That is the flag of the 5th Georgia Cavalry made in Savannah, GA by local flag maker Fermin Cerveau most likely. The flag is in the Atlanta History Center. I have seen this flag several times. Flags of this style were also made for the 18th GA Battalion, Emmett Rifles and the 56th Georgia Infantry - all Savannah area units. They are the only ones that received this pattern as far as I have found. There were probably others too but these are the ones I have identified so far. Only the Emmett Rifles flag is missing now - it was taken at Ft. McAllister in December, 1864.

The part of this flag with "Georgia" on it is actually its front - the obverse side. The hoist edge is to the left there. This picture is one that I took by the way that was on the 5th Georgia Cavalry website.

I have never seen any authentic CS cavalry flag with crossed sabers on it so I would not do that personally. I have seen several fakes with them. The symbol was simply not used on CS flags that I have ever found.

One of the troubles I have with many reenacting units is that they do not do proper flags research for their unit colors quite often. I try to err on the side of caution when I consult for flags - basically if I don't have an example to cite then I don't make assumptions. If I have examples from the same brigade I feel more safer with an assumption if the actual flag does not exist.

Hope this helps.

Greg Biggs