The black flag in the Civil War

During the Civil War, flying "under the black flag" meant that you would take no prisoners. Historians debate whether such flags existed. As I talked about in my post about the bushwhacker leader Quantrill's black flag, it's doubtful whether he ever had one. A few later accounts said he did, but two of his famous followers, Frank James and Cole Younger, both said he didn't.

There must be some truth to the legend of the black flag, however. In a report filed on March 16, 1863, by Colonel John McNeil of the Second Missouri State Militia Cavalry, he talks about how for the previous week he took 500 of his men and two cannons on a sweep through southeastern Missouri to clear it of rebels. He also administered the loyalty oath to more than a hundred civilians.

He notes that he, "could have done so to many times that number had they not been scared off by extravagant reports of our killing unarmed and innocent persons. The covers being on our guidons, for it rained most of the time, they were taken for black flags, and the story that we were marching under that peculiarly Southern emblem widely circulated.

"Rape and murder were charged on us, causing the men to flee to the swamps. The women alone stood their ground, either not believing the charge or not fearing the consequences. I have promised protection to the loyal and law-abiding, and forgiveness for the past to those sincerely tired of rebellion, and disposed to be at peace with their neighbors, and announced that the rule for the future is, that where a Union man cannot live in peace a secessionist shall not live at all. A better state of feeling is fast obtaining among this simple minded people, and the timely display of force is begetting confidence in the power of the Government."

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

The Fatal Flaw of many Confederate Cavalry Raiders

On this date 150 years ago, Confederate Colonel Joseph Porter was dying. He had been fatally wounded at the Battle of Hartville, Missouri, a few days before while supporting General Marmaduke's cavalry raid.

Marmaduke was now retreating back to Arkansas, having caused a fair amount of trouble for the Union forces in Missouri. His raid could not be called a success, however. Marmaduke blundered badly at the Second Battle of Springfield when he attacked an entrenched position with little artillery and no numerical superiority. The rule of thumb is that you need at least 3-1 superiority in numbers to take an entrenched position.

The Battle of Hartville was another stand-up battle. While the rebels won this time, they lost many men and all they really achieved was an escape route out of Missouri.

Cavalry raids were most effective when they moved quickly and hit the enemy's weak spots. In between these two battles, Marmaduke's men burnt bridges, cut telegraph wires, and snapped up small Union outposts. They should have stuck with that. Getting into set-piece battles is not what a cavalry raid is for.

Porter should have learned that lesson before he ever joined Marmaduke in 1863. The year before, he'd been given the duty of raising troops and causing trouble in northeastern Missouri. His ranks swelled to some 2,000 men. While about half had no weapons, Porter fought a series of skirmishes and battles with Union forces that whittled away his numbers and led to a mass desertion of some 500 men in a single day. His ranks much reduced, he fled south and ended up under Marmaduke's command.

My books American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics and Ride Around Missouri: Shelby's Great Raid 1863 delve more deeply into this subject. I'm hoping to do another book on guerrillas in the Civil War this year. We shall see!

Since no photos of Porter are known to exist, here's a Wikipedia image of the flag he flew under, the state battle flag of Confederate Missouri.

Civil War Photo Friday: Florida Confederate Regimental Flags

We don't hear much about Florida in the Civil War. It was the third state to secede but never saw a large amount of action. The Union navy blockaded the state and took a few key points on the coast. With major campaigns occurring further north, the Union contented themselves with that and there were only a few forays inland.

With its small population, Florida could only supply about 15,000 men to the Confederate army. They did supply a large amount of food, however, and their blockade runners kept the Union navy busy.

Above is an interesting flag of the combined 1st and 3rd Florida Confederate Regiments. They started out as separate regiments but combined in December 1862, probably because both were understrength. They spent the entire war outside of their home state, fighting various battles as part of the Army of Tennessee.

Companies had flags too. Here's one from Company B of the 3rd Florida Infantry. They hailed from Saint Johns County and called themselves the Saint Augustine Blues.

The 5th Florida Regiment served with the Army of Northern Virginia and fought at Gettysburg. Following General Lee throughout the war, they surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9th, 1865. They used the more familiar Confederate battle flag

Photos courtesy Florida Memory, a very cool website for the state's history.

Civil War Photo Friday: Arkansas Confederate regimental flags

We're lucky that so many regimental flags from the Civil War have come down to us. As treasured banners, veterans strove to preserve them and thus many museums have examples. Here are some from the Arkansas Confederate regiments. The one above is from the 22nd Arkansas Infantry shows off some of the battles they fought in. Oak Hills is the Confederate name for the Battle of Wilson's Creek and Elk Horn is the Confederate name for the Battle of Pea Ridge. The opposing sides often had different names for the same battle.

The 8th Arkansas Infantry also showed off their battle experience.

The 9th Arkansas Infantry incorporated the Confederate battle flag into their regimental banner. The Stars and Bars is a common element to Confederate regimental flags.

The 15th Northwest Arkansas regiment put a nice fringe around theirs. It's remained in wonderful condition.

Photos courtesy Wikimedia Commons, which has a nice collection of Arkansas Confederate flags.

If you like Civil War flags, check out my posts on the bushwhacker Quantrill's black flag, the banner of the 22nd US Colored Troops, and two Confederate flags of Missouri.

Civil War Photo Friday: Banner of the 22nd US Colored Troops

Here's another great photo courtesy the Library of Congress. It's the regimental flag of the 22nd Regiment US Colored Troops from New Jersey. This unit was formed in January of 1864. For a time it had garrison and scouting duty until it became part of the Siege of Petersburg, a grinding nine-month attempt to cut off Richmond's railway network.

The regiment participated in numerous assaults on Confederate forts and won the honor of being among the first soldiers to march into Richmond when the rebel capital fell. You can read more of this regiment's fascinating history here.

It's interesting that the banner has the words Sic Semper Tyrannis ("thus always to tyrants"). Brutus supposedly said this while assassinating Julius Caesar and John Wilkes Booth was heard to say this after shooting Lincoln. The 22nd was one of the many regiments sent out to hunt for Booth.

Civil War Photo Friday: Famous Union Battle Flags

This illustration was originally published in My Story Of The War: A Woman’s Narrative of Four Years Personal Experience as a Nurse in the Union Army by Mary Livermore. It shows several Union battle flags from celebrated units. From left to right they are: Thirteenth Illinois, Twenty fourth Michigan, Eighth Missouri, First Minnesota Artillery, Second Michigan Artillery, and the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery.

The Eighth Missouri was organized in St. Louis in the summer of 1861. The men were drawn from the Irish workers on the city's riverfront. They wore distinctive Zouave uniforms and fought with distinction in the Eastern theater. Today the regiment is remembered with its own reenactment group.

Some nice flags, although the heavy artillery from New York seems to have shredded theirs!