Category: Confederate Flags Heritage

 The 1^st Kentucky Brigade is also known as the Orphan Brigade. Six different Kentucky Regiments were in this brigade. (Confederate Brigades were composed of two to six regiments.)

Some Kentucky regiments used flags with a upright Latin/Christian cross on them. The most prominent are the blue flags with large red Latin crosses adorned by 13 white stars. You can see an surviving example to the left.

 

The 5th Kentucky used a different flag, as you see to the right.  

We know that some Alabama regiments did the same with Latin crosses, and of course there is the famous 1^st Missouri Cavalry Flag. (All still reproduced today, as is the 19^th Alabama and others). 

Latin cross flags met with objections in the South during the American Civil War. Some of the conservative Christian groups felt the upright cross misused their religious symbol. Some Jewish communities, loyal to their state, felt the upright cross was inappropriate on a battle flag.*

One letter, from an Arkansas soldier, ranted against what he felt was a “catholic” symbol. To make sure his wife knew what was meant, he drew the flag in color on the letter. 

This was not a minor issue.  In fact, it was a key point in the design of the Southern Cross Battle Flag, first used in Virginia after the Battle of First Manassas.  The earliest design of the flag that later became the Battle Flag had an upright cross, not a diagonal one.  (I cover this more thoroughly in my articles on the Confederate Battle Flag of the Southern Cross, available on request.)

The 5^th Kentucky saw significant action at Chickamauga, the second bloodiest battle of the war (only Gettysburg had more casualties).  They acquitted themselves well.  One of the after-action reports contains the following:

On September 18, our forces advanced in several columns to cross the Chickamauga and give battle to the Federal army under General Rosecrans….

It was now moonlight, and Kelly returning to his command after a few minutes’ absence from it, the fire reopened, and continuing for a short time, ceased. It was the last fire of the day, and closed the battle. In the last attack made by Trigg and Kelly, Colonel Hawkins, of the Fifth Kentucky, a brave and skillful officer of Kelly’s brigade, captured 2 colonels, 1 lieutenant-colonel, a number of company officers, and 249 prisoners. The Twenty-second Michigan, Eighty-ninth Ohio, and part of the Twenty-first Ohio Regiments were captured by Trigg’s and Kelly’s brigades, and five stand of colors were taken by Sergeant Timmons, of the Seventh Florida Regiment, and by Privates Honaker, Harris, Hylton, and Carter, of the Fifty-fourth Virginia. Colonels Carlton, Le Favour, and Lieutenant-Colonel Glenn were among the prisoners.

*Jewish Southerners rallied to their states.  The first Jewish residents of Charleston, SC, arrived 1695 and, by 1800, the largest Jewish community in America lived in Charleston (the oldest synagogue in America, K. K. Beth Elohim, was founded in Charleston). By 1861, a third of all Jews in America lived in Louisiana. A prominent Jewish figure, Judah P. Benjamin served as Confederate Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State.  Jewish officers served as the Quartermaster of the Confederate Army and the Surgeon General of the Army, and many gallant Jewish Southerners sacrificed their lives in battle. Anti-semitism existed in the South, but it was even worse in the North. General Grant issued his infamous General Order Number 11, expelling Jews from Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. Lincoln had to order Grant to revoke his order.

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The Civil War produced many fine shooters, and some made their way into sharpshooter units.

Champion marksman Hiram Berdan of New York raised a Union sharpshooter unit. To qualify, volunteers had to put ten shots in a circle of 10 inches from 200 yards.

Berdan’s Sharpshooters wore green uniforms, like the reenactor above.

Sharp’s rifles, used by the Federals, were deadly at 600–800 yards. Custom-made rifles used by both sides could reach to 1000 yards.

The British Whitworth was smuggled in by Confederates (see image below). It was slower to load but accurate to twice the distance.

Whitworth bullets were hexagonal, not round, and made a distinctive whistle as they sliced through the air. A soldier who heard it was smart to take cover.

Union General Sedgwick was correcting placement of his troops near an artillery unit. Artillery was a favored target of sharpshooters.

Sedgwick’s aide wrote:

“A few seconds after, a man who had been separated from his regiment passed directly in front of the general, and at the same moment a sharp-shooter’s bullet passed with a long shrill whistle very close, and the soldier, who was then just in front of the general, dodged to the ground.

“The general touched him gently with his foot, and said, ‘Why, my man, I am ashamed of you, dodging that way…They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.’

“The man rose and saluted and said good-naturedly, ‘General, I dodged a shell once, and if I hadn’t, it would have taken my head off. I believe in dodging.’

McMahon explained that as the man went off, another “shrill whistle, closing with a dull, heavy stroke, interrupted our talk.”

Sedgwick fell, mortally wounded.

President Lincoln got a taste of this. When he was inspecting fortifications near Washington DC, he came under fire from Confederate sharpshooters. He made a rapid retreat to the White House.

The longest shot we know of during the war occurred in the same place it all started, at Ft. Sumter. In 1864 Union soldiers manning artillery were firing on the fort from nearby islands. One of them showed himself at the wrong moment, and was shot by a Rebel sharpshooter from 1390 yards, 14^th longest confirmed hit in history.

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When the battle wasn’t raging, Yankee and Rebel soldiers were known to get along with each other.

Confederate Private Sam Watkins tells a story about a Sunday after the Battle of Chickamauga. He came and his buddies came to relieve some sentries on the Tennessee River. There was a Union outpost on the opposite riverbank.

“When we were approaching we heard the old guard and the Yankee picket talking back and forth across the river. The new guard immediately resumed the conversation. A Yankee hallooed out, “O, Johnny, Johnny, meet me half way in the river on the island.”

Sergeant John Tucker swam out to meet the Yankee, taking some Southern newspapers with him. Sam explains, “They got very friendly, and John invited him to come clear across to our side, which invitation he accepted…. Well, they came across and we swapped a few lies, canteens and tobacco, and then the Yankee went back.”

Sergeant Gibson of the 78^th Pennsylvania Infantry described similar things, saying the picket lines often stood less than 100 feet apart and “were on the best of terms and conversed frequently on various subjects.”

Union and Confederate troops would regularly trade what they had, like Southern tobacco for Federal coffee. This was frowned on by the brass, but even they were known to raise a flag of truce for something really important, like negotiating for whiskey.

For a while in Vicksburg, Mississippi, there was a daily exchange under a flag of truce. A Union boat would go into Vicksburg to discuss the “exchange of prisoners,” but the real business at hand was the exchange of newspapers and other items. The Federals always brought some bourbon to be “freely dispensed to the gray-coated deputation that meets us.”

Soldiers were pretty honorable about these things. Sam Watkins tells another story about standing picket on a small stream:

“We heard a Yankee call, ‘O, Johnny, Johnny Reb!’

“I started out to meet him when he hallooed out, “Go back, Johnny, go back; we are ordered to fire on you.”

“What is the matter? Is your army going to advance on us?”

“I don’t know; we are ordered to fire.”

I jumped back into the picket post, and a minnie ball ruined the only hat I had.”

But fair warning had been given, and Sam lived to tell the tale!

If you have spent much time reading here, you probably know Private Sam Watkins of Company H, First Tennessee Infantry. Sam had a keen eye for nonsense, and his tales were often told with humor. He saw things as the man on the firing line, from the bottom of the totem pole. In his words: “Ah! reader, there is no glory for the private soldier, much less a conscript…. Glory is for generals, colonels, majors, captains, and lieutenants, and when the poor private wins battles by dint of sweat, hard marches, camp and picket duty, fasting and broken bones, the officers get the glory. “The private’s pay was eleven dollars per month, if he got it; the general’s pay was three hundred dollars per month, and he always got his…. Men who never fired a gun are today the heroes of the war.” As a historian, I sometimes wonder how it is that certain senior officers get so much attention in the historical records. There I am reading about General Stuffed Shirt, thinking to myself, “But this guy was canned for relentless incompetence. Why are the “experts” going on and on about him, quoting his memoirs and giving him notoriety for being a fool?” Let me quote Sam Watkins on this: “Now, I tell you what I think about it: I think that those of us who fought as private soldiers and those of us who stuck it out to the last, deserve more praise than the general who resigned because some other general was placed in command over him. A general could resign. That was honorable. A private could not resign, nor choose his branch of service, and if he deserted, it was death.” Don’t get me wrong, countless officers high and low are worthy of the highest praise. And the private or sergeant that gets the medal is surely heard about – and should be! But many an anonymous private performed the bravest of deeds, time and time again. Thanks for reading. Please share our posts with your friends and family so they too can learn more about Southern Heritage and History. Brought to you by: Ultimate Flags

It was July 31st, 1861. Federal troops were just north of Manassas, Virginia. There were many who thought they would send the Rebels reeling, putting an end to the rebellion.

The day was Sunday, and a throng of civilian sightseers had come down from the U.S. capitol, just 25 miles away. Lieutenant Tibdall commanded a section of artillery at the battle, and described what he s

“They came in all manner of ways, some in stylish carriages, others in buggies, on horseback and even on foot…. All manner of people were represented in this crowd, from the most grave and noble senators to hotel waiters.”

Many had packed picnic baskets, and some enterprising folks brought carts of food to sell.

William Russel of the London Times was present. He tells us there was “an unusually heavy discharge of artillery. A lady with an opera glass who was near me was quite beside herself, exclaiming, ‘Oh my! Is not that first rate? I guess we will be in Richmond to-morrow.’ ”

A Federal officer rode up and hollered, “We have whipped them on all points.”

Some of the Sunday tourists wanted to get a closer look, and moved toward the battle. The group included four Senators and two Congressmen.

As they neared the battle lines, the road became filled with soldiers, horses, and wagons.

But they were going in the wrong direction!

Union soldiers hollered at the spectators, “Turn back, turn back, we’re whipped.”

Not all of the civilians were bright. Michigan Senator Zachariah Chandler tried to barrier the road in an effort to stop the retreat. Senator Ben Wade of Ohio picked up a rifle, threatening to fire on the fleeing soldiers.

It was useless. The retreat could not be stopped.

A Confederate shell destroyed the buggy of Senator Henry Wilson, and he had to escape on a mule. Iowa Senator James Grimes barely avoided capture (and swore he would never to go near another battlefield).

New York Congressman Alfred Ely got too close to the fighting and was captured by the 8th South Carolina Infantry. He succeeded in reaching the Confederate Capitol of Richmond, where he spent the next five months in prison.

The reality of war had begun to sink in.

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It was July 31st, 1861. Federal troops were just north of Manassas, Virginia. There were many who thought they would send the Rebels reeling, putting an end to the rebellion.

The day was Sunday, and a throng of civilian sightseers had come down from the U.S. capitol, just 25 miles away. Lieutenant Tibdall commanded a section of artillery at the battle, and described what he saw:

“They came in all manner of ways, some in stylish carriages, others in buggies, on horseback and even on foot…. All manner of people were represented in this crowd, from the most grave and noble senators to hotel waiters.”

Many had packed picnic baskets, and some enterprising folks brought carts of food to sell.

William Russel of the London Times was present. He tells us there was “an unusually heavy discharge of artillery. A lady with an opera glass who was near me was quite beside herself, exclaiming, ‘Oh my! Is not that first rate? I guess we will be in Richmond to-morrow.’ ”

A Federal officer rode up and hollered, “We have whipped them on all points.”

Some of the Sunday tourists wanted to get a closer look, and moved toward the battle. The group included four Senators and two Congressmen.

As they neared the battle lines, the road became filled with soldiers, horses, and wagons.

But they were going in the wrong direction!

Union soldiers hollered at the spectators, “Turn back, turn back, we’re whipped.”

Not all of the civilians were bright. Michigan Senator Zachariah Chandler tried to barrier the road in an effort to stop the retreat. Senator Ben Wade of Ohio picked up a rifle, threatening to fire on the fleeing soldiers.

It was useless. The retreat could not be stopped.

A Confederate shell destroyed the buggy of Senator Henry Wilson, and he had to escape on a mule. Iowa Senator James Grimes barely avoided capture (and swore he would never go near another battlefield).

New York Congressman Alfred Ely got too close to the fighting and was captured by the 8th South Carolina Infantry. He succeeded in reaching the Confederate Capitol of Richmond, where he spent the next five months in prison.

The reality of war had begun to sink in.

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The destruction of Confederate Monuments, while believed to be justified (cultural cleansing), is both ignorant and insensitive. Those who destroy the monuments think that removing such monuments will remove the reminder of racism from society. However, the removal of such monuments provokes anger and injustice by saying the events of racism never occurred, and also does not allow society to mourn and honor its deceased.

Key Takeaways:

• As president of a cultural heritage organization, I feel obligated to weigh in on the current controversy over Confederate monuments. The semi-hysterical push to remove them is, I strongly believe, a mistake, a dangerous precedent, and an exercise in ignorance. Mobs pull statues down. ISIS destroys monuments. Fanatics rewrite history to edit out the bits they don’t like. Our country should not be walking down that road.
• My nonprofit helps people in conflict zones protect their endangered heritage sites or rebuild them if they were damaged by war or terrorism. For example, we are working to restore the last remaining Judaeo-Christian pilgrimage site in the vicinity of Mosul, the only one that was missed by ISIS in its rampage. From my vantage point, the idea that the way to deal with history is to destroy any relics that remind you of something you don’t like, is highly alarming. It’s bad enough when some insane bunch of fanatics has this idea
• To the Taliban, the ancient Buddhas of Bamiyan were impious remnants of a pre-Islamic age, idols that deserved to be blown up. Now these irreplaceable, priceless and beautiful statues are gone, lost to the world. ISIS dynamited Palmyra (“a heathen site”) and many other beautiful and valuable places

“Remove its reminders from public spaces, and you are helping to remove it from society.”

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We live in an age where people becoming offended is taking away our freedom of speech. Instead of just ignoring opinions that they don’t believe in, people instead seek to silence voices they don’t want to hear. America was founded on the idea that anyone can believe what they want and that freedom is in jeopardy.

Key Takeaways:

• Giving people labels takes away the uniqueness from them and their point of view.
• We have elevated our right to be offended over our right to express ourselves freely.
• Are you secure enough in what you believe, and open minded enough to allow others who have views that are different than yours, their right to hold and express those views?

“Now, we are on the verge of erasing parts of our history that we find offensive. While we may not be proud of some chapters in our history, does that give us the right to rewrite the history books and lessons from it? How then would we measure our progress…or sadly…our regress. In the world of rapidly increasing intolerance, I leave you with a question”

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“All were American soldiers…”

We often hear today what the Civil War was all about. Professors and reporters and “very important” folks tell us.

And with what conviction they tell us!

But I rarely hear from the scholars about why the man in uniform was fighting. Seems the soldier is simply forgotten.

I usually write about a person. Sometimes about an event, but I try hard to brush in one or more real people.

So let’s hear from one.

David Johnston was 16 when he put on a uniform. He was a Private, a Rebel. He fought four years, but lived and went on to become a Congressman and a respected judge.

Johnston wrote a book after the war, telling of his experiences. Towards the end of it he wrote this:

“In what is said herein in praise of the Confederate soldier, I do not for one moment mean or intend to detract from the laurels won by the heroic Union soldier, who stood in the firing line, faithfully discharging his duty; for he, as well as we, was contending for principles regarded sacred and for which we had risked our lives…. All were American soldiers, and the glory and honor won by each is the common heritage of the American people, not to be obscured or clouded by the questions about which we differed. Each struggled to maintain the right as God gave him to see the right.

“We often talked along the skirmish lines with Union soldiers…. In opposition to our claim that we were fighting for independence—separate government—they insisted that they were fighting for the Union, a common, undivided country; did not want to see the country broken up by division; and I feel fairly safe in stating that this feeling and sentiment largely dominated the great majority of the Union soldiers.”

It rings true, regardless of interests of the politicians and the vast economic interests of the day. Just look at the photo above, of Confederate officer James Washington and Federal officer George Custer, taken during the war.

There were virtues on both sides, and people today remember them.

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Robert E. Lee deserves a monument. He was actually against slavery during the Civil War, but his unwavering sense of loyalty to his people, “his country”, of Virginia, kept him from siding with the Union. He was actually given command of the Union Army, but gave up his reputation and property to protect those he called family. For those reasons he deserves a monument, and the Nazi’s should stop using him as an example.

Key Takeaways:

• Lee fought very hard for what the flag represents.
• It is terrible to put the flag in the same group as a swastika
• I am proud of my southern heritage

“During the war, Lee lost nearly everything, including his home when Arlington was turned into the National Cemetery and of course lost the war and his citizenship.”

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The photo you see above is Robert E. Lee with his son, in 1845. Someone asked me whether Lee ever regretted fighting for the South.

General Long worked alongside Lee. He wrote Lee said the following, a day or two before surrender at Appomattox:

“…I have never believed we could…make good in the long run our independence unless foreign powers should assist us…. But such considerations really made with me no difference. We had…sacred principles to maintain and rights to defend, for which we were in duty bound to do our best, even if we perished in the endeavour.”

Lee wrote to his sister after he resigned his commission in the United States Army:

“I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword.”

Today we talk of the great social issues of the Civil War – and they were grave!

But for the individuals it often came down to protecting the lives and homes of family and friends, or siding with those who might attack them.

Americans had much strong ties to their home states. There were still people alive who had been citizens of an American Colony, when each Colony had been independent of the others.

In a letter to a friend, Lee wrote:

“If Virginia stands by the old Union, so will I. But if she secedes (though I do not believe in secession as a constitutional right, nor that there is sufficient cause for revolution), then I will follow my native State with my sword, and, if need be, with my life.”

To quote from Winston Churchill:

“He was opposed to slavery and thought that, ‘secession would do no good,’ but he had been taught from childhood that his first allegiance was to the state of Virginia.”

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We know how George Armstrong Custer met his end. But did you know he fought in the Civil war from the first major battle all the way to Appomattox?We have copies of his correspondence with several friends that were then fighting for the South. That’s Custer on the right above. And by the way, the Rebel prisoner next to him was a buddy of his. He had decent success for two years, but in 1863 his fortune rocketed.  J.E.B. Stuart’s brilliant Rebel horsemen were making short work of two Union brigades. Their Colonels were trying to rally the men, to no avail.Lieutenant Custer spurred his horse past the colonels. Wearing his broad-brimmed white hat, Custer faced the troops and drew his saber. Pointing to the enemy, he went into a gallop. Moments later the colonels raced forward, followed by the rest of the Union Cavalry. That charge saved their bacon.Two weeks later, Lt. Custer became Brigadier General Custer. He went on to be a very successful commander of cavalry in the Civil War.Custer’s military future didn’t always bright. He was last in his class at West Point, and had a lot of discipline problems.  A Cadet would be expelled if he accumulated 100 demerits over six months. Custer typically piled up over 90, and then buckle down until the next semester. Here are some examples:Dec 19th, 1857 – Calling “Corporal” in a loud & boisterous voice – 3 demeritsApril 3, 1858 – Hair out of uniform at guard meeting – 2 demeritsJan 27, 1859 – Late to supper – 1 demeritFeb 17, 1859 – Throwing snowballs on barrack steps – 3 demeritsIn his last semester before graduation, Custer got 97 demerits. And then got a court martial for not stopping a fight while on guard duty. If it had not been for the war, Custer would have been out on his ear.Just goes to show, sometimes it takes a rebel to win.

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