14th Georgia: Flag Mystery

[lelliott19]

Where is the 14th Georgia's replacement flag, issued prior to the Gettysburg campaign and captured at Spotsylvania?

It's a mystery. Two flags. One regiment. One neatly documented "capture" that wasn't a battlefield capture at all. And one hard-fought flag returned in 1909 that disappeared.

At Gettysburg, Colonel Robert W. Folsom's 14th Georgia Infantry (Thomas' Brigade, Pender's Division) marched into battle carrying a brand-new, pristine Army of Northern Virginia battle flag. The regiment was not broken or overrun at Gettysburg, so the colors came safely off the field. Ten months later at Spotsylvania, the 14th Georgia's luck ran out.

But that's only half the story. The regiment had two different regimental flags with wildly different journeys. One "ghost captured" its way into War Department records and the other vanished after a dramatic 1909 reconciliation ceremony.

Flag of the 14th Georgia (War Department No. 365)
On June 14, 1863, with much of the army already marching north toward Pennsylvania, Colonel Folsom was still at Fredericksburg. He packed up the regiment's old, battle-worn flag and shipped it back to Governor Joseph E. Brown at Milledgeville, Georgia. In the accompanying letter Folsom noted his men had defended it on "twelve memorable and now historic fields," but they had just received a beautiful new replacement.

Governor Brown's response confirms the flag was received and "…shall be consigned to its proper place in the archives of the State…"

The old flag of the 14th Georgia never saw Gettysburg. It sat safely in the state capital… until Federal forces occupied Milledgeville in November 1864. Along with other items in the State's military archives, Federals seized the 14th Georgia's retired "bullet-scarred and shell-riven" flag and sent it to Washington, DC.

The U.S. War Department stenciled it with capture No. 365. It was essentially mailed home by Col. Folsom in June 1863 and then seized by the Federals in November 1864, when they occupied the Georgia State Capitol. Since it wasn't captured in battle, the clerk entered the laconic note: "No history of capture."

https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/flag/id/92/rec/1

The flag survives today in the Georgia Archives. Eleven painted battle honors are still visible - Seven Pines, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor (Gaines Mill), Frazier's Farm, Cedar Run, Manassas (Second Bull Run), Ox Hill (Chantilly), Harper's Ferry, Shepherdstown (Antietam), Fredericksburg, and ending with Chancellorsville. In 1905, it was formally returned to Georgia by the US War Department and is now the only 14th Georgia regimental battle flag in the Georgia Capitol Museum collection.

The Missing Flag:
The One That Fought at Gettysburg & Was Captured at Spotsylvania
So what happened to the new flag Folsom mentioned in that June 1863 letter? The one the 14th Georgia actually carried at Gettysburg? It survived the battle, only to be captured ten months later on May 12, 1864, when the 15th New Jersey overran the 14th Georgia at the Mule Shoe. Colonel Folsom himself was mortally wounded in the same fight. Rather than forwarding the flag to Washington, the 15th New Jersey veterans kept it as a prized personal trophy for the next 45 years.

Then, in May 1909, something remarkable happened! Survivors of the 14th Georgia traveled to the Bloody Angle for a formal ceremony of reconciliation. The 15th New Jersey veterans returned the 14th Georgia flag to the veterans in an emotional Act of Kindness handoff.

"Men who fought on opposing sides as did the north and south at Spotsylvania could not fail to recognize the courage and military skill of one another, and it is entirely appropriate that after the lapse of all these years the unity and good comradeship which now prevail should be celebrated by the return of the tattered ensign of the gallant Fourteenth Georgia."​

The Cold Case
And here the trail goes completely cold. That 1909 returned Gettysburg/Spotsylvania flag is not in the Georgia Archives today. The archives hold only Capture No. 365 and an early-war First National flag from Company A.

• So where is the 14th Georgia's Gettysburg/Wilderness/Spotsylvania flag?
• Did a member of the 1909 commission keep it?
• Is it tucked away in a local UDC chapter, a Confederate veterans camp, or a private Georgia collection?
• Or did the transfer somehow fall through, leaving the Georgia flag in New Jersey?

Does anyone know the current whereabouts of the second 14th Georgia battle flag. This one deserves to be found.

 

[lelliott19]

I found some additional information, but none of it solves the mystery of what happened to the returned flag of the 14th Georgia.

Did a member of the 1909 commission keep it?

Georgia Governor Hoke Smith selected two men to receive the returned flag at the ceremony in 1909. Veterans of the 15th NJ requested that at least one of the representatives be a veteran of the 14th GA. The two men selected by Gov Smith were:

• Rev. Dr. Merritt Jones Cofer (of Atlanta; a veteran of Company C, 14th GA)
• Col. J W Preston (of Macon; a high ranked officer of the UCV)

Governor Smith and his wife were also invited to attend.

Or did the transfer somehow fall through, leaving the Georgia flag in New Jersey?

And the return of the flag did take place.

So who wound up with the flag? And where is it today?
Surely if Governor Smith brought it back to Georgia, he would have deposited in the State Archives? Rev. Dr. Merritt Cofer was a preacher. Surely he would have done the right thing and made sure it made it to the archives?

 

[19thGeorgia]

1934?

 

[19thGeorgia]

"T.M. Wells, 6th New York Cavalry, presenting the flag of the 14th Georgia Infantry"

Captured at the Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864 (?)
But the 14th wasn't at this battle.

Custer's Trials (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for HistoryIn this magisterial biography, T. J. Stiles paints a portrait of Custer both deeply personal and sweeping in scope, proving how much of Custer’s legacy has been ignored. He demolishes Custer’s historical caricature, revealing a capable yet insecure...

www.google.com

 

[lelliott19]

One more newspaper article about the planned act of kindness return of the 14th Georgia's Gettysburg/Wilderness/Spotsylvania Flag by the 15th NJ 1909.

 

[19thGeorgia]

The Sun (Baltimore, MD), May 13, 1909:

"...gave it into the care of Lieutenant-Governor Ellyson [of Virginia] who will return it to the Fourteenth Georgia at the annual encampment of Confederate Veterans at Memphis this summer..."

 

[14thGACoG]

The Flag or a flag of the 14th Georgia is mentioned in a book called Georgia Sharpshoooter, The Civil War Diary and Letters of William Rhadamanthus Montgomery. From what I understand it could still be in a fire station somewhere in New York or New Jersey. Hopefully this helps locate it

Letter from A.W. Whitehead, 200 Academy St., Newark, N.J., Mar 27, 1907:

Capt. W.R. Montgomery
Marrietta, Ga.

My Dear Sir:
Last May I met you and your Son, Geo. F., in the Exchange Hotel at Fredericksburg, Va.
You informed me that you had a sword taken from a dying Union soldier (Major) on the battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa. which you would like to return to his family, or friends if they could be traced up.
I have investigated the matter thoroughly since I came home and the following is the result. His name was Louis Francine, and at the time you met him he was Colonel of the 7th N.J.V. Infty, having commissioned only a day or two before, but had not changed his straps as Major. He did not die on the field as you expected but was taken to the Hospital & died July 1st, 1863. Now a little on his career. When the Civil War began, he was Captain of a fire company, Philadelphia, Pa., and raised Co. A of the 7th Jersey from the firemen. Of course he was then made Captain, and for bravery on the field of battle, was made a Major, & next a Col.
As near as I can trace him in Philadelphia, his people are all dead.
Some of the old firemen, who remembered him, say that he lived with his mother & a sister, who have long since crossed the River. So, of course, it will be impossible to return the sword to any of his relatives but I would like to have it returned to Lincoln Post No. 11 G.A.R. Dept of N.J. if you so desire.
Quite a number of his regiment are members of said Post, and I have no doubt but what the gift would be highly appreciated by them.
If you think well enough of this proposition, it can be shipped to my address, at my expense and I will turn it over to the Post, using your name & c.
Or, I can place you in communication with the Post Commander, and you can negotiate that way.
However, let me hear from you whether for or against it, when convenient.
Enclosed stamped envelope for reply.
Respectfully Yrs
A.W. Whitehead
P.S. Are you off or from?

The Correspondence about the the sword of W.R.M. and the Sword itself were given to Mrs. Annie Montgomery DuPree by her brother Geo. F. Montgomery.

Letter from A.W. Whitehead, April 29, 1907, to G. F. Montgomery, Esq.
"Your decision in regard to Sword is all right. I thank you sincerely for the attention you haven given the subject. We have a flag taken from the 14th Ga. Infty at Spottsylvania C.H. Va. which we prize very highly, and would like to part with either on the same ground that you mention. Merely an heirloom."

This letter is yet another from A.W. Whitehead thanking WRM for a letter just read and regretting to hear of "your father's death the Vets of both sides are fast passing away. When we are all gone surely the Civil War will be over.' Mentions Reunion plans and experiences.

 

[firstflabn]

If the capture serial log entry is correct, it could only refer to the Appomattox Campaign - after A.P. Hill's death on April 2, 1865, resulted in a reorganization (rather than a replacement for Hill). If the capture log entry is wrong about organization and a 14th flag was lost at Spotsylvania (meaning the NJ story is basically correct as to whose flag they were returning), then there are at least two missing flags.

Many flags of this type exist featuring unit designation in gold around the central star and uniformly applied battle honors in dark blue (including ones for the three other regiments of Thomas). These blue battle honors were applied at the time of manufacture, before issue. So, for your theory to work, #365, the known existing flag of the 14th, would have been issued no earlier than May, 1863, and retired by mid-June. Not plausible.

 

[rpkennedy]

The Flag or a flag of the 14th Georgia is mentioned in a book called Georgia Sharpshoooter, The Civil War Diary and Letters of William Rhadamanthus Montgomery. From what I understand it could still be in a fire station somewhere in New York or New Jersey. Hopefully this helps locate it

Letter from A.W. Whitehead, 200 Academy St., Newark, N.J., Mar 27, 1907:

Capt. W.R. Montgomery
Marrietta, Ga.

My Dear Sir:
Last May I met you and your Son, Geo. F., in the Exchange Hotel at Fredericksburg, Va.
You informed me that you had a sword taken from a dying Union soldier (Major) on the battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa. which you would like to return to his family, or friends if they could be traced up.
I have investigated the matter thoroughly since I came home and the following is the result. His name was Louis Francine, and at the time you met him he was Colonel of the 7th N.J.V. Infty, having commissioned only a day or two before, but had not changed his straps as Major. He did not die on the field as you expected but was taken to the Hospital & died July 1st, 1863. Now a little on his career. When the Civil War began, he was Captain of a fire company, Philadelphia, Pa., and raised Co. A of the 7th Jersey from the firemen. Of course he was then made Captain, and for bravery on the field of battle, was made a Major, & next a Col.
As near as I can trace him in Philadelphia, his people are all dead.
Some of the old firemen, who remembered him, say that he lived with his mother & a sister, who have long since crossed the River. So, of course, it will be impossible to return the sword to any of his relatives but I would like to have it returned to Lincoln Post No. 11 G.A.R. Dept of N.J. if you so desire.
Quite a number of his regiment are members of said Post, and I have no doubt but what the gift would be highly appreciated by them.
If you think well enough of this proposition, it can be shipped to my address, at my expense and I will turn it over to the Post, using your name & c.
Or, I can place you in communication with the Post Commander, and you can negotiate that way.
However, let me hear from you whether for or against it, when convenient.
Enclosed stamped envelope for reply.
Respectfully Yrs
A.W. Whitehead
P.S. Are you off or from?

The Correspondence about the the sword of W.R.M. and the Sword itself were given to Mrs. Annie Montgomery DuPree by her brother Geo. F. Montgomery.

Letter from A.W. Whitehead, April 29, 1907, to G. F. Montgomery, Esq.
"Your decision in regard to Sword is all right. I thank you sincerely for the attention you haven given the subject. We have a flag taken from the 14th Ga. Infty at Spottsylvania C.H. Va. which we prize very highly, and would like to part with either on the same ground that you mention. Merely an heirloom."

This letter is yet another from A.W. Whitehead thanking WRM for a letter just read and regretting to hear of "your father's death the Vets of both sides are fast passing away. When we are all gone surely the Civil War will be over.' Mentions Reunion plans and experiences.

Just some information on Colonel Louis Francine. It is accurate that by 1907, all the members of his family had died. His father died in 1866, his mother in 1876, and his only sibling, Albert Francine died in 1879. I couldn't find a record of a sister (an aunt, perhaps?).

Louis Francine died on July 16 in Philadelphia and is buried in Laurel Hill East Cemetery along with other Civil War soldiers such as George G. Meade, Henry Bohlen, Henry Bingham, Samuel W. Crawford, and John Dahlgren. Actually, there are quite a few Civil War figures buried there.

Ryan

 

[debwallsmith]

I found some additional information, but none of it solves the mystery of what happened to the returned flag of the 14th Georgia.


Georgia Governor Hoke Smith selected two men to receive the returned flag at the ceremony in 1909. Veterans of the 15th NJ requested that at least one of the representatives be a veteran of the 14th GA. The two men selected by Gov Smith were:

• Rev. Dr. Merritt Jones Cofer (of Atlanta; a veteran of Company C, 14th GA)
• Col. J W Preston (of Macon; a high ranked officer of the UCV)

Governor Smith and his wife were also invited to attend.
View attachment 582712


And the return of the flag did take place.
View attachment 582710

So who wound up with the flag? And where is it today?
Surely if Governor Smith brought it back to Georgia, he would have deposited in the State Archives? Rev. Dr. Merritt Cofer was a preacher. Surely he would have done the right thing and made sure it made it to the archives?

Georgia state archives weren't established until 1918.