Preston Furlow writes:

>>Mr. Sumrall's book is a very good source. It has the first flag of the regiment depicted. 'Texas Flags' by Dr. Robert Maberry, Jr. shows an actual photograph of this same flag, plus a depiction of the McCown pattern that the regiment carried into the battles of Richmond and Perryville, >Kentucky, and Murfreesboro, Tennessee(Stones River).

The McCown flag would probably have been issued after the KY campaign was over, as evidenced by the "Richmond" battle honor. Since Cleburne's and Preston Smith's attached brigades to Kirby Smith's army brought along Hardee and Polk flags, McCown was inspired to create his own pattern. The 10th Texas Cavalry in Maberry's book has no historical basis and is a fanciful depiction, but the flag for the 30th Arkansas, of this pattern, does have such battle honors. It was issued after the campaign. Thus the flag would have been used at Murfreesboro and probably not Perryville. (There is much to learn about this flag pattern however).

>>There is still some speculation as to whether they carried the Polk pattern flag or not. When Ector's brigade was formed, the 10th was carrying the McCown, and the 9th Texas Infantry was carrying the Polk. AS the Polks were quite often made in the field, there's a good chance they did carry it, too.

I have my doubts that they would have received Polk pattern flags at all. Most CS cavalry units in the West used First Nationals until the adoption of the Mobile Depot flags in OCtober, 1863 (for William "Red" Jackson's Cavalry Division, which included Ross' Texas Brigade). There are some exceptions of course.

The Augusta Depot flags came in Feb./March 1864 for the units of the Army of Tennessee. The first Polk flags were silk and quite large, with 13 stars. Forty five of these flags were made in Memphis in January, 1862 and shipped to Polk's Grand Division in Columbus, KY. The smaller, wool issues with 11 stars, came out in late summer 1862. Who made them and who got them we are still trying to determine. I would be most interested in your source that states these flags were made in the field. While that is possible we have seen no other evidence of that. They may have been made like some of the Hardee flags (later versiosn - by detached men with tailoring skills sent to a depot to sew gathered material). Jacob Gall made 34 Hardee flags in September, 1863 while being assigned as Hardee's personal tailor.

Based on a diary of the 9th Texas Infantry that has a wool Polk flag on the cover, it would seem that they definitely got one of these flags.

>>The last flag they carried was a Richmond Depot ANV variant, made in 1864. It was one of four that Col. Young of the 9th Texas Infantry presented to the Texas regiments in Ector's Brigade after he returned in April of 1864 from Richmond. All four varied an inch or two in length and width, but the placement of the stars and the method of construction were the same. There's a picture and detailed diagram of this flag on the 9th Texas infantry website. The 10th's and the 14th Texas Cavalry's flags are in the Museum of the Confederacy, listed as "unknown Texas Cavalry flags".

These are Richmond Depot, 4th Bunting flags actually. They were first issued in May, 1864. Maberry's book has the details of how an officer with Ector's Brigade connections was in Richmond at the time they were issued.

The two North Carolina regiments of the brigade, however, used Mobile Depot pattern flags (rectangular St. Andrews cross with 12 stars). The 39th NC flag (WD 456) of this pattern survives and it was taken at Spanish Fort.

Besides the two ANV flags for Ector's Brigade at the MOC (WD 450 and WD 455), there is also one at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. It too was taken at Spanish Fort, AL. It has been conserved and it hangs in the university library today long with two other flags (including a silk Polk Corps flag - one of three that still exist out of the 45 issued).

With the Fourth Bunting flag for the 9th Infantry being in private hands, that makes the two flags at the MOC and the one in TN the flags for the 10th, 14th and 32nd Texas Cavalry - and it would sure be nice as to which was which as all four of these flags are accounted for.

Greg Biggs
Flags of the Confederacy
www.confederateflags.org