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Our current project is a battle flag of the 14th Tennessee Infantry, Archer’s Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. The men of this unit were primarily from Montgomery, Robertson, and Stewart counties in northern Middle Tennessee.
This flag is a Third Wool Bunting Issue from the Richmond Depot, captured during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the Battle of Gettysburg the flag was forwarded to the United States War Department, where it was held for decades. President Theodore Roosevelt pursued a policy of returning flags captured during the War Between the States, and in 1905 this flag was returned to Tennessee. It is currently owned by the citizens of Tennessee and resides in the Tennessee State Museum, where it has been designated as a priority for conservation.
As you can see, battle honors are stenciled on this flag, designating past actions of the 14th Tennessee. Because this flag was issued to the regiment in 1862, it wasn’t actually carried during those battles listed on it, and the designations were probably stenciled in at the time it was received by the unit. In one of those odd twists of history, this flag of the 14th Tennessee Infantry was captured at Gettysburg by men of the 14th Connecticut Infantry.
Would you like to learn more about this flag, wool bunting, how battle honors were stenciled or painted, or just about flags in general? Stay tuned for our upcoming interview with vexillologist (that’s a fancy word for flag expert) Greg Biggs. Greg’s currently writing the book on Tennessee’s Civil War flags. In the meantime, we highly recommend you visit the finest site on the web regarding Confederate flags at http://www.confederate-flags.org