Hi John,

Thanks for the detailed responses of late. With regards to the first one:

>>>>I would suggest rereading Colonel Warren's promotion recommendation letter of 29 March 1864. I believe he is very specific about the flag (colors) which Gabriel Shank carried and when.

Warren wrote "Soon after the first battle of Manassas he was at his own request appointed Color-bearer of his regiment and has carried them in every action in which the regiment has been engaged. . ." Warren referred to ONE flag (colors).

Warren wrote "at [Chancellorsville] finding that he was about to be captured he striped the Colors from the staff. . ." Warren again referred to ONE flag (colors).

Warren wrote "His first flag. . ." Warren again referred to one flag (colors).

The flag (colors) to which Warren referred throughout the letter was Shank's first flag (colors). This flag was the Virginia flag presented by Governor Letcher to Lt.-Colonel Warren at Centreville (Colonel Gibbons was absent sick at the time.) >>>>>>

I study military flags from the 17th through 19th Centuries and the word "colors" means one flag or more than one flag. You have to make certain at what use of that word applies here. I have seen numerous accounts from Napoleonic battles that state, "we have captured 18 Austrian colors." In that case it is 18 individual flags. But when Colonel Henry Burgwyn ordered the 26th North Carolina Troops to, "dress on the colors," before he was killed at Gettysburg he means only the ANV flag his regiment followed. In the cases above I believe that the accounts mean one flag but which one flag?. The officer writing the accounts is basically stating that the man was carrying whatever flag of his regiment in these battles and did so bravely enough to be suggested for promotion to ensign. These accounts do NOT mean the same flag is being described, in particular the flag from Chancellorsville.

It may be but it might also be an earlier Richmond Depot ANV flag which would also be the flag the 10th VA used at Gettysburg since Ed Johnson's Division was not able to get their new colors before that campaign due to the wool bunting shortage at the depot. I have never found any conclusive and without reproach accounts of any VA state flags being carried in battle at Gettysburg, for example although the many VA regiments may have had some in their wagons. Neither did the late Richard Rollins who wrote a definitive book on the CS flags of that campaign.

As I have stated, the 10th VA did get an ANV flag in August 1863 with the dark blue battle honors through "Gettysburg" painted on the folds. I have seen the flag in person years ago and have good color pics of it. It was sold by John Bracken some years back. This is the flag the regiment would have been using for most of the rest of the war as it had the battle honors on it. Why carry anything else when nothing else would have such honors on them??? The whole point of battle honors was to show how brave and accomplished a unit was in combat. You better believe that these men followed that flag as soon as possible and that means sometime after August 1863.

Again, the ANV had specific orders about carrying the ANV flags in battle to the detriment of other colors issued or brought. It is not until later in 1864 when units are losing flags at Petersburg and the Richmond Depot is not able to get them replaced for whatever reason. In this case VA and NC state colors have been captured (as well as First Nationals) and they were used as their ANV flags had either been lost or were too shot up.

You just have to ask yourself how would the 10th VA be the only regiment of the entire ANV to get to carry a VA state flag for all of this time that you claim? Would not the other VA regiments that also got state flags at some point in the war also want to carry those? This is why the single ANV flag orders were issued and they have been referred to often enough by soldier accounts to have been well known throughout the army. It was so the command and control elements of that army were uniform and that there would be no confusion at all with US flags. As we know, the Union regiments carried two flags; the Stars and Stripes and the blue regimental colors with the National Coat of Arms in the center. There would indeed be confusion with a VA state flag and one of the latter flags on smoke filled battle fields and the ANV flag creation was designed to prevent just that from happening.

You have done some wonderful research on this unit but I think you need to rethink that VA state flag part somewhat for the reasons stated above.

greg Biggs