Erbit,

The use of unit insignias was not wide spread during the Civil War. Usually the only regular emblems adopted were those of pre-war militia units. Some local groups would adopt some sort of identifiable emblem but this was a rare occasion. In the Union Army the only insignia used were the corps badges initially instilled by Gen. Joseph Hooker. None of this was official War Department action. The badges used by the Union Corps were just widely accepted to give the troops some sort of self identity. In the Confederte Army badges used were usually the product of a locality where a unit was raised. Gen. Robert E. Lee frowned on such things as he felt no one unit should be noted over another. No medals were ever used in the Confederacy either. At that time the greatest honor that could be bestowed upon an individual or unit was to be "mentioned in dispaches". This being official praise for a unit's or individual's actions during a battle.

Len