Hello Keith,

The use of a red or yellow Hospital flag will depend on the time period of your service, Army, department, Union or Confederate.

In the U.S. Armies until 1862, red was the color of Hospital Department & Ambulance Department flags, patterned after the French Army Ambulance flag, early to mid 1800. The U.S. Navy had solid yellow Hospital flags until late 1866 patterned after the Marine Hospital Service flag dating from 1798.

General Orders No. 102, Army of the Potomac, March 24, 1862 “Hospitals will be distinguished by a yellow flag”. General Orders No. 53, June 19, 1863 Department of the Rappahannock repeated the Army of the Potomac General Orders No. 102. Before June of 63 the Department of the Rappahannock had red Hospital flags.

Army of the Cumberland / Department of the Cumberland used red Hospital flags until December of 1862. General Orders No. 91, Army of the Cumberland “Hospital and Ambulance depots will be distinguished by a yellow flag, 3 feet square for the hospitals and for the principle ambulance depot on the field of battle; 2 feet square for lesser ones”.

Adjutant General’s Office, War Department, January 4, 1864: General Orders No. 9 “Hospitals will be distinguished by a yellow flags with a green “H” in their centers, larger for General Hospitals, smaller for field hospitals, a smaller yellow flag bordered with green for ambulances”.

The Army of the Ohio used red and/or yellow hospital flags until 1864. The Department of the West used a U.S. National flag for hospitals. The Army of the Tennessee and Department of the Gulf followed the lead of the War Department on hospital flags, General Orders No. 62, 1864.

General Beauregard, General Orders No. 3 copied the U.S. Armies 1861 regulations of the use of red hospital flags, for the Army of the Potomac / Army of Northern Virginia. General orders No. 53, Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, repeated General Orders No. 3 in 1863. (Captured Confederate Hospital flags: War Department Register of Captured flags, no. 253, 258, 250, 257, 312, and 328).

However there are several sources to indicate that the Confederate Medical Department also used the solid yellow hospital flag for both general and field hospitals dating from 1862. The Ambulance Department and its field infirmary’s used a solid red flag (A Manual of Military Surgery for the use of surgeons in the Confederate States Army).

Additional research data on hospital flags can be found in my 2004 paper published in “The Flag Bulletin, The International Journal of Vexillology” No. 217, Vol. XLII, no. 5, page122, published by the Flag Research Center.

Any and all additional information with sources on hospital, ambulance depot, medical officers, sanitary commission and the ladies aid society flags or banners, pre or during the War of Northern Aggression and after, would be most welcomed.

Happy Trails!

Tom Martin