Dear Compatriots of the MS, AL, and LA Divisions:
Hon. Larry Hawkins of the TN Division is trying to nail down info on the following Mississippi Confederate Battleflags for the second and final edition of "Flags Used By Mississippi During the War Between the States," his groundbreaking study of our Magnolia State ancestors' battleflags.
Mr. Hawkins (a native Mississippian) has spent over twenty years gathering info on the flags of our fathers.
He is asking for our help in trying to locate any info, contacts, photos, newspaper articles, family stories, etc., regarding the appended flags (and any other MS CS flags that you may know about but which do not appear on this list).
All proceeds from the sales of this final edition of his book will go to either the restoration of Mississippi's battleflags in the MS Dept. of Archives & History's collection OR to Beauvoir.
All research materials will be donated to the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library at Beauvoir.
Please look over the appended list of flags and see if your Camp or your Members may have information regarding them.
Any scrap of information or seemingly insignificant lead would be of immense interest to Compatriot Hawkins.
If you are able to make a few local phone calls to the families associated with these flags, check your local library, contact your local UDC/OCR chapter/society, query your local historical/genealogical society, etc., your efforts would be greatly appreciated!
Naturally, Compatriot Hawkins will credit you and/or your Camp for the info you are able to share.
Thank you for your kind assistance in this matter, as this may be the last, best chance we have to put together in one volume all that we know about Mississippi's cherished battleflags.
Please contact Larry Hawkins with any leads, info, scans, photos, etc., at
lh232g1b@gmail.com or Jim Huffman at huffman1234@bellsouth.net.
Deo Vindice! -- Jim Huffman, Chair, MS Division/SCV "Save the Battleflags" Committee
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PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL OF YOUR CONFEDERATE CONTACTS!
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Mississippi Flags Still Missing
02/22/2012
1) 30th Ms Inf-a hardee pattern was held by descendants of Col. G. F. Neill as late as 1982 in Greeenwood.
2) 24th Ms Co D, Caledonia Rifles was in the possession of Mrs Mary Clifton Blewett Featherston as of the 1960’s in Columbus.
3) 11th Ms Co E, Prairie Guards in 1925 was in the hands of Ensign Family at Crawford, Ms (near Columbus).
4) 22nd Ms Co C, Sarsfield Southrons was in the John Rodge family of Vicksburg as of May 1903 and lived at 223 North Washington Street.
5) 18th Ms Co G, Camden Rifles was in the family of Miss Norma Tucker family of Canton as of 1973 and she was a school teacher.
6) 16th Ms Inf, Co C, Crystal Springs Southern Rights (fragment of 5 x 8 inches) was owned or held by Mrs. Dorothy Ferguson of Jackson as of Oct. 1981.
7) 15th Ms Inf, Co G, Grenada Riles was returned by the captors to the Dixie Chapter of the UDC in 1899.
8) 11th Ms Inf, Co I, Van Dorn Reserves was present at the Confederate Monument dedication in early 1900. I have seen what was described as this flag and I have a picture that I was allowed to take with the permission of the family in their home. HOWEVER, I would like to get a newspaper article and newspaper picture to verify I have the proper flag. The family and the flag are in Aberdeen.
9) 9th Ms Inf, Co I, Senatobia Invincibles is a silk flag that was reported in Senatobia as of 1890’s. I have tried several times to find this flag and get a picture.
10) 8th Ms Inf Co C, True Confederates was said to have been brought home (Trenton Ms, Smith County) by Henry Wallace Crook. Mr. Crook was later the mayor of Bessemer, Ala. In 1893. I have done some research and there is evidence the flag passed to his family and was still around in 1913. This flag is very important to me since I had relatives in this unit and when the flag was presented it to the unit, one of the young ladies doing so is my relative. Most of my father’s family lived near Trenton and I had several Confederate Veterans here.
11) Smith & Turner Artillery flag was in the hands of Melancton Smith’s son-in-law, Mr. J E LaBesse of Lake Charles, La as of 1894.
END OF LIST OF STILL MISSING MISSISSIPPI CONFEDERATE FLAGS