The 8th Mississippi Infantry in the Atlanta Campaign was in WHT Walker's Division, John Jackson's Brigade. This brigade would have received Augusta Depot battle flags in February, 1864 based on the surviving examples of the 5th, 47th and 65th Georgia and the 2nd Georgia Sharpshooters. Mercer's and Gist's Brigades of the division carried Charleston Depot battle flags and Stevens Brigade carried a mixture of Augusta Depot, ANV and maybe Charleston Depot flags.

Walker's Division was broken up after the Battle of Atlanta. Walker was killed there and his division took heavy casualties. The 8th Mississippi was sent to Lowery's Brigade of Cleburne's Division but I seriously doubt that it got a Hardee pattern flag at that time. Mercer's GA Brigade was also sent to Cleburne's command but they did not replace their Charleston Depot flags with the Fall, 1864 Hardee/Cleburne issues until October, 1864. I would bet that this is when the 8th Mississippi got their Hardee/Cleburne flag. If it carried a unit designation I am not sure as only 2 flags of this issue survive with such markings; the remainder are blank and only the 16th Alabama's flag has crossed cannons on it.

So the "moon" of the flag would indeed have been circular and not rectilinear as the Spring, 1864 issues were.

Greg Biggs