osprey [maa] 258.-.flags.of.the.american.civil.war.(2).union（美国内战军旗2）

8/14/2019 Osprey [MAA] 258.-.Flags.of.the.American.Civil.War.(2).Union 2

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INTRODUCTION Th e typical flagpresentation ceremony ofanational colour here to a Kentucky regiment atCanlp ruce nearCynthiana KentuckyThe regimental or b atte ry s et of c olours was morethan simply a unit designation issued for the ease ofacommander in identifying his units in the field. It wasthe very symbol of the reg ime nt; i t was its h ea rt thething that drew its members together. As such it wasfiercely defended in action where it flew in the centreofthe line drawing enemy fire upon its carriers.

Each regiment received its colours in one of itsfirst formal ceremonies which itself was almost aninitiation into the world of the soldier. On 12

ovember 1861 Pennsylvania s governor AndrewCurtin accompanied by staff members took the trainfrom his capital city of Harrisburg to the c ou nty seatof Chester Coun ty to pres ent a s et of colours to thenewly formed 97th Pennsylvania Volunteer InfantryRegiment. Arriving hortly after noon the stateofficials were met by the entire regiment which thenescorted them to the city s court house. Following aspeech introducing the governor and his return

speech to local ItiZenS the officials h ad d in ne r.Then about three they all met a t the 97th trairungcamp located on the county fair grounds.

There according to the regi ment s historian:The R egi ment was formed in col umn by divisionclosed in mass in fro nt of the stand on th e north sideof th e Fair buildings. The people had crowdedaround the re serve d space with s uc h eagerness as torender it difficult for the guard to clear sufficientroom for the reception committee and those whowere to take part in the proceedings.

When all had been arranged the Governor cameforward uncovered holding the staff upon whichwaved the beautiful stars and stripes of the flag he wasabout to entrust to the keeping of the regiment as itsbanner around wh ic h to rally whe n led fo rth into theperformance of whatever duty an imperiled countrymight demand and in these words consigned them

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This na tionaI colour th e2d Battalion 18th USInfantry RegiHJent has itsstars arranged in thecanton in themanner flagsmade by Evans andHassaJI Philadelphia.West PointMuseumCoJIection

to the R eg im en t Curtin spoke at great lengthending with this peroration:

t is the fl g of your fathers and your country. Itwill be your to bear it in the thickest of the fight andto defend it to the last. pon its return it will haveinscribed upon it the record of those battles throughwhich you have carried it and will become a part ofthe archives of Pennsylvania; and there it will remaint hrough all comi ng time a witness to your chi ldrenand your c hild re n s ch ildr en of th e valor of theirfathers. With a full confidence that in your hands thisbanner will never be disgraced I entrust it to yourcare and for the last time bid you farewell.

In camp the regimental colours flew over the unitheadquarters s a guide post to members andoutsiders alike. In combat it was drawn into the verycentre of action where in obedience to millions ofwords like those spoken by Governor Curtin atthousands of presentations it was fiercely defended.Take for example the 38th Pennsylvania VolunteerI nf an tr y Re gime nt at ntietam. There the regiment

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was one of dozens which stormed Confederatepositions in the now famous Cornfield. According tothe 1865 History ofthe Pennyslvania Reserve Corpsm ost singular fatality fell upon t he color bearers ofthis regiment. Sergeant Henry W. Blanchard whohad carried the regimental colors through all thestorms of bat tl e in which t he regim ent fought was amost remarkable man. Born in Massachusetts in1832 he was about thirty years old. He had the mostcomplete control of his feelings; in the fiercest hoursof battle was always perfectly calm never shoutedcheered or became enthusiastic but steadily bore uphis fl g At the battle of ew Market cross roadswhen every col or-bearer in the division was eitherkilled or w ounded S ergeant B lanchard received awound in the arm he retired a few minute s to havehis wound bandaged an d th en r et ur ne d to his place.At Antietam he was so severely wounded that the flagfell from his hands and he was unable to raise it;Walter Beatty a private seized the b ann er to bear italoft and almost immediately fell dead pierced by


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rebel bullets; another private, Robert Lemmon tookthe flag from the hands of his fallen comrade, acompanion calling out to him, don t touch it, Bob,or they ll kill you, the brave boy, however, bore upthe banner, and in less than a minute lay dead on theground; the colors were then taken by EdwardDoran, a little Irishman, who lying upon his back,held up the flag till the end of the battle, and for hisgallantry was made a non-commissioned officer onthe field.

Few things were more disgraceful than losingone s colours in battle, and extreme sacrifices wereoften made to save them. For example, the 1stDelaware Infantry Regiment were also at Antietamwhere they were stopped by overwhelming enemyfire suffering heavy losses. They were driven back,caught between fire from enemy troops in their frontand from reinforcements who confused them forConfederates in the fog ofbattle. Despite tremendousfir according to the regiment s historian: On theground, a few yards in advance, where the line wasfirst arrested, lay a large number ofour men, killed orwounded, and among them lay the colors of theregiment, one of which was held by LieutenantColonel Hopkinson, who was wounded. MajorSmyth, Captain Rickards, Lieutenants Postles, Tan-ner, and icholls, Sergeants unnand McAllister,with several other non-commissioncd officers, rallieda large number of the men for the purpose ofreturning to the original line, recovering the colors,and holding the position, if possible.

They sallied gallantly to the front under aterrible tornado of shot, and held the position for aconsiderable time. . . . When the regiment retiredfrom the field both colors were brought with it, oneby Lieutenant C. B. Tanner and the other bySergeant Allen Tatem one of the color-guard.

The generally accepted jargon for the clements offlags and their components is used throughout thisbook. The cantol1 is the square or rectangle placed atthe top of the flag next to the pole or staff. A border isthe flag s edging, when rendered in a colour differentHoward Michael Madaus c rried t the 5thone o America s le ding nnivers ry r ecre tion uperrson 0 ; \Var flags the b ttle First Bullholds an uthentic lly Run. He wears nrrconstructcdn tion l uthentic llycolourofthc d Wisconsin reconstructed 8Voluntccr Infantry lVisconsin uniform.Regiment which he

from that of the field. The main part of the flag is thefield The hoist is the side of the flag next to the staff,while th ly is the opposite side of the flag. The flag isshown with the hoist on the left and the fly on theright; this is the obverse or front of the flag; The sideseen when the hoist is on the right and the fly on theleft is the reverse or rear. When speaking ofmeasurements, however, flag dimensions are often referred toas being, for example, six feet on the hoist (i.e., alongthe staff), by five on the fly (i.e., parallel to theground). The staff itself is the stave; the metal objecton top of the stave, usually a spearhead, an axehead oran eagle, is thefil/ia/. The metal cap at the bottom ofthe stave is the ferrI Ie Many flags have cords andtassels hanging from the finial; collectively, these aresimply referred to as cords

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R GUL TIONFL GS

Capitol; Preservation Commillee Flag SympOS tWl/987 Harrisburg 987Phillips Stanley S. Civil Wa r Corps Badges andOllrer Relaled Awards, Badges Meda /s lirePeriod Lanham Maryland 1982

Sauers Richard A. Advallce Tire Colors , Harrisburg 1987

Todd Frederick P. A1I1eriwII Mililary Eqllippage,Vol II Providence Rhode Island 1977

org:Jnization Nonetheless,i t sholVs the eagle /inialwhich often topped thenational colour and th etassels DavidScheinmann Collection)

The natiomJI colourbehind chis c lpminappears CO be thJJtoftheGovernor s Foot Guard, auniformed but strictlysocial Connecticut

Th e Army of the United States basically had twocolours per dismounted regiment which were issuedaccording to army-wide regulations issued 10 August1861. F rom the Revised Regula/iolls for /lre Army Ilze Ulli/ed S es, /861:1436. The garrison flag is the national flag. It is madeof bunting thirty-six feet fly, the twenty feet hoist inthirteen horizontal stripes of equal breadth alternately red and white beginning with the red. In theupper quarter next to the staff is the nioncomposed of a nu mb er of white stars equal to thenumber of States on a blue field one-third the lengthof the flag, extending to the lower edge of the fourthred stripe from the top. The storm flag is twenty feetby ten feet; the recruiting flag, nine feet nine inchesby four feet four inches.Colors o f Artillery Regiments1437. Each regiment of Artillery shall have twosilken colors. The first or the national color of starsand stripes as described for the garrison flag. Th enumber and name of the regiment to be embroideredwith gold on the centre stripe. Th e second orregimental color to be yellow of t he same dimen I O I l ~ ;1: ll l i r ~ l hl aring in the center two cannonlTossing. with the letter.. U.S. above and the numberIll' regimellt helll\\ ; frin c, yellow. Each color to be sixfecI six inchcs til. and six feet deep on the pike. The

Select BibliographyBeale James Tire Ba.ule Flags lire Army lire

POlomac Ceuysbllrg, Penlla Jllly lSI 2d (53d,/863 Philadelphia 1885

Billings John D. Hardlack mltl Coffee GlendaleNew York 97 0Official A/las accompa IlY lire Opicial Records . .. Washington DC 89 -1895

Madaus H. Michael McClellan s System of Designating Flags Spring-Fall 1862 ; Milila.ry Collec-lor 5 His/oriall, Washington DC Spring 1965,Ppl-13Madaus Howard M. The Conservation of CivilWar Flags: The Military Historian s Perspective ; Papers presented at the Penl1sylvania

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The national colour iscarried in action in 86ote the cagle andstreamers

pike including the spear and ferrule be nine feetten inches in length. Cords and tassels red and yellowsilk intermixed.Colors oflnfantry Rcgimcnts1438. Each regiment of Infantry shall have twosilken colors. The first or the national color of starsand stripes as described for the garrison flag; thenumber and name of the regiment be embroideredwith silver on the center stripe. The second orregimental color to be blue with the arms of theUnited States embroidered in silk on the center. Thename of the regiment in a scroll underneath theeagle The size of each color be six feet six inchesfly and six feet deep on t he pike. The length of thepike including the spear and ferrule be nine feetten inches. The fringe yellow; cord and tassels blueand white silk intermixed.

Camp Colors1439. The camp colors are of bunting eighteeninches square; white for infantry and red for artil-lery with the number of the regiment on them. Thepole eight feet long.

Each foot regiment was have two camp colourscarried on the extreme right and left of the regimentby sergeants serving as general guides. In fact manyof the actual colours violated regulations by havingunique insignia on them. The 72nd PennsylvaniaVolunteer Infantry for example had plain dark bluecamp colours with a golden bee painted on a sky blueoval; and the 95th Ohio Volunteer Infantry hadscarlet silk camp colours with a golden wreathsurrounding the unit designation 95 OHIO

General Orders NO.4 18 January 1862 said thatcamp colors will be made like the United Statesflag with stars and stripes . Surviving camp ~ u r sof the 128th ew York Infantry were made in thisstyle with the number 128 on a dark blue cloth fieldsewn onto the olour


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Manufacturers variationsThe description of the national flag used as a campcolour, as well as both a garrison and regimental flagin the regulations was vague in such details as theexact arrangement of the stars in the canton. Indeed,it did not even spell out if the canton were to besquare or rectangular. A variety of styles of cantonshapes and star designs were seen in actual practicevarying according to the flags makers.One basic difference between Army nationalcolours and flags flown by civilians and non-militarygovernmental organizations is that most Army na-tional colours used gold stars while most otherAmerican flags had white stars. Apparently this cameabout when the Army switched to silver embroideryfor its stars before the war; silver embroidery threadtarnished to an unsightly black, so gold was substituted for silver hence the gold stars. Many privatemanufacturers during the war did embroider whitestars on the cantons of the national colours theysupplied under state contracts, but Army-issuednational colours had gold stars, usually painted ratherthan embroidered.

Army-issued national colours were provided toregiments which needed replacement colours or didnot receive prcM I iltion colours from their state

he s t r pattern in thecanton or this nationalcolour the 8thUS f. m tr y Regimentmatches thosemade under US Quartermaster

Department contract byAlexanderBrandon issuedthrough theNew YorkQu.lrtermaseerDepot in 864 West PoineMuseumCollections

government or local organizations. Army issuedcolours were issued at the Quartermaster Depots inPhiladelphia, New York, and Cincinnati, Ohio.Private contractors between May 1861 and October1865 supplied the Philadelphia Depot with 890national colours, the New York Depot with 917national colours, and the Cincinnati Depot with 500national colours.National colours provided by the PhiladelphiaDepot apparently had the gold stars in their rectangular cantons arranged as a vertical double ellipsewith an additional star in each corner. Some had acentre star, while some lacked this final star.New York Depot national colours had the goldstars in a square canton arranged in five horizontalrows. Until 4 July [863, when West Virginia wasadmitted as a new state and a new star was authorizedfor it, these had six stars in the middle row and sevenstars in each of the two outer rows. After 4 July [863each row had seven stars. Although Nevada wasadmitted to the Union on 31 October [864, no starwas authorized to mark that state until after the warwas over.Apparently national colours supplied by theCincinnati Depot had rectangular cantons with sevenhorizontal rows of gold stars. Each row except thebottom one had five stars, with four stars in thebottom row until July 1863, when it, too, acquired afifth.Most regiments, however, especially early in thewar, were presented with national colours by somelocal group which had acquired them from privatecontractors. These colours were quite expensive bythe standards of the day.Pennsylvania s state inspector general asked forbids for making flags for the Commonwealth s troopsfrom three local manufacturers. One, Horstmann,asked 160 for a pair of national and regimentalcolours, 35 for a cavalry standard, and 12 for acavalry guidon. Evans Hassall wanted 135 for apair of national and regimental colours. 35 for acavalry standard, and 22.50 for a cavalry guidon.Brewer wanted 1 [0 for the infantry colours, 30 forthe cavalry standard, and 5 for the guidon. (At thistime a private soldier s pay was only 3 a month.)

On 27 November [86[ the adjutant general ofKentucky asked for quotes for making flags for thestate s troops from both a local manufacturer, Hugh8


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Wilkins of Louisville, Kentucky, and Tiffany Co.of ew York City. Wilkins replied: I will makeinfantry regimental colors for 125 per set with thearms of Kentucky on each side of the standard andregular regimental flag stars and stripes with thenumber of each regiment in gold on each side and thesame in the blue flag on a scroll under the coat ofarms. Cavalry standards done in a like manner for45.00 each, guidons for 10.00 each. Artillery flagssame s Infantry.Tiffany wired: Blue regimentals both sides

100.00 each in three weeks, with case, belt, andfringe. ational stars and stripes 60 .00 each in oneweek Guidons embroidered name and number25.00 pair in two weeks.Presentation national colours made by Tiffany

went mostly to ew York and some Connecticutunits, although some were carried by Michigan unitsand at least one by an Indiana unit. Tiffany colourswere embroidered with white stars in a squarecanton. Until July 1863 they were set in six horizontalrows, the middle two with five stars while the,outertwo had six stars. Starting in July 1863 the top threerows had six stars each; the fourth row had five; andthe bottom two rows had six. Unit designations onTiffany colours were rendered in script letters.Presentation national colours made by another

ew York maker, Paton Company, used white silkappliqued stars set in five horizontal rows, the middleone of which had six stars while the upper and lowertwo had seven stars each, in a square canton. The unitdesignation appeared in script letters.Evans Hassall of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

arranged the gold stars in the rectangular cantons oftheir national colours s a simple double ellipse ofstars surrounding a single star in the centre, with onegold star at each corner of the canton. ew Jerseyregiments after 1863 received national colours madeby this company.Horstmann Brothers Co., a general military

equipment and uniform supplier from Philadelphia, lso produced presentation national colours for Min-nesota troops for a short time start ing in late 1862,and for West Virginia s troops after that state sA private th e VeteranReserve Corps formedfrom men no longercapable active field

service but still capable serving holds one theCorps national colours. RonnPalm ColJection

formation. These were made like the Evans Hassallcolours with a double ellipse of gold stars in arectangular canton. Both Evans Hassall and Horst-mann also produced national colours for Penn-sylvania troops, but these differed in that the stateseal surrounded by stars was painted in the centre ofthe canton. The first national colours supplied byHorstmann to ew Jersey used this same design,with the ew Jersey state seal surrounded by stars intheir cantons.

Maryland troops received national colours madeby Sisco Bros., of Baltimore, with square cantonsand, after July 1863, five horizontal rows of sevengold stars each.

Hugh Wilkins, Louisville, Kentucky, producednational colours for Kentucky troops and, appar-ently, units from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio s well.These were unusual in that a light or sky blue wasused for the square cantons. The gold stars werearranged in six horizontal rows, five in the top andbottom rows and six in the other rows.

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Gilbert Hubbard Co., Chicago, Illinois, madenational colours for uni ts from Wisconsin. It s firstones had th e state seal as well as stars in th erectangular cantons. However replacement coloursmade until July 1863 had gold stars in six horizontalrows with six in th e top, bottom an d two middle rowsand five in th e second an d fifth rows.Regimental colours were also issued t hr ou gh t hethree basic quatermaster depots. Between Ma y 1861an d October 1865 th e Philadelphia Depot purchased765 regimental colours; th e Ne w York Depot 1,021regimental colours; an d the Cincinnati Depot 564regimental colours.

Many of Philadelphia s regimental colours camefrom Horstmann an d Evans Hassall. These coloursbear th e US coat of arms on th e eagle s breast over athree -piece red scroll painted with a raised centresection an d under a double curve of stars: th e top rowha d 2 I stars, the bottom row 3 stars.

ew York s Depot had a variety of suppliersincluding A Ertle, Paton Co., an d A. Brandon.They ha d a large, but somewhat unrealistic eagleunder two rows of stars, 8 in th e top row an d 6 inth e bottom.

Cincinnati s Depot ha d several contractors whoprovided regimental colours of various qualities.

n of icer holds a battle-torn national colourbearing three battlehonours for engagementsin th e rmy thePotomac Note th eaxehead which tops thestave


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John Shilleto of Cincinnati turned out well-paintedeagles with detailed feathers and realistic heads. Hisfirst colours had 2 I stars in the top row over 3 starsin the bottom ending at the tail of the motto scroll.His post-July 1863 colours had 20 stars over 5 starsin two rows which extended below the ends of thescroll.

Another Cincinnati supplier Longly Bro.turned out eagles which were poorly painted with illdefined feathers and a black eye on each eagle shead. Until July 1863 the top row of s tars on theseflags had 2 I stars over 3 stars in the bottom row;after th at d ate they bo re over 14 stars t he l at tertouching the trails of the motto scroll. The mottoscrolls from both makers had lower centre sections.

Hugh Wilkins regimental colours featured eagleswith dow n- turned heads as well as another designwhich had the eagle perched on a US shield in thecentre of a circular clouded perch. Both had fivepiece red motto scrolls.

Both national and regimental colours save thosepresented by local g ro ups a nd locally mad e wereissued without regimental designations in the stripeor motto scroll. was up to each regimental colonelto have th e regimental designation put on eachcolour.

To return to the 1861 Army Regulations:

Standards and Guidons ofMounted Regiments1440. Each regiment will have a silken standard andeach company a silken guidon. The standard to bearthe arms of the United States embroidered in silk ona blue ground with the number and name of theregiment in a scroll underneath the eagle. The flag ofthe standard to be two feet five inches wide and twofeet three inches o n t he lance and to be edged withyellow silk fringe.1441. The flag of the guidon is swallow-tailed threefeet five inches from the lance to the end of theswallow-tail; fifteen inches to the fork of the swallowtail and two feet three inches on the lance. To be halfred and half white dividing at the fork the red above.

A colour sergeantholdinghis battle torn flag TheregiInentis unknown.Ronn Palm Collection

On the red the letters .S. in white; and on thewhite the letter of the company in red. The lance ofthe standards and guidons to be nine feet longincluding spear and ferrule.

Modi ficat ions to t he 1861 regulati ons appearedsoon after they were published. The first changed theguidons issued to mounted units. ccording toGeneral Orders 0.4 issued 8 January 1862: IUnder instructions from the Secretary of War datedJanuary 7 1862 guidons and camp colors for theArmy will be made like the United States flag withstars and stripes.

Mounted uni ts wanted to fly a version of the Snational flag. However not even the modification ofJanuary 1862 which gave t hem a gui don version ofthe US flag was enough for many such units; insteadthey often flew the whole US flag. Indeed a messagefrom the commander of the Army of the Ohio dated3 June 1862 to Brigadier General Thomas Critten-den noted: T he general yesterday observed one ofthe batteries in your division carrying a large flag


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Ballie honours

instead of a guidon, as ordered. The general desires toknow why the orde rs on this subject are no t carriedOUL

S hort ly after the guidon revision order was issued apractice that had been standard for many years beforethe war was m ade official. Regiment s and ballerieswere aBowed to indicate their service in battle ontheir colours. As stated in General O rders No. 19, 22February 1862: t has been ordered t hat there shallbe inscribed upon the colors or guidons of allregiments and balleries in the service of t he U ni tedS ta tes the names of the battle in which they haveborne a meritorious part. The order went on to saythat t is expected that troops so distinguished willregard their colors as representing the honor of theircorps to be lost only with their lives and thatthose not yet entitled to such a distinction will not restsatisfied until they have won it by their discipline andcourage.

This privilege was soon abused by a number ofvolunteer units which pu t the names of ballles inwhich they had played th e mos t m in or of parts ontotheir colours. According to John Billings, a veteran ofthe loth Massachusells Artillery, in the Army of thePotomac, Originally battles were only inscribed onflags by authority of the secretary of war, that is, in

7th stripe7th stripe


7th stripe7th stripe7th stripe3rd stripeCentre of cantonTop stripe5th/7th stripes

4th/6th stripes

7th stripe


7th stripe8th stripe7th stripe9th stripe7th stripe5th17th stripes

7th stripe

Designationplacement7th stripe

SV in script

ISIBAT nP IO EERBRIGADE2nd MICH. INF.zd Wisconsin InfantryVolunteers.3rd REGt WIS. VETERANINFANTRY.7th REGt NEW JERSEYVOLUNTEERS.13th ILL.15th REGt Ky VOLs15th REGt WIS. VOLs.15th REGt I D. VOLS.18th Michigan Infantry.19th REGIME T/MASSACHUSETTS VOLsMASSACHUSETTSVOL TEERS/2ISt. REGT.I FANTRY281h REG. PENNa VOL. I Fy40th REGt N.J. VOLS.46th Regt. MASS. MILITIA46th REGT. O.V.1.46th Ohio V. V. 51st REG T P.V.V.56th Regiment,/MASSACHUSETTS VOLs.60th REG T O. V.U.S.A.68th REGT. OHIO VET. VOL.I FA TRY76th OHIO 54th Reg .

lhl e ll. ,Il.III11Il Unit designations on national colours were placed onone of the horizontal stripes often the seventh onefrom the top. However this system was far fromuniversal as seen by the selection of representativenational colours which have survived and are listedbelow. \Vhen the stripe is indicated it is countedfrom the top down. \Vhen letters or an abbreviationfollow the number or capital letters such as zd orREGt the small lener was usually raised parallelwith the top of the larger numbers and one or twodots placed under t small letter.Unit designation

the regular army. Bu t the volunteers seemed to be alaw unto themselves and while many flags inexistence today bear names of banles inscribed byorder of the comma nding general, there are somewith inscriptions of battles which the troops werehardly in hearing of.

employed There were noclc Jrnaoonal rcgu arionson the arrangement stars

This national colour usedin Virginia in 8 displaysa different star patternfrom thar usually


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RMYHE QU RTERSFL GS

th e wounded who can walk. General hospital flagswere in fact yellow with a large green Roman letter Hon the field and smaller yellow flags with greenborders were generally used to mark the way from thefiring line to field hospitals. This was standardized byGeneral Orders 0.9 4 January 1864 which calledfor a yellow general hospital flag 5 ft. by 9 ft. in sizew ith a Roman letter H 24 inches tall on its field. Posta nd field hospitals had t he same flag a lt ho ug h only5 ft. by 9 ft. in size. R ec ta ng ular g uido ns 14 inc hes by28 inches edged with one-inch green borders were tomark ambulances as well as the route to fieldhospitals.

o special colours were authorized under the r eg ulations for army headquarters. Yet there was ap re ce de nt for having a special flag for m arki ng theheadquarters of a commanding general; during th eWa r for American Independence George Washington s headquart ers was marked by an all-blue flagbearing 13 five-pointed stars.

In fact th e first flag selected to mark theheadquarters of th e Army of the Potom ac underGeneral Orders 0.102 24 March 1862 was a plainnational flag. The national flag used by the a r m sh ea dq ua rter s in 1863 now in the Militar y Order ofthe Loy al Legion of the US Philadelphia had fourrows of seven st ar s over a last row of six stars in itscanton. It was 4 ft. on the hoist by 51 ft. in the fly Itbears no unit designation or other distinctive marks.

Indeed veteran John Billings later recalled thatT he st ars a nd st ripes were a common flag for armyheadquarters. It was General Meade s headquartertill Grant ca me to the A rm y of the Potomac who alsoused i t for that purpose. Therefore on 2 Ma y 1864

and reginlental coloursThe reginJental colourtassel hangs over his rightshoulder Ronn PalnJCollection)

A colour-sergeant th e 4 stPennsylvaniaVolunteer InfantryReginJent sits in front the reginJent s national

Finally according to the 1861 regulations: Theambulance depot to which the wounded are carriedor directed for i mm ed ia te t re at me nt is generallyestablished at the most convenient building nearestthe field of battle. A red flag marks its place or th eway to it to the conductors of the a mb ulan ce s a nd to

This was no t always the fault of t he tr oops whorried the colours; it was often unclear what unit was

uthorized w ha t b attle h on ou r. Some commanderslished lists of battle honours that could be placed

n flags some simply ordered every unit p re se nt a tny given b attle to put th e honour on its flag. Evenome governors issued orders to t heir state units tout specific honours on their battle flags.

As a result of this confusion on 7 March 1865 theof th e Potomac issued its General Orders

o 1 which listed every volunteer unit in the armylong with a list of battles that could be placed on its

lours. However the Army of the Potomac appearsto have been t he only large or ganizat ion within t heUnion forces to attempt to standardize battle honours

nd by the tim e it d id so many of its o ld er u nits h adlready been m us te re d out t he ir ba tt le flags now

hanging in state capital buildings.


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the army s final commander, Major-General GeorgcG. Meade, adoptcd a ncw headquarters flag According to n army circular issued at that time Hereafterthe designating flag for these h ea dqu art er s will be amagenta-colored swallow tailed flag with an cagle ingold, surrounded by a silver wreath for an emblem.Billings said the guidon was actually lilac colored . tmeasured 4 ft. on the hoist by 6 ft on the fly sec 179, p. 25)

The Army of the Potomac s Artillery Reserve hadits own flag, authori 2ed in Gener al O rd er s No .1 1930 April 1862. This was a 5 ft. by 6 t rectangular redflag with a white s tar in its centre. This was changedby General O rde rs No. 53, 12 May 1863, to a redswallow-tailed guidon, of the same dimensions asother corps flags, with a pair of white crossed cannonon its centre. Brigadier-General H en ry J HuntArmy of the Potomac chief of artillery, apparendyadopted a blue guidon with a red Roman lener Asurmounting a pair white crossed cannon for apersonal flag in 1864. In Octob er 1864 t he HorseArtillery Brigade received a blue triangular flag withred crossed cannon, and the letters H above thecannon and A under them.

Other Army of the Potomac generals flew their

This inf.-mtry rcgimcnl:JIcolour conforms in ovcralldesign to those known tohavc becn issued by theNew York Quarterm: scerDepot, he re1 imcnt w

received it would h:Jvebeen responsible forgctting the number filledin properly West Pointl\ luscunl Collectiom.)

own flags. The flag of the chief of engineers, forexample, was a blue field, 4 t by 6 ft., with a redturreted castle, the symbol of the Corps of Engineers see 79, p 28).

The Army of the James was created from t he Xand XVIII Corps in 1864. On 3 Mal 1864 itsheadquarters adopted a 6 fl.-square flag dividedhorizontally into red and blue halves. A large fivepointed star in white was placed in the centre.

When Major-General Philip Sheridan receivedcommand of the Army of the Shenandoah he appearsto have used a swallow-tailed cavalry guidon to markhis headquarters. The guidon was divided intohorizontal halves, the t op white and the b on om red.A red five-pointed star was placed on the top half, anda similar star in white on the bottom half. The guidonmeasured some 3 ft on the hoist by 6 ft. on the fly

U nd er Gene ral O rd er s NO.91, Department ofthe Cumberland, the flag for d ep ar tm en t a nd armyheadquarters was a national flag with a golden eaglebelow the stars, two feet from tip to tip . The flag ssize was 5 t by 6 ft. However, according to GeneralOrders No. 62 26 April 1864, the headquarters flagwas to be a 5 fl.-square national colour; it bore thegold Roman letters D.C. within the canton and agold eagle clutching a laurel branch in its left clawand five arrows in its right. The motto EPLURIBUS U UM flew from its beak. The eaglewas paintcd on the field no deeper tha n the canton.Th e placement of the eagle is slightly different on thereverse from the obverse.

Th e Department and the Army of Tennessee andthe Army of the Ohio had very similar headquartersflags, both with blue fields and gold fringe, cords andtassels. The Army of Tennessee s flag had the corpsbadges of the XV and XVII Corps on a verticalbackground of red, white, and blue. The flag of theArmy of t he Oh io had the corps badges of the X andXXIII Corps, suspended from sabres, topped by aneagle which looked very much like the colonel s rankbadge. It would appear that these two headquartersflags were adopted aCter they joined the forces underMajor-General William T Sherman in NorthCarolina in the dying days of the war.

The Military Division of the Mississippi apparently used a 5 f t.-square plain yellow flag as itsheadquarters flag In carll 1865 the badges adoptedy the corps within the division were painted on it.


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illustrations show that the red half was on the hoistside an d the b lu e o n the fly); a nd the fourth division ahorizontally divided red and blue flag.

In fact, however, period writers do not mentionany f ou rth divisions or the ir flags in the Army of th ePotomac for the period. Colonel Charles Wainwrightjotted this description in his diary only two days afterthe new order s etting u p the flag s ys te m was issued:O ne of t he first orders) prescri bes t he powers ofcorps commanders, and also designates flags for eachheadquarters. First Division s sic will carry a redflag 6 by 5; Second Division s blue; Third Division sred and blue vertical. Ours being the Second willhave a blue flag.

The brigades within each division were markedby dif fe rent flags, each the s ame size as the divis ionheadquarters flag. Within each first division, th e firstbrigade had a red and white flag in vertical stripes; thesecond, vertical white, red, and white stripes; and thethird, vertical red, white, and red stripes.

THE RMYOFTHEPOTOM

As the Union s field a rm ie s gr ew in size, var ious oftheir commanders attempted to make units easy toidentify in the field through systems of unique flagscarried by each formation and unit. The Army of th ePotomac s General Orders o 1 0 2 was issued 2 4March 1 8 6 2 under Major-General George BMcClellan s direction, an d gave the nion Army itsfirst comprehensive a rm y- wi de flag designati ngsystem.

According to the s ections w hich p ro vide d in structions on flags, the army s general headquarterswould be marked by a plain national flag. Corpsheadquarters would have a national flag with a smallsquare flag of a diff er ent c olou r or s et of colours, onthe same staff under the national flag. The I Corpsflag was to b e red; II Corps, blue; III Corps, blue andred in vertical halves; and IV Corps, blue and red inhorizontal halves.

All divisions had the same size flags, 6 ft. long and5 ft wide. The first division of an army corps had ared flag; the second division blue; the third division avertically divide d r ed a nd b lu e flag c on te mp or ar y

The colourguard the36th MassachusettsVolunteer InfantryRegiment hold their weI -worn colours in thispicture dating fron] late inthe war The two general

guides hold their campcolours on either end theline; these would haveflown at either flank theregiment to mark it sposition. US ArmyMilitary History Institute

A

5


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Within each corps second division, th e firstbrigade had a vertical striped blue an d white flag; th esecond brigade had vertical white, blue, an d whitestripes; th e third vertical blue , white, an d bluestripe.

The same sized flags were used by brigadeheadquarters in each corps third division. T he firstbrigade had vertical red white, an d blue stripes; th esecond, vertical red blue, an d white stripes; and thethird, vertical white, red an d blue stripes.

A mo ng c or ps with a fourth division, th e firstbrigade had horizontal. red white, an d blue stripes;the second, horizontal red blue, an d white stripes;and th e third horizontal white, red and blue stripes.

Within each brigade, each regiment was to carryin addition to its national an d regimental colours acopy of th e brigade headquarters flag with th enumbers 2, 3 or 4 on it, according to the unit sranking on the brigade table of organization. Whitenumbers were used on coloured bars and colourednumbers which often appear to have been red onwhite bars. Actual regimental flags measure betweenA pair regimentalcolours in action 27June 862 during the Peninsular ampaign The nationalcolour is topped with an

eagle while the regimentalcolourhas a spike finialThey are both carried inth e front and centre th eregimental front

54 an d 56 inches on the hoist a nd b etwe en 70 an d 72inches on th e fly

Artillery batteries were to carry th e colours of thedivision to which they belonged as well as a right-angled triangular flag 6 ft. long an d 3 ft. wide at th estaff. Cavalry units were to have th e same as theartillery, although their flag was to be swallow-tailed.Engineer units had a white disc of a diameter equal toon e third of its wi dth on the flag of th e division tow hich the unit was assigned.

T he Regular Brigade ha d a white star on a redflag, th e regimental number being in t he m id dl e ofth e star. This was changed by General O rd er

o 119, 30 April 1862, to a blue flag with a whitestar in the c en te r . In fact, an original flag carried inth e brigade is at th e Chapel of St. Cornelius theCenturion Ft. Jay ew York. is only 8 incheslong on the hoist an d 3 ft. on th e fly, with a white starwithin an oval green laurel wreath. This flag, carriedduring the Peninsular Campaign became th e headquarters flag of th e 2d Division, Provisional V Corps,in May 1862 when th e brigade was made part of thatcorps.

Hospitals were distinguished by a yellow flag. Asdescribed above, hospital flags were also marked witha Roman letter H in green, an d small rectangularguidon of yellow edged wi th g ree n were used to


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ark the way from the front line to the field hospitals.bsistence depots were designated by a green flag.These flags were attached to a portable staff 14long in two joints and were supposed to be

abitually displayed in front of the headquartersthey designated. On the march they were to bene r the unit commander.

These orders were modified by General Orders110,26 March 1862:Third Army Corps: National flag with a small

uare red and blue (instead of blue and red) flag,rtical, beneath. ourth Army Corps: ational flag with a smallquare red and blue (instead of blue and red) flag,

beneath.They were further modified in General Orders

o 119 30 April 1862, which gave the cavalryeserve headquarters a yellow flag 6 ft. long and 5 ft.

with two blue stripes 6 inches in width, crossing

regimental colour ls i Veteran ReserveRegiment conformsdesign to thosemade by Bros. under

contractrough the Gncinna r;h th Vetcran

regimental colourarers for t I I I thylvania Volunt ccrRegiment. At thew r it w s quitular for units to h:lveeir colours photographed

Res T\ Corps Regimentregimental c ur,however, wasmade byHorstmann Bros. for thePhiladelphia Depot anddiffers slightly in design.lVest Point MuseumCollections)

so that members couldkeep th JJuages asmementoes th irservice. Note thespearpoint ini l on theregimental c ur. RonnCollection)

diagonally. The reserve s first brigade had a yellowfl g the same size with one blue star in the centrewhile the second brigade had the same flag with twoblue stars in the centre. The artillery reserve headquarters received a similar sized red flag with a whitestar in the centre, while the brigade of regularinfantry received a blue flag of the same size with awhite st r in the centre.

An additional flag was made regulation by Gen-eral Orders 0.152, 9 August 1862: The main(ordnance) depot for the army will be designated by acrimson flag, marked Ordnance Depot, U.S.A.

Although the system was all-inclusive, there issome question as to what degree it was actuallypractised. Regiments tended to get transferred between brigades quite often, meaning that they had tochange flags just as often. Moreover, there was boundto be less loyalty to such an arbitrary and abstract flagthan to the elaborate regimental and national colourswhich were distinguished with the unit s actualdesignation. Even so there rea number o survivingexamples of regimental designating flags, so manymust have seen actual usc.

On 25 ovember 1862, after the V Corps wasadded to the Army of the Potomac, BrigadierGeneral Daniel Butterfield of that corps wrote toarmy headquarters: In the order designating flags for


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Army Corps orders 102 and 110 Headquarters,Army of the POlOmac March 1862) no flag has beendesignated for the Fifth Corps.

I would respectfully request that a flag bedesignated as shown in the following sketch. For theFifth Army Corps, viz: Red with a Greek Cross in thecenter, under the national flag as per General Orderso 102 Army of the POlOmac and that theQuartermaster s Department be directed 10 furnishthe same.

Butterfield s sketch did not in fact show a Greekcross, but a cross balanic, which is a form of Greekcross save that each arm ends in a trefoil bud.

On 7 February 1863, according 10 GeneralO rd er s No. 10 the corps headquarters flags werechanged 10 blue swallow-tailed guidons 6 ft on the flyby 2 ft on the hoist, each with a white cross bearingthe corps number in red Roman numerals in thecentre of the cross. According 10 the order, the crosswas to be a Maltese cross but actual examples showit 10 have been the cross bOlolli that Butterfield, whodesigned the corps badges later used in the Army ofthe POlOmac earlier suggested for the V Corps.

When Major-General Joseph Hooker took overthe demoralized Army of the POlOmac after the defeatat Fredericksburg and its m ud march , he began toreSlOre the army s morale. In part he did this through

A pre-186] regimentalcolour ror t 5th US rtillery Regiment withthe design smaller in the

field than arrer 863 lVestPoint MuseumCollections

a system of badges unique to each division of eachcorps, worn on the soldier s hat or coat breast. Theseunique badges were adapted 10 a revised system ofidentification flags carried by divisions and brigadeswhich was made official by General Orders 1 53,dated 12May 1863.

The cavalry corps headquarters was now 10 carrya flag of the same size and shape as had been used byinfantry corps, but all in yellow with white crossedsabres on its centre. Th e artillery reserve headquarters flag was 10 be the same, but in red with whitecrossed cannon its centre.

Each division headquarters was 10 fly a differentstyle flag Each corps first division was to have awhite rectangular flag with a red corps badge in itscentre; the second division had a blue flag with awhite corps badge; the third, a white flag with a bluecorps badge.The VI Corps light division had a whiterectangular flag, with a green Greek cross tscentre.

Th e brigades in each corps first division had awhite triangular flag with a red corps badge in thecentre. The first brigade simply carried this colour;the second brigade had an additional 6-inch-wideblue stripe next to the staff; the third, a 4t inch blueborder all around the flag According to Billings,Whenever there was a fourth brigade, it was designated by a triangular block of color in each corner ofthe flag.

The brigades of each corps second division had ablue triangular flag with a white corps badge in thecentre. The individual brigade flags used the samesystem as in the first division, the stripes and bordersbeing red instead of blue.

The brigades of each corps third division had awhite triangular flag with a blue corps badge in thecentre. Individual brigade flags used the same systemas the first division, the stripe and borders being red

Although not mentioned in the initial order, soonafter it was issued corps artillery headquarters adopted a red brigade flag with the corps badge in white inits centre. h corps quartermaster s headquartershad a blue swallow-tailed guidon the same size as thebrigade flags with diagonal white stripes parallel withthe swallow tails and ending at the lOp and bottom ofthe flag at the staff.

This system of flags to designate specific head-


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in the Army of the Potomac continued in useugh the army s existence.

Badges of theof the Potomac 1863

adgeA sphereA trefoilA lozengeA Maltese crossA Greek) crossA shield with a figure 9 in the centre,crossed with a fouled anchor andcannonA four-bastioned fortA crescent, points upA five-pointed starved with the Army of the Potomac at one time

another but was not always a member of thatThe IX Corps adopted a fairly complicated badge

did not lend itself to the simple outline style ofused by the other corps. It involved a cannon

ossing a fouled anchor on a shield. Therefore, whene IX Corps adopted its flags to conform with the

of the Potomac system on August 1864 itlled for flags that were slightly more elaborate thanused by the other corps. The headquarters

blue swallow-tailed guidon had a white shield with ared cannon crossing a blue anchor. The firstdivision s blue shield had a blue cannon crossing awhite anchor; the second division s white shield had ared cannon crossing a blue anchor; and the thirddivision s blue shield had a white cannon crossing ared anchor.

Towards the end of the war, casualties forcedunits to be merged, even at corps level. On 26

ovember 1864 the merger of troops of the remainder of I Corps into Third Division, Corps resultedin General Orders No. which read in part, TheDivision flag will be the flag now authorized, with acircular belt surrounding the corps, insignia and ofthe same color

On 25 1arch 1864 the First Division, Corpsbecame the Third Division, II Corps, and the SecondDivision, Corps became the Fourth Division, 1ICorps. However, Major-General A A Humphries,last commander of 1I Corps, later wrote, N o poweron earth could consolidate or fuse the Third with theSecond, and the authorities were at length compelledto let the Old Third wear their Old Third insignia.Th e men would not discard the Lozenge orDiamond, and Molt s division headquarters flagTh e Old Third bore a white Trefoil on a blueDiamond or Lozenge on its swallow-tail.

A post-war QuartermasterDepartment illustration the regulation artilleryr c g i m ~ n t a J colour

The rcgimcnl a/ colour the s US ArtilleryRegiment firs the style colours made in 86 andaftcrwl,rds. lVest PointiHuscum Collections


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The standard t 2d USCavalryRegiment. WestPoint MuseumCollections

The Army of the JamesThe Army of the James was created on 2 April 1864under Major-General Benjamin F. Butler with thepurpose of attacking Richmond from the South. was created with the X and XVIII Corps which werediscontinued on 3 December 1864 when the XXIVand XXV Corps replaced them.

On 3 May 1864 Army headquarters set up a fairlysimple system of flag identification through divisionlevel. Headquarters used a 6 ft.-square flag dividedhorizontally red over blue; a large white five-pointedstar was placed centrally on the field. The two coloursin the field represented the two corps under itscommand.

According to an order sent to the X Corpscommander on 3 May 1864 from the headquarters ofthe Department of Virginia and North Carolina: Bydirection of the commanding general of the department I have the honor to submit the followingexplanation of the battle-flags to be used by thetroops of this command during the coming campaign:The flag carried by department headquarters will be6 feet square two horizontal bars uppe r bar redlower bar blue with a white star in the center; the flagcarried by the headquarters Eighteenth Army Corpswill be 6 feet square blood red with number 18 inthe center; First Division flag, same size, blood red,with a single white star in the center; Second Division20

flag, same size and color, with two white stars in thecenter; Third Division flag, same size and color, withthree white stars in the center. The flag carried by theTenth Army Corps will be 6 feet square dark bluewith the number IO in the center; First Divisionflag, same size and color, with a single white star inthe center; Second Division flag, same size and color,with two white stars in the center; Third Division,same size and color, with three white stars in tcenter. Brigade colors will be furnished as soon aspracticable.

This system was abandoned when the XXIV andXXV Corps replaced the original corps in the Army.Both of these corps used Army of the Potomac-styleheadquarters flags: dark blue swallow-tailed guidonswith a white corps badgeand the corps number in redRoman numerals. The XXIV Corps badge was aheart while that of the XXV Corps was a square.Their division flags were the same as in the Army ofthe Potomac at that time: white for the first and thirddivisions and dark blue for the second division. Thecorps badge was placed on the field of each red in thefirst division, white in the second division, and blue inthe third division. Flag sizes in the two corpshowever varied. Division flags in the XXI V Corpswere 4 ft 6ins. on the hoist by 6 ft. In the XXV Corpsthey were only 2 ft 7 ins. by 5 ft 9 in.

The Department of the CumberlandOn 19 December 1962 General Orders 0.41 wasissued by the headquarters XIV Corps and theDepartment of the Cumberland in ashville Tennessee which divided the forces in the departmentinto the center or wings . Brigades and divisionswere assigned into these groups to be numbered fromright to left although referred to by commandersnames in operational reports.

The same order indicated a system of flags toidentify the headquarters of these commands:

III. Flags will be used to indicate t he variousheadquarters as follows: General headquarters-theNational flag 6 feet by 5 with a golden eagle belowthe stars 2 feet from tip to tip. Right wing-a plainlight crimson flag Center-a plain light blue flagLeft wing-a plain pink flag First Division rightwing-the flag of the wing with one white star 8inches in diameter, the inner point inch from tstaff. Second Division right wing-the flag of the


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with two white stars each 18 inches inameter the inner points inch from the staff. hird

wing the flag of the wing with threehite stars each 18 inches in diameter set iniangular form the outside star inch from the outer

of flag he division flags of the center and leftng will correspond with the above; that is to say

will be the flags of the center or left wing as themay be and with one two or three white stars18 inches in diameter according as they

present the First Second or hirdDivisions. heflags of all brigades will be the flags of

heir divisions with the number of the brigade in8 inches long in the center of each star. hatof

brigade of regulars however will instead of thestar and black number have simply a golden

tar. The flags of the wings will be 6 feet on staffby 4fly; those of divisions and brigades 5 feet by 3

ca valrymen incarry regulation

A regulation cavalryguidon carried by an Troop West PointMuseum Col1ections

hey will all be of a pattern to be furnished to thequartermaster s department. Artillery reserve aplain red flag equilateral in shape each side being 5feet. Cavalry reserve of the same shape as divisionflags 3 feet fly by 5 on the staff but of deep orangecolor. Divisions and brigades to be designated as inthe infantry; that is the First Second and hirdDivisions by one two and three white stars respec-


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tively; the First, Second, and Third Brigades byblack figures in each star. Engineer Corps a whiteand blue flag blue uppermost and running horizont-ally. Flag 5 feet on stafr by 3 feet fly Hospitals andambulance depots a light yellow flag 3 feet square,for the hospitals and for the principal ambulancedepot on a field of battle; 2 feet square for the lesserones. Subsistence depots or store houses a plainlight green flag, 3 feet square. Quartermaster s depotsor store houses same flag with the letters QM.D.in white, foot long.

IV. All of these flags will be attached to aportable staff, 14 feet long, made in two joints, andwill be habitually displayed in front of the tent, orfrom some pro mine nt p art of the house or vesseloccupied by the officer, whose headquarters they areintended to designate; and on the march will becarried ncar his person.

This system apparently failed, for GeneralOrders NO.91, issued by the Department of theCumberland headquarters on 25 April 1863 stated:

It having been found that the flags prescribed byGeneral Orders, No. 41, from this headquarters,December 19 1862, to designate the headquarters ofth e various brigades, divisions, and corps of thisarmy, are not sufficiently marked to be readilydistinguished from each other, those herein de-scribed will be substituted.

Cellera hetulqlla rlers The national flag 6 feet by 5with a golden eagle below the stars, 2 feet from tip totip.FOllrleelllh r yCorps A bright blue flag 6 feet by 4fringed, with black eagle in center, 2 feet from tip totip, with the number 4 in black on shield whichshall be white.TWeIIlieLh r yCorps A bright red flag same as thatfor F ourteenth Army Corps, except the number onthe shield, which shall be that of the corps.TWeIIly jirsl r y Corps A bright red, white, andblue flag horizontal), same as that for FourteenthCorps, except the number on the shield, which shallbe that of the corps.Firsl Division FOllrteelllh r yCorps The flag of thecorps, except the cagle and fringe, with one black star,18 inches in diameter, point 2 inches from staff.Second Division FOnrleelllh r y Corps The flag ofthe corps, except eagle and fringe, with two blackstars, each inches in diameter, inner point 2 inchesfrom staff.Third Division Fourleellih r y Corps The flag ofthe corps, except eagle and fringe, with three blackstars, each 18 inches in diameter, set equally alongstaff, the inner point being 2 inches from staff.FOllrlh Division Fonrleelllh r y Corps The flag ofthe corps, except eagle and fringe, with four blackstars, each inches in diameter, three of them along

22

This reguJ:Jrion ca valryguidon was carried by the levelandGuards,officiallyknownTroop, tRhode Island avalryRegiment NorthCarolina Museum ofHistory


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864he dqu rters flagf h cp rtment ofthcme sures 4y 41 fro The p inred e gles rc the letters'(Wesr Pointeum Co//ccrions

taffas before, the other set eq ually on the flag.Fifth Division Fonrteenth Army Corps The flag of thecorps except eagle and fringe, with five black stars,each 18 inches in diameter, three of them along thestaff the other two equally distributed on flag.The division jlags of Ihe Twell/ielh and Twell/y jirsl rmyCorps will correspond with the above, that is,the corps flags without eagle and fringe), with one,two three, c., stars, according as they represent thefirst second, third, c., divisions.The headqnarlersjlags ofallbrigades will be the flags oftheir divisions, with the number of the brigade inwhite 8 inches long, in center of each star.The Reglliar brigade will have the corps and divisionflag but the stars shall bc golden instead of black. rlilleryreserve Two bright red flags, each 4 fect by 2one above the other.Baueries Each battery shall ha ve a small flag, corpscolors and arrangement but t foot 6 inches on staff,by 2 feet fly with the letters and numbers of thebattery inscribed thereon in black, 4 inches long,thu u First Ohio.

Cavalry headqllarters A bright red, white, and blueflag, 6 feet by 4, colors running vertically, redoutermost.First Cavalry Division A bright red, white, and blueflag 6 feet by 4, like last, with one star, ,8 inches indiameter, black, the point inches from staff.Second Cavalry Division Same as last, except twoblack stars, each 18 inches in diameter.

As for infantry, the headquarters flags ofbrigades will be the flags of divisions, with thenumber of the brigade in black, 8 inches iong.Engineer Corps A white and blue flag blue upper-most, and running horizontally, 6 fect by 4.Hospitals Imd amblliance depolS A light yellow flag, 3fect by 3 for hospitals and thc principal ambulancedepot on the field of battle, 2 feet square for the lesserones.Subsisttllct depols and slorehollses A plain light greenflag,3 feet square.QUlIrlermaster s depots or storehouses me flag, withletters QM.D. in white, foot long.Ordnanct deparlmenl general headquarlers A bright

23


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green flag 3 feet square with two crossed cannon white, set diagonally in a square of 3 feet, with acircular ribbon of 6 inches wide and 3 feet greatestdiameter or diameter of inner circle feet), with theletters U.S. Ordnance Department, in black, 4inches long, on ribbon, and a streamer above flagfoot on staff by 4 feet long, crimson color, with wordsChief ofOrdnance in black, 6 inches long.Division ordnanu Same flag with cannon and ribbonbut no streamer.

The XIX CorpsThe XIX Corps included all the troops stationed inthe Department of the Gulf between 5 January 863and March .865. On 8 February 863 Depart-ment headquarters issued General Orders No. 7which designated unique flags within the Corps:

III. The various headquarters of the Depart-ment of the Gulf will be designated by small flags orguidons, 4 feet square, attached to a lance 12 fcctlong, made in two joints, as follows:

WillianJ Mcllvaine, asoldier in the Army thePotomac, sketched theheadquarters ener lAndrew Hunlphreys JdDivision V Corps n rFalmouth, Virginia on March 863. Theidentifying flag maderegulation by GeneralMcClellan is on thesmaller flagpole It ishalvedred and blue thered towards the hoist andthe blue towards the lyNational Archives


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National Colour 3d US nf Regt

: National Colour 1st Bn 11th US nf Regt: Regimental Colour 6th US n f Regt

3


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: Regimental Colour: 6 th NY Inf Regt: Standard d US Cay Regt

3: Regimental Colour 5th US Arty Regt4: Regimental Colour artillery

3

4


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3

Designating flags Army of the Potomac: 1st Bde 2d Diy of a Corps: 3d Bde 1st Diy of a Corps3: 1st Bde 4th Diy of a Corps4: 11th Penn Volunteer nf Regt

c


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: Headquarters I Corps: 3d Bde 2d Div I Corps3: Headquarters n Corps4: dDiv m Corps

3


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: 2d Div V orps: 1st Div VI orps3: Headquarters IX orps4: Headquarters X orps

1


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: Headquarters XXIV Corps: Headquarters XXIII Corps3: Headquarters XV Corps4: 2d Div xvm Corps


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2

: 2d Div XIX orps: Headquarters XX orps3: Headquarters orps4: 3d Div IV orps

3

G


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: Co I 6th Penn Cavalry: Headquarters XXI Corps3: Headquarters Cavalry Corps Army of the Potomac

2


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s e lJborate flag marksheadquarters t 2d4th Division IXand da tcs fromIts stripes arc, fromst, grecn, blue, and red,h a red number 2 and aileshield. The llnchor i iand the cannon rcd. It2/ by 4 ft. Wcstint t\ /uscunl

The headquarters of the Nineteenth Armyrps and the Department of the Gulfby a flag, with

white four-pointed star in the center; the figure 19,red in the star.IDivision headquarters red with a white four-

inted star in the center; the number of the divisionblack figures in the star.Brigadeheadquarters, blue, white and horizontal

of equal width, the number of the brigade infigures in the white stripes.

General Orders No. I I dated 17 Novemberindicated both the corps badge and a unique set

flags for the XIX Corps:The flags will be as follows: For the headquartcrs

the corps, blue swallow-tail, seventy-two inches inngth by thirty-nine on staff, with white crossghteen inches square. For the headquarters ofivisions, triangular, sixty-six inches in length byrty-four in staff, w ith cros s fiftcen inc he s square.

Division red with white cross; Second v -blue with white cross; Third Division whiteblue cross. For the headquarters of brigade,

ctangular, thirty-six inches in length by thirty onaff with cross fifteen inches square. First Brigade,irst Division, b lu e and white, horizontal blue

derneath), red cross; Second Brigade, First Diviblue and red, horizontal blue underneath), withThird Brigade, First Di vi si on , red an d wh it e,

orizontal red underneath), blue cross; First

Brigade, Second Division, blue a nd white, perpendicular blue on staff), red cross; Second Brigade,Sec on d D iv is io n, b lu e and red, perpendicular blueon staff), white cross; Third B riga de , Sec on d D iv ision, r ed a nd w hite , perpendicular red on staff), bluccross; Fourth Brigade, Second D iv is io n, b lu e andred, perpendicular rcd on staff), whitc cross; FirstBrigade, Third D iv is io n, b lu e and white, diagonal blue on staff), r ed cross; Second Brigade, ThirdDivision, blue and red, diagonal blueon staff), whitecross; Third Brigade, Third Division, red and white,diagonal red onstaff), blue cross.

The xxm CorpsThe XXIII Corps, created 27 April 863 from troopsin Kentucky in the Department of Ohio, also servedin the Department of North Carolina until disbanded August 1865. Spe cial Fie ld Orders No. 121, 25September 1864, stated that:

The badge of the Twenty-third Corps is anescutcheon in the form of the heraldic shield, all ofwh ose p ro po rtio ns a re determined by the width, asfoUows: The sides of the shield are straight from thelOp for the distance of one-fourth the width of theshield. Each curved sidc is struck with the center atthe low er point of the straight part of the oppositesi de an d wi th a r ad ius equal 10 the width

The flags of the c or ps ar e as follows: For corpsheadquarters, a b lu e flag w it h a shi el d in the center of

JJ


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the form prescribed; t he body of the shield dividedinto three panels one panel at each principal angle oft he shield; t he upper left-hand panel red the upperr ig ht -h an d panel white t he lower panel blue t hewhole surrounded by a gold outli ne one-twelfth aswide as the shield. For headquarters Second Divi-sion the whole of the interior of t he shield whiteo th erwi se the same as t he co rp s flag. For headquarters Third Division the whole of the interior of theshield blue otherwise the same as t he co rps flag Forbri gad e h ea dq ua rt er s a flag si mil ar to the divisionflag but with smaller shields along the inner margin4

Although this Army of thePotomac headquarters flagwould appear to be that ofthe 2dDivision, I Corpswith a white disc on a bluefield there is noexplanation for it being inthe headquarters ofBrilradier General Samuel

W Cra wford whocommanded the 3dDivision V Corps whenthis photograph was takenin r864. The old I Corpsmerged into the 2dand 4thDivisions V Corps inMarch r86 US ArmyMilitary History Institute

corresponding in number to t he brigade. The artillery will wear th e b adg e of the division to which thedifferent batteries are respectively attached.

According to one of its members Major-GeneralJacob D Cox writing in 1887 the system of corpswide flags lasted throughout the corps existence.The Corps Headquarters flag was a silk banner ofdark Army blue color with gold fringe and the corpsbadge emblazoned in the center. The DivisionHeadquarters flags were 1st Division Blue silkbanner yellow worsted fringe the shield with thesame shape as the corps shield in outline panels butthe panels red in the gold outline. 2d Division Similarto the last with all the panels white. 3d DivisionSimilar to last with all the panels blue. The 3d ivflag shows only the gold frame of the shield thepanels being of t he same blu e silk as t he flag

The Brigade Headquarters flags were of bluebunting without any fringe. They were of the same


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he qu rtersCorps in 86Hard-and Coffee

CH I E FQ R.MASTER. COR F S H O Q R S RTILL RYBRIGADE

2NQBRfGAOE.

S BRIGADE:.

R ?BRIGADE

2N : DIV.

;) R RRIGADE

15TDIV.

5


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blue flag-the stripes to be of width runningdiagonally from top to bottom-red at top and whitein center five feet on the staff and six feet fly Thedivision to be designated by three blue stars thirteeninches long on the white field the inner corner ofwhich to be five and one-halfinches from the staff.

The brigade flags will be the same as that of thedivision with the number of the Brigade in white sixinches long in the center of each star. These flags tobe attached to portable staffs twelve feet long in twojoints and in the field will be displayed at the quartersof the officers whose headquarters it is intended todesignate and on the march will be carried near thatperson.

style of shield as the division flags but the shieldsmaller instead of being placed in the center of theflag as many shields used indicated the number of thebrigade and they were placed in the corner of the flagwhere the Union Jack sic is in the National flag:Shields: 1st Div. Yellow frame red panels; 2d Div.Yellow frame white panels; 3d Div. Yellow frameblue panels. The yellow frame of the shields on thebrigade flags was usually made by tenacious yellowpaint the panels being of the red white or bluebunting inserted in the blue flag.Third Division Department ofWest Virginia

According to General Orders 0.7 issued 23 March1864 by the headquarters Third Division Department ofWest Virginia: I Hereafter flags will be usedto designate the different headquarters of this division as follows.

For the division: A three-striped red white and

Major-General WinfieldScottHancock wearing ahat and with one hand onthe tree stands in front the headquarters flags

the II Corps the blueswallow-tail flag and asmaller national colourUS ArmyMilitary HistoryInstitute

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guidons of t he ir own design al th oug h mo st weremade in the regulation horizontally halved form redover white with the division number in the oppositecolour on each bar. Other unit divided their guidoninto three triangles-white on t he hoist blue o n th etop and red on the bottom. A pair of crossed a br eswas appl ied to t he whit e triangle while gold ta rwere often painted in the other two.

On A ug us t 1864 a full system of Army of thePotomac Cavalry Corps colours was approved. It wavery milar to those used by the rmy s other corpswith crossed sabres substituted for the corps badges

V LRY FL GSOriginally nion forces divided cavalry units upamong corps which were largely infantry withartillery support. However combat soon taught themthat cavalry was best used independently; and eacharmy soon a do pt ed cavalry corps m ar ke d by t he irown flags

According to General Orders o II9 30 April1862 in the Army of t he P ot oma c t he CavalryReserye headquarters was to have a yellow rectangular flag with a blue St. Andrew s cross; the 1stBrigade a blue star; and the 2d Brigade two stars.General Orders TO 53 12 Ma y 1863 gave a yellowwallow-tailed guidon with white crossed sabres tothe Cavalry Corps headquarters. It s formations used

This 86 drawingshowstwo Corps headquartersflags tha the corpsheadquarters and th e

white flag with either a redlozenge for the stDivisionor a blue lozenge for the dDivision

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/

complete with a dark blue swallow-tailed guidon forthe corps headquarters white and blue rectangularflags for the division headquarters a nd pointedguidons for brigades.

On 26 April 864 General Orders No 62 De-partment of the Cumberland prescribed a system offlags for its cavalry corps. The corps headquartershad a red white and blue flag similar to the Frenchtricolour with a large pair of gold crossed sabres

Ou tile honours w r ofrenplaced o headquarters : gsas ,,-ell as unit flags,ii/though is was no tstrictly according toorders. This phol Ograph lHlIjor GenemJ Oil vid BBirney, who com.mtJndedthe tDil ision, /II Corpsbottom, centre. with twomedals on his chest shows

both t corpsheadquarters flag and thedivision hcadqw,rrcTS flag.The la Iter htJS ba tilehonours, one forCJmnc:cllorsvi/lc theright ehe lozenge,p:,inccd o it in scrolls. USArmy A J:Jicary HistoryInstitute

ex tend ing over all three bars and fringed in gold.The first and third divisions had white rectangularflags the first with red crossed sabres and a bluenumber the third with blue crossed sabres and ared number 3 The second division had a blue flagwith white crossed sabres and a red number 2Brigades received guidons generally following theArmy of the Potomac corps flag system.

General Orders 0 3 24 March 1864 in theCavalry Corps Military Division of the Mississippiproduced a different system of flags for that corpsseven divisions. All of its formations had swallow-tailguidons t ha t for the h ead qu art er s being red withyellow crossed sabres while the divisions had whiteguidons with dark blue crossed sabres and thedivision number in red both above and below thesabres.

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TH PL T S

Az: ational Colour Ist Battalion IIth USInfantry Regiment I863This is a Tiffany Company, ew York, presentation national colour with typical script-embroidered

AI: National Colour 3d US Infantry RegimentI86IThe national colour carried by the country s oldestcontinuously serving infantry regiment, the 3d, wasmade under federal contract through the Philadelphia Depot It displays one of three known patternsof stars in its canton. The lower star is missing fromthe lower ring in the 34-star variety, while the 35-starvariety has no central star bu t has 2 stars in the outerrmg.

N V L L GSach commissioned ship of the US Navy and USrine Revenue Cutter Service flew several flags. Awhich was simply the dark blue canton with its

ite stars of the ational Flag, was flown at the jackof the vessel s bow. ational Flag was flowndifferent staffs, according to the type of vessel;a commission pennant identified the ship as a

of war. This was a long narrow flag, of blueith a line ofwhite stars at the hoist, and two stripes,above white.Captains in command of squadrons, and latermirals, were entitled to fly (or wear as i t was thenrmed) a plain blue flag with as many white stars asere were states. In the case of several squadronserging, the senior officer would use the blue flaghile the next in rank had a red flag. If there was aird captain commanding a squadron in the group,was entitled to fly the same flag in white.

In February 1865 the admiral s flag was changedsquare to rectangular.

A contemporaryillustration th e V Corpsheadquarters flag an d on eofits divisionheadquarters flags Th e

headquarters flag markedwith the backwards C isprobablyintended to havea 6 for th e VI Corps

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A3:Regimental Colour 6th US InfantryRegiment, I863The 6th Infantry s regimental colour was a Cincin-

unit designation and battle honours. According totradition, this colour was presented on February1862; the bat tle honour for Gettysburg 1- 3 July1863 would indicate that this is incorrect. Apparently the 1rt h through 19th US Infantry Regiments,which had three battalions, issued regimental coloursfor their fir t two battalions, which usually servedapart although probably also to their third battalions, which served as depots if, as few were, theywere even organized .

Brigadier-General CharlesGriffin standing with opencoat and louch hatcormnanded th e IDivision, V Corps in later86J when this photographwas taken The

headquarters flag i s whi tewith a redMaltese crossUS ArmyMilitary HistoryInstitutenati Depot federal contract model, believed made byJohn Shilleto of that city. He received orders for fiveinfantry regimental, two artillery regimental and fivenational colours on 3 ovember 1862. Some varietiesof these flags have different numbers of stars, yet allhave an upper arc that overlaps the end of the mottoscroll.BI: Regimental Colour I64th New YorkInfantry Regiment, I864This flag was supplied under a ew York Depotfederal contract. Similar colours display 34 stars;these have only 6 stars in th e lower arc.B2: Standard, 2d US CavalryRegiment, I86ICavalry standards were smaller than those carried byfoot regiments for two reasons: there was no t as muchneed for unit identification of mounted units on thefield as for foot units; and, the larger the flag, the moredifficult it was to carryon the march or in action.


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blue and white flag which measured 5 ft by 6 ft Thisactual flag is in th e collection of th e US ArmyMilitary Academy Museum West Point ew YorkIt measures 8 inches a t the hoi t by 72 inche in th eflyC : Designating flag 3d Brigade 1stDivision a Corps Army the Potomac 1862This is another surviving example of an 1862 rmyofthe Potomac designating flag Thi one whichmeasures 60 inches by 72 inches is in th e ew YorkState CollectionC3: Designating flag 1st Brigade 4th Division a Corps; Army the Potomac 1862This designating flag now in the W es t Poi nt collec-tion was probably carried in Ord Divi ion of theDepartment of the Rappahannock measures 54inches by 70 inches

Regimental Colour 5t h US Artillery862an d tassels on artil lery colours were red an d

llow intermixed silk an d eros ed cannon replacede national eagle hown on infantry colours The

ours were also th e same size for both infantry an dtillery regiments

Regimental Colour artillery 8641863 th e design on th e artillery regimental colourenlarged to fill more of th e field This particular

lour was made under a ew York Depot federalOften partially decorated scrolls were

aced on a colour issued to a regiment which woulden be responsible for having th e number filled in

wa true of infantry as well as artillery coloursDesignating flag 1st Brigade 2d Division

fa Corps; Army the Potomac 1862nder the 1862 system of designating flags issued in

Army of th e Potomac each first brigade of aond division regardless of corps was to carry this

This sketch shows the rs tDivision V Corpsheadquarters flag beingcarried into battle atPreble s Farm Virginia on30 September r864


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y Designating flag lIth PennsylvaniaVolunteer Infantry Regiment I86The colours and number on this flag indicate that theunit that carried it was the fourth regim ent of thethird brigade of the second division of the [I I Corpsof the Army of the Potomac. In this case theregiment was the lIth Pennsylvania which carriedthis flag in the Second Battle of Manassas.

This photogmph Corps commander kJ, ljor-Gcnertll Alfred H. Terry(in the coat with two rowsofbutlOns arranged inthrees) shows the standJlrdArmy oft he POfOI11 C

corps headquarters fl lgbeing used in that corpsinstead t rectangu :.rrblue bearing a phlinnumber ordered inthe Army ofthe]ames(NalioIJ. ll Archives

actually a cross botonic that is a Greek cross with atrefoil bud at the end of each arm.D : 3d Brigade d Division I Corps I863The Army of the Potomac system of identifying flagsadop ted on 7 ebruary86 gave corps headquartersa swallow-tailed guido n with a rectangular flagcarried by each division headquarters and this typeof guidon by each brigade headquarters. The whitecircle is the I Co rps badge which was also worn onsoldiers and officers headgear and at times on tleft breast. O n Au gus t 1864 the corps badge wasauthorized by General Orders No. 5 to be used onall corps flags.

DI: Headquarters I Corps I863On 7 Fe br ua ry 1863 under General Orders No. 10all corps h ead qu ar te rs in the Ar my of the Potomacwere to have blue swallow-tailed guidons with a whiteMaltese cross bearing the corps number in red. Thisodd device which is not a true Maltese cross by anymeans beeame the standard symbol used. It is

D3: Headquarters II Corps I864On 1 August 1864 General Orders No. I IS changedthe II Corps headquarters flag by using the assignedCo rp s badge a t re fo il in place of the Maltesecross . The same device appeared on all this corpsflags in red for the first division white for the seconddivision and blue for the third division. The artillery


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4: Headquarters X Corps 864On 3 May 1864 the X Corps adopted square flags forits headquart er s and division headquarters. Whil ethe number 1 was used on the corps headquart er sflags the divisions had onc two and three white starsrespectively on their blue flags. On 22 May 1864 theCorps commander wrote: I have received fouf flags.I propose to replace the stars on the division flags bythe corps badge, which is a squar e bastioned fort,very like a star in effect, I presume there can be noobjection to this. There has been no reply found and,moreover, photographs show the older flag with

43

signifying its service as a landing force along thesouth-eastern coast, on 1 April 1864. The first Corpsheadquarters flag used the Army of the Potomac sMaltese cross design with a red number it wasreplaced by a national flag with a corps badge in thecanton, surrounded by an oval of stars, in April 1864.This flag was adopted when the Cor ps was att achedto the Army of the Potomac in May ,864, althoughone soutce says it was not adopted until , August1864. The divisional flags were red 1st Division),white 2d Division), blue 3d Division), and green 4th Division) with a corps badge of a facing colour.Rectangular brigade flags had three vertical stripeswith a corps badge and brigade number.

gade had a red guidon with a white trefoil, whilecorps chief quartermaster had a dark blue

llow-tail guidon with a St. Andrew s cross in

d Division Corps 864der the system of August 1864, all 3d Division,Corps flags used a blue corps badge, the lozenge;

1st and 3d Divisions headquarters had white with a red lozenge for the 1st Division), whilst

2d Division headquart er s had a blue flag with aite lozenge. The brigade guidons matched theours, with the first brigade having plain white, theond having a red stripe at the hoist, the third beingrdered in red, and the fourth with red tips.

Corps had been merged into Corps bytime these flags were ordered, although many diduse until the system was changed by Special

ders No. 320, issued 24 November 1864. The flagthe 3d Division under those orders, now in the

Jersey S tate Capital, has a white backgroundh a blue trefoil within a red lozenge on the field.zd Division V Corps 864

e corps badge of the Army of the Potomac s Vrps was the Maltese cross, which appears in whiteits 2d Division s hcadquarters flag The V Cor ps

ivcd e1cments of the old I Corps as the V C or psand 4th Divisions on 24 March ,864. The old Irps units were allowed to keep their old corps

dges and unit flags; on September 1864 all the Irps elements were further reduced to the 3dvision, V Corps, complete with their old insignia.2 Decem ber 1864 a circular ordered all men ofdivision to wear a White Maltese Cross on their

and all elements of the old I Corp s badges weree away with. sti vision VI Corps 864

though originally the Greek cross worn by the VIwas ordered to be worn upright it appeared

a St. A ndrew s cross on a number of headquarterscarried within the Corps starting in 1864. The

eek cross was carried in the 3d Division; the otherisions used the St. Andrew s cross.Headquarters X Corps 864X C orps adopted this unusual corps badge,

This he dquarters flllg1inblue with a red arrow and) eUo,, , {ringe, measures J by4 f {t. and identified the

tDivision X flJ Corps in 86 ; West Point NJuseunlCollections


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number in use until the corps demise in Decem-ber 864. Photographs of the recreated corps head-quarters taken after March 865 show the Army ofthe Potomac s blue swallowtail guidon with whiteMaltese cross and red number fO being used.

FI: Headquarters, XXIV Corps, 1865The corps badge of the XXIV Corps Department ofVirginia created from elements of the old X andXVIII Corps w s adopted on March 865. Itconsisted of the corps n um ber in red within a white

7

Left The flag carried bythe ChicfQuartermaster,XIX Corps, in 1864-65rca tured a re d cross on awhite disc on a blue fie/d. Itmeasures2/ by 31 ft. WestPointMuseumCo//ections)Right The headquartersflag ofBrigadier-GeneralHugh]udson Kilpatrick standing behind seatedlady , who conlmandedcavalry in the Army theCunlberland, had red andwhite stripes, with a whitedisc in th e centre aroundan eagle mounted on anational colour in natumlcolours. The wordTUEBOR was painted inblack. The photograph wastaken in Stevensburg,Virginia, in March 86US Army AfiJitaryHistoryInstitute)

There are some flags whichwere dearly made for unitidentification but whosepurpose is unknown tod JThis flag, ror example, W:ISfound aIllOng rhe effccts o fThonlas Low Tennessee, who served inth e zd US TennesseeInfmtry, which was in the7th Division in Alabama aton e point. appears to besome sort ofidentificationflag for th:1t unit, but noorders establishing it sdesign ha ve becn found. Ithas a whitc fie/d, with redscripes along th e fly, andblue four-pointed stars, ablue cagle, and bluenumber]. MikeNlinerCollection)


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The flag measures 36 inches at the hois t by 72ches in the fly

Headquarters XXIII Corps I86ecial Field Orders 0.121 dated 25 September

of the XXIII Corps Army of the Ohio read:e flags of this corps are as follows: For corps

adquarters a blue flag with a shield in the corner ofform p re scr ibe d; the b od y of the shield divided

to three panels one panel at each principal angle ofshield; the upper left-hand panel red the upper

ght-hand panel white the lower panel blue thesurrounded by a golden outline one-twelfth as

as t he shield. For headquarters Second Divi-the whole of the interior of the shield white

therwise the same as the corps flag. For headquar-Third Division the whole of the inter io r blue

therwise the same as the c or ps flag. For brigadeeadquarters a flag similar to the divi ion flag bu tsmaller hield along the inner margin corres-

ponding in number to the brigade. The artillery willwear the b ad ge of the division to which the differentbatteries are respectively attached. The 1st Divisionp re su ma bly received the s am e flag with a red shieldon joining the co rps in the s pr in g of 1865.F : eadquartersXV Corps I86SBy General Orders 0.21 dat ed 9 April 1865 th eXV Corps adopted its corps badge of a cartridge boxunder the motto FORTY ROD DS as t he centre-piece of its flags. The r ectang ular flags ca rr ied byheadquarters and division headquarters were 5 ft. by5 ft. 6 ins. The division flags were all red for t he 1stDivision white for the 2d blue for the 3d and yellowfor the 4th; the corps headquarters flag was quarteredin the t hree first division colours. Swallow-tailedguidons were carried by brigade headquarters. The emeasured 4 ft. by 5 ft. 6 ins. a nd came in a pp rop ri at edivision colours with different borders to designatethe different brigades. The corps badges on survivingexamples have been painted on the fields.

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F 2d Division XVIII Corps I864The XVIII Corps of the Ar my of the James firstadopted the same type of flags as used in t he X C or pswith the corps number i n whit e on t he h ea dq ua rt er sflag and one two or three stars according to thedivision on each division headquarters flag. Insteadof the blue fields of t he X Corps t he XVIII Corpsused red. However on 7 June 1864 a cross withfoliate sides similar to the Maltese cross used onArmy of the Potomac corps headquarters flags wasadopted as the corps badge. A new corps headquar

Major-GeneralDavidM.Gregg seated wearing aslouch hat commandedthe zdDivision, CavalryCorps Army thePotomac. The redandwhite division

headquarters flag is tied tohis tent pole. US ArmyMilitary History Institute ters flag using this device appears to have been takeninto use around July 1864.GI: 2d Division XIX Corps I864On 18 February 1863 XIX Corps of the Department of t he G ul f issued its G en er al Orders o 17which called for a headquarters flag: A blue flag witha whi te f ou r- po in te d s tar in t he ce nt er; t he numb

osprey [maa] 258.-.flags.of.the.american.civil.war.(2).union（美国内战军旗2）

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