Flags of Confederate Trans-Mississippi Units

The flags used during the American Civil War are fascinating to me. Several years ago I had the great pleasure of attending an exhibit of historic Texas flags at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The exhibit consisted of flags from the Texas Revolution through World War II, but the highlight for me was seeing the flags from the Civil War era. At the time, I had recently completed my books relating to the 28^th Texas Cavalry, and so I was rendered nearly speechless when I viewed a large banner carried by an unidentified unit of Walker’s Texas Division during the Red River campaign. Likewise, I was thrilled to see a flag carried by the 6^th Texas Cavalry Battalion (Gould’s Battalion) that served with the 28^th Texas Cavalry (dismounted) in the same brigade of Walker’s Texas Division. The flags included in this exhibit are illustrated in the book by Robert Maberry, Jr. titled Texas Flags (College Station: Texas A & M Press, 2001), and some are depicted on this website of the Texas Sons of Veterans. Seeing in person the actual flags that were used during the war was quite a moving experience; if only those pieces of cloth could speak!

Today, I received the latest issue of The Museum of the Confederacy Magazine, and it includes an article about their flag conservation project. The Museum of the Confederacy has a fabulous collection of flags, and for a number of years they have worked on conserving these treasures. While still researching the history of the Adams-Gibson Louisiana brigade, I visited the Museum of the Confederacy on a research trip. In advance of my visit I contacted the Museum and arranged to see Randall L. Gibson’s headquarters flag that Union soldiers captured at the battle of Nashville. Although a small banner, I enjoyed seeing an artifact that directly related to this hard fighting Louisiana brigade. On my visit, I also received a tour of the flag conservation area and was amazed at the incredibly time consuming and detailed work that must be done during the conservation process. The Museum of the Confederacy now has online a complete inventory of their flag collection along with color photographs. Follow this link to the inventory and then click on MOC Flag Collection when you get to the site. Although the bulk of their collection consists of flags of regiments from east of the Mississippi, there are some fine Trans-Mississippi flags included too such as the beautiful banner that the 4^th Missouri carried at the battle of Pea Ridge.

Photographs of some of the flags carried by Arkansas troops are shown on the website of the Old State House Museum. And, the following are books that include helpful information about flags carried by Confederate Trans-Mississippi units:

Dedmondt, Glenn. The Flags of Civil War Arkansas. Gretna: Pelican Publishing Co., 2009.

Dedmondt, Glenn. The Flags of Civil War Missouri. Gretna: Pelican Publishing Co., 2009.

Madaus, Howard Michael and Robert D. Needham. The Battle Flags Of The Confederate Army Of Tennessee. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 1976.

Sumrall, Alan K. Battle Flags Of Texans In The Confederacy. Austin: Eakin Press, 1995.