Greg Biggs
4th Alabama Inf. flags
Thu Mar 1 02:09:25 2001


Hello,

The 4th Alabama, being at First Manassas, should have received one of the George Ruskell made First National battle flags issued to the (then) Army of The Potomac in the late summer of 1861. These flags were made from the captured stocks of bunting taken from the Gosport Navy yard in Norfolk, VA. and Ruskell made quite a few for the army to replace the flags units brought to Virginia.

If the 4th was at Centerville in late November, 1861, they would have been issued one of the 120 silk 12 star ANV battle flags in ceremonies that began on November 28th and ended in early December (with weather delays in between.) This flag was replaced in the summer of 1862 by a Second Wool Bunting ANV 13 star battle flag - with the orange borders. As the 4th was in Law's Brigade, and the flags of the 2nd and 11th Mississippi of that same brigade still survive from the same issue date, we can tell that it had the orange battle honors painted around the exterior sides of the red field. These honors were done on a brigade level until April, 1863.

At some point later in the war this flag may have been replaced if it was too shot up (did they lose a flag to capture at any time?) by a later ANV wool bunting issue (perhaps a Third Bunting) - but I have nothing to base this on without further information regarding loss or replacement due to battle damage.

Greg Biggs