Bibliography (codes [raa] to [raz])

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135 b/w images in the text, and colored pages with 156 coats of arms and 160 flags. Rabbow is the grand old man of German vexillology and this is in my opinion an excellent book, not only on German flags, but also on international flags and coats of arms. It’s a dark blue pocket book looking very insignificant...
Jarig Bakker, 15 Jun 2000

This volume is aimed towards helping the researcher know what flags the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia has in their collection. With well over 550 flags, this is the largest single collection of Confederate flags in the world. It is a flags resource that has clamored for a complete index for a long time!

The book is broken down into three sections: one is for flags that the museum acquired from individual donors beginning in 1892 (and broken down by state), the next section covers flags donated by the Commonwealth of Virginia (almost all of them battleflags or state flags for Virginia troops) and the last section covers flags transferred from the U.S. War Department in 1906 (broken down by War Department Capture Number). At the turn of the century the Confederate Museum (as it was known then) was the single gathering point from all over the South for wartime relics. Most came from soldiers or their families. As such, when the War Department gave back CS flags in 1905 (over 500) those that could not be identified went to the Confederate Museum; the others went to their respective states.

There is a short explanation of how to understand the book’s breakdown as well as some diagrams of flags and their terminology. There are some expalanations that should have been added — like a breakdown in the 9 different types of Army of Northern Virginia battle flags (one silk, one cotton and 7 wool bunting issues) as well as a description of the ANV variant flags listed in the text — some were Dept. of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana flags while others were Charleston Depot flags. The text only lists them as «ANV - variant» and then describes the flag’s variance from the regular ANV flags. While definitely inspired by the ANV battle flags they are different in enough respects to be considered their own extant patterns.

However, the reader will certainly become well acquainted with the collection of battle flags, national flags, presentation flags, headquarters flags as well as some of the most unique flags used by Confederate troops. Naval buffs will enjoy the inclusion of various CS Navy flags as well. This work certainly goes a long way in dispelling the myth of there being only one “Confederate” flag!

The book is well organized and very easy to read. Each flag has it’s known history as well as where it came from next to it based on the museum’s files. Measurements and descriptive details as to the materials used on some of the flags are also included. The section of flags returned from the War Department is particularly useful as many of the flags previously marked as «unknown unit» have now been identified by various researchers (including myself).

There are numerous photographs of flags throughout the book culminating in a color spread in the middle. If you have been an avid researcher of CS flags however, you will have seen many of these flags before. The entire collection has not been photographed as yet and I am sure Ms. Rose wanted to use certain flags to illustrate the collection’s diversity in terms of the many flag patterns. So that is a trade off that can be dealt with. There are some black & white photos as well. Some of the flags depicted have never been published and that aspect adds luster to the publication. One surprise the book held was the amount of U.S. Civil War flags the museum has — including the personal flag of Gen. George Custer!

My minor criticisms aside this is a wonderful research tool for those interested in the topic of Confederate flags. Ms. Rose, and the rest of the museum staff, have done a wonderful job of detailing the treasures of the museum’s collection in a format very easy to use as well as being ornate. The price of the publication is a modest $18 (less if you are a museum member like myself).

So far as I know it is only available at the Museum of the Confederacy bookstore — but they do have a mailorder service available as well as a website. Type in "Museum of the Confederacy" in your search engine and it will take you right to it.

Greg Biggs, 30 Oct 1998