26 March 1998
Hello gentlemen,
While researching at the Atlanta History Center last week I was given the website address for the 3rd Georgia Infantry Regiment to look it over for flags information.
I am a CS flags researcher of 9 years who is currently writing three books on wartime Confederate flags. One is a general overview book on the many flag patterns, the second is a book of Alabama's flags and the third will cover all of the known Georgia flags not so done in the recently published book of the Georgia Secretary of State's Office that covers only those flags in their collections.
As such, I read over the information on your website with great interest and wanted to apprise you of some other information I have as to another flag for the 3rd Georgia.
The account of the 12 month man had information as to the first regimental colors received by the unit in, it seems, May, 1861 from Mrs. Wright. The account for the 3rd's flag in the Georgia Capitol book calls it a "blue flag" which may, or may not, have been an unofficial state flag.
The website then cites the information in the same book for the Army of Northern Virginia pattern battle flag for the 3rd Georgia that is in the state collection in Atlanta. This flag, with its orange exterior borders on three sides, is an ANV Second Wool Bunting battleflag - which is discernable by those orange borders.
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State Capital Atlanta, GA Woodcut from the August 11, 1887 Madison Advertiser |
However, both the book and your website state erroneously [since corrected] that this is the flag they followed for the rest of the war. My research has turned up another ANV battle flag for the 3rd that was issued to the unit after the one now in Atlanta - and the website also has the account of the last battle flag issued that was then surrendered at Appomattox. Summed up, this makes a total of 4 flags issued to the 3rd Georgia during the war, which is fairly typical for Confederate regiments.
It is the third flag that I have turned up that I hope you will find interesting.
It too, is an ANV pattern battle flag, but this model is a Thrid Wool Bunting issue. These are the first of the ANV flags to have white exterior borders and the first versions began reaching the army in the late summer to fall of 1862. The one I know of was issued to the regiment to replace the Second Bunting flag now in Atlanta sometime in mid -1863. I suspect it was after Gettysburg that this was done.
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Augusta Richmond County Museum, Augusta, GA |
I suspect that this new flag was issued to the unit AFTER Gettysburg as there were new flags issued to the army when it returned to Virginia. The divisions of Ed Johnson, George Pickett all received new flags as well as those units that lost colors in battle in Pennsylvania (over 60 total). Any unit that had their flag too shot up for continued service also received a new flag from the Richmond Depot. I suspect that after both Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, the 3rd most likely needed another flag, and so retired the Second Bunting now in Atlanta for the Third Bunting they received in 1863.
It was this flag they chose not to surrender at Appomattox rather than the one in Atlanta today.
The Third Bunting battle flag for the 3rd Georgia can be found
today in the collections of the Augusta-Richmond County Museum
in August, Georgia. I have examined this flag and gone over some
of the documents for it and have based the above conclusions
on that research.
"Return Fire" to 3rd
GVI History Page