6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment - Battle Flags

Battle Flags

At least six flags attributed to the 6th Arkansas Infantry or the 6th & 7th Consolidated Infantry Regiments are known to exist.

The earliest flag known for the 6th Arkansas is a 1st pattern Hardee (Buckner) battle flag- 28" x 38", no white border on three sides, and only a 2" white border on the staff edge. (See Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of Tennessee, p. 55) This flag is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC; accession no. 18342. This flag (according to its file card) "was made by a soldier of the Sixth Arkansas, from remnants of blue and white shirts." The blue field is extensively pieced.

The second known flag of the 6th Arkansas is a 2nd pattern, Hardee battle flag, 31" x 43 1/2", with white border all around and inscription "6th Arks/Shiloh" on an elliptical central disc in black paint or ink. This flag presumably was used by the 6th Arkansas as its battle flag from sometime in early 1862 until the flag was too worn for further use. One third of the fly portion of the blue field is replaced, presumably a repair, but the date of the repair is uncertain. This flag is currently in the collection of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. Dimensions: 31.5" x 43.5"; blue wool bunting, white cotton, with black painted letters.

A silk Confederate 1st national flag of the 6th Arkansas Infantry with battle honor "PERRYVILLE" attached by means of a rectangular applique on the reverse; 55" x 84 1/2" (exclusive of fringe), badly faded. It was captured when found in an abandoned railroad car at Macon, Georgia on 20 May 1865 by Sergt. John W. Deen, 17th Indiana Mounted. Infantry; and is War Department capture no. 500. According to a 1907 letter, this flag was only used at Perryville, then retired before Murfreesboro. It is currently in the collection of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock.

A Confederate 2nd national flag of the combined 6th & 7th Arkansas Infantry. currently in the Missouri State archives in Columbia, Missouri. When examined in 1978, it consisted of a 40 1/2" x 76 1/2" white bunting field with a red canton bearing an unedged 3 1/2" wide St. Andrew's cross bearing thirteen white cotton stars, those on the arms 3 1/2" across their points, the center 5" across its points, applied to the reverse and cut away on the obverse (reverse side accordingly 1/2" larger in diameter.) The white field bears the following inscriptions: (upper- in outline scrolls) "6th and 7th/ARK/REG'T" (middle) "God & Our Country"; (lower) "SHILOH. PERRYVILLE. MURFREESBORO.", all in red painted lettering. This flag dates no earlier than May 1863 and was probably a "parade" flag used briefly between May and June 1863, however no firm history survives regarding it.

This is a 2nd pattern Hardee battle flag, originally of the 7th Arkansas, but modified for the combined 6th & 7th Arkansas; 30" x 37 1/4"; captured at Jonesboro, Georgia on 1 September 1864 by Private Henry B. Mattingly, 10th Kentucky Infantry; War Department capture no. 531. This flag bears the embroidered battle honor "SHILOH" in the center of the elliptical disc, over embroidered "Down with the Tyrant", and with "7TH ARK." above it in paint, with "6TH &" added in front of it, both in black. Similarly, three battle honors, "PERRYVILLE." "MURFREESBORO." and "CHICKAMAUGA" painted in black on the white border. Also painted in white on blue field, "LIBERTY GAP", "RINGGOLD GAP", and "TUNNEL HILL, Tenn." This is the flag that the combined 6th and 7th Arkansas carried from their consolidation in November, 1862 until its loss in September 1864. This flag was captured, along with the regiment, when Govan's Arkansas Brigade was overrun and captured by a Federal charge on their position at Jonesboro, Georgia on September 1, 1864. Private Henry B. Mattingly of Co. B, 10th Kentucky Infantry (U.S.) won the Medal of Honor for the capture of this flag. This flag is in the collection of the Old State House Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dimensions: 28.5" x 37.5"; blue wool bunting, white cotton, silk embroidery, with blue, black, and white painted letters.

This is a small (23 1/2" x 28 1/8") flag, most likely a camp color or flag marker, in the form of the 2nd pattern Hardee battle flag, with the Arkansas coat-of-arms painted on the elliptical disc and the designation "6TH and 7TH ARK. REG." painted on the upper border in black. It was acquired in 1976 by the National Park Service, and is on display at the Stone's River National Battlefield visitor's center in Murfreesboro, TN. Dimensions: 28" x 38"; blue wool bunting, white cotton, with black painted letters.