Infantry Flags:
First to Seventh Regiments
NOTE: All photographs (except Minnie's flag) are by Peter Glendinning.
(Dark netting used in earlier conservation of some flags obscures their detail.) The text
and images in this exhibit may be used by students, teachers and the public for personal
and academic purposes. Any commercial use or publication of them (print or online) is
strictly prohibited. Click on the flag to see a larger image.
 First Michigan Infantry
Regiment
The First Michigan was the first regiment raised in Michigan after President Abraham
Lincoln called for volunteers. On 21 July, the regiment fought at Bull Run, near Manassas,
Virginia. In the resounding defeat for the Union, this flag was captured. Not until 1886
was the flag returned to Michigan. (87.228.90)
 Second Michigan Infantry
Regiment
Within ten days after the fall of Fort Sumter in April 1861, the Second Michigan was
recruited from Adrian, Battle Creek, Flint, Kalamazoo, Niles and Saginaw. Its soldiers
received this flag emblazoned with a gold eagle clutching in its beak a scroll that read:
"At the Union's sacred call, her Patriot Sons Will Peril All." (87.16.90)
 Second Michigan Infantry
Regiment
This tattered fragment—the second national flag of this regiment—survived thirty-three
engagements. During the siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1861, William Gundlach planted
the flag on the enemy works and fought off the rebels with his revolver. He carried this
flag to safety through many conflicts and had the names of the regiment's principal
battles painted on it. (87.8.90)
Second Michigan Infantry Regiment
The Second entered Petersburg, Virginia, in the early morning of 3 April 1865,
on the heels of the First Michigan Sharpshooters. The Second raised the second Union flag
over Petersburg—the flag seen here—over the Customs House. This flag was issued to the
Second in 1864 to replace one lost at the Battle of the Crater. Battle honors cover the
flag, but the Second had seen continuous action since May 1861 and there was not enough
room on the flag for all the regiment's honors. (87.1.90)
 Second Michigan Infantry Regiment
In 1993, eighty-three-year-old Father John Hardy and his ninety-seven-year-old sister,
Sister Frances Claire, presented Governor John Engler with the flag their father, Captain
John Hardy, a color guard with the Second Michigan Infantry, carried during the Civil War.
(93.57.1)
 Minnie's Flag
During the Civil War, few people could afford the large manufactured silk flags presented
to regiments. Wanting to show their loyalty to the Union cause, many hand-stitched their
own small flags of cotton or linen. Julia Wilbur made this flag for her niece Minnie Van
Buskirk. Minnie wrapped herself in the flag as she watched her father Joseph march away
to war with the Second Michigan Volunteer Regiment in 1861. (96.106.1)
 Third Michigan Infantry
Regiment
The Third was formed at Grand Rapids with troops from there as well as Lansing, Lyons and
Saranac and was mustered into service in 1861. The troops received this blue regimental
flag, hand embroidered in white floss with an eagle on both sides. (87.9.90)
 Fourth Michigan Infantry
Regiment
On 21 June 1861, the regiment received its first flag from the ladies of Adrian who had
sewn the legend "The Ladies of Adrian to the 4th Regiment—Defend It" on the
flag. "While I have the honor to command these brave men, while my life shall be
spared, the flag shall never be surrendered to the foe," promised Colonel Dwight
Woodbury. At Malvern Hill, 1 July 1862, Woodbury was killed and this flag reduced to
tatters. The netting shows the shape of the original flag. (87.10.90)
Dexter Union Guard
This banner is not a regimental battle flag. It belonged to the Dexter Union Guard, part
of the Fourth Michigan Infantry, but we do not know exactly how the Guard used this flag. (87.89.90)
 Fifth Michigan Infantry
Regiment
The Fifth Michigan was organized in Detroit and received its first colors in September
1861. The regiment fought in many battles, including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and
Gettysburg, earning the name the "Fighting Fifth." The regiment received this
flag in March 1865. (87.40.90)
Sixth Michigan Infantry Regiment
The Sixth Michigan Infantry was mustered into service in Kalamazoo in August 1861 but did
not receive its two flags—both bearing the motto "Do Your Duty"—until after
the troops left Michigan. Only this one survives. (87.37.90)
 Seventh
Michigan Infantry Regiment
This is the only flag belonging to the Seventh Michigan Infantry Regiment in the museum's
collection. The regiment—mustered into service on 22 August 1861 in Monroe—fought at
Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Second Bull Run, Antietam, the Wilderness and the Siege of
Petersburg. (87.25.90)
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