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Infantry Flags:
Twentieth Regiment to First Michigan Colored Regiment
NOTE: All photographs 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.
Twentieth Michigan Infantry Regiment
The Twentieth was recruited from Washtenaw, Jackson, Calhoun, Eaton and Ingham Counties
and mustered in at Jackson in August 1862. The regiment saw action primarily in Virginia
and Tennessee. In 1864, this flag replaced one lost in desperate fighting at the Battle of
the Crater. Many of the Twentieth's battles, from its first engagement at Fredericksburg
in December 1862 to its last, the capture of Petersburg on 3 April 1865, are recorded on
this flag. This was the third Union flag raised over Petersburg when it fell. (87.71.90)
Twenty-first Michigan Infantry Regiment
The Twenty-first Volunteer Infantry Regiment fought in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and
North Carolina. After the Civil War, regiments were ordered to return their battle flags
to the state. The flag displayed here, painted with the names of the regiment's battles in
gold, was turned over to Governor Crapo in 1866. It is not the "costly and superb
flag"—hand-embroidered with an American flag and eagle on the banner—that the
ladies of Ionia proudly presented to the regiment in September 1862. On the Fourth of July
1865, the regiment returned that presentation flag not to the state but to its donors—the
ladies of Ionia. It was placed on display in the Ionia County Courthouse where it remains
to this day. (87.69.90)
Twenty-Second Michigan Infantry Regiment
Drawing volunteers from the Oakland, Macomb and Lapeer counties, the regiment was mustered
into service at Pontiac in August 1862. The regiment was raised and commanded by Colonel
Moses Wisner, governor of Michigan from 1859 to 1860. On September 1863, the regiment's
flags were captured at Chickamauga—but only after the regiment suffered 372 captured,
killed, wounded or missing. The flag displayed probably was a replacement for a flag lost
at Chickamauga. (87.80.90)
 Twenty-Third Michigan
Infantry Regiment
This flag was probably the regiment's last flag and used during the final months of the
war. (87.96.90)
Twenty-Fourth Michigan Infantry Regiment
Holding this flag, Abel Peck was the first color bearer of the Twenty-Fourth to die at the
Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Shot through by twenty-three bullets, its staff splintered,
the flag was reduced to the tatter seen here. The regiment fulfilled its vow to protect
the banner: the flag, probably the most famous of this collection, was never surrendered. (87.84.90)
 Twenty-Fourth Michigan
Infantry Regiment
This regimental flag came to the Twenty-Fourth on 27 April 1864 after the regiment
colonel, Henry Morrow, pleaded, "The old one is worn out, full of bullet holes, and
staff splintered and spliced." This flag was the first to be conserved by
professional textile conservator Fonda Thomsen as part of the Save
The Flags program. (87.94.90)
Twenty-Fifth Michigan Infantry Regiment
Mustered into service near Kalamazoo in September 1862, the regiment was recruited
throughout the southwestern part of the state, including Holland, Niles and Marshall. Its
soldiers saw much of their action in Georgia. We know much of the regiment's history but
little about this specific flag. (87.85.90)
Twenty-Sixth Michigan Infantry Regiment
This flag was carried by the Twenty-Sixth, which was mustered into service at Jackson on 12
December 1862. Although the regiment saw most of its action in Virginia, it was
also sent to help put down draft riots in New York City in 1863. The troops of the
Twenty-Sixth were present at General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. This flag
was probably issued to the regiment late in the war. Unlike most Civil War infantry flags
in this collection, the flag was not "netted" in the 1960s. (87.87.90)
 Twenty-Seventh Michigan
Infantry Regiment
The Twenty-Seventh mustered in at Ypsilanti on 10 April 1863. It included
three companies recruited from the Upper Peninsula. The regiment saw action primarily in
Tennessee and Virginia and fought in the Battle of the Crater outside Petersburg,
Virginia, in July 1864. Little is known about this flag. Completely embroidered by hand
and trimmed with gold bullion fringe and tassels, it was a costly one—possibly presented
to the regiment by the "Ladies of Port Huron" before the regiment left for war. (87.115.90)
Twenty-ninth Michigan Infantry Regiment
"Rally, Boys, Rally for the flag! And Avoid the Draft." So said the August 1864
poster recruiting volunteers for a new infantry regiment—the Twenty-ninth Regiment of
Michigan Infantry. "Come boys, let us strike once more for the old Flag—Let it be
ours. Let us raise ONE MORE COMPANY." The new regiment left Saginaw for the field in
October. Its hard-won battle honors were proudly placed on this flag. (87.103.90)
(This is an unconserved flag and was not "netted" in the
1960s. Netting was meant to preserve flags but actually contributed to their
deterioration. Netting violated the first rule of conservation: do nothing which cannot be
undone without damage. Brittle silk was sandwiched between layers of dyed nylon net and
the layers machine-stitched together. Stitching cracked the silk and resulted in damage
which can never be reversed.)
 "Unknown"
Michigan Infantry Regiment
In the 1960s, during the centennial of the Civil War, Michigan, looked for a way to
preserve its collection of aging battle flags. Like many states, Michigan followed a
practice called "netting." Flags were machine-sewed between layers of dyed nylon
net. The sewing put additional holes in the fragile fabric and made it harder to see the
flags. This flag escaped netting and, thanks to donations to Save The Flags,
was one of the first to receive modern conservation treatment, which is fully reversible
and nearly invisible. Contrast this flag with the netted ones in the collection. This flag
can now be studied and viewed safely. The identity of the regiment that fought under this
flag is unknown. (87.218.90)
 First Michigan Colored
Infantry (102nd Regiment United States Colored Troops)
At the start of the Civil War, Blacks were not allowed to serve in the Union Army although
many were eager to do so. Although Congress authorized the raising of African-American
regiments in 1862, it was not until early 1863—after the Emancipation Proclamation was
issued—that heavy recruitment began. The First Michigan Colored Infantry Regiment, made
up—like other such regiments—of black soldiers and white officers, began training in the
fall of 1863. On 5 January 1864, the Colored Ladies Aid Society presented them with a
flag. The following month they were mustered in as federal troops, known as the 102nd
Regiment United States Colored Troops. The 102nd served on picket duty, built
fortifications, destroyed railroads and engaged the enemy. (87.107.90)
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