Trans-Mississippi Union Flags

Recently, I resurveyed the topic of Confederate trans-Mississippi battle flags, and now it’s time for a look at Union flags. As mentioned in my earlier posting, there are a handful of books devoted to Confederate trans-Mississippi battle flags, but I’m not aware of a single book that concentrates on Union flags of the trans-Mississippi. If there is such an item, then please let me know. There are some odd patterns relating to historical writings about the trans-Mississippi; for example, it seems to me that the Union perspective is slighted in regards to several topics. Besides the lack of works about Union flags, there are several campaigns that are traditionally studied from the Confederate point of view. These include the New Mexico campaign, the Red River campaign, and Price’s Missouri Raid. Hopefully, this imbalance will eventually be redressed.

Now, back to the main topic of the day! There are four websites that feature trans-Mississippi Union battle flags. The Kansas Historical Society features the Keep the Flag to the Front online exhibit, a multi-part series that has photographs of several significant Kansas battle flags. Missouri’s flags are highlighted by the Missouri State Museum—this website, of course, has both Union and Confederate banners. The State Historical Society of Iowa is to be commended for their well-organized Honor the Colors: Iowa’s Civil War Battle Flags website. Iowa troops played a prominent role in the trans-Mississippi and western theaters, and many of their flags survived the conflict. The most recent addition is The Battle Flags of Minnesota, a website of the Minnesota Historical Society. Almost all of Minnesota’s soldiers served either in the trans-Mississippi or the western theater, and the website has an extensive collection of photographs of their surviving banners. 

Trans-Mississippi Confederate Flags

It has been several years since I highlighted trans-Mississippi Confederate battle flags, and I thought this would be a good time to revisit the topic. Since my last posting on the topic there have been no major publications on the subject, so I’ll revisit some old favorites. The Battle Flags Of The Confederate Army of Tennessee by Howard Michael Madaus and Robert D. Needham (1976) is a classic that discusses a number of flags from trans-Mississippi States, however, it is a scarce item and will set you back several hundred dollars if you locate a copy. Alan K. Sumrall’s Battle Flags of Texans In The Confederacy (1995) is the most important book on its topic, and is full of color illustrations by the author. Glenn Dedmondt’s The Flags of Civil War Arkansas (2009) and The Flags of Civil War Missouri (2009) are informative and still easy to acquire.

 

In addition to books, the following websites are also useful:

Confederate Memorial Hall: I’m hoping to visit this museum some day in part because they have 140 Civil War flags in their collection. Images of six of these flags are on their website.

Missouri State Museum: Their website includes photographs of Civil War battle flags in their collection and links to information about conservation, including a three-minute video.

Old State House Museum: The next time I trek to Little Rock, Arkansas, I’m planning to visit this museum.  Many photographs of Civil War flags from their collection are on the website, and there is a link to a video by Greg Biggs.

Texas Division UnitedDaughters of the Confederacy: This group owns a number of Civil War flags, and a complete list of their holdings are on their website. Some of the flags are on display at the Texas Civil War Museum in Fort Worth.

Missouri Civil War Battle Flags

Civil War battle flags are amazing relics, and it is moving to contemplate the men who carried them, those who manufactured the flags, as well as those who have worked so hard to conserve them. I was delighted to learn recently that the Missouri State Museum has placed online the photographs and descriptions of 45 conserved flags (both Union and Confederate). Check out the special exhibit of Missouri Civil War Battle Flags!