"Corps flags??" Topic

Guys did the Union or CSA have any corps flags?? I know after Hooker I think it was the Union had corps badges?? Just curious if so AND if so does anyone know of a source I could copy the artwork of them?? Thanks.

Yes, there was a system of corps, division, and brigade flags carrying the corps emblems. When in doubt, try Wiki:

link

Thanks, I think I did see this but have not had much luck with CSA, have seen some lower-level command flags but not corps for them?

Here's the most recent time we went over this.
TMP link

Pretty sure there's a 2022 or 2023 thread as well.

I think historical miniatures players should appoint a committee and just invent a system of brigade, division and corps flags for the CSA. Everyone seems to want one. It will be the historical miniatures equivalent of those fake coins marked "MINT COPY."

Well said rp.

My modest proposal:
Confederate brigade, division and corps flags are to be modelled after the predominant regimental pattern--1st National, ANV, Hardee or whatever.
Brigade headquarters to carry pennants of that pattern with a superimposed Arabic numeral.
Division headquarters to have rectangular (or square) flags with appropriate Arabic numeral.
Corps Headquarters to have a rectangular flag with appropriate Roman numeral.

The Arabic numerals of the brigade flags will be colored according to the seniority of the division--white, red, yellow, light blue--and the Arabic numerals of the divisions to be colored according to the seniority of the corps.

There you are. Completely fake, but it gives every HQ a unique flag and still looks vaguely Confederate.

I will, of course, accept the verdict of the committee, once we have one.

Gamer 1: The Confederates never had a system of corps insignia, but might have had HQ flags of sorts. They would have been different, however, for the ANV and AoT.

Here is the flag of Confederate General Featherston's Brigade, Army of Tennessee, from the collection of the Mississippi Department of Archives & History. It was captured at the Battle of Franklin in 1864.

You can see more details of this and other Confederate flags in the MDAH collection at: link

Jim

The Hardee flag, the Polk flag, ANV flag, Trans-Mississippi flag.

Don, the Army of Tennessee from the Atlanta Campaign onwards had a brigade/division/corps HQ flag system. Its just not as well known.

Cleburne: Can you describe them?

TimePortal: Those were regimental battleflags, not HQ flags.

"Only after the accession of General Joseph E. Johnston to the command of the Army of Tennessee in late December of 1863 was there an attempt to institute a system of headquarters flags in the western command structure. Johnston chose a relatively simple system of designating flags for the two corps that then formed the Army of Tennessee, which he instituted by General Orders No. 25 of 19 February 1864. Hindman's corps used a system based on the color red. Corps headquarters consisted of three horizontal bars– red, white,and red; the three divisions of the corps bore flags that consisted of two horizontal bars, white over red, and the all the brigades were distinguished by red flags. Hardee's corps followed the same system but substituted blue where Hindman's flags were red. Flags of this pattern were definitely ordered and delivery has been confirmed to two of Hardee's four divisions. Five of the flags, one each for the headquarters of Cheatham's Division and his four brigades, were issued on 18 February 1864 a day prior to the issue of the adopting orders. General Cleburne's adjutant-general received his headquarters flag on 3 March and one each for the four brigades on 8 March 1864. Presumably division and brigade flags were received by Walker's and Bates' Division about the same time. What is thought to be one of these brigade flags of Hardee's Corps survives. It is 2′ on its hoist by 3 feet on its fly. Although a post-War reminiscence describes all of the flags made in accordance with the 1864 orders with a yellow fringe, the surviving flag is finished with a 1/2″ white border surrounding all four sides. It is likely that all of the flags were similarly bordered rather than fringed. Although no records have yet been discovered, it is presumed that Hindman's (afterward Hood's) corps, its three divisional headquarters and its twelve subordinate brigades received flags about the same time that Hardee's Corps received theirs.

This limited system may have been adequate for the seven divisions in the Army of Tennessee in February of 1864; however, in May of 1864, a new "corps" (Leonidas Polk's Army of Mississippi) joined the Army of Tennessee. After Polk's death at Kennesaw Mountain, Alexander P. Stewart acceded to its command. A post-War series of sketches provides the sole evidence that a system of headquarters flags may have been used shortly after this corps joined the Army of Tennessee. This system used a three color corps headquarters flag, but divided vertically. Division flags were similar to the flags of Hardee's and Hood's Corps but they were divided vertically, with the white on the hoist. Brigade flags were divided diagonally, with the white in the upper staff portion and the color in the lower, fly portion (unfortunately it is not known if the colored sections of these flags were red or blue.) In November of 1864, that system was replaced with a new set of flags. In his diary entry of 12 November 1864, an enlisted man of the 48th Tennessee described the new flags of Stewart's Corps: "Brigade, white ground & blue cross, Division, blue ground & white cross; Corps red ground & white cross. Army, red ground & blue cross".

While the "Army" flag was a reference to the Army of Northern Virginia battle flag, the "cross" on the flags of the lower echelons of Stewart's command was actually a "Maltese cross". This cross was born in the center of a swallowtail flag. The blue division flag bearing a white Maltese cross and serving as the headquarters flag of French's Division was captured at Fort Blakely, Alabama in April of 1865. It is 32″ on its hoist by 50″ on its fly, with the distance to the cut equal to the height on the hoist. The two surviving brigade flags are white with blue Maltese crosses and narrow blue borders on all sides. They are also smaller, only measuring 23″ on the hoist by 36″ on the fly. One of these was lost at Nashville during the final assault of he Union Army.

In addition to the use of these swallowtail flags during the Nashville Campaign of November and December of 1864 by the units of Stewart's Corps, at least two of the brigades (Gibson's and Stovall's) of his old division carried a different type of flag. In each case the fields were made of silk, divided horizontally, red over blue, and were trimmed with 1″ deep red silk fringe. These flags are enigmatic; not only do they fail to conform with established patterns in the Army of Tennessee, but their size (about 16″ square) is more the dimensions of camp colors than of headquarters flags."

Researched by Howard Madaus and Greg Biggs.

link

Very nice work! Thank you, Cleburne.

Excellent!

Ditto!!!