Thanks for the flag essay. I will look that over tonight. More below:

>>>>>.. Just to clarify to make sure I have this correctly

21st Virginia determined to have had and lost a First National Flag at Chancellorsville.. currently in possession of NJ>>>>>

Eric Mink of the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania NP did the work on this based on his review of events where the 21st VA fought. I came up with the ID of WD 22 before I knew this fact but it reinforces it to my mind in terms of the 21st VA ID for WD 22.

>>>>>They possibly used another FN at Gettysburg.. presumed to have originally been a company flag... and lost on Culps Hill and identified as WD-22 (That MOC still has listed as unidentified virginia unit)... Would be interesting to find out which company originally had this flag.. it has all the tale-tell signature charactoristics of several Richmond militia/early flags that Ive examined .. especially the canton art work... Would love to see the research that concluded this ID determination for my own educational knowledge... >>>>>

It was based on several things:

1) Ed Johnson's Division did not get new ANV flags prior to the campaign due to a bunting shortage at the Richmond Depot. Thus, the units of that division, based on surviving flags and captures, used First Nationals, ANV silk issues, ANV wool/cotton issues, a Maryland state flag (1st MD Btn.) among others.

2) Based on what unit took the WD 22 - 60th New York - which also took the ANV wool/cotton issue of the 25th VA, I deduced the ID. Rich Rollins has the best details for these captures in his book "The Damned Red Flag of the Rebellion" along with the map breakdown. The 21st and 25th VA faced the 60th New York at Culp's hill and were right next to each other in the brigade line of battle. The 60th NY account stated that a , "brigade battle flag," and a "regimental banner, which, as we learn from one of our prisoners, was a present from the ladies of the district in which the companies were organized."

This latter description tells me that it was a decorated flag of some sort, probably, but not limited to, a company flag.

3) So we have a unit that lost a FN flag in early May, did not get a replacement ANV flag before the GB campaign and so was forced to use an earlier flag (probably company level) at GB taken from their unit wagons (units sometimes carried older flags with them) and lost that at Culp's Hill. Worsham's statement that they did not get a new flag until late August jives with what we know of new ANV flags for Johnson's division getting them at the same time (along with units of Heth's Division that lost colors at GB).

So by these deductions I came up with the ID for WD 22. Right place on the battlefield to tangle with the 60th NY too.

Howie Madaus agreed that this flag bears several characteristics of some other FN company flags one of which (I think) came from Petersburg, hence his idea that the flags were decorated by a Petersburg based painter.

That's basically it in a nutshell.

Greg Biggs