|
Would you like to help preserve these important artifacts?
Click here to learn more about the Flag Conservation Program.
|
|
NEW FLAG DATABASE
The MOC Flag Collection (click on title to open in new window) is viewable and searchable through this database. Please click on the link to explore our collection! (Note: This file is large and may take a minute to load)
|
| Learn more about this amazing collection! Additional features and information available for Members Only |
|
Digital Photography
New high-resolution digital photographs allow museum staff, visitors, and reseachers to virtually explore artifacts up close and personal! Please click on this photograph of the flag of the 41st Georgia Infantry (above) to see and learn more, or follow this link to view the Museum's entire Digital Collection.
|
Flags on Exhibit
In "The Confederate Years"
-
3rd Florida Infantry, Co. D, “Wakulla Guards”
- 3rd Florida Infantry, Co. B, "Florida Independent Blues"
-
11th Alabama Infantry
-
Headquarters Flag of Gen. Robert E. Lee
-
11th Mississippi Infantry
-
Flag Draped on casket of Jefferson Davis, 1893
-
41st Georgia Infantry
In Moody Memorial Court
In "Virginia and the Confederacy”
In the Lower Level
-
47th Virginia Infantry, captured at Falling Waters
-
47th Virginia Infantry, Captured at Weldon Railroad
-
13th Virginia Infantry, made by Mrs. A.P. Hill
In 2nd Floor Mezzanine
- 3rd Arkansas Infantry
- Marion Light Artillery, Florida Battery
- 5th (later 9th) Kentucky Infantry, "Citizen's Guard"
- 7th Virginia Cavalry, Co. A, "Mountain Rangers"
- 2nd Florida Infantry, Co. C, "Columbia Rifles"
Flags on exhibit are rotated to avoid overexposure to light and to ensure a variety are displayed for the public. Those not currently on display may be viewed by appointment.
|
|
|
IN OUR VAULTS
Since 1892 when the first flag was donated to the Museum of the Confederacy, the Museum has continued to preserve these important artifacts, culminating in a collection that total 685 today. The Museum houses the largest single collection of Confederate national, state, presentation, company and regimental flags. The collection consists of more than 500 wartime flags. To view and search a database of the MOC Flag Collection, please click on the link.
Over half of the Museum’s flag collection are captured flags entrusted to the Museum by mandate of the United States Congress and the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1905 and 1906. The remaining flags are from private donations. This collection continues to increase in this manner today. If you would like to inquire about donating a flag or related object to the Museum of the Confederacy, please email us.
The Museum’s flag collection is housed in a dedicated 1,300 square foot storage and examination facility. The 100 extra-fragile silk flags are preserved in a custom-built flat storage system. In the 1990s, the Museum embarked upon a systematic program to conserve the flag collection and increase research and access to the flags. Requests for research information and access to the flag collection have steadily increased over the years. Individuals, researchers, authors and publishers all over the world seek out the Museum for research information on its flag collection. To help support our conservation and research efforts, click here to donate to the Flag Conservation Program.
ACCESS AND RESEARCH
Access to the flag collection for research purposes is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. To ensure the availability of staff and examination space, appointments must be scheduled and confirmed at least one week in advance. There is a fee for research appointments; free appointments are a benefit of Museum membership. To arrange an appointment to view specific flags, write Curator of the Flag Collection, 1201 E. Clay Street, Richmond, VA 23219, or e-mail us at flags@moc.org (please do not call). On-site appointment fees include admission to the Museum building exhibits. Allow approximately one hour for the flag appointment and time to view Museum exhibits afterwards.
Other research services for the flag collection are also available, including object worksheets (schematic drawings detailing an artifact, providing dimensions, condition, and general information) and photography. There is a fee for research appointments and services; free or reduced rates are a benefit of Museum membership. Click here for rates and more information on the Museum’s research services. If you have questions about the Museum’s flag collection resources or services, please call (804) 649-1861 or email us at flags@moc.org.
FLAGS OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA
During the Civil War, there were practical reasons that the color guard, a military force, was devoted to carrying and protecting the colors or flag for a military unit. Flags identified troops and provided a moveable landmark on the battlefield. Flags held patriotic, religious and emotional symbolism. Soldiers formed an emotional bond and the flag attained a nearly religious significance.
While the majority of flags were produced and issued by the military quartermaster clothing depots, many units, especially at the onset of the war, carried individual unit colors privately produced and financed. As the men of communities organized themselves into units, the women showed their patriotism by organizing in support of the units. These women worked hard, spending a great deal of time making flags, since the newly formed Confederacy had very few, and presented them to the troops with great fanfare.
 The Confederate States of America adopted three different national flag patterns between 1861 and 1865. The Provisional Confederate Congress adopted the First National pattern, also referred to as the “Stars and Bars,” on March 4, 1861. This pattern flag flew over the Capitol at Montgomery, Alabama, where the Provisional Congress met prior to the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861.
The Second National pattern, also referred to as the “Stainless Banner,” was adopted May 1, 1863 and incorporated the Army of Northern Virginia’s battle flag design in the canton on a white field. The first official use of the Second National pattern flag was on Stonewall Jackson's casket when his body lay in state in Richmond, May 10, 1863.
 The Third National pattern, adopted March 4, 1865, shortened the white field and added a vertical red bar to the end of the Second National pattern flag. Very few, if any, of the Third National pattern flags saw service during the war, since General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia surrendered just a few weeks later at Appomattox.
 In addition to the national flags of the Confederacy, there were many battle flag patterns used by the Confederate armies. The following are battle flag patterns represented in the Museum’s collection, the most common pattern being the Army of Northern Virginia pattern battle flag. This flag, issued to units beginning in November 1861, was designed to be a distinctive flag for use on the battlefield. It underwent numerous revisions in design and materials throughout the war. Although this particular flag is the most common flag pattern associated with the Confederate States of America, the Confederate Congress never officially adopted this flag, except as the canton of the Second and Third National patterns.
 The Hardee pattern battle flag was designed by Gen. Simon Buckner who led a division under Gen. William Hardee. According to an anonymous soldier under Buckner’s command, Buckner’s wife made flags that had "no artistic taste about it, but which could not be mistaken." The Hardee pattern battle flag was issued to units beginning in November 1861. It featured a blue field with a white border enclosing a full moon.
 The Polk pattern battle flag, which incorporated a St. George’s cross, was designed by Gen. Leonidas Polk, an Episcopal bishop before the war. It was issued to units beginning in January 1862. It incorporated eleven white stars on a red St. George's cross on a blue field.
 The Van Dorn pattern battle flag was carried by The Army of the West under the command of Gen. Earl Van Dorn and was issued to units in 1862; June through September 1862 are the generally accepted issue dates, but the flag may have been used as early as March 1862. It featured thirteen white stars and a crescent moon on a red field.
The Army of Tennessee pattern battle flag was ordered by Gen. Joseph Johnston in an attempt to  standardize the flags carried by the Western Army. This rectangular design with no borders was based on the Army of Northern Virginia battle flag. The Army of Tennessee pattern battle flag was issued to units beginning in January 1864. It incorporated twelve to thirteen white stars on a blue St. Andrew's cross on a red field
After the war, 545 captured Confederate flags were held by the U.S. War Department in Washington, D.C. These flags were stenciled with a number in black ink and, in some cases, capture histories were handwritten on linen tags sewn onto the flag. Detailed records were kept so that the government could award the Congressional Medal of Honor for capturing an enemy flag. Today, these records, detailed in the National Archives’ Register of Captured Flags, are valuable tools for historians.
In 1905, Congress passed legislation returning the captured flags to the Southern States. The Museum of the Confederacy was the recipient of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 75 repatriated flags. In 1906, another 252 flags from unidentified Confederate units were also entrusted to the Museum, creating the world’s largest collection of wartime flags. |
or
