I do not think anyone knows for sure today what flag the 5th flew in the early goings. I have tried to track this down for years and talked to several of the key historians on this subject . I had a relative who served in the 5th and he was killed at Valverde in early 1862. During the New Mexico campaign, Sibley's Brigade, flew a combination of at least three different flags. They flew the Texas State Lone Star flag, the First National CSA flag and the single white star on a red or reddish -maroon field flag that is often referred to as the Arizona flag. That flag is described in some reports that were written at Fort Lancaster , Texas as Sibley's Brigade stopped in on their way to New Mexico. There were probably some others flown by the various regiments as they marched out of San Antonio and on to New Mexico , but , to my knowledge , there are are known descriptions of these early flags. One interesting point of reference is that the Sibley's Brigade reunion flag, which was made in 1880s ( I believe) for reunions of the old Brigade , clearly shows miniature versions of the First National Flag in the corner of the flag's field. Now I am thinking, would the Sibley vets have stood for a misrepresentation of their old flags ? By the way, that flag was loaned to the Simpson / Confederate Heritage Museaum at Hill Jr. College, at least up until a year or two ago. However, that school's recent bent toward being PC may have put the old flag in the closet .

Craig