Phillip,

Please keep in mind that not all casualty reports state that a certain soldier was a color bearer or color guard. I have seen loads of them that do not make such identifications. I have seen SOME that do. Ken, who knows more about color bearers than anyone on this list, knows this.

I have been through the CSRs for the 12th Tennessee Cavalry CS and have only found one color bearer stated, Anthony Calhoun, wounded in the hand in late September 1864. He was probably not back in action by December and the flag was carried by someone else. Also keep in mind that a captured flag does not mean that the color bearer was also captured.

I did a year's worth of research for this book and mined everything that the Tennessee State Library & Archives has for this regiment. You won't find very much there. I did not go to Alabama as I did not need to do so based on what I found.

But again, what we are after is an exact description of this flag being at the barricades by Rucker, one of his escort or a soldier of the 12th Tennessee Cavalry CS. Even a Federal account from the 12th TN Cavalry US is helpful - but the flag must be described to a "T."

Greg Biggs