I have read that the “Confederate flag” we know today was not used in battle. While a friend of mine explained how you wouldn’t want your flag to be captured, this makes no sense the more I think about it. Did not US warships don Old Glory in the War of 1812, for one? Weren’t these ships equally at risk?
In general, what is the big deal? If the flag is captured, it simply means you may have lost the battle, but not the war! So, what’s the military thinking on this?
In the U.S. Civil War, each regiment would go into battle under its own battle flag, in the Federal case usually a U.S. flag with the regiment’s number embroidered on it, and its battle honors; in the Confederate, the well-known one that you are referring to was used after about the middle of 1862 (sorta, see below). The purpose of the flag was to align the regiments around them, so every member would have an idea where everybody else was. They were most assuredly lost, captured, re-captured etc, although indeed you did not want to lose them – battle flags were some of the most coveted prizes on a battlefield.
However, the CS state battle flag was square, whereas the current idea of it is rectangular – this is adapted from the CS Navy battle ensign, which looked very similar.
The idea that troops lose honor if their flag or standard is captured is very old. From Julius Caesar:
From here.
Caesar also once hurled the eagle (the standard) of one of his legions into the enemy line himself, to spur the troops forward…irrc…but I haven’t yet found a citation.
Sailboat
I’ve wondered about this while watching an episode of Sharpe on TV.
The colours were captured by some fiendish French and the commander of the regiment thought this was worse than cowardice in the face of the enemy.
“Gad sir, you’ve allowed His Majesty’s colours to be taken…you bastard”
All ended well 'cos Sharpe went and captured a French Eagle…yay us!
Quite a few of the first Medals of Honor were awarded during the American Civil War to soldiers who captured enemy flags. It was a mark of distinction to be bold enough to capture an enemy banner, and it evinced a severe loss of face for your foe.
The tradition still holds; I remember seeing photos of the big victory parade in Moscow in 1945 in which scores of captured Nazi battle flags were dumped around Lenin’s Tomb.
Just a couple nit-picks here.
In the American Civil War each regiment in the federal service had two flags, the national colors and a separate regimental colors. Sometimes, but not always, the national colors had the regimental designation (for instance 24th Iowa Volunteer Infantry) on one of the white stripes and sometimes battle honors as well. In infantry regiments the regimental colors were generally a blue field with the national seal and the eagle gripping a scroll or ribbon with the regimental designation. Some predominantly Irish regiments carried a green regimental flag decorated with harp, shamrocks and sunburst – this is the flag carried by the units of the Irish Brigade and the 69th Pennsylvania. Cavalry had a similar banner with a yellow field.
In the British service each battalion had two flags, the King’s / Queen’s colors which was the Union Flag, and battalion colors in the regimental color (blue for royal regiments and the uniform facing color for everyone else). Generally the battalion colors had the Union Flag in the canton and battle honors or special symbols (a thistle for Scottish units, a sphinx for units that had served in Egypt, and the unit designation in a wreath in the center. The company at Rorks Drift had green facings and a green battalion colors with a sphinx.
Confederate units in the ACW generally had one flag. In the Eastern Theater the flag was usually the blue starry cross on a red field. In the West the flag was often blue with a white disk in the center. In either case the flag often had the unit designation and battle honors.
A fair number of state flags are derived from the regimental colors of the ACW. Ohio’s swallow-tailed state flag is based on an artillery guideon.
All too often the guy who got the metal for capturing an enemy flag wasn’t the guy who actually took it but rather the guy who just picked it up. After Pickett’s Charge one Union general complained to another that the second general’s men had taken Rebel flags that properly belonged to his men. The second general responded that there were abandon flags all over the place and that is the first general wanted them he should help himself to a half dozen or so. There are also a number of cases of an officer demanding the a soldier turn over a captured flag.