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.

Creative foraging in the Civil War

 As I mentioned in a previous post on weapons shortages during the Civil War, both sides had to deal with constant shortages of essential equipment. While the Confederates suffered more, Union troops were not immune, as this dispatch from the Official Records shows. It's from Major Frank J. White (Union) and dated 24 October 1861, but recounts events from two weeks before. It's addressed to acting Brig.-Gen. Whyman.

"On the 5th instant I received your orders to organize a scouting cavalry squadron for special service, and organized one by making the following details: Company L, First Missouri Cavalry, Captain Charles Fairbanks, 65 men; Company C, First Missouri Cavalry, Captain P. Kehoe, 65 men; the Irish Dragoons, independent, 51 men. We left Jefferson City on the 5th instant, and after a severe march reached Georgetown, our men in good condition, on the afternoon of the 8th. Our horses being all unshod, and consequently unfit for travel, we procured a few shoes and a quantity of old iron, called for blacksmiths from our ranks, took possession of two unoccupied blacksmiths' shops, and in five days shot our horses and mules, 232 in number.

"Our scanty supply of ammunition having been destroyed by the rain, and having two small bullet-molds in our possession, we procured lead and powder, and turning a carpenter's shop into a manufactory, made 3,000 cartridges for our revolving rifles."

Major White doesn't mention if these items were given up voluntarily, or why the villagers had so much powder in their possession. The soldiers' hard work, however, would soon be rewarded.

"On the 15th instant Colonel Hovey, commanding at Georgetown, received a dispatch from Lexington, stating that a valuable baggage train had left the vicinity of Lexington destined for Price's rebel army; also a private dispatch from Colonel White, stating that if he and his fellow-prisoners were not relieved within twenty-four hours they would be assassinated by the rebel marauders infesting Lexington. As Colonel Hovey's command was under marching orders, and therefore could not go to their relief, my command volunteered for the service, and Colonel Eads, of Georgetown, tendered me 70 men from his regiment. Accompanied by Colonel Eads, I started at 9 p. m. on the 15th instant, my whole force being 220 strong. By a severe forced march of nearly 60 miles we reached Lexington early the following morning, drove in the rebel pickets without loss, and took possession of the town. We made from 60 to 70 prisoners, 60 stand of arms, 25 horses, 2 steam ferry-boats, a quantity of flour and provisions, a large rebel flag, and other articles of less value. The rebels fled in every direction."

The next day the Union troops captured another steamer and left Lexington because the rebels were massing against them. With wry humor White added that, "As soon as the rebels were satisfied of our departure they attacked our deserted camp with great energy."

"We then proceeded to Warrensburg, making a few captures on our route. The evening of our arrival at Warrensburg we easily repulsed a slight attack, and by threatening to burn the town if again attacked, remained two days unmolested. We next proceeded to Warsaw, and are now on our route to Stockton. . .I have no casualties to report, and my men are all in good health, anxious for further service."

Threatened to burn the town if you got attacked? Nice. The war was getting ugly in Missouri.


Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons. It's actually a blacksmith's shop in Pinal, Arizona, in 1882, but I liked the picture.

Confederate flags of Missouri

When most people think of Confederate troops, they think of them fighting under the “Stars and Bars”, the famous Confederate battle flag. In Missouri, however, that flag was rarely used. Instead there were a variety of flags. The most common was the one you see above, adopted early in the war and used both in Missouri and by Missouri troops sent east of the Mississippi. General Sterling Price, who led the 1864 invasion of Missouri that's the backdrop to my novel A Fine Likeness, had a flag like this.
Some units used the flag of the Missouri State Guard, the former state militia that remained loyal to the secessionist state government. Others created flags of their own. The 4th Missouri Infantry under General Van Dorn, for example, used this flag.

[Images courtesy Wikimedia Commons and the National Park Service]