FLAGS OF THE CIVIL WAR

Unit Battle Flags

Have you ever wondered what the flag might have looked like that one of your ancestors followed into battle, or maybe even carried?

Click on the unit name to go to a description.

Northern units:	13th Connecticut Infantry 13th Indiana Infantry 13th Kentucky Infantry 1st Maine Heavy Artillery 9th Massachusetts Light Artillery	1st Michigan Infantry 7th New Jersey Infantry 20th New York Cavalry 18th Ohio Infantry 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery
Southern units:	5th Co. Washington Artillery 10th Tennessee Infantry 20th Texas Inf.

United States of America

13th Connecticut Infantry Regiment (New Haven, CT)
top of page	This battle flag was originally produced by New York City's Tiffany & Company. It features an eagle perched atop the Connecticut State Seal on a blue field. Amid the numerous battle honors scripted in gold is the state motto -- Qui Transtulit Sustinet ("He who transplanted still sustained").

13th Indiana Infantry Regiment (Indianapolis, IN)
top of page	Features the Indiana state seal above a smaller national sheild on a field of blue. Beneath the national sheild is a battle honor memorializing the 1861 Battle of Rich Mountain, where the regiment was cited for courage under fire. In the flag's upper left corner another battle honor cites the regiment's actions near Winchester, Virginia where the regiment played a major role at the Battle of Kernstown.

13th Indiana Infantry Regiment (Indianapolis, IN)

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Features the Indiana state seal above a smaller national sheild on a field of blue. Beneath the national sheild is a battle honor memorializing the 1861 Battle of Rich Mountain, where the regiment was cited for courage under fire. In the flag's upper left corner another battle honor cites the regiment's actions near Winchester, Virginia where the regiment played a major role at the Battle of Kernstown.

13th Kentucky Infantry Regiment (Greensburg, KY)
top of page	Displays the coat of arms for the Commonwealth of Kentucky on a blue field with gold trim. The coat of arms depicts George Washington shaking hands with Daniel Boone. The motto "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" appears above the coat of arms, and the words "13th REGT, KY. VOL. INF." appears below the coat of arms.

1st Maine Heavy Artillery (Bangor, ME)
top of page	A swallow tail version of the United States flag in use from 1861 to 1863, which was two concentric circles of stars with four stars outside the circle at each corner of the blue canton. The gold letters "1st ME, HVY ART'Y" adorned the white stripe below the blue canton.(This unit suffered the greatest loss in a single assault by a Federal regiment)

9th Massachusetts Light Artillery (Readville, MA)
top of page	Displays the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts superimposed upon crossed cannons. Beneath the shield adorned with the figure of an Indian warrior is the commonwealth's motto "By the Sword This Hand Seek Peace, but Peace Only under Liberty." The field is didvided in half, the upper half red and the lower half white, adorned with numerous battle honors.

1st Michigan Infantry Regiment (Detroit, MI)
top of page	Displays the state's arms, which features a moose and an elk flanking a Great Lakes lighthouse crest, topped by an American eagle. The latin mottoes "Tuebor" (I will defend) and "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice" (if you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you) are included. [note: The moose on this flag looks very much like the elk, raising the question did the original manufacturers of the battle flag make the adjsutment, or the current manufacturer?]

1st Michigan Infantry Regiment (Detroit, MI)

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Displays the state's arms, which features a moose and an elk flanking a Great Lakes lighthouse crest, topped by an American eagle. The latin mottoes "Tuebor" (I will defend) and "Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice" (if you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you) are included. [note: The moose on this flag looks very much like the elk, raising the question did the original manufacturers of the battle flag make the adjsutment, or the current manufacturer?]

7th New Jersey Infantry Regiment (Trenton, NJ)
top of page	The 34 stars on this battle flag, half above and half below the state seal, represent the states admitted to the Union by 1861, including the states in rebellion. Ceres in red and Liberty in white flank the small state horse and plow sheild in the center of the canton, symbolizing New Jersey's primarily agricultural economy of the time. "7th REG NEW JERSEY VOLUNTEERS" is blocked out in gold on the fourth red stripe.

7th New Jersey Infantry Regiment (Trenton, NJ)

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The 34 stars on this battle flag, half above and half below the state seal, represent the states admitted to the Union by 1861, including the states in rebellion. Ceres in red and Liberty in white flank the small state horse and plow sheild in the center of the canton, symbolizing New Jersey's primarily agricultural economy of the time. "7th REG NEW JERSEY VOLUNTEERS" is blocked out in gold on the fourth red stripe.

20th New York Cavalry Regiment (Sackett's Harbor, NY)
top of page	The original battle flag was embroidered by the famous New York City firm of Tiffany and Company, and combines the New York state and Federal emblems. The nickname "McClellan Cavalry" appears on a banner across the top of the flag which was chosen by founder Colonel N.B. Lord (Lord is misspelled as Lorde on the flag) to honor General George B. McClellan. "Excelsior" (ever upward) had been the latin motto of New York state since 1778 and appears below the shield. "The UNION must and shall be perserved" appears on a banner across the bottom of the flag and was a familiar rallying cry of the Civil War.

20th New York Cavalry Regiment (Sackett's Harbor, NY)

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The original battle flag was embroidered by the famous New York City firm of Tiffany and Company, and combines the New York state and Federal emblems. The nickname "McClellan Cavalry" appears on a banner across the top of the flag which was chosen by founder Colonel N.B. Lord (Lord is misspelled as Lorde on the flag) to honor General George B. McClellan. "Excelsior" (ever upward) had been the latin motto of New York state since 1778 and appears below the shield. "The UNION must and shall be perserved" appears on a banner across the bottom of the flag and was a familiar rallying cry of the Civil War.

18th Ohio Infantry Regiment (Parkersburg, OH)
top of page	The flag was commissioned by the U.S. Army's New York Quartermaster Corps. It features the national emblem of an eagle with a sheild holding a banner in its beak with the motto "E PLURIBUS UNUM" (From many, one). A battle honor arches above the eagle, and the words "18th REG'T, O.V.I., and U.S.A. appear on a banner below the eagle.

2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery Regiment (Philadelphia, PA)
top of page	The battle flag features a stylized emblem of the 18th U.S. Army Corps and the crossed cannon of the artillery service branch, on a red field with gold trim. Company and regimental designations are featured above and below the cannon. This particular guidon was for Company F.

Confederate States of America

5th Company Washington Artillery (New Orleans, LA)
top of page	The battle flag of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans features a full moon disk on a field of blue -- a design inspired by General William J. Hardee, corps commander in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The name of the company is inscribed inside the moon; battle honors surround the moon. (This unit was reorganized in 1865 and served in the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II).

5th Company Washington Artillery (New Orleans, LA)

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The battle flag of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans features a full moon disk on a field of blue -- a design inspired by General William J. Hardee, corps commander in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The name of the company is inscribed inside the moon; battle honors surround the moon. (This unit was reorganized in 1865 and served in the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II).

10th Tennessee Infantry Regiment (Fort Henry, TN)
top of page	In deference to its Irish heritage, the 10th Tennessee's battle flag features a harp with intertwined vines of shamrock on a golden field. Inscribed above and below is the regiment's motto: "Sons of Erin. Go Where Glory Waits You!"

20th Texas Infantry Regiment (Texas)
top of page	Modeled on the Confederate first national flag, this battle flag features 13 stars in a blue canton. Adorning the center of the canton is the motto "Our Honor and Our Rights." The name of the regiment is blocked in gold across the top red stripe, and "Texas Volunteers" is scripted across the bottom red stripe.

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