Last updated: July 27, 2023
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Third Bunting Issue Battle Flag of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry
NPS Photo
The park’s collection contains the third bunting issue flag of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry. The flag has the typical physical characteristics of third bunting issue flags produced by the Richmond Clothing Bureau (RBC) from British-produced wool bunting for issuance to the Army of Northern Virginia.
The red field is of three-piece construction, with blue wool bunting saltier of three-piece construction placed in the center of the red field. White cotton twill fimbriation lines the edges of the saltire, with the remnants showing the characteristic “L” on each edge, which sewers formed by folding the cotton twill prior to its application on the edges of the saltire. White cotton stars – from complete to ghosted remnants – are placed in their characteristic locations in the saltire. Finally, the existing edges of the flag are finished with folded white wool bunting and cotton canvas (the latter constituting the flag’s hoist edge).
NPS Photo
Battle Honors
The unit designation of “2/N.C.” appears in the center of the flag in yellow. Battle honors for the regiment appear in all four quadrants of the flag’s field in yellow and include: Mechanicsville; Cold Harbor (Gaines' Mill); Malvern Hill; Boonsboro; Sharpsburg (Antietam); Fredericksburg; and Chancellorsville. Standing scholarship on the battle honors appearing these flags notes their being painted in blue by artists under contract to the RBC by mid-1863.
NPS Photo
Close examination of this flag confirms this – as the reverse of the flag shows that the yellow seen on the battle honors is an overpaint of the original blue and the original blue period of each battle honor can be seen on the surface. The date of the overpaint is unknown, but XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy which measures elements present in an object) analysis of the paint supports its mid-19th century origin.
The physical characteristics and visible battle honors suggest a likelihood that the regiment carried this flag at Gettysburg. Research by flag historian Howard Madus notes that the 2nd North Carolina was part of General Daniel Harvey Hill’s division when that division received a full complement of battle flags with painted battle honors following the Battle of Fredericksburg in early 1863 (which included the Fredericksburg battle honor).
Histories of the Battle of Chancellorsville also note that many regiments of General Stephen D. Ramseur’s brigade (including the 2nd North Carolina) lost battle flags during closing phases of that battle.
NPS Photo
The appearance of the Chancellorsville battle honor suggests, therefore, an issuance of this flag to replace the regimental flag captured at Fredericksburg. While no direct written evidence of issuance of a new flag to the 2nd North Carolina Infantry after Chancellorsville has surfaced, one of its sister regiments in Ramseur’s brigade (the 30th North Carolina) did receive a new battle flag from the brigade’s quartermaster on May 19, 1863.
Evidence in the North Carolina State Archives also shows that the Quartermaster of the 4th North Carolina received two new battle flags in May 1863. Both instances demonstrate solid evidence for the issuance of new battle flags to the 2nd North Carolina’s brigade prior to Gettysburg.
NPS Photo
Preservation
Angela Rosensteel Eckert and Lawrence Eckert donated the flag to Gettysburg National Military Park in 1987. To better exhibit this flag in the park’s museum galleries, the Artist Preservation Group will be supporting and funding a new treatment and framing initiative.
The treatment will include unmounting the flag from its current support and removing the old encapsulation and underlays. It will be documented and custom dye will be added to the new underlays and overlays to improve the appearance and protect the artifact. New mounts will then be prepared, and the flag will be re-framed – all of which will allow the park to better exhibit the flag in the main museum galleries.