Its Evolution.
How the flag was made.
[see also Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol.
XXVIII (1900), page 89, et seq.]
A
Richmond (Va.) special to the New York
Herald, of December 15, 1903, says:
General W. L. Cabell, formerly of the Confederate Army, has contributed an article to the official organ of his old comrades, giving a history of the battle-flag of the
Confederacy, about which there has been more or less controversy.
The General says:
[
69]
When the Confederate Army, commanded by
General Beauregard, and the
Federal Army confronted each other at
Manassas, it was seen that the
Confederate flag and the Stars and Stripes looked at a distance so much alike that it was hard to distinguish one from the other.
General Beauregard, thinking that serious mistakes might be made in recognizing our troops, ordered, after the battle of July 18, at Blackburn Ford, that a small red badge should be worn on the left shoulder by our troops, and, as I was chief quartermaster, ordered me to purchase a large quantity of
red flannel and distribute it to each regiment.
I distributed the
red flannel to several regiments, who placed badges on the left shoulders of the men. During the
battle of Bull Run it was plainly to be seen that a great number of Federal soldiers wore a similar red badge.
I saw these badges on a number of prisoners we captured that day.
Flag for every Regiment.
Generals Beauregard and
Johnston met at Fairfax Courthouse in the latter part of August or early in September and determined to have a battle-flag for every regiment or detached command that could easily be recognized.
I was telegraphed for to come at once to Fairfax Courthouse.
I found
Generals Beauregard and
Johnston in
General Beauregard's office discussing the kind of flag that should be adopted.
General Johnston's flag was in the shape of an ellipse —a red flag, with blue St. Andrew's cross and stars on the cross (white), to represent the different Southern States.
No white border of any kind was attached to this cross.
General Beauregard's was a rectangle, red, with blue St. Andrew's cross and white stars, similar to
General Johnston's.
After we had discussed the two styles, taking into consideration the cost of material and the care of making the same, it was decided that the elliptical flag would be harder to make, that it would take more cloth and that it could not be seen so plainly at a distance; that the rectangular flag drawn and suggested by
General Beauregard should be adopted.
General Johnston yielded at once when the reasons given by
General Beauregard and myself were so good and substantial.
No one else was present but we three until an order was issued adopting the
Beauregard flag, as it was called, and directing me, as chief quartermaster, to have the flag made as soon as it could be done.
I immediately issued an address to the good ladies of the
South
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70]
to give me their
red and
blue silk dresses and to send them to
Captain Colin McRae Selph,
Quartermaster, at
Richmond (
Captain Selph is now living in New Orleans), where he was assisted by two young ladies, Misses Hettie and
Constance Cary, from
Baltimore, and
Mrs. General Henningsen, of
Savannah, and
Mrs. Judge Hopkins, of
Alabama.
The
Misses Cary made battle-flags for
Generals Beauregard and
Van Dorn, and, I think, for
General J. E. Johnston, and they made
General Beauregard's out of their own silk dresses.
This flag is now in Memorial Hall, New Orleans, with a statement of that fact from
General Beauregard.
General Van Dorn's flag was made of a heavier material, but was very pretty.
Made from silk dresses.
Captain Selph had several of these flags made and sent them to me at
Manassas.
They were distributed by order of
General Beauregard. One flag I had made and gave it to the Washington Artillery.
They have it yet.
My wife, who was in
Richmond, made a beautiful flag out of her own dresses and sent it to a cousin of hers who commanded an Arkansas regiment.
This flag was lost at Elk
Horn, but was recaptured by a Missouri division under
General Henry Little.
It being impossible to get silk enough to make the great number of flags needed, I had several made out of
blue and
red cotton cloth.
I then issued a circular letter to the quartermasters of every regiment and brigade in the army to make flags, and to use any red cloth suitable that they could get.
Generals Beauregard and
Johnston, being good draughtsmen, drew their own designs.
The statement going the rounds that this battle-flag was first designed by a Federal prisoner is false.
No living soul except
Generals Beauregard and
Johnston and myself knew anything about the flag until the order was issued to me to have them made as soon as it could be done.
