Don’t know much about flags…

 The below article was published by Newsweek in July 2015. Yes, it is older, but it is one of the first items that pops up when one begins researching “Confederate flags” online. You can see the full article here. I chose to respond because of its top-tier ranking, and because it errs several different times. If you are interested in reliable sources on Confederate flags, I recommend the 1995 edition of The Returned Battle Flags and Deveraux Cannon’s The Flags of the Confederacy. My comments are in red.

It was April 1865 and the Union had just declared victory. Except, they did not. The war lingered for months. President Andrew Johnson did not declare the war officially over until August 20, 1866. A rebel soldier with the 9th Virginia Cavalry was preparing to hand over his weapons. He kept only the clothes on his back and probably his blanket, canteen, haversack, etc. A certain number of Confederate soldiers in the Army of Tennessee were even allowed to keep their rifles to protect groups of veterans from roving bands of outliers and Federal deserters as they traveled home. and, in a final act of rebellion, hid a Confederate battle flag by tying it around his torso. Union soldiers who were captured in battle often did this as well. It’s less an “act of rebellion,” than one of of love and devotion, for both sides. Over a century later, the flag, deemed one of the rarest relics from the Civil War, sold for $82,000 at auction.

For years, the Confederate flag has served as a powerful symbol, one that's meant wildly different things to different folks. For some, it harks back to the old South, for others it's a reminder of the sanctity of states' rights. For memorabilia enthusiasts, the flag is an intriguing antiquity, while for another ilk it's a decal to put atop a Dodge Charger that proudly proclaims membership in Redneck Nation.

But for white supremacists, the Confederate flag represents a preferable alternate reality, one in which the South won the Civil War and slavery was never abolished. Debate about the Confederate flag's true meaning flared up after Dylann Roof was arrested in connection with the Charleston, South Carolina, church killings, in which nine African-Americans were gunned down in the middle of Bible study. Roof, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, authored a racist manifesto that has photographs of him holding the Confederate flag, posing in front of a Confederate museum and visiting a Confederate cemetery.

Legislators rushed to debate whether the flag ought to be taken down from statehouse flagpoles, and many businesses removed the flags from their shelves. Even reruns of the late-'70s TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, in which the car driven by the main characters is emblazoned with a Confederate flag, were dropped from the TV Land schedule because of the controversy. All the while, Confederate memorabilia collectors squirmed. 

Experts estimate that there are only 20 to 50 authentic Confederate battle flags on the private collectors' market today. These flags, also called the rebel flag and colloquially called the Confederate flag, are marked by a large blue 'X' and adorned in white stars. Though this flag is today primarily associated with the Confederacy, it was only the flag used during combat. There were actually dozens of different types of Confederate flags used in battle, or as battle flags. It was rejected as official flag of the Confederate States of America, which used four other flags, all variations of the American flag. There were only three National Confederate flags. Only one resembled the flag of the United States.  Nonetheless, that battle flag is the enduring icon of the Confederacy.

These flags were often destroyed by Union soldiers following a battle that went in the North's favor. Considering there were over 500 battle flags that were captured during the war and survived, this is not true. Did it happen? Yes. Often? Probably not. Flags were valued as trophies, so it is unlikely that a Federal soldier would destroy a prime prize rather than carrying it home. That’s why so many flags ended up in the North. The Confederate soldiers were more likely to cut up their flags rather than surrender them to the enemy. Others were turned over to the United States Congress Actually, they were sent to the Adjutant General’s office, then in 1867 to the War Department building. and eventually made their way into the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. Surrendered or captured, yes. “turned over”? Rarely. President Grover Cleveland tried to return the flags to various Southern states in 1887. There was such a cry against this that he rescinded the order. Finally in 1905, the flags were returned. Those that could be identified went to their respective states. Those that could not, or were flags identified to Virginia, went to the Confederate Memorial Literacy Society in Richmond, later called the Museum of the Confederacy.  The remaining flags wound up at auction, though a few are believed to be with the families of the soldiers who brought them home after the war. There are flags in various museums across the South, and even some held in museums in the North. A museum in Iowa has dozens, testimony to the trophy-hunting aspect of flag capturing by Union soldiers.

Rarity is usually a good thing for collectors, but memorabilia experts say the Confederate flag market is "softening"—a polite way of saying sales are plummeting. And that can't be pinned on the recent controversy. In 2007, a Confederate flag in moderate condition commanded $77,000 at Heritage Auctions in Dallas. A similar flag brought only $50,000 in 2010. "Had it sold at the same auction in 2007, it would've been in the $77,000 price range as well," says Marsha Dixey, the consignment director for the auction house. Heritage, founded in 1976, boasts over $900 million in revenue a year and employs hundreds of memorabilia experts. It's also the largest collectibles auctioneer in the world, which is why so much Civil War memorabilia ends up there. The market has not softened. The flag of the 4^th North Carolina Cavalry was sold at auction in 2018 for $96,000.

A lot of factors contribute to the changing market, the most obvious being the economic downturn of 2008. However, the generation that typically collected Civil War memorabilia in general—and Confederate flags in particular—is also dying out without being replaced by a younger generation of collectors. "A 40-year-old is not as interested as an older person who remembers their grandfather talking about the war," Dixey explains. I actually know many of the under 40 crowd who are interested in history.  

Collectors say the culture is also changing. History teaches us that the “culture” is always changing. "It has a lot to do with political change, especially with what happened recently with Charleston. That will impact flag sales," explains Michael Collins, executive director of the Civil War Antiques Preservation Society. "That flag should never have been flying on the statehouse. It's a battle flag, and that sends the message that you are going against the Union."

He says backlash against antique Confederate flags has changed the policies of auction houses. Some houses often specify what kinds of items they will and will not trade in: Ivory and looted items are among common items auction houses refuse to sell under their social responsibility policy. The largest and most venerable auction houses in the world, Sotheby's and Christie's, rarely deal in Confederate flags. "They want to make it clear that they do not agree with the philosophies associated with the flag being offered up for sale," says Collins.

With the biggest auction houses voluntarily out of the game, two houses—Heritage and James D. Julia Incorporated, based in Fairfield, Maine—have established themselves as the leaders of the Civil War market. Heritage deals in so much Confederate memorabilia that a change in its sales policy regarding flags could radically alter the market. Collins says that if it refuses to handle them, "It would actually drive the price [of memorabilia] up because then there would be a very limited place to buy and sell such items."

James D. Julia sells only about 3,000 items a year, but that inventory includes some of the rarest collectibles in the world. A planned October auction will include the only flag known to have been carried by both Confederate soldiers and marines during the Civil War. John Sexton, one of the nation's leading experts in Confederate memorabilia, estimates that even in the softened market, this flag could bring as much as $250,000. "The market can never really hurt rare and desirable objects, even if there's a lack of interest and lack of demand," he explains.

"Confederate flags are still pieces of history," says Sexton. "It's a shame that some racist fool used a mass-produced prop in his violence. But this is still a great, iconic piece of American history that turned out to be on the losing side."

When asked if he would ever ban the flag from his auctions, auction house owner James D. Julia said he would not, just as he has not banned Nazi memorabilia. "I deal in historical items, not symbols," Julia explained. "People who buy these things are institutions, museums, major collectors. They are not reinventing the pre–Civil War South. I understand why some firms don't handle them—because it's not politically correct. But if we did this with relics of every generation that happened before us, we would have no history left. We would know nothing."

 

James Atkinson, the 33rd North Carolina, and Fort Gregg.

   At least one soldier escaped from Fort Gregg. His name was James Atkinson, a member of the 33^rd North Carolina Troops. Not only do post-war accounts record his escaping; he also left bearing the flag of his regiment.

   James W. Atkinson was born in 1844, probably in Cumberland County, North Carolina. He volunteered on March 1, 1862, and was mustered in as a private in Company G, 33^rd North Carolina Troops. Atkinson was wounded several times during the war, including Gaines Mill, Sharpsburg (in both hands), Chancellorsville (hip), Reams Station, and Jones Farm (leg). Atkinson was promoted to corporal on August 1, 1863. He was also captured during the battle of Hanover Court House in May 1862 but was able to escape. As early as August 25, 1864, he was serving as color sergeant, or, in the color guard.[1]

Atkinson holding the flag of the 51st NC. 

   After the breakthrough of the Confederate lines on the morning of April 2, 1865, Atkinson made his way to the rear with his flag. Presumedly, the flag was one of those issued to James H. Lane’s brigade in December 1862. These flags bore distinctive designations; battle honors painted with white scalloped letters. At some point, Atkinson either went to Fort Gregg or was assigned to Fort Gregg. Toward the end of the battle, Corporal Atkinson made his escape. Whether he was ordered out of the Fort, or simply took it upon himself to save his banner, is unknown.

   Several stories surfaced after the war about the actions of Atkinson. One in 1883, from a fellow veteran in Lane’s brigade, described the action from Battery 45: “Out from the sally-port [of Fort Gregg] quickly passed a single soldier, boyish of figure and lithe, but strong; and before Warren’s astonished troops could recover their wits, he had unfurled the flag which he bore, and, taking a position not a great way off, he waved the tattered colors in their very teeth. Volley after volley from the outer line of the enemy on the parapet answered his defiance, but without effect, so charmed did his young life seem; when, fixing the flag staff in his belt, he coolly marched away, the volleys still continuing-he with head aloft and color flying, down the ravine, up upon the dam connecting the two forts, and finally safely into the arms of his comrades.”[2]

   Recounting the notes of a speaker during a Confederate Memorial Day event in Fayetteville, a writer mentions the words of the orator, who was speaking on Fort Gregg and the sacrifices of the Confederates within the fort. “Among his audience there stood, unknown to the speaker, two of those brave and gallant men” who had been in Fort Gregg. One of those was James W. Atkinson. As the battle waned, Atkinson, “flag in hand retreated through the sallyport, and after he had gotten some three hundred yards from the fort, turned[,] unfurled his flag and waved it in defiance, at the enemy, then marched on as volley after volley was fired at him; turning time and again to give a parting salute, he safe and unscarred arrived amid the shouts of his comrades at battery 45.”[3]

   While his is a less elaborate story, William H. McLaurin, 18^th North Carolina, recalled in 1900 that as Fort Gregg fell, Lt. William O. Robinson, 18^th North Carolina, with “color sergeant James W. Atkinson… escaped after the fighting with clubbed muskets ceased. . .”[4]

   Another account appeared in 1901. After the defenders of Fort Gregg had run low on ammunition and began to hurl rocks and bricks, “a youth named Atkinson, from North Carolina, seized the tattered flag he and his comrades had so bravely defended and dashed over the parapet, followed by bullets from perhaps 500 rifles, but safely escaping with the trophy of his valor. . . After getting a short distance away, Atkinson turned, and, unfurling his flag, waived it defiantly at the enemy.”[5]

William W. Chamberlaine also mentioned seeing Atkinson. Chamberlaine was back in the inner Confederate line and could see Fort Gregg “very plainly. A color bearer ran out of the Fort with his flag; two men pursuing him, but he passed the little stream. Men near Battery 45 fired at his pursuers and they went back to Fort Gregg. So the color bearer escaped with his flag.”[6]

Flag of the 33rd NC, Museum of the Confederacy. 

   James W. Atkinson passed away in September 1909 and is buried in Cross Creek Cemetery, #2, in Fayetteville. His obituary writer also makes mention of the event, stating that Atkinson won an “enviable reputation for bravery, distinguishing himself principally at Fort Gregg. . . a deed that will live in history.”[7]

   And what became of Atkinson’s banner that he bore out of Fort Gregg? Great question. The flag bears the stencil mark of #433, indicating that at some point, it was captured and later turned in to the War Department. Two other flags belonging to Lane’s brigades bear much lower numbers. The flag of the 37^th North Carolina, captured on the morning of April 2, is numbered 384. The flag of the 28^th North Carolina, surrendered at Appomattox Court House, is numbered 364. While all three of these flags are identified as North Carolina flags, they are currently held by the American Civil War Center, i.e., the old Museum of the Confederacy.[8]

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[1] Jordan, North Carolina Troops, 9:197.

[2] The Charlotte Democrat, July 6, 1883.

[3] The Observer, May 15, 1878.

[4] The Wilmington Messenger, November 18, 1900.

[5] Fayetteville Observer, July 4, 1901.

[6] Chamberlaine, Memories of the Civil War, 127.

[7] The Charlotte Observer, September 26, 1909.

[8] Rollins, The Returned Battle Flags, 37; Dedmondt, The Flags of Civil War North Carolina, 143, 125.

Letitia Tyler and the first Confederate flag

   On March 4, 1861, Miss Letitia Christian Tyler was escorted to the top of the capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama. She was nineteen years old. Her grandfather was John Tyler, former president of the United States. Her father would serve as Regis
ter of the Confederate Treasury. Letitia was actually born in the White House while her grandfather was president and her father was serving as his private secretary. She was at the Alabama capitol building to raise the first Confederate flag.

Jefferson Davis in Montgomery

   The delegates meeting in Montgomery recognized quite early that the new nation needed a new flag. And they wanted one by the inauguration of the new provisional president, Jefferson Davis. On February 9, the delegates appointed a committee to select a flag. Some felt that the flag should be as much like the Stars and Stripes as possible. Walter Brooke, from Mississippi, introduced a resolution to adopt such a flag. There was so much opposition to the proposal that it was withdrawn. On March 4, the committee made its recommendations for the new flag. The committee reported that “A new flag should be simple, readily made, and, above all, capable of being made in bunting. It should be different from the flag of any other country, place, or people.” The new flag “shall consist of a red field with a white space extending horizontally through the center, and equal in width to one-third the width of the flag. The red space above and below to be of the same width as the white. The union blue extending down through the white space and stopping at the lower red space. In the center of the union a circle of white stars corresponding in number with the States in the Confederacy.”[1] The report was adopted and the manufacture of the first flag turned over to the “Sewing Establishment of the Messrs. Cowles, Market street,” in Montgomery.[2]

   Writing many years after the war, and confessing that “many of the details of the event” had faded from her memory, Letitia Tyler recalled “ascending the stairs that led to the dome of the building and that I was escorted by Hon. Hon. Alex B. Clitherall, one of the Confederate officials. Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Taylor and several other persons accompanied us to the top of the Capitol. Below us were vast throngs of people, who were watching and waiting for the signal to unfurl the flag of the new nation. On reaching the base of the dome I found the flag ready, and the cord was handed to me. Then I began to pull it, and up climbed the flag to the top of the pole and floated out boldly on the stiff March wind. The hundreds of people below us sent up a mighty shout. Cannon roared out a salute, and my heart beat with wild joy and excitement.”[3]

   Letitia C. Tyler never married. Her parents were, in fact, living in Pennsylvania at the time, and she was visiting with friends who lived near Montgomery when she was asked, by Jefferson Davis, to raise the new national flag. It is assumed that she moved to Richmond after her family arrived from Pennsylvania. After the war, the family moved to Montgomery where Robert edited the Montgomery Advertiser. Letitia C. Tyler died in Montgomery on July 22, 1924, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

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[1] Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States, I:101-102.

[2] Montgomery Weekly Mail, March 8, 1861.

[3] Confederate Veteran, 24:199.

Surrendered, Smuggled, or Severed? The Battle Flags of the ANV and the AOT at Appomattox and the Bennett Place.

37th Alabama Infantry

   Back in January/February 1987, an article appeared in Confederate Veteran magazine about the flag of the 37^th Alabama Infantry. As the story goes, that flag escaped surrender twice. After the regiment was surrendered at Vicksburg, the flag was secreted away, folded up in the saddle blanket of Col. James F. Dowdell’s horse. Then after the surrender of the regiment at Greensboro, the flag was “smuggled out of Greensboro” by a Captain Johnson. The flag remained in various families until it was donated to Auburn University and is today in the Alabama Room at Auburn.[1]

   The surrender terms worked out between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, stipulated that “arms, artillery, and public property” were to be stacked and turned over to an officer designated by Grant. Likewise, the final terms worked out between Joseph E. Johnston and William T. Sherman at the Bennett Place on April 26, 1865, specified once again that  “public property” had to be turned over to an ordinance offer of the United States army. Since flags were issued by the government, they would be considered public property. But like the story above regarding the flag of the 37^th Alabama, not all flags were surrendered. Some were, but others were secreted away, while others were destroyed by Confederate soldiers.

61st Virginia Infantry 

   Federal General John Gibbon wrote on April 13, 1865, that 71 Confederate flags were surrendered at Appomattox.[2] Most of the descriptions of the surrender of flags come from the Federals. One Federal wrote that the Confederates seemed to hate to give up their flags more than anything else. Many kissed the flags with tears in their eyes.[3] Federal General Joshua L. Chamberlain, supervising the stacking of arms, wrote that “Then, slowly and with a reluctance that was appealingly pathetic, the torn and tattered battleflags were either leaned against the stacks or laid on the ground.”[4] However, one North Carolinian wrote that the flags were placed on the stacks, not on the ground.[5] Among those surrendered include the flags of the those of the 5^th, 48^th, and 60^th Alabama Infantry regiments; the 13^th, 15^th, and 28^th North Carolina regiments, and the 61^st Virginia Infantry. A few Army of Northern Virginia flags were secreted away. Ensign Emanuel Rudisill, 16^th North Carolina State Troops, sewed his regiment’s silk battle flag inside the lining of his coat and brought it home.[6] Likewise the flags of the 2^nd South Carolina Infantry, 12^th South Carolina Infantry, 38^th North Carolina Troops, and 25^th North Carolina Troops were not surrendered and were brought home. The flag of the 14^th South Carolina Infantry was concealed under a rock before the surrender, and was later retrieved.[7] A few flags, like the headquarters flag of Robert E. Lee, and the flags of the 23^rd and 24^th Virginia Regiments, were not surrendered or brought home, intact. Instead, they were cut up and the pieces distributed among the paroled soldiers.

It was a different scenario with the Army of Tennessee. Instead of being boxed in like the Army of Northern Virginia, the various Confederate regiments in North Carolina were spread out, from Greensboro to High Point to Salisbury, even Charlotte. There were no formal surrender ceremonies. Instead, artillery was parked and some regiments stacked some of their arms, although Confederates were allowed to keep some of their weapons. Very few flags were surrendered. A report from the New York Herald noted that “We have got very few battle flags or horses.”[8] Many of the Army of Tennessee soldiers concealed their flags to take home. The third bunting issue Army of Northern Virginia flag of the 26^th Alabama Infantry (the regiment served in both the ANV and the AOT) was wrapped around the body servant of Dr. Hayes, the brigade surgeon, and brought back to Alabama.[9]

3rd Tennessee Infantry

The flag of the 49^th Tennessee was concealed on the person Robert Y. Johnson, only to be forcibly taken by Federals when the group reached Lenoir City, Tennessee.[10] Other flags that were concealed and brought home include those of the 3^rd, 7^th, 10^th, 12^th, 16^th, and 24^th South Carolina Infantry, 20^th, 33^rd, 34^th, 36^th, and 40^th Alabama Infantry; 8^th and 17^th North Carolina Troops; 3^rd, 4^th, 6/9^th, 11^th, 13^th, 18^th/26^th, 24^th, 32^nd, and 49^th Tennessee Infantry regiments; 7^th Florida Infantry; 9^th Arkansas Infantry; and 1^st and 42^nd Georgia Infantry regiments. Some flags, such as those of the 7^th and 58^th North Carolina Troops, 1^st Tennessee, and 7^th South Carolina Battalion, were cut up and the pieces distributed to the remaining members. A member of the 2^nd Tennessee Cavalry recalled cutting their flag up into 160 pieces.[11] A member of the 47^th Georgia recalled cutting up their flag,  concealing the pieces in a saddle blanket and setting off to the Trans-Mississippi department.[12] Except for the flag of the 26^th Tennessee Infantry, it is not clear if any other flags were surrendered by the Army of Tennessee, and this banner could have been captured at the battle of Bentonville.[13]

This post just barely scratches the surface of Confederate battle flags and the last month of the war. Unless it is hidden away at the National Archives, there does not seem to be a list of Confederate flags that were captured, destroyed, surrendered, or secreted home through the months of April and May 1865. What a project! 

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[1] Golden, “The 37^th Alabama Flag,” Confederate Veteran (January-February 1987): 24-25.

[2] Official Records, 46, pt.3, 734.

[3] Cauble, The Surrender Proceedings, 95-96.

[4] Chamberlain, “Last Salute,” 362.

[5] Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants, 3:77.

[6] Dedmondt, The Flags of Civil War North Carolina, 100.

[7] Dedmondt, The Flags of Civil War South Carolina, 106.

[8] New York Herald, May 9, 1865.

[9] Dedmondt, The Flags of Civil War Alabama, 80.

[10] Cox, Civil War Flags of Tennessee, 361.

[11] Cox, civil War Flags of Tennessee, 431.

[12] Dunkerly, The Confederate Surrender at Greensboro, 116.

[13] Cox, Civil War Flags of Tennessee, 294.

Confederate Naval Flags

    The Confederate Navy has a remarkable history, a history that does not get nearly enough print time. Part of the challenge is the loss of records at the end of the war. But there are still plenty of avenues to explore.

CSS Alabama Ensign Mariners Museum 

   Confederate Naval flags are just one of those subjects. A ship could have two or more flags. A naval jack is flown from a jackstaff at the bow (or front) of the vessel, while an ensign is frown from a mast. An ensign is usually much larger than a jack. There are also naval pennants and signal flags. Unfortunately, we really don’t have any photographs of Confederate naval vessels under sail, or steam, so our images are limited to artist renditions or surviving flags (we’ll talk about written accounts in another post). In May 1863, Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory adopted regulations for naval flags. The Second National was the official ensign. According to regulations, the width of the flag was to be two-thirds its length. “The Jack,” according to the same regulations, was “to be the same as the union for the Ensign, except that its length shall be one and a half times its width.”

CSS Alabama Ensign  Mariners Museum

   It seems that the majority of the surviving Confederate naval flags are the Ensigns. These are usually First or Second National flags and are usually quite large. At the same time, no two Confederate naval ensigns seem to be the same size. The First Nationals in the old Museum of the Confederacy’s collections are recorded as such (in inches): CSS Calhoun, 61x150; CSS Jeff Davis 77x92; unknown, 53x132; and, another unknown 80x120.

Other vessels had Second National flags. The CSS Albemarle lost two Second Nationals when the ship was captured in October 1864. The first was 105x200, and the second was 80x125. The Second National of the CSS Shenandoah measured 88x136. The museum’s collection has only one Confederate naval jack – from the CSS Savannah--which measures 63x103.

Several flags from the CSS Alabama, probably the second-most-famous of all Confederate naval vessels,  survive. One of those is a First National, 64x112 ½ inches. The flag is considered an “auxiliary flag,” and according to tradition, was found floating among the flotsam after the battle with the USS Kearsarge (it was purchased from a shop in Paris in 1884). It is possible that this flag was also used on the CSS Sumter. This flag is at the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The Mariner’s Museum in Virginia has both a First National Ensign (33x50) and a Second National Ensign (108x186) in its collections attributed to the CSS Alabama.  The Tennessee State Museum has a Second National, measuring 106x209. This flag was captured by a sailor from the USS Kearsarge on June 19, 1864.

CSS Jeff Davis Ensign, Museum of the Confederacy

The Alabama Department of Archives and History also has the flag of the CSS Florida, a Second National measuring 72½ x 142¼; and, the Second National of the CSS Huntsville (could not find the size).

CSS Savannah Naval Jack, Museum of the Confederacy

The South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Museum has a Confederate Naval Jack. It measures 22 ¼ x 30 ½. It has a red field with eleven stars in a Christian cross pattern.

There are undoubtedly other naval flags out there. The National Civil War Museum in Columbus, Georgia, has several naval flags in its collection, but a good online description could not be found. The above post is not to be seen as a definitive account.

Sources:

Dedmondth, The Flags of Civil War Alabama (2001)

Dedmondth, The Flags of Civil War North Carolina (2003)

Dedmondth, The Flags of Civil War South Carolina (2000)

Rose, Colours of the Gray: An Illustrated Index of Wartime Flags from the Museum of the Confederacy’ Collection (1998)

Carrying Jackson's Flag

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post asking about who carried Robert E. Lee's headquarters' flag during the war. The short answer was "whoever was assigned to Lee's courier group for a given day of campaign."

In the discussion that followed, it was suggested that headquarters' flags were not carried on the field, but used to mark the various camps of the army's top brass. In the earlier post, I included a story of Jackson's headquarters flag being used during the Seven Days campaign. Here is the previous story:

 In 1931, J. Churchill Cooke, 4th Virginia Cavalry, left us this reminiscence: "My company, the Hanover Troop, was an old organization in existence many years before the war... The company was composed of men from all parts of the county, many of them from that part of the county where several battles were fought. Before Jackson reached Mechanicsville, all of the men of my company were assigned to different generals as guides, scouts, and couriers. The captain of my company rode up to me with a flag and said: "Sergeant, as you are from the upper part of the county and don't know this part, I can't assign you to any of the generals, but here is Jackson's headquarters flag, which I shall give you to carry.' I took the flag and said I hoped I would not disgrace it. I reported to General Jackson as his flag bearer. He sent me word not to stay very close to him, only keep him in sight, which instructions I tried to comply with. I was with Jackson and in sight of him during the Seven Days." (Confederate Veteran Vol. 38, 248)

Recently, as I was reading Blackford's Letters from Lee's Army, I came across another story. This one dates to the time after the battle of Cedar Mountain, probably at the beginning of the Second Manassas battle. Blackford was serving as a courier and was attached to Jackson's staff. Blackford writes: "While moving on the crest of the hill a solid shot from the enemy's battery passed through the horse of my sergeant Bob Isbell, who was carrying General Jackson's battle flag, the same flag he had waved at Slaughter Mountain. The horse fell over perfectly dead; it was between me and the General, its head lapping on the General's horse and its rump on mine..." (117) 

Jackson is With You by Don Troiani 

To backtrack just a little, at Cedar Mountain, Jackson was trying to rally his broken left. In the midst of the battle, he seized the colors of a nearby regiment (possibly the 21st Virginia), and cried "Jackson is with you!" A couple of thoughts: where were Jackson's flag and flag bearer during the time? Is the flag the one that Bob Isbell is carrying? On the other hand, Jackson probably grabbed the regimental flag, trying to rally that particular regiment.

Given the date, I assume Bob Isbell (Robert B. Isbell, Co. B, 2nd Virginia Cavalry) is carrying a First National Flag. I would surely like to know where that flag is...

Who carried Robert E. Lee's flag?

 Earlier this week, I asked this question on my facebook page: who carried Robert E. Lee's headquarters flag? The short answer would be, after November 1862, it was a member of Company C, 39th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. So far, the name of the soldier(s) eludes me and my efforts to discover it.

This however, leads to a larger question about Confederate generals and their headquarters flags. Did all Confederate generals have one? How many survive? Were they uniform or did the style vary from general to general?

Robert E Lee's first HQ flag 

The surviving headquarters flag of Robert E. Lee is probably the most famous. According to the research of the former Museum of the Confederacy (now the American Civil War Center), this flag was used by Lee from 1862  to 1863. It is unknown when he acquired this flag (believed to have been made by his wife), but we can assume it was after June 1862 when he was tapped to replace the wounded Joseph E. Johnston. He used this flag through the battle of Gettysburg. Sometime in late 1863 or early 1864, Lee replaced this headquarters flag with a Second National. At the end of the war, the Second National was cut up, instead of being surrendered. As an interesting aside, Lee's first headquarters flag was boxed up in the final days of the war and sent to Charlotte with other papers. It was found by a Government official and removed before the other papers and flags were turned over to the Federals.

Looking beyond R. E. Lee, there are the famous silk ANV-pattern flags made by the Cary sisters of Baltimore, Maryland, and presented to generals Joseph E. Johnston, Earl Van Dorn, and PGT Beauregard in the fall of 1861. Other Confederate generals who used traditional ANV battle flags as headquarters flags include Edmund Kirby Smith, Arnold Elzey, Fitzhugh Lee, and Joseph B. Kershaw. James H. Lane makes mention of surrendering his headquarters flag at Appomattox, but just what this flag looked like is unknown. The North Carolina Museum of History has the battle flag-style headquarters flags of Rufus Barringer and Bryan Grimes.

Robert F. Hoke's HQ flag

Several Confederate generals adopted Second Nationals after its adoption in May 1863. Robert E. Lee's Second National has already been mentioned, and several pieces of the flag reside at the American Civil War Museum. The Museum also has the Second National headquarters flags of JEB Stuart, Simon B. Buckner, and Jubal Early. A Second National Confederate flag, possibly the first one ever made, was draped over the casket of Stonewall Jackson following his death on May 10, 1863. The North Carolina Museum of History has Robert F. Hoke's Second National

Daniel H. Maury's HQ flag

There were variants, of course (we are talking about Confederates, right?). Samuel French supposedly used a captured V Corps Headquarters flag for his own headquarters. William L. Jackson used a variant of a Second National.  Lawrence O. Branch used a First National. Dabney H. Maury had a flag with a white border, red field, white Christian cross, and stars.

Lawrence O. Branch's HQ flag. 

Back to my original question: was there someone on staff whose job it was to carry the headquarters' flag? Maybe, but probably not.  In 1931, J. Churchill Cooke, 4th Virginia Cavalry, left us this reminiscence: "My company, the Hanover Troop, was an old organization in existence many years before the war... The company was composed of men from all parts of the county, many of them from that part of the county where several battles were fought. Before Jackson reached Mechanicsville, all of the men of my company were assigned to different generals as guides, scouts, and couriers. The captain of my company rode up to me with a flag and said: "Sergeant, as you are from the upper part of the county and don't know this part, I can't assign you to any of the generals, but here is Jackson's headquarters flag, which I shall give you to carry.' I took the flag and said I hoped I would not disgrace it. I reported to General Jackson as his flag bearer. He sent me word not to stay very close to him, only keep him in sight, which instructions I tried to comply with. I was with Jackson and in sight of him during the Seven Days." (Confederate Veteran Vol. 38, 248)

Company C, 39th Battalion Virginia Cavalry was assigned to Lee as his personal company of scouts, guides, and couriers. However, it appears that portions of the company rotated in and out every day. A detail of men would report for duty. It is my belief that if Lee needed to go someplace with his headquarters flag, a member of the day's detail was assigned to bear it. It would be feasible to say every member of the company might have carried one of those flags during the war.