Flag of the 26th Mississippi

The search for the flag of the 26th Mississippi begins at a strange place.

On April 14, 1865, Colonel John B. Murray, commander of the 148th New York Infantry, wrote:

(1)

Murray was describing the action of his regiment on April 2nd, the day the Federals broke through Confederate lines southwest of Petersburg. At first reading, one might ask, "What does this have to do with the 26th?" But this is where the task of the historical detective must go to work.

There is a glaring flaw in Murray's report. It's a case of mistaken regimental identity. The 8th Mississippi was never associated with the Army of Northern Virginia. It served in the West with the Army of Tennessee! It did see service in the East at the end of the war, but surrendered with Johnston's Army in North Carolina.

The question is: who is this misidentified regiment? Perhaps the most obvious conclusion is that it belonged to the 48th Mississippi. "8th" for "48th" could be an easy mistake. The 48th Miss was indeed at Petersburg and is noted in its stand at Fort Whitworth. However, there is evidence that goes against this choice: 1) Murray's report above states a skirmish line captured the enemy's works. This doesn't adequately describe the attack on Fort Whitworth. And 2) the report states the capture took place early on the morning of April 2nd. The attack on Fort Whitworth was later in the day.

Early on the morning of April 2nd, the 148th New York with the XXIV Corp assisted Wright's VI Corp in wrapping up the capture of Henry Heth's troops at Hatcher's Run. The Mississippi Brigade of Joseph Davis manned the thinned Confederate line at this point. So whose flag was it? The 2nd Miss? 11th Miss? 26th Miss or the 42nd Miss? The captured flags of the 2nd, 11th and 42nd regiments can all be accounted for. This leaves only the 26th Miss with missing colors and has led several Confederate flag authorities to conclude that the misidentified flag in Murray's report belonged to none other than the 26th. (2)

In 1905, the War Department returned this flag (WD 289) to Mississippi, but over the passage of time found itself in a private collection. It has exchanged hands several times and today dwells in the hands of an unknown private collector. In 1978, Howard Michael Madaus examined this flag, and noted that it is an Army of Northern Virginia Fourth Bunting issue. It is unmarked, neither unit designation or battle honors being indicated. Since the ANV 4th Bunting was issued in May 1864, it definitely would have coincided with the transfer of the 26th to the East in April of the same year. Even though it is believed that WD 289 belonged to the 26th, it cannot be for certain. Howard Madaus said this conclusion is "tentative/probable, not definitive." (3)

If indeed WD 289 is the flag of the 26th, it would be the LAST flag issued to the unit. Nothing is known of their colors at the beginning of the war. Since they were initially attached to the Central Army of Kentucky, they could have been issued an early Hardee/Buckner Flag. They also probably carried a First National Confederate flag. And as for company flags, who knows? It's difficult to account for Ft. Donelson capture flags. It is also unknown as to the colors that would have been issued to them after their release from prison and reorganization in the Fall of 1862. Hopefully, more information can be gleaned in the future.

Here's a personal note to whomever currently owns WD 289: History would be well-served and the 26th Miss would be truly honored, if we had a picture of this cherished flag. In no way would I divulge information that would lead to your identity. You don't even have to identify yourself. You can contact me yourself or have someone else get in touch. I would simply like to have have a pic(s) of the flag that can be positively identified as that of WD 289. I believe history belongs to everyone, and all I want to do is share a picture of this honored banner with the world. I hope to hear from you soon!

Footnotes:
(1) Official Records, Series I, Vol 46 / I, pp. 1207-1208
(2) Confederate flag authorities, Howard Michael Madaus, Ken Legendra, et. al. lean toward the identification of WD 289 as belonging to the 26th Miss. Greg Biggs, et. al. favor identification as belonging to the 48th Miss.
(3) E-mail message from Howard Madaus to Steve Hardwick, March 8, 2002.