 were surrendered inMay 1865.Units within the department had flown a mixtureof national flags, flags patterned on Army of I orthernVirginia battle flags, and state flags. However, shortlyafter the department was crealcd a standard patternfor its battle flag was adopted and examples weremade at Mobile, Alabama, and issued to units withinit.

The wool bunting flags were rectangular copies ofthe Army of orthern Virginia battle flag madc witha dozen white stars, three on each arm of theSt. Andrew's cross and none in its centre (see PlateG I) . Second 1 ational Flags made at Mobile also lackthis centre star within their cantons. The flags weremade without borders and with a leading edge scwnaround to make a polc sleeve. Most examples measurearound 45 inches on thc hoist by 52 inches. A cavalrystandard some 37 inches on the hoist by 46 inches wasissucd to regiments within Lt. Gen. 1 athan BedfordForrest's cavalry corps.

I

Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisianahis department was created 9 May 1864 under the

of Maj. Gen. Slephen D. Lee. He wasin late July by Maj. Gen. Dabney

Maury, who was in turn replaced by Lt. Gen.ichard Taylor, who held the command until theend. The department's headquarters was at

e 28th Alabanl:lantry, which served inArmy ofTennessee,this novel battleThe obverse was alion o f the Army ofern Virginia battle

flag with a dark blueSt. Andrew's cross lind goldstars, while the reverse wasofwhite silk bearing thedesign and lettering ingold. The fringe WliS alsogold.37


38/49

MURFREESBORO

PER RYVILE

Trans-Mississippi DepartmentInitially there was little in the way ofunified design oreffort to provide standardized flags within the Confederate state west of the Mississippi River. On 18November 1861 the Chief Quartermaster, Department ofTexas, bought '3 large Flags,' made from 68yardsofbunting, from SamuelMaas, but this seems tohave been the only centralized purchase or manufacture of flags within the area. State flags were quitecommon, especially in the war's carly years.

On 19 April 1864 the department's headquartersissued its General Orders No. 18 which authorizedbattle honours on flags within the command area.

District ofWestern LouisianaIn early 1864 troops of Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor'scommand, which had cleared out Western LOllisiana,appear to have carried uniform flags. These weresimilar to the last pattern flag carried in the Army ofTennessee save that the colours were reversed, withdark blue fields and red St. Andrew's crosses. Starsand fimbration were white.

An original flag of this type was carried by the 3rdTexas Infantry. It has a yellow fringe, and a whiteunit designation embroidered on the field: THI RD isembroidered in the top triangle of the field, REGT in

similarity of flags that I have had a battle-flag made,one of which I send you for your army. Please haveone made for each regiment of your army, to becarried in battle.'

His flag was ofa plain red field with 13 white fivepointed stars placed in various arrangements of fiveor three rows (see Plates E I and E2). A whitecrescent, which supposedly represents Missouri, wasplaced in the upper left corner. A yellow fringe wassometimes sewn directly to the red field and sometimes around a white border. When first used theywere plain, but battle honours and unit designationswere apparently added later. The original Van Dornflag of the 15th Arkansas Infantry measures 46 inchesby 65 inches, and is made of bunting.

In April 1862 Van Dorn's men were assigned tothe Army of the Mississippi as Van Dorn's Corps. On17 July 1862 all the regiments of the Army of theMississippi were authorized to have a battle honourfor Shiloh inscribed on their battle flags; on II Juneorders issued in Maury's Di vision read, 'F or c on -spicuous gallantry in the battle of Shiloh, the SecondTexas Regiment will have Shiloh enscribed on itsbattle flag.' A similar battle honour w)ls authorizedfor Murfreesboro. There were no regulation methodsof applying these honours; s ome were sewn on fromseparate leners, some painted, and some em-broidered.

These colours continued to be used thereafter,being carried at the Battle of Corinth in October1862. Examples were being made and issued new aslate as the fall of 1862, and these lasted until thesurrender of Vicksburg, 4 July 1863. Thereafter thisparticular flag design seems to have passed intodisuse.

Tennessee after the b:udcsofft'lurfrccsboroandChickamauga.

Van Dorn's CorpsOn 19 September 1861 Earl Van Dorn was commissioned a major-general in the Confederate Army andassigned to Virginia. There he was one of threecommanders to receive a sampl e of what becamethe basic Army of Northern Virginia battle flag.However, when he was assigned as commander of theArmy of the West in the Trans-Mississippi theatre inJanuary 1862 he came up with an entirely differentdesign of battle flag which he had his men fly.

On 7 February 1862 Van Dorn wrote to one of hissubordinates, Brig. Gen. Sterling Price: 'So manymistakes have occurred during this war by the38

This 'Hardee's pattern'battle flag was carried bythe 17th Tennessee, whichwas merged with the 23rd


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he hoist triangle, TEXAS in the fly triangle, andin the bottom triangle. I t measures 45

48-!- inches.The flag of the 2nd Louisiana Cavalry wasilar, differing in that it lacked the white fimbration

nd was edged in gold braid border. The unit designwas also embroidered, but in buff script, with

znd La.' in the upper triangle and 'Cavalry.' in theone.

The 1st Arkansas Cavalry carried a variation offlag, with a SI. George's cross instead of a

Andrew's cross.Other Trans-Mississippi flags

though there was a wide variety of flags flown in theommand, and a real lack of hard information abouthem, there do seem to have been several distinctive

flags within the command by 1863.On 31 May ,862 the 6th Texas Infantry Regi

ent, which had been organized in mid-1861,eceived a regimental colour. According to the

Advocate of that date, 'We have had theof seeing the flag prepared for Col.

Robert S.] Garland's regiment, by Mrs. R. Owensher daughters of this place. [t is a beautiful thing

The material is of the richest kind, the workits exquisite and the designs in good taste - the

round red, the border white, a shield of blue in theIt contains twelve stars in a circle made of

silk or satin, with one large Texas star in theenter. But a few regiments march under a more

beautiful flag, and but few flags wave over a morevaliant regiment. May the Guardian Power protectthe regiment and the flag.'

Mrs. Owens herself later wrote: 'The flag wasmade of red merino, somewhat larger than theordinary regimental flag, with a border of white silkfringe. There was a blue shield, z8 by 36 inches,which contained 13 stars. Of these stars 12 werearranged along the margin of the shield, six on eitherside, while the center star was larger than the othersand intended to indicate the Lone Star State. Neatlystitched in white silk were the words "Sixth TexasInfantry Regiment. lJ )

A somewhat similar flag was supposedly carriedby the 17th Texas Infantry. [t had a red cotton fieldwith a narrow white silk border on top, bottom, andfly, with the staffedge folded over to make a sleeve for

This 'H:Jrdce's plJttcrn Ib:Jttlc flag, carried by anunidentified unit, lias beendated ( 0 the ~ ' p r i n g of ,863.The original is in a privatecollection.

the staff. A somewhat elliptical blue cotton circle wasplaced half way between the top and bottom of thefield, close to the staff. This 9t inch by 10 inchdiameter disc had a dozen white cotton flanncl stars ina circle around its edge with a single larger star in itscentre. The motto TR ST [1 GOD was embroidered in white Roman uncial letters along thebottom of the flag. The similarity of the 6th and 17thTexas Infantry regimental flags suggests that this wasa somewhat standard pattern in the area.

Two other very similar flags from the TransMississippi Department also exist. Both have redfields with dark blue St. Andrew's crosses withoutwhite fimbration, but with a white star at the pointwhere the cross arms meet, and three stars near thatpoint but in the field rather than on the arms of thecross. One was captured by the 15th Maine Infantrywhile it was in Texas. The other is marked with blockletters on the arm of the cross from upper left to lowerright ROBERTSON CAVLlLERS! (sic) and on theother arm of the cross GOD FOR THE R[GHT! Itwas apparently captured by an Illinois unit in theWest. While the first flag had a plain border, thesecond had a yellow silk fringe.A similar bartle flag which lacked either unitdesignation or stars was captured from either the 18th

39


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Indian CommandsThe Confederacy recruited widely in the IndianTerritories, now Oklahoma, for all-Indian units.These included eight mounted units-cavalry ormounted rifle regiments or battalions-and threeinfantry regiments. These units were organized alongtribal lines.

The Cherokee Nation received its own flag from

Louisiana Infantry, the 24th Louisiana Infantry, orBattery H, 1St Mississippi Light Infantry on 27October 1862 in Eastern Louisiana. It has beensuggested that the flag probably bclongcd to theartillery battery, sincc the two infantry regimcnts hadrccently been transferred from Bragg's Corps of thcArmy of the Mississippi which had recently rcceivedArmy of 1 orthern Virginia pattcrn battle flags. Thisalso suggests that the flag's style was one used in theDistrict of Eastern Louisiana.

Confederate Missouri regiments often carried aflag that was apparently unique to units from thatstate, although it was not an official state flag. [t had adark blue ficld, bordered in red on top, bottom, andfly, with a white Roman cross placed near the hoist.The hoist end of the flag was simply folded over tomake a sleeve for the staff. An example of these wascarried by the 1StMissouri Cavalry (see Plate E3).

This unique battle flag waspresented to the 1stAlabama after the unit hadbeen rcorg:mizcd in late186J. Serving with theArmy ofTennessee, theunir apparently lost this

flag at the ballleofFranklin, although it wenton to surrender some 100men in April ,865. The flagis in a private coJJcction.

Confederate Indian Commissioner Albert Pike on 7October 1861. [t was a First National Flag with theRoman uncial letters 'CHEROKEE BRAYES'painted in red on the white stripe. The cotton flagmeasures 49 inches by79 inches. The canton containsthe standard II white five-pointed stars, each representing a Confederate state, in a circle; but within thecircle is a smaller circle of four red five-pointed starsaround a single, slightly larger red five-pointed star.These stars stood for the Five Civilized Tribes of theCherokee, Seminole, Chickasaw, Creek, and Choctaw. This flag was carried by the 1St CherokeeMounted Rifles and was captured on 3 July 1862.Another version was virtually identical, buteliminated the star that represented the Seminoles.

The Choctaw Brigade, made up of some 2,000Choctaw Indians, flew quite a different flag. It was 40inches by 62 inches with a dark blue field. In itscentre was a white circle surrounding a red disc, all ofcotton. Embroidered on the red disc were a pair ofcrossed arrows, the points away from the hoist, with atomahawk perpendicular to the ground and an unstrung bow facing the staff, all in white. The fact thatthe bow was unstrung was supposed to signify thatthe Choctaw were peace-loving, although ready todefend themsel ves.

OTHER FLAGSThere were no official pennons or guidons carried byConfederate troops. Officially, in the Army ofNorthern Virginia at least, regulation battle flags weresimply made in small sizes for mounted units whichcarried such flags in the US Army.

However, a number of units did carry these smallflags. For example, a forked guidon survived with itstop halfred and its bottom halfwhite, marked in whiteon the top '1St Co. 1St Batl' and in red on the bottom'N.C. ARTILLERY'. Many small forked guidonsstill exist, some I I by 16 or 17 inches, made like theFirst National Flag. These were apparently made foruse on lances.

Another pennon is supposed to have been takenfrom a 'lance staff' carried in the 5th Virginia Cavalry.


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pennant shows that the ship is in its country's service,and is flown from the mainmast.

The First National Flag served as the first navalensign. Some versions were apparently made with thestars in rowS rather than in a cirde, although the latterwas the most commonly seen canton.

The ensign was the ship's main symbol. RearAdmiral Raphael Semmes later recalled: 'A t lengthon the 3rd of June [1861], I was enabled to put theSlI1nter, formally, in commission. On that day hercolors were hoisted, for the first time-the ensignhaving been presented to me, by some patriotic ladiesofNew Orleans .. .'

It measures 9* by 24 inches and has three horizontalstripes, the top and bottom red and the middle onewhite.

Apparently one Confederate battery carried aguidon made in the First National pattern, save thatthe stars in the canton are arranged in the pattern ofaSt. Andrew's cross. The rectangular pennon is t3inches by 20 inches. A handwritten inscription on itindicates that it was captured in ,864.

Naval flagsNaval vessels fly three basic flags: the ensign, the jack,and the commission pennant. The ensign is thenational flag and is flown at the ship's stern in mostcases. The jack is flown only on a ship ofwar when inport, from the jack staff at the ship's bow; itdesignates the ship's nationality. The commission

J , '.r'r, . v,. ,!-!"-." If,,,:;:..l

A Hardee's Division battleflag captured rronl anunknown Confederateregiment on LookoutMountain on %4 Nmrcmber

1863, an d bearing the USWar Department caprurenunlber '95'. (Museum ofth e Co n rcd emcy)

41


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As was typical ofother English-speaking nations'navies, especially those of Britain and the UnitedStates, the canton of the First 'ational Flag was usedas the jack.

The design of the commission pennant is notknown through orders, but an illustration inSemmes' memoirs indicates that it had a blue headwith a white star representing each ConfederateState, with three stripes, red, white, and red, the sameas on the First National Flag.

To conform to the adoption of the Second1 ational Flag the Secretary of the Navy issuedregulations calling for new flags on 26 May 1863:

'The new Ensign will be made according to thefollowing directions. The field to be white, the lengthone and a half times the width of the flag, with theunion (now used as the Battle Flag) to be square, oftwo-thirds of the width of the flag, having the groundred, thereon a broad saltier of blue, to the union asI :41, bordered with white, to the union as I :22, andemblazoned with white mullets, or five-pointed stars,diameter of the stars to the union as I:6t corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States.

'THE PENNANT. A white ground, its size to beas "72, or its length seventy-two times its width atthe head, and tapering to a point.

'The union of the Pennant to be as follows: Allred from the head for three times its width, with a42

white border equal to half its width, then all blue inlength equal to twelve times its width, to be emblazoned with stars, in number equal to those in theEnsign, with a white border equal to half the width,and then red three times the width, with the fly allwhite.'THE JACK. To be the same as the union for theEnsign, except that its length shall be one and a halftimes its width.'

A variation of the commission pennant is knownto have had a St. Andrew's cross of blue, with whitefimbration, on a red field, with the restof the pennantin white. The arms of the cross lacked the regulationstars.

When the Third National Flag was adopted, asmany ensigns as possible conforming to the newdesign would presumably have been issued. Giventhe few months left to the Confederate avy,however, it is unlikely that very many, if any, wereactually flown.

As well as a Navy, Confederate law provided for aRevenue Marine Customs Service. This was a smallnaval force provided with cutters in each major port,whose purpose was to make sure customs laws wereenforced. Its command fell to the Secretary of theTreasury, rather than the Navy, although in wartimeits cutters and officers and men could be taken intothe Navy as needed. Although some US RevenueMarine Customs Service cutters were captured at theoutbreak of the war and taken into Confederateservice, few actually saw customs service. The

desigm.rion in gold-painrcd letters andnumbers, edged on theupper right in red and thelower left in black.

The First National Flag ofthe 20th Texas lnfunrry,which was stationedSllongthe TexSls coastlinethroughout the war, bearsthe unirmotto and

field with.lJ white cross, redborder and white fringe.The unit desigm,tion wascnlbroidered in red.

Apparentlya variation ofthe East Tennessee battleflag, this example carriedby tValter's AJ.'1bam.'1Battery has a dark blue


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leaving for war. The unit designation was oftenplaced on the white stripe in the field. This exampleof the First ational Flag has an unusually sizedcanton, although six-pointed stars were not uncommon, The 1stKentucky was formed in mid-1861 andserved for one year in northern Virginia beforedisbandment.

B1: 9th Arkansas Infantry RegimentThe canton of this Second ational Flag is largerthan regulation, and lacks the standard white fimbration. The 9thArkansas surrenderedatPortHudsonon 9 July 1863 and was paroled. After beingexchanged it finished the war in the Army of

43

A3: Co. D, 21stMississippi Infantry RegimentThis First National Flag variation was made by theWoodville, Mississippi, Ladies' Auxiliary for thelocal Jefferson Davis Guards, which became Co. D,2 I st Mississippi Infantry Regiment. The regimentserved in the Army of Northern Virginia from theSeven Days' to Appomattox. The flag ismade ofwoolwith cotton stars; it is 49 inches on the hoist and 76inches on the fly.

in the Trans-A1ississippiDcpart.mcnr u n de r t h isflag. The battle honours:m d unit designation ar capplied with white cottonletters s ew n o n to the flag.

T h e J r d Louisiana Infantryreceived this battlc flagafter being reorganizeda ft e r i t s surrender I ltVicksburg in th e summerof 1863_ It served thereafter

ockade, which pu t an effective end to smuggling,so largely ended the need for customs enforcement.Nonetheless, the service did have its own ensign.

t looked rather like the French flag, with stripes ofthe staff of the fly) blue, white, and red. The

stripe was one and a half times wider than theher stripes and had a circle of white five-pointedone for each state, where the canton would be.

lect BibliographyDevereaux D., Jr., The Flags oflhe COl/fed-

eracy. AI/ IlIlISlfllled Hislory;Memphis, Tennessee,1988

Joseph 1-1., Jr., Emblems of SOlilherl/ Valor;Louisville, Kentucky, 1990

1-1. Michael and Robert D. Needham, 'UnitColors of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy',Mililary Colleclor (5 Hislorial/; Washington, DC,1989

H. Michael, The Bailie Flags oflhe COl/fed-erate Army o f Tenllessee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin,1976

Howard M., 'The Conservation of CivilWar Flags: The Military Historian's Perspective',Pa,pers presel/ted al Ihe PWl/sylva.l/ia, Ca.pilol Pre-servatio11 Committee Flag Symposium, H)87; [-larrisburg, 1987

Frederick P" Americal/ Mililary Eqllippage.Vol, JJ; Providence, Rhode Island, 1977

Confederate Veterans, The Flags of Ih ,COl/federate Slaies of America; Baltimore, Maryland, 1907

: FirstNational Flagvariation of the First National Flag was capfrom an unknown uni t at Gettysburg. It is

irly typical of the First 1 ational Flag save that thears are somewhat larger than usual. The infantry

sergeant wears a first pattern Richmond Depotcket, with the three stripes and a star officiallygnated for an ordnance sergeant bu t widely worn

y colour sergeants.

THE PLATES

2; Co. E, 1stKentucky Infantry Regimentompanies were often presented with a colour on


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Tennessee, surrendering on 26 April 1865 in NorthCarolina.

This red corron flag wascaptured in Texas and istypical ofa number ofsimilar battle flags fromthat a.rea. The St. Andrew'scross is dark blue and the

cotton stars are white.Small holesalong the hoistedge show where it wasonce nailed 10:1 staff.

was supposedly made by the wife of Gen. PierreG. T. Beauregard with silk from her own dresses,and presented to the 8th by the general in recognitionof valour in the Battle of Balls Bluff. The 8th servedin the Army of Northern Virginia until after Gettysburg, when it was transferred to the Department ofRichmond which Beauregard commanded in 1864.C2: 4th North Carolina Infantry RegimentThis first bunting issue Army of Northern Virginiabattle flag bears battle honours printed on whitecotton strips and sewn onto the colour. Identicalhonours were sewn on the battle flags of the 6th SouthCarolina and 2nd Florida Infantry Regiments (in thelatter case they were sewn in the middle of thecolour), among other regiments with the same style ofbattle honours. The regiments served in differentdivisions of Longstreet's Corps at the Seven Pinesbut were thereafter separated, so it is assumed thatthese honours were placed on the flags of units in thatCorps shortly after the battle.

B2: Waul's Texas LegionThis virtually regulation Second National Flag wasmade for Col. Bernard Timmons, who commandedthe 12 infantry companies of Waul's Texas Legion.The colour was made when the unit was reformedafter it was captured at Vicksburg in 1863. The unitserved in the Trans-Mississippi Department untildisbanded in May 1865.B): Third National FlagThis particular Third National Flag probably flewover some government installation. It lacks theregulation white fimbration, but is otherwise madeaccording to the flag law of4 March 1865.B4: Upson County GuardsThis Third National Flag was made in England in1864 as a Second National Flag and had the red stripeat its end added later. It was captured from the UpsonCounty, Georgia, Guards on 20 April 1865. Made ofbunting and cotton, 42t inches at the hoist and 88t inthe fly, it has a silk cross and stars.CI: 8th Virginia Infantry RegimentThis first issuc Army of Northern Virginia battle flag44

C): 5th Florida Infantry RegimentThis first bunting pattern Army ofNorthern Virginiabattle flag measures 47 inches square and was issuedin early summer 1862. The 5th served in the Army ofNorthern Virginia from Second Manassas until itsurrendered with only six officers and 47 enlisted menat Appomattox.(4: 49th Georgia Infantry RegimentMany of the third bunting pattern Army ofNorthernVirginia battle flags of regiments of the Army ofNorthern Virginia weremadewith the yellow paintedunit designation as shown (see Table B). As seen byits battle honours, the regiment was an active one,until it surrendered with only eight officers and ]03enlisted men at Appomattox.DI: 7th Virginia Infantry RegimentThe unit designation style on this third buntingpattern Army of Northern Virginia battle flag appears to have been common in Pickett's Division.While the 7th served in Kemper's and later W. R.Terry's brigades in that division, two other regimentswith similar colours-the 18th and 28th VirginiaInfantry Regiments-served in Garnett's and laterHunton's brigades in the same division. The flag of


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he 18th has 't8th Va.' embroidered in white on theist side of the field and 'Regt. Inf'y.' on the fly sidef the hoist, as do those of the 7th and 28th

28th North Carolina Infantry Regimentis style of battle honours appears to have beenique to Lane's Brigade of A. P. Hill's Division of

he Army of Northern Virginia, which included theth, 18th, 28th, 33rd, and 37th North Carolina

The surviving colour of the 37th Torthis identical to this one save that the honour

t the top of the colour reads NE W BERNE, whilehat on the hoist is MA LVE N HI LL and that on

fly is MANNASSAS (sic).' 9th Virginia Infantry Regiment

his rather crude unit designation on a thirdnting pattern Army of orthern Virginia battleappears to have been executed within the unit.

e 9th lost over half its officers and men atttysburg, surrendering with just two officers andenlisted men at Appomattox.4: Co. C, 10th North Carolina Regiment

tst Artillerye loth had five heavy and five light artilleryof which Co. C. - a l s o known as the

Artillery'-was a light battery whicherved in the Army o f Northern Virginia from July

The type of unit designation shown heresually appears on third bunting pattern Army of

hern Virginia battle flags, as mentioned above.4th Missouri Infantry Regi111ent

is the Van Dorn pattern colour of the 4thuri, which was organized in April 1862 and wasptured at Vicksburg in July 1863.2: 15th Arkansas Infantry Regiment

W' on this Van Dorn pattern colour repres-ts the 15th'S nickname, the l Torthwest Regiment' .e colour, 46 inches by 65 inches, was apparentlyesented to the unit in October or November 1862.ne of three Arkansas units so numbered, this 15ths surrendered at Vicksburg and not reorganized

CHEROKEE BRAVES

The First National Flagc.'1rried by the CherokeeNarion. The outer circle ofstars are white and theinner circle red.

3: 1stMissouri CavalryRegi111entThe I I th Wisconsin Infantry captured this Missouripattern battle flag on 17 Mal' 1863; it is 36 inches by5 I inches in size. Th e unit served from ElkhornTavern until it surrendered at Vicksburg. I t was laterexchanged, fighting at Atlanta and thereafter inTennessee, finishing the war in the Department ofAlabama, Missis

Osprey [MAA] 252.Flags.of.the.American.Civil.War（美国内战军旗）

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Transcript of Osprey [MAA] 252.Flags.of.the.American.Civil.War（美国内战军旗）