Guidon of the Stuart Horse Artillery
I bought the guidon of the First Stuart Horse Artillery in 1988 from Mr. Robert R. Hardy of Suffolk, Virginia, after Peggy Vogtsberger mentioned that the item was for sale. Mr. Hardy had purchased the guidon in 1980 from Mr. Dave Zullo, who owns OIde Soldier Books in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Mr. Zullo came across the guidon in a New Jersey antique store, who had recently acquired it from a New Jersey estate sale.
As you can see from the picture, the horse artillery guidon is very distinct. Basically, the flag is a swallowtail guidon. Its general design is patterned, with some exception, after the First Confederate National flag of 1861. Some of the variations and possible explanations are:
(1) The mullets (stars) are four-pointed which is unusual. Most have five points and some have more. I personally have seen three Confederate flags including this one with four points. As to the odd placement of the stars, it looks like there is space for at least two rrore, possibly for Missouri and Kentucky, which the South hoped would join their new Confederacy. However, variations in star placement were not that uncommon it also could have been a way of further distinguishing the unit.
(2) According to Laura Perkinson of Newport News, Virginia, who is knowledgeable in fabrics and sewing methods of the 19th-century the chain stitch embroidery used to spell "1st Stuart Horse Artillery" could have been sewn to the flag during or sometime after the war, which was done in some cases. She told me that because of the manner in which the flag was constructed possibly more than one person could have been involved in making it. The guidon was made in separate pieces and then sewn together. The hoist end white border is one piece; the field of blue is another; each bar is a separate piece, as well as the eleven stars on each side of the guidon. Altogether, the guidon was made from 27 pieces. The words "1st" and "Horse Artillery" were embroidered in yellow (representing cavalry) and "Stuart" is in red (representing artillery).
(3) The First National flag typically (I say "typically" because color and other design variations were not that unusual) had a blue field with white stars. The horizontal bars were red, white and red. The First Stuart Horse Artillery guidon matches this design except that the lower bar is not red but blue like the field.
I have two possible theories as to reason for this color variation. First, since by definition a guidon is a small flag used to show unit identification or as a unit marker, it is quite possible that this distinct color pattern was used to identify the First Stuart Horse Artillery battery.
Second, it is known that there were a number of French soldiers in the horse artillery. The colors of the French National flag are from the hoist side (point nearest the staff) to the edge are blue, white and red. The guidon may have been constructed for a member or members of the horse artillery who were of French descent using a combination of designs from the First National Confederate flag and the French National flag. Since the hoist or staff end color of the French flag was blue the only bar on the First National Confederate design which would touch the hoist end would be the bottom bar, hence the blue color of the bottom bar of the horse artillery guidon; then white and red above it. While the French flag's colors run vertically, the use of vertical bars would have looked too strange and out of place with the design of the First Confederate National flag.
The flag was also chemically tested to determine authenticity. The test was performed by Dr. Edward Steers, Jr., of Rockville, Maryland. Dr. Steers has performed red dye tests on many flags at the Museum of the Confederacy. When I contacted Dr. Steers he told me that the red dye test which he performs is used to determine whether the red dye in the flag is natural (non-synthetic or of plant origin dating approximately before 1873) or synthetic (post-1873). Civil War-era flags did not use synthetic red dye but natural non-synthetic dye. The red dye used in the guidon tested true for natural non-synthetic dye. Mr. Steers told me that there was no specific dye test for indigo (blue dye). He also said that natural red dye does not affect wool or cotton (the guidon is made of cotton) but tends to deteriorate silk. This could be a contributing factor to the excellent condition of the flag. Dr. Steers did tell me that some Confederate flags are still in excellent condition.
Further reasons for the excellent condition of the flag could possibly be that it saw duty mainly as a camp, drill or parade guidon with little or no use in action. It may have been the private flag of a battery member (a French soldier?) being flown little if any at all. Also, because of its small size, approximately 10" x 16", if it did see battle action, it was not damaged. The guidon does have some soiling on the white border of the hoist end and what appears to be water staining on the bars.
Without any documentation from previous owners, this is of course speculation, but at least I think I have come up with some plausible theories. Perhaps in time further documentation can be found. In any case, I am the proud owner of the guidon of the First Stuart Horse Artillery.
This article first appeared in Volume 10, No. 2 of The Cannoneer.
