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Civil War Unit Flags - Union (U.S.)

Historical

4th U.S. Infantry
2nd Tennessee Infantry
20th Regiment of Massachusetts, the "Harvard Regiment"
51st Regiment N.Y.S.V. Shepard Rifles
144th Regiment, New York Volunteers
13th Regiment, Wisconsin Veteran Volunteers

See also:

4th U.S. Infantry

by Tom Gregg, 10 January 1999

The National Color of the 4th U.S. Infantry circa 1861-62, based on a description and illustration in a book on Civil War uniforms. As a regiment of the Regular Army, the 4th U.S. Infantry's colors conformed to War Department regulations (which were routinely ignored by State volunteer units). The canton contains 33, not 34 stars because existing colors were used until they became unserviceable even if the number of stars did not reflect the current state of the Union. The regimental designation appears in blue on the red stripe at the bottom of the canton.

This design provided the basis for the many and varied National Colors carried by Federal infantry regiments during the Civil War. The most frequent variations from standard were gold stars, six or seven-pointed stars, the U.S. Coat of Arms in the canton with the stars, gold rather than dark blue unit designation inscriptions.

Tom Gregg, 10 January 1999

2nd Tennessee Infantry

by Dov Gutterman, 23 July 1999

20th Regiment of Massachusetts, The Harvard Regiment

During the American Civil War, the students and faculty at Harvard University organized a regiment in the Union Army known as the Harvard Regiment. The Regiment saw action at the Battle of Balls Bluff during the Peninsula Campaign of early 1862. An image of this flag is available at www.fas.harvard.edu/~memhall/warflags.html. The webpage says that the regiment received its nickname because a high percentage of its officers were Harvard alumni. It doesn't indicate they were current students or faculty, nor that they were the organizers of the regiment.
Ron Lahav, 19 January 2006

51st Regiment N.Y.S.V. Shepard Rifles

image located by Alex Danes, 31 July 2008

The regimental colour, about 195 cm x 180 cm, carried into battle.
Source: dmna.ny.gov/historic/btlflags/infantry/51stInfRegColor2007.0175.htm
Ian Sumner, 31 July 2008

Flank Markers

image located by Alex Danes, 31 July 2008

A marker flag, about 45 cm square, used to align parades and mark camp sites.
Source: dmna.ny.gov/historic/btlflags/infantry/51stInfRegColor2007.0175.htm
Ian Sumner, 31 July 2008

144th Regiment, New York Volunteers

image by Dov Gutterman, 23 July 1999