CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG OF THE 19TH TENNESSEE INFANTRY

RARE OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE A MUSEUM-QUALITY FLAG FROM A HARD-FOUGHT WESTERN THEATRE REGIMENT

Hand-sewn throughout. The field is constructed of red wool bunting with a 5 5/8-in.-wide blue wool St. Andrew’s cross, trimmed with 1 3/4-in. white cotton fimbriation. Thirteen 3 3/4 x 3 5/8-in. white cotton stars are single-appliquéd to the cross—one at center and three on each arm. Two (of four original) red wool twill-tape ties, each 5/8 x 9 in., are sewn to the hemmed leading edge. Overall approx. 51 1/2 x 36 1/4 in., housed in a 58 5/16 x 42 3/8 in. frame. 

The regimental designation appears in hand-sewn, single-appliquéd white cotton letters in the upper and lower quadrants, reading: “19TH / TENN / RGT.”

Recruited in East Tennessee, the 19th Tennessee Infantry was mustered into Confederate service at Knoxville in the spring of 1861. Attached to the Army of Tennessee, the regiment fought in every major campaign except the Battle of Perryville. Soon after organization, the regiment was garrisoned at Cumberland Gap to deter Union incursions. The position was critical given Kentucky’s stated neutrality and the strong Unionist sympathies in eastern Kentucky and East Tennessee.

After General Leonidas Polk seized Columbus, Kentucky, the state’s neutrality was effectively forfeited and Union forces entered the Bluegrass. Fearing attacks by Unionist Home Guards, General Zollicoffer sent a force of 800 men, including Companies B and K of the 19th Tennessee, to Barbourville to destroy a Union training facility. At dawn they ambushed approximately 300 “bushwhackers,” achieving the first Confederate victory in Kentucky. Several men were wounded; one soldier was killed, Lt. Robert D. Powell of Company K, often cited as the first Confederate killed in the Western Theater.

In early spring 1862, the 19th Tennessee and its brigade joined General Beauregard to form the Army of Mississippi, aiming to retake Middle and West Tennessee. At Shiloh, the regiment was bloodied in attacks on the Hornet’s Nest; on the second day, it saw further action retaking an artillery battery. By battle’s end, the 19th Tennessee had suffered nearly 25 percent casualties. The regiment arrived at Vicksburg on July 1 but endured severe privations as food ran short and disease spread. Sent to Baton Rouge, it could muster fewer than 100 men and was consolidated with remnants of other commands, still lacking basic supplies. After a largely fruitless engagement, the unit was withdrawn to Jackson. Through the remainder of 1862 the regiment suffered great privations, including shortages of shoes and other essentials. It spent a short time at Vicksburg, detached men to Baton Rouge, recuperated in Jackson, and then moved to Knoxville via Chattanooga in the autumn. At Murfreesboro, it forced Union troops back to the Nashville Pike and captured arms, ammunition, and supplies.

At Chickamauga, the regiment was heavily engaged on the extreme right. Despite losses of about 40 percent, it held the line. After fighting at Missionary Ridge, the 19th was transferred to Cheatham’s Division on 20 February 1864 and was engaged almost daily during the campaign toward Atlanta. On July 22nd, they reached the creek at Cobb's Mill and made an attack on the rear of Sherman's Army. They led the line of battle and shot a volley that mortally wounded General Games B. McPherson (1828-1864). William J. Worsham relates in the regimental history: "Here John Mason, our color bearer, displayed remarkable courage. He ran forward several steps ahead of the regiment and planted the colors on the enemy's works. In this charge Col. F.M. Walker fell, and here the brave and faithful soldier John Templeton, of Co. A, also fell. ..In this charge, which was a desperate one, the enemy were driven back, but soon made a charge on us, in which they recaptured the guns we had taken from them." (Worsham, p. 129). 

Following the Battle of Nashville, survivors who escaped capture or wounding joined General Johnston in North Carolina. According to Colonel Heiskell, the regiment numbered only 64 men at the time of surrender.

Worsham proudly relates in the regimental history that, "the Old Nineteenth never lost her colors in battle, tattered and torn by bullets in many a fray, it had survived them all and was still in the hands of the old regiment to lead wherever it should go." 

After the war, it seems evident that the flag remained in the hands of one or more of the veterans of the regiment. It was flown at the United Confederate Veterans reunion at Chattanooga in 1890: "They carried the National flag and displayed the honored battle flag of the Nineteenth Tennessee Regiment, of which Col. Walker had command." (p.211) It was also carried at the 1897 UCV Reunion in Nashville, with Harper's Weekly illustrating the flag (from the reverse) in an image titled "The Reunion of Confederate Veterans at the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition, June 22-24...3. Relics from Missionary Ridge" in their 3 July 1897 issue (Vol. XLI, No. 2115, p. 656). 

An extremely rare flag from one of the hardest-fought regiments of the Army of Tennessee.

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Flags, Patriotic Textiles]