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>>>>Are you referring to the pattern of flag issued to the 3rd La and 35th Miss? (Madaus, Battle Flags, pp. 114-115) I was under the impression that these flags were issued to units of Maury's old division. Didn't Bowen's Divison carry, for the most part, either the blue "Missouri" flag or Van Dorn pattern flags? >>>>

Yes to the Maury Division flags - but I see they were not in that division in 1863. They were in Maury's Division in 1862 through the Battle of Corinth. In December 1862 they were in Bowen's Division but in January 1863 they were in Price's Division. In April they were in Forney's/Bowen's Division remaining therein through Vicksburg.

So we have them probably with the Van Dorn flag in 1862 and probably with the Bowen pattern in 1863. I have never heard of a Bowen pattern flag with honors so it may well be a Van Dorn flag that got tossed in the river - although that means that the Bowen pattern was either not as widely dispersed as we thought of the 19th Arkansas had two flags using the Van Dorn.

Greg Biggs