"CS/US Artillery flags" Topic

I am totally ignorant regarding artillery and how it was set up.

Were both sides marked by flags? Per battery/batallion/ brigade? Did the flags stay with the ammo Caissons? Were they carried by men riding on caissons or limbers, or was it set up like Cavalry, CO/Flag/Bugler Mtd?

I'm trying to make a couple of Dios for my son, and hope to be as semi-accurate as possible.

Thanks in advance.

Although United States Regular Artillery battalion(s) had National & regimental colors, they were only displayed when the battalion was assembled which was, for all intents and purposes, never.

Individual batteries in the field would carry a swallow-tailed battery designator flag/guidon. This was carried by an NCO, mounted, who remained with the Battery Commander (usually, but not always), a Captain. This helped to both identify the battery as well as the battery commander's position. Also in that entourage would be at least one, and usually 2 buglers.

The only known usages of the Artillery National and Regimental flags were with Heavy Artillery Regiments, and these were, the full Infantry size of 6'X6'9".

From the US Regulations 1863 (revised):

"Each regiment of artillery shall have two silken colors. The first or the national color, of stars and stripes as described for the garrison flag. The number and name of the regiment to be embroidered with gold on the center stripe. The second or the regimental color, to be yellow, of the same dimensions as the first, bearing in the center two cannon crossing, with the letters U. S. above and the number of the regiment below: fringe, yellow. Each color to be six feet six inches fly, and six feet deep on the pike. The pike, including the spear and ferrule, to be nine feet ten inches in length. Cords and tassels, red and yellow silk intermixed."

Below are some examples of United States artillery battery
designator flags.

16th Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery
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The other style: Sands Ohio Battery:

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Confederate Batteries had similar flags, though they could often be square rather than swallow tail, and were 36" X 36". These could be either the CS Battle flag, in one of it's many iterations, or of a corps pattern, such as Hardee's blue flag w/white moon. They could also be a state flag made smaller, or something else entirely, and thus it's very much a unit/place/time thing, as these could, and did, change as the war progressed.

A couple examples:

Washington Artillery, 5th company (post-Murfreesboro):

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Beaufort Volunteer Artillery:

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1st Alabama Artillery:

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Unknown CS Artillery-size flag:

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TKindred gives a great answer. but thhis may help. Think of an artillery battery as being the equilevant of an infantry company, approximately the same number of men and officers of the same rank. Now split those companies out from the regiement and scatter them over various corps and even theaters – that's how artillery works in practice.

What he said.

Thanks a bunch. I'm ashamed to be so ignorant…

There is at least one known instance of an artillery unit being put into line as an infantry formation and charging forward under it's large yellow union artillery flag. I should know, but for the life of me I can't recall at this second which unit and battle. I will recall and when I do I will post it.

I believe you are referring to the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery at Petersburg.

There were several heavy artillery regiments pulled out of the defences around Washington DC and used as infantry. They were trained as infantry as part of their duties, anyway, and were VERY large formations.

John Haley, of the 17th Maine Infantry, wrote in his wonderful memoir "The Rebel Yell & the Yankee Hurrah!" that at Spotsylvania, his regiment and another were sent to help support a brigade that was being hard pressed. They came to find out that the "brigade" was actually the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, because it was as large as most brigades at the time.

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cwoodcock.com/firstmaine

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If you are interested in the Heavies you will also want to read about Cold Harbor. I reenact both the 1st US and the 8th NYHA

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