Four Limited Pattern Trans-Mississippi Department Battle Flags

Last modified: 30 December 2000 by Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr.
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Documentary evidence of mass production of flags in the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy is practically non extant. Flags were, instead made (with a few exceptions) on an individual basis and presented to units. While much anecdotal data survives on these presentations, little of the data provides detailed and accurate descriptions of the flags so made. Fortunately, a few surviving Confederate flags from and used in the region indicate that there may have been attempts to adopt other distinctive battle flags within the department at brigade levels. At least four "patterns" used in the Trans-Mississippi have been tentatively identified as such.

When Fort Semmes fell to General Banks in 1863, the flag of the defending artillery company was garnered by the 15th Maine Infantry and sent home to Maine. It was returned in 1928. In most of its characteristics this flag copies the characteristics of the "Beauregard battle flags" made in the Trans-Mississippi. Its size is 35" hoist by 42" fly, and its bordrless, plain, red cotton field is traversed by an unedged nearly 4" wide dark blue St. Andrew's cross which bears a large (7 1/2") diameter star at its junction. The other twelve stars are of smaller (3 1/2") diameter; however, instead of being affixed to the arms of the cross, they are grouped in arcs of three in the four red quadrants so as to form a circle around the center star.

Battle flag of the "Robertson Cavaliers"
by Wayne J. Lovett
from detailed sketches and notes of Howard M. Madaus

This flag might not warrant comment were it not for a similar flag that was captured from the "Robertson Cavaliers" during the War by an Illinois unit. That red cotton flag measures 34" on its hoist by 46" on its fly (exclusive of a 2" deep yellow silk fringe). Twelve white 4" diameter stars are grouped in threes in the four quadrants formed by the 5" wide St. Andrew's cross, which not only bears a 5" diameter star at the junction of its arms but also has the unit nickname and the motto "GOD FOR THE RIGHT!" inscribed on the blue cross. Unfortunately the place of capture and the unit taking the flag are not on record, and the identity of the nickname "ROBERTSTON CAVALIERS" has not been attributed to a state unit.

Of the forces that defended and were eventually surrendered on the 11th of January, 1863 at Fort Hindman or Arkansas Post, at least one (if not more) of the brigades present may have adopted a distinctive battle flag prior to arriving at the fort. Either flags themselves or records thereof indicate that a flag with a red field and blue shield bearing eleven white stars may have served as the distinctive flag of one of the brigades.

Flag of the 6th Texas Infantry Regiment
by Wayne J. Lovett
from detailed sketches and notes of Howard M. Madaus

Among the flags captured was that of the 6th Texas Infantry. The flag was eventually sent to Chicago and displayed at the Chicago Sanitary Fair in 1863 but was later destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. Fortunately a newspaper description of the flag when displayed in 1863 survives. Therein it is described as having "a large azure [blue] shield in the centre of which is a broad white star surrounded by smaller ones, set in a deep crimson field." Texas documents indicate that the red field bore the name of the unit inscribed in white. The style of the shield is unrecorded; it may have been of the traditional shape or circular like the shields of the Plains Indian Tribes.

Flag of the 17th Texas Cavalry
by Wayne J. Lovett
from detailed sketches and notes of Howard M. Madaus

Another flag from the garrison eluded capture at Arkansas Post. This was the battle flag of the dismounted 17th Texas Cavalry. This flag also consists of a red field (42" hoist by 46" fly, inclusive of a narrow white border). Off center near the staff is a circular blue shield approximately 22" in diameter that bears twelve white, 5-pointed stars around a larger center star. Below the shield, the motto "TRUST IN GOD" is embroidered in 2 1/2" high letters.

The 6th Texas Infantry at Fort Hindman served in Garland's Brigade together with the dismounted 24th and dismounted 25th Texas Cavalry. The dismounted 17th Texas Cavalry served in Deshler's Brigade with the dismounted 15th and dismounted 18th, and the 10th Texas Infantry. To what extent these other units may have flown similar flags is not known, but the capture of several Confederate 1st national flags in the surrender of the garrison suggests that the usage was far from universal.

Several flags survive from units serving in the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy that follow the basic design of the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia (as modified in the Trans-Mississippi) but wherein the color of the field and the color of the St. Andrew's Cross are reversed. The fields of these flags are blue and the cross is red. At one time these flags were attributed to Walker's Division serving in Louisiana, based on the identity of one of the flags as that of the 3rd Texas Infantry and the battle honors that appeared on another. New evidence, however, instead suggests that the flags may have all emanated from Havana, Cuba, where it would appear that the Confederate expatriates misunderstood the proper coloration of the Army of Northern Virginia battle flag.

Flag of the 3rd Texas Infantry
by Wayne J. Lovett
from detailed sketches and notes of Howard M. Madaus

The battle flag of the 3rd Texas Infantry which is of this pattern measures 45" on its hoist by 48" on its fly; its dark blue silk field is edged on three sides with 1 1/2" deep gold metallic fringe. The red silk cross is edged with white silk, but the stars are made of silver wire embroidery, with the twelve on the cross's arms measuring 2 1/2" in diameter while the center measures 4 1/2". Similar silver wire embroidery applies the unit abbreviation to the four quadrants of the blue field.

This flag was originally thought to have been presented to the 3rd Texas after it joined Walker's Division in the Spring of 1864. However, the Dallas Herald on 26 August 1863 (in quoting the Houston Telegraph) confirmed that this battle flag (and an accompanying "regimental flag") had been made in Havana, Cuba by Mrs. Phelps, an expatriate from New Orleans temporarily residing on the island and was in Texas by that date. Since the 3rd Texas Infantry was part of the Galveston garrison at that time and was not associated yet with Walker's Division, it is now thought that Mrs. Phelps simply misinterpreted the correct color pattern of the battle flag when she prepared the flag for the 3rd Texas Infantry.

Flag of the 2nd Louisiana Cavalry
by Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr. 23 March 2000
from detailed sketches and notes of Howard M. Madaus

Indeed, the other two flags with reversed coloration of the fields and the crosses, while not confirmed as convincingly as that of the 3rd as having originated from Cuba, very probably were also made in that country. These include the small (26" by 38") silk battle flag captured from the 2nd Louisiana Cavalry at Henderson's Hill, Louisiana on 21 March 1864 having a blue field and a red St. Andrew's cross, and the very large (72" by 74") silk battle flag with the honors "MANSFIELD" and "PLEASANT HILL" embroidered in the upper and lower quadrants of the blue field, which would attribute the flag to a unit of Walker's Texas Division. Since silk was virtually unavailable for flag making in the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederacy by 1864, it is highly likely that both flags (or at very least the materials from which they were produced) emanated from friends of the Confederacy in Cuba.

Prior to the Vicksburg Campaign, the Missouri units of the old "Army of the West" received presents of new battle flags that they carried into the siege with them. These flags were rectangular, consisting of a dark blue bunting field with a red bunting border on three sides and a white cotton "Latin" cross standing in near the staff edge. At some time in 1863 or 1864 very similar flags were presented to the five units of Burns' Missouri Brigade serving in the Trans-Mississippi Department.

Flag of the 9th Battalion Missouri Sharpshooters
by Wayne J. Lovett
from detailed sketches and notes of Howard M. Madaus

Records of two of these five flags survive. That of the 16th Missouri Infantry is 36" on its staff by 50" on its fly, with a 4" wide red border on three sides and a white Latin cross 24" high and 15" across its cross bar made from 4" wide white cotton in the staff half of the field. A similar flag survives for the 9th Battalion (Pindall's 1st) Missouri Sharpshooters, another element of Burns' Brigade. This flag measures 34" on its staff by 47" on its fly, inclusive of the 4" wide red border on three sides. Its white Latin cross is somewhat smaller than that of the 16th Infantry's, measuring only 20" high and 14 1/2" across its cross arm. The width of the material forming the cross averages 4".

The other three units of Burns' Brigade to receive these flags were the 10th, the 11th, and the 12th Missouri Infantry regiments. According to surviving documents, all five flags were made in New Orleans by ladies loyal to the Confederacy and smuggled through the lines to give to General Sterling Price.

Howard Michael Madaus -- based on research by Al Sumrall, Robert Maberry, Greg Biggs, Vicki Betts, and Howard Michael Madaus.