Ken,

As follows:

>>>>The flag mentioned in the OR's taken near Sikestown could have been taken by several different units. The author of the report James Morgan of the 10th Ill. Makes the report as commander of the "1st Brigade". He mentions the 1st Ill Cav and a company of the 22nd Ill Inf as taking part in the running skirmish. He also mentions 30 men a "detachment" of Co. D, of the 10th Ill.>>>>

No he does not make any distinction - but the 1864 newspaper article does as does the NT article of 1905. As does the 1864 Illinois newspaper. Those follow below.

>>>>He makes NO distinction as to who or what unit took the "one flag", nor does he state to whom the flag belonged.>>>>

The only unit involved at the fight near Sikeston was commanded by Jeff Thompson and included an artillery battery and some other men he had gathered. He mentions it in his memoirs as being there and the Thompson bio so mentions it as does Larry Daniel's book on the Island Number Ten Campaign and three essays in various historical quarterlies that I also cited, etc. The Union troops fought nobody else on March 1st, 1862 in that part of Missouri at the start of the campaign when the flag was taken.

>>>>Sounds like the two newspaper articles that remain a secret are the only sources that mention Thompson by name.>>>>

Copies are done for you already but for the rest of you:

National Tribune - October 5, 1905 - written by M. J. Cherihan, 10th Illinois Infantry - "The fortunes of war found us in February, '62, chasing the rebel Gen. Jeff Thompson in the vicinity of Sykeston (sic)...we made the earth too hot for this rebel crowd and they were compelled to seek shelter under the rebel guns at New Madrid; but we captured all of their commissary stores ..together with Jeff Thompson's headquarters flag."

Springfield, (IL) State Journal - February 23, 1864 = Reception of the 10th Illinois at Jacksonville (IL) = (NOTE: the regiment was home for veteran furlough at this time.) "You first tried your "prentice hand" on that arch freebooter, Jeff Thompson, routing him at every point, stripping him of his guns, his flag - and driving the scattered robbers into the swamps of lower Missouri. Then you formed the advance guard of Gen. Pope's expedition against New Madrid and Island No. 10..." - text of speech at reception of a Dr. McFarland.

Sounds pretty convincing to me that the flag was taken from Thompson's troops near Sikeston by the 10th Illinois and we know that Sylla had the flag in his family and they said it was taken at this time. Sylla, as mentioned, was out of the regiment from June 1862 onward so the Island Number Ten Campaign time frame also fits.

>>>I now understand why you insisted that Union City and anything else within 30 miles of Island #10 should be included as part of that engagement. >>>>

Ummm...because it WAS! This was called the Island Number Ten Campaign and lasted from late February to early April 1862. Military campaigns are made up of various battles that revolve around a central goal - in this case the opening of the Mississippi River - much like several battles were part of the Vicksburg Campaign with the goal of taking that city and further opening the river. Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, was a campaign with numerous battles as was Napoleon's invasion. The Solomons Campaign of World War 2 involved Guadalcanal and several otehr island invasions plus numerous naval battles all revolving around taking this chain of islands. Pope called it a campaign and the OR reports cover it from beginning to end in both the Army and Navy ORs; Larry Daniel included all of it in his book on the campaign, as does the historical quarterly essays and even articles in Civil War Times from years past. The Heg Letters (15th Wisconsin) also cover it as a campaign, etc. because it was a campaign. CS flags were taken at pretty much every part of the campaign hence and Pope was the commanding officer for each of the four phases of the campaign from Sikeston to the surrender at Tiptonville with New Madrid, Island Number Ten itself and Union City all parts of the whole campaign. That is why I included all of it - because those involved did and these fit the very definition of what a military campaign actually is.

Greg Biggs