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General Sheridan's Headquarters Flag (U.S.)

image located by Esteban Rivera, 20 April 2025
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/CIVILWAR

Description

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Description

Gen. Phillip Sheridan was a brigade and then division commander in the Union Army through 1863. He was brought East with Gen. U.S. Grant to command the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac in 1864. As such a HQ flag was designed for him and other prominent officers.

The flag I have for Sheridan is a swallow tail banner, white over red with a white star in the top and a red star in the bottom. However, I am told that he had more than one HQ flag. The one that was described with the crossed sabers may have been the one he used when he commanded the Union army in the Shenandoah Valley in late 1864.

Greg Biggs, 20 September 1999

image located by Esteban Rivera, 20 April 2025
Source: https://www.flagcollection.com/resourcesstaticcontent.php

The flag described by Greg Biggs is actually a red over white guidon counter charged with two five-pointed stars (source: https://www.flagcollection.com/cmsmedia).

Reverse and obverse, images located by Esteban Rivera, 20 April 2025
Source: https://www.bidsquare.com

In fact, he also mentions the existence of another flag (again, a guidon) with crossed sabers. That is actually a previous flag: "(a) 34 3/4 x 44 in. merino wool flag, entirely hand-sewn in five lineal panels. The upper and lower panels create red bars, which flank white bars below and above, respectively. The center bar, while blue originally, has faded practically to grey. The star, numeral "2" and crossed sabers are made of merino wool and are double-appliqued (applied to both sides of the flag). These are white in color. The crossed sabers are the traditional emblem of the United States Cavalry. The "2" represents the 2nd Brigade and the single star represents Sheridan's status as a "one star" general. Serving as Philip Henry Sheridan's colors from the Spring - Summer of 1862, the flag was used when he led the 2nd Michigan Cavalry with great effect and rose from Captain to Major General in just six months (not a minor detail since he had no cavalry experience before the war). The fact that the flag is made entirely of merino wool is very unusual. Most Civil war infantry and cavalry flags were made of silk; some were wool bunting, but few are entirely merino wool. This was a common fabric in homemade flags, but is typically seen in the canton and is seldom the only fabric. Commercial flag-makers advertised merino wool flags, but surviving flags made entirely of it are scarce."

Source: https://www.bidsquare.com

Esteban Rivera, 20 April 2025