I have long suspected that the flags made through the Charleston Depot were done under contract to one (or more) of the several area flag makers and I was vindicated when I found a series of invoices for one flag maker recently. Here is a breakdown of what I found from those invoices:

CS garrison flags - 10 1/2 by 20 feet - 10
- 9 by 15 feet - 23
- 6 by 10 feet - 12
- 6 by 9 feet - 12
- 18 by 30 feet - 1

Boat flags

8

Palmetto boat flag

1 (for the SC governor)

Garrison Boat flags (one is listed as "boat flag do." and the above flag is a 6 by 10 foot CS flag)

2

Truce flags

2

Signal flags

62

Charleston Depot battle flags

28 infantry
7 artillery
1 cavalry (listed as "for boat" - perhaps for a marines contingent?)

Confederate flags (probably for HQ purposes in the field)

2

HQ flags

Gen. Hagood - 1
Gen. Beauregard - 1

Marker flags

22

Hospital flags

5

Also - on the invoice of July 30, 1864 - " making and lettering regimental Confederate flag - 26th Regt." This was just below the mention of their lettered Charleston Depot battle flag. To me this sounds like the regiment also got a ceremonial Second National flag with their unit designation on it - and it must have been nice as it cost $85.00! The 26th SCV battle flag is in the collection os the SC Relic Room in Columbia, SC.

We know that the first CD battle flags were issued in April, 1863 from accounts. Gist's Brigade got them then as did other units of the Charleston area. We are missing the invoices for these earlier flags unless they were made by another maker of the area. But we now know that the maker made 36 of them as noted above. We also know that he made almost 60 garrison flags which seems to be more than some of the other makers we know did.

I will NOT be naming the maker here. This is due to the purloining of some of my primary research without credit via the currently disabled "Flags of the Confederacy" web site by a known Civil War flags researcher. If this had not been the case (and it happened several times from my research as well as that of others from that site) I would name the maker - but since he cannot be a proper researcher and cite his sources correctly, the name is being withheld. It took me 12 years to find him - let it take this guy that much as well. For the rest of you I am sorry not to name the flag maker. Once bitten, twice shy I suppose.

I do not think he was the only flag maker for the depot, which, like Augusta and Mobile, contracted out their flags to local makers (Richmond had women taking home flag kits to make them). So the search remains for whoever else also made them.

Greg Biggs