CORPS AND CORPS BADGES.
“You’ll find lovely fighting
Along the whole line.”
KEARNY.
[Illustration]
What was an army corps? The name is one adopted into the English language
from the French, and retains essentially its original meaning. It has
been customary since the time of Napoleon I. to organize armies of
more than fifty or sixty thousand men into what the French call _corps
d’armée_ or, as we say, army corps.
It is a familiar fact that soon after the outbreak of the Rebellion
Lieutenant-General Scott, who had served with great distinction in
the Mexican War, found himself too old and infirm to conduct an
active campaign, and so the command of the troops, that were rapidly
concentrating in and around Washington, was devolved upon the late
General Irvin McDowell, a good soldier withal, but, like every other
officer then in the service, without extended war experience. His first
work, after assuming command, would naturally have been to organize the
green troops into masses that would be more cohesive and effective in
action than single undisciplined regiments could be. But this he was not
allowed to do. The loyal people of the North were clamoring for something
else to be done, and that speedily. The Rebels must be punished for their
treason without delay, and President Lincoln was beset night and day to
this end. In vain did McDowell plead for a little more time. It could
not be granted. If our troops were green and inexperienced, it was urged,
so were the Rebels. It is said that because he saw fit to review a body
of eight regiments he was charged with attempting to _make a show_, so
impatient was public sentiment to have rebellion put down. So having
done no more than to arrange his regiments in brigades, without giving
them any discipline as such, without an organized artillery, without a
commissariat, without even a staff to aid him, McDowell, dividing his
force, of about 35,000 men, into live divisions, put four of them in
motion from the Virginia bank of the Potomac against the enemy, and the
result was—Bull Run, a battle in which brigade commanders did not know
their commands and soldiers did not know their generals. In reality,
the battle was one of regiments, rather than of brigades, the regiments
fighting more or less independently. But better things were in store.
[Illustration: PLATE I.
MCINDOE BROS., PRINTERS, BOSTON.]
Bull Run, while comparatively disastrous as a battle-field, was a grand
success to the North in other respects. It sobered, for a time at
least, the hasty reckless spirits who believed that the South would not
fight, and who were so unceasingly thorning the President to immediate
decisive action. They were not satisfied, it is true, but they were less
importunate, and manifested a willingness to let the authorities have a
short breathing spell, which was at once given to better preparation for
the future.
All eyes seemed now to turn, by common agreement, to General George
B. McClellan, to lead to victory, who was young, who had served with
distinction in the Mexican War, had studied European warfare in the
Crimea, and, above all, had just finished a successful campaign in West
Virginia. He took command of the forces in and around Washington July
27, 1861, a command which then numbered about fifty thousand infantry,
one thousand cavalry, and six hundred and fifty artillerymen, with nine
field batteries, such as they were, of thirty guns. A part of these had
belonged to McDowell’s Bull Run army, and a part had since arrived from
the North. The brigade organization of McDowell was still in force on
the Virginia side of the Potomac. I say _in force_. That statement needs
qualifying. I have already said that there was originally no cohesion to
these brigades; but _since_ the battle the army was little better than
a mob in the respect of discipline. Officers and men were absent from
their commands without leave. The streets of Washington were swarming
with them. But I must not wander too far from the point I have in mind
to consider. I only throw in these statements of the situation to give
a clearer idea of what a tremendous task McClellan had before him.
In organizing the Army of the Potomac he first arranged the infantry
in _brigades_ of four regiments each. Then, as fast as new regiments
arrived—and at that time, under a recent call of the President for five
hundred thousand three years’ volunteers, they were coming in very
rapidly,—they were formed into temporary brigades, and placed in camp in
the suburbs of the city to await their full equipment, which many of them
lacked, to become more efficient in the tactics of “Scott” or “Hardee,”
and, in general, to acquire such discipline as would be valuable in
the service before them, as soldiers of the Union. As rapidly as these
conditions were fairly complied with, regiments were permanently assigned
to brigades across the Potomac.
After this formation of brigades had made considerable headway, and
the troops were becoming better disciplined and tolerably skilled in
brigade movements, McClellan began the organization of _Divisions_, each
comprising three brigades. Before the middle of October, 1861, eleven of
these divisions had been organized, each including, besides the brigades
of infantry specified, from one to four light batteries, and from a
company to two regiments of cavalry which had been specially assigned to
it.
The next step in the direction of organization was the formation of _Army
Corps_; but in this matter McClellan moved slowly, not deeming it best to
form them until his division commanders had, by experience in the field,
shown which of them, if any, had the ability to handle so large a body of
troops as a corps. This certainly seemed good judgment. The Confederate
authorities appear to have been governed by this principle, for they did
not adopt the system of army corps until after the battle of Antietam,
in September, 1862. But month’s had elapsed since Bull Run. Eighteen
hundred and sixty-two had dawned. “All quiet along the Potomac” had come
to be used as a by-word and reproach. That powerful moving force, Public
Sentiment, was again crystallizing along its old lines, and making itself
felt, and “Why don’t the army move?” was the oft-repeated question which
gave to the propounder no satisfactory answer, because to him, with
the public pulse again at fever-beat, no answer could be satisfactory.
Meanwhile all these forces propelled their energies and persuasions in
one and the same direction, the White House; and President Lincoln,
goaded to desperation by their persistence and insistence, issued a War
Order March 8, 1862, _requiring_ McClellan to organize his command into
five _Army Corps_. So far, well enough; but the order went further, and
specified who the corps commanders should be, thus depriving him of doing
that for which he had waited, and giving him officers in those positions
not, in his opinion, the best, in all respects, that could have been
selected.
But my story is not of the commanders, nor of McClellan, but of the
corps, and what I have said will show how they were composed. Let us
review for a moment: first, the _regiments_, each of which, when full,
contained one thousand and forty-six men; _four_ of these composed a
_brigade_; _three brigades_ were taken to form a _division_, and _three
divisions_ constituted a _corps_. This system was not always rigidly
adhered to. Sometimes a corps had a _fourth_ division, but such a case
would be a deviation, and not the regular plan. So, too, a division
might have an extra brigade. For example, a brigade might be detached
from one part of the service and sent to join an army in another part.
Such a brigade would not be allowed to remain independent in that case,
but would be at once assigned to some division, usually a division whose
brigades were small in numbers.
I have said that McClellan made up his brigades of four regiments. I
think the usual number of regiments for a brigade is three. That gives
a system of threes throughout. But in this matter also, after the first
organization, the plan was modified. As a brigade became depleted by
sickness, capture, and the bullet, new regiments were added, until, as
the work of addition and depletion went on, I have known a brigade to
have within it the skeletons of ten regiments, and even then its strength
not half that of the original body. My camp was located at one time near
a regiment which had only _thirty-eight men present for duty_.
There were twenty-five army corps in the service, at different times,
exclusive of cavalry, engineer, and signal corps, and Hancock’s veteran
corps. The same causes which operated to reduce brigades and divisions
naturally decimated corps, so that some of them were consolidated; as,
for example, the First and Third Corps were merged in the Second, Fifth,
and Sixth, in the spring of 1864. At about the same time the Eleventh and
Twelfth were united to form the Twentieth. But enough of corps for the
present. What I have stated will make more intelligible what I shall say
about
CORPS BADGES.
What are corps badges? The answer to this question is somewhat lengthy,
but I think it will be considered interesting. The idea of corps badges
undoubtedly had its origin with General Philip Kearny, but just _how_ or
exactly _when_ is somewhat legendary and uncertain. Not having become
a member of Kearny’s old corps until about a year after the idea was
promulgated, I have no tradition of my own in regard to it, but I have
heard men who served under him tell widely differing stories of the
origin of the “Kearny Patch,” yet all agreeing as to the author of the
idea, and also in its application being made first to _officers_. General
E. D. Townsend, late Adjutant-General of the United States Army, in his
“_Anecdotes of the Civil War_,” has adopted an explanation which, I have
no doubt, is substantially correct. He says:—
“One day, when his brigade was on the march, General Philip Kearny,
who was a strict disciplinarian, saw some officers standing under a
tree by the roadside; supposing them to be stragglers from his command,
he administered to them a rebuke, emphasized by a few expletives. The
officers listened in silence, respectfully standing in the ‘position of
a soldier’ until he had finished, when one of them, raising his hand to
his cap, quietly suggested that the general had possibly made a mistake,
as they none of them belonged to his command. With his usual courtesy,
Kearny exclaimed, “Pardon me; I will take steps to know how to recognize
my own men hereafter.” Immediately on reaching camp, he issued orders
that all officers and men of his brigade should wear conspicuously on the
front of their caps a round piece of red cloth to designate them. This
became generally known as the ‘Kearny Patch.’”
I think General Townsend is incorrect in saying that Kearny issued orders
immediately on reaching camp for all “officers and men” to wear the
patch; first, because the testimony of officers of the old Third Corps
to-day is that the order was first directed to _officers only_, and
this would be in harmony with the explanation which I have quoted; and,
second, after the death of Kearny and while his old division was lying at
Fort Lyon, Va., Sept. 4, 1862, General D. B. Birney, then in command of
it, issued a general order announcing his death, which closed with the
following paragraph:—
“As a token of respect for his memory, all the officers of this division
will wear crape on the left arm for thirty days, and the colors and drums
of regiments and batteries will be placed in mourning for sixty days.
To still further show our regard, and _to distinguish his officers as
he wished_, each officer will continue to wear on his cap a _piece_ of
scarlet cloth, or have the top or crown-piece of the cap made of scarlet
cloth.”
The italics in the above extract are my own; but we may fairly infer from
it:—
First, that up to this date the patch had been required for officers
alone, as no mention is made of the rank and file in this order.
Second, that General Kearny did not specify the lozenge as the shape of
the badge to be worn, as some claim; for, had such been the case, so
punctilious a man as General Birney would not have referred in general
orders to a lozenge as “a _piece_ of scarlet cloth,” nor have given the
option of having the crown-piece of the cap made of scarlet cloth if the
lamented Kearny’s instructions had originally been to wear a lozenge.
This being so, General Townsend’s quoted description of the badge as “a
_round_ piece of red cloth” is probably erroneous.
As there were no red goods at hand when Kearny initiated this move, he is
said to have given up his own red blanket to be cut into these patches.
Soon after these emblems came into vogue among the officers there is
strong traditional testimony to show that the men of the rank and file,
_without general orders_, of their own accord cut pieces of red from
their overcoat linings, or obtained them from other sources to make
patches for themselves; and, as to the shape, there are weighty reasons
for believing that _any_ piece of red fabric, of whatsoever shape, was
considered to answer the purpose.
[Illustration: ST. ANDREW’S CROSS.]
These red patches took immensely with the “boys.” Kearny was a rough
soldier in speech, but a perfect dare-devil in action, and his men
idolized him. Hence they were only too proud to wear a mark which should
distinguish them as members of _his_ gallant division. It was said to
have greatly reduced the straggling in this body, and also to have
secured for the wounded or dead that fell into the Rebels’ hands a more
favorable and considerate attention.
There was a special reason, I think, why Kearny should select a _red_
patch for his men, although I have never seen it referred to. On the 24th
of March, 1862, General McClellan issued a general order prescribing
the kinds of flags that should designate corps, division, and brigade
headquarters. In this he directed that the First Division flag should
be a red one, six feet by five; the Second Division blue, and the Third
Division a red and blue one;—both of the same dimensions as the first. As
Kearny commanded the First Division, he would naturally select the same
color of patch as his flag. Hence the _red_ patch.
The contagion to wear a distinguishing badge extended widely from this
simple beginning. It was the most natural thing that could happen for
other divisions to be jealous of any innovation which, by comparison,
should throw them into the background, for by that time the _esprit
de corps_, the pride of organization, had begun to make itself felt.
Realizing this fact, and regarding it as a manifestation that might
be turned to good account, Major-General Joseph Hooker promulgated a
scheme of army corps badges on the 21st of March, 1863, which was the
first systematic plan submitted in this direction in the armies. Hooker
took command of the Army of the Potomac Jan. 26, 1863. General Daniel
Butterfield was made his chief-of-staff, and he, it is said, had much to
do with designing and perfecting the first scheme of badges for the army,
which appears in the following circular:—
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.
_Circular._
MARCH 21, 1863.
For the purpose of ready recognition of corps and divisions of
the army, and to prevent injustice by reports of straggling
and misconduct through mistake as to their organizations, the
chief quartermaster will furnish, without delay, the following
badges, to be worn by the officers and enlisted men of all the
regiments of the various corps mentioned. They will be securely
fastened upon the centre of the top of the cap. The inspecting
officers will at all inspections see that these badges are worn
as designated.
First Corps—a sphere: red for First Division; white for Second;
blue for Third.
Second Corps—a trefoil: red for First Division; white for
Second; blue for Third.
Third Corps—a lozenge: red for First Division; white for
Second; blue for Third.
Fifth Corps—a Maltese cross: red for First Division; white for
Second; blue for Third.
Sixth Corps—a cross: red for First Division; white for Second;
blue for Third. (Light Division, green.)
Eleventh Corps—a crescent: red for First Division; white for
Second; blue for Third.
Twelfth Corps—a star: red for First Division; white for Second;
blue for Third.
The sizes and colors will be according to pattern.
By command of
MAJOR-GENERAL HOOKER,
S. WILLIAMS, A.A.G.
Accompanying this order were paper patterns pasted on a fly-leaf,
illustrating the size and color required. It will be seen that the
badges figured in the color-plates are much reduced in size. Diligent
inquiry and research in the departments at Washington fail to discover
any of the patterns referred to, or their dimensions; but there are
veterans living who have preserved the first badge issued to them in
pursuance of this circular, from which it is inferred that the patterns
were of a size to please the eye rather than to conform to any uniform
scale of measurement. A trefoil which I have measured is about an inch
and seven-eighths each way. It is a copy of an original. The stem is
straight, turning neither to the right nor left.
The arms of the Fifth Corps badge are often figured as concave, whereas
those of a Maltese cross are straight. This is believed to be a deviation
from the original in the minds of many veterans who wore them, and they
are changed accordingly in the color-plate.
The Sixth Corps wore a St. Andrew’s cross till 1864, when it changed to
the Greek cross figured in the plate.
[Illustration: PLATE II.
MCINDOE BROS., PRINTERS, BOSTON.]
That this circular of Hooker’s was not intended to be a dead letter was
shown in an order issued from Falmouth, Va., May 12, 1863, in which he
says:—
“The badges worn by the troops when lost or torn off must be immediately
replaced.”
And then, after designating the only troops that are without badges, he
adds:—
“Provost-marshals will arrest as stragglers all other troops found
without badges, and return them to their commands under guard.”
There was a badge worn by the artillery brigade of the Third Corps,
which, so far as I know, had no counterpart in other corps. I think it
was not adopted until after Gettysburg. It was the lozenge of the corps
subdivided into four smaller lozenges, on the following basis: If a
battery was attached to the first division, two of these smaller lozenges
were red, one white, and one blue; if to the second, two were white, one
red, and one blue; and if to the third, two were blue, one red, and one
white. They were worn on the left side of the cap.
The original Fourth Corps, organized by McClellan, did not adopt a
badge, but its successor of the same number wore an equilateral triangle
prescribed by Major-General Thomas, April 26, 1864, in General Orders
No. 62, Department of the Cumberland, in which he used much the same
language as that used by Hooker in his circular, and designated divisions
by the same colors.
The badge of the Seventh Corps was a crescent nearly encircling a
star. It was not adopted until after the virtual close of the war,
June 1, 1865. The following is a paragraph from the circular issued by
Major-General J. J. Reynolds, Department of Arkansas, regarding it:—
“This badge, cut two inches in diameter, from cloth of colors red, white,
and blue, for the 1st, 2d, and 3d Divisions respectively, may be worn by
all enlisted men of the Corps.”
This was an entirely different corps from the Seventh Corps, which served
in Virginia, and which had no badge. The latter was discontinued Aug. 1,
1863, at the same time with the original Fourth Corps.
The Eighth Corps wore a six-pointed star. I have not been able to
ascertain the date of its adoption. There was no order issued.
[Illustration: AN ORIGINAL NINTH CORPS BADGE.]
The Ninth Corps was originally a part of the Army of the Potomac, but
at the time Hooker issued his circular it was in another part of the
Confederacy. Just before its return to the army, General Burnside issued
General Orders No. 6, April 10, 1864, announcing as the badge of his
corps, “A shield with the figure nine in the centre crossed with a foul
anchor and cannon, to be worn on the top of the cap or front of the
hat.” This corps had a fourth division, whose badge was green. The corps
commander and his staff wore a badge “of red, white, and blue, with gilt
anchor, cannon, and green number.”
December 23, 1864, Major-General John G. Parke, who had succeeded to the
command, issued General Orders No. 49, of which the following is the
first section:—
“1. All officers and enlisted men in this command will be required to
wear the Corps Badge upon the cap or hat. For the Divisions, the badges
will be plain, made of cloth in the shape of a shield—red for the first,
white for the second, and blue for the third. For the Artillery Brigade,
the shield will be red, and will be worn under the regulation cross
cannon.”
[Illustration: ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH CORPS BADGES COMBINED.]
This order grew out of the difficulty experienced in obtaining the badge
prescribed by General Burnside. The cannon, anchor, etc., were made
of gold bullion at Tiffany’s, New York City, and as it was scarcely
practicable for the rank and file to obtain such badges, they had
virtually anticipated the order of General Parke, and were wearing the
three plain colors after the manner of the rest of Potomac’s army. The
figures in the color-plate, however, are fashioned after the direction of
General Burnside’s order. The annexed cut is a fac-simile of one of the
original metallic badges worn by a staff officer. This corps had a fourth
division from April 19 to Nov. 29, 1864.
The Tenth Corps badge was the trace of a four-bastioned fort. It was
adopted by General Orders No. 18 issued by Major-General D. B. Birney,
July 25, 1864.
The Eleventh and Twelfth Corps have already been referred to, in General
Hooker’s circular. On the 18th of April, 1864, these two corps were
consolidated to form the Twentieth Corps, and by General Orders No.
62 issued by Major-General George H. Thomas, April 26, “a star, as
heretofore worn by the Twelfth Corps,” was prescribed as the badge.
The annexed cut shows the manner in which many of the corps combined the
two badges in order not to lose their original identity.
[Illustration: PLATE III.
MCINDOE BROS., PRINTERS, BOSTON.]
The Thirteenth Corps had no badge.
The badge of the Fourteenth Army Corps was an acorn. Tradition has it
that some time before the adoption of this badge the members of this
corps called themselves _Acorn Boys_, because at one time in their
history, probably when they were hemmed in at Chattanooga by Bragg,
rations were so scanty that the men gladly gathered large quantities of
acorns from an oak-grove, near by which they were camped, and roasted and
ate them, repeating this operation while the scarcity of food continued.
Owing to this circumstance, when it became necessary to select a badge,
the acorn suggested itself as an exceedingly appropriate emblem for that
purpose, and it was therefore adopted by General Orders No. 62, issued
from Headquarters Department of the Cumberland, at Chattanooga, April 26,
1864.
The badge of the Fifteenth Corps derives its origin from the following
incident:—During the fall of 1863 the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps were
taken from Meade’s army, put under the command of General Joe Hooker,
and sent to aid in the relief of Chattanooga, where Thomas was closely
besieged. They were undoubtedly better dressed than the soldiers of
that department, and this fact, with the added circumstance of their
wearing corps badges, which were a novelty to the Western armies at
that time, led to some sharp tilts, in words, between the Eastern and
Western soldiers. One day a veteran of Hooker’s command met an Irishman
of Logan’s Corps at the spring where they went to fill their canteens.
“What corps do you belong to?” said the Eastern veteran, proud in the
possession of the distinguishing badge on his cap, which told his story
for him. “What corps, is it?” said the gallant son of Erin, straightening
his back; “the Fifteenth, to be sure.” “Where is your badge?” “My
badge, do ye say? There it is!” said Pat, clapping his hand on his
cartridge-box, at his side; “forty rounds. Can you show me a betther?”
On the 14th of February, 1865, Major-General John A. Logan, the commander
of this corps, issued General Orders No. 10, which prescribe that the
badge shall be “A miniature cartridge-box, one-eighth of an inch thick,
fifteen-sixteenths of an inch wide, set transversely on a field of cloth
or metal, one and five-eighths of an inch square. Above the cartridge-box
plate will be stamped or worked in a curve ‘Forty Rounds.’” This corps
had a fourth division, whose badge was yellow, and headquarters wore a
badge including the four colors. Logan goes on to say:—
“It is expected that this badge will be worn constantly by every officer
and soldier in the corps. If any corps in the army has a right to take
pride in its badge, surely that has which looks back through the long
and glorious line of ... [naming twenty-nine different battles], and
scores of minor struggles; the corps which had its birth under Grant and
Sherman in the darker days of our struggle, the corps which will keep on
struggling until the death of the Rebellion.”
[Illustration: FIRST AND FIFTH CORPS BADGES COMBINED.]
The following correct description of the badge worn by the Sixteenth
Army Corps is given by the assistant-inspector general of that corps,
Colonel J. J. Lyon:—“The device is a circle with four Minie-balls, the
points towards the centre, cut out of it.” It was designed by Brevet
Brigadier-General John Hough, the assistant adjutant-general of the
corps, being selected out of many designs, submitted by Major-General
A. J. Smith, the corps commander, and, in his honor, named the “A. J.
Smith Cross.” It is easily distinguished from the Maltese cross, in being
bounded by curved instead of straight lines. No order for its adoption
was issued.
The badge of the Seventeenth Corps, said to have been suggested by
General M. F. Ford, and adopted in accordance with General Orders issued
by his commander, Major-General Francis P. Blair, was an arrow. He says,
“In its swiftness, in its surety of striking where wanted, and its
destructive powers, when so intended, it is probably as emblematical of
this corps as any design that could be adopted.” The order was issued at
Goldsboro, N. C., March 25, 1865. The order further provides that the
arrow for divisions shall be two inches long, and for corps headquarters
one and one-half inches long, and further requires the wagons and
ambulances to be marked with the badge of their respective commands, the
arrow being twelve inches long.
A circular issued from the headquarters of the Eighteenth Army Corps June
7, 1864, and General Orders No. 108, from the same source, dated August
25, 1864, furnish all the information on record regarding the badge of
this body. While both are quite lengthy in description and prescription,
neither states what the special design was to be. It was, however, a
cross with equi-foliate arms. The circular prescribed that this cross
should be worn by general officers, suspended by a tri-colored ribbon
from the left breast. Division commanders were to have a triangle in
the centre of the badge, but brigade commanders were to have the number
of their brigade instead; line officers were to suspend their badges by
ribbons of the color of their division; cavalry and artillery officers
also were to have distinctive badges. The whole system was quite complex,
and somewhat expensive as well, as the badges were to be of metal and
enamel in colors. Enlisted men were to wear the plain cross of cloth,
sewed to their left breast. This order was issued by General W. F. Smith.
General Orders 108 issued by General E. O. C. Ord simplified the matter
somewhat, requiring line-officers and enlisted men both to wear the plain
cross the color of their respective divisions, and enlisted men were
required to wear theirs on the front of the hat or top of the cap.
[Illustration: PLATE IV.
MCINDOE BROS., PRINTERS, BOSTON.]
By General Orders No. 11 issued by General Emory Nov. 17, 1864, the
Nineteenth Corps adopted “a fan-leaved cross, with an octagonal centre.”
The First Division was to wear _red_, the Second _blue_, and the Third
_white_—the exception in the order of the colors which proved the rule.
The badge of enlisted men was to be of cloth, two inches square, and worn
on the side of the hat or top of the cap, although they were allowed to
supply themselves with metallic badges of the prescribed color, if so
minded.
The Twenty-First Corps never adopted a badge.
The Twenty-Second adopted (without orders) a badge quinquefarious in
form, that is, opening into five parts, and having a circle in the
centre. This was the corps which served in the defence of Washington. Its
membership was constantly changing.
The badge adopted by the Twenty-Third Corps (without General Orders) was
a plain shield, differing somewhat in form from that of the Ninth Corps,
with which it was for a time associated, and which led it to adopt a
similar badge.
The following General Order tells the story of the next Corps’ badge:—
HEADQUARTERS TWENTY-FOURTH ARMY CORPS,
BEFORE RICHMOND, VA., March 18, 1865.
[General Orders No. 32.]
By authority of the Major-General commanding the Army of the
James, the HEART is adopted as the badge of the Twenty-Fourth
Army Corps.
The symbol selected is one which testifies our affectionate
regard for all our brave comrades—alike the living and the
dead—who have braved the perils of the mighty conflict, and our
devotion to the sacred cause—a cause which entitles us to the
sympathy of every brave and true heart and the support of every
strong and determined hand.
The Major-General commanding the Corps does not doubt that
soldiers who have given their strength and blood to the fame of
their former badges, will unite in rendering the present one
even more renowned than those under which they have heretofore
marched to battle.
By command of Major-General JOHN GIBBON.
A. HENRY EMBLER, A. A. A. General.
This corps was largely made up of re-enlisted men, who had served nine
months or three years elsewhere. Here is another General Order which
speaks for itself:—
HEADQUARTERS TWENTY-FIFTH ARMY CORPS, ARMY OF THE JAMES,
IN THE FIELD, VA., Feb. 20, 1865.
[Orders.]
In view of the circumstances under which this Corps was raised
and filled, the peculiar claims of its individual members
upon the justice and fair dealing of the prejudiced, and the
regularity of the troops which _deserve_ those _equal_ rights
that have been hitherto denied the majority, the Commanding
General has been induced to adopt the _Square_ as the
distinctive badge of the Twenty-Fifth Army Corps.
Wherever danger has been found and glory to be won, the heroes
who have fought for immortality have been distinguished by
some emblem to which every victory added a new lustre. They
looked upon their badge with pride, for to it they had given
its fame. In the homes of smiling peace it recalled the days
of courageous endurance and the hours of deadly strife—and it
solaced the moment of death, for it was a symbol of a life of
heroism and self-denial. The poets still sing of the “Templar’s
Cross,” the “Crescent” of the Turks, the “Chalice” of the
hunted Christian, and the “White Plume” of Murat, that crested
the wave of valor sweeping resistlessly to victory.
Soldiers! to you is given a chance in this Spring Campaign of
making this badge immortal. Let History record that on the
banks of the James thirty thousand freemen not only gained
their own liberty but shattered the prejudice of the world, and
gave to the Land of their birth Peace, Union, and Liberty.
GODFREY WEITZEL,
Major-General Commanding.
[Official.]
W. L. GOODRICH, A. A. A. General.
This corps was composed wholly of colored troops.
In the late fall of 1864, Major-General W. S. Hancock resigned his
command of the Second Corps to take charge of the First Veteran Corps,
then organizing. The badge adopted originated with Colonel C. H. Morgan,
Hancock’s chief-of-staff.
The centre is a circle half the diameter of the whole design, surrounded
by a wreath of laurel. Through the circle a wide red band passes
vertically. From the wreath radiate rays in such a manner as to form a
heptagon with concave sides. Seven hands spring from the wreath, each
grasping a spear, whose heads point the several angles of the heptagon.
Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps had a badge, but it was not generally worn. The
device was “Gold crossed sabres on a blue field, surrounded by a glory in
silver.”
The design of Wilson’s Cavalry Corps was a carbine from which was
suspended by chains a red, swallow-tail guidon, bearing gilt crossed
sabres.
The badge of the Engineer and Pontonier Corps is thus described: “Two
oars crossed over an anchor, the top of which is encircled by a scroll
surmounted by a castle; the castle being the badge of the U. S. corps
of engineers.” As a fact, however, this fine body of men wore only the
castle designed in brass.
The badge of the Signal Corps was two flags crossed on the staff of a
flaming torch. This badge is sometimes represented with a red star in the
centre of one flag, but such was not the typical badge. This star was
allowed on the headquarters flag of a _very few_ signal officers, who
were accorded this distinction for some meritorious service performed;
but such a flag was rarely seen, and should not be figured as part of the
corps badge.
The Department of West Virginia, under the command of General Crook,
adopted a spread eagle for a badge, Jan. 3, 1865.
The pioneers of the army wore a pair of crossed hatchets, the color of
the division to which they belonged. Then, the Army of the Cumberland
have a society badge. So likewise have the Army of the Potomac. There
are also medals presented for distinguished gallantry, worn by a few.
They are not numerous and are seldom to be seen—for this reason, if for
no other, they are of precious value to the owner, and are therefore
carefully treasured.
In nearly every corps whose badge I have referred to, the plan was
adopted of having the first three divisions take the national colors of
red, white, and blue respectively. These corps emblems were not only worn
by the men,—I refer now to the Army of the Potomac,—but they were also
painted with stencil on the transportation of a corps, its wagons and
ambulances. And just here I may add that there was no army which became
so devotedly attached to its badges as did the Army of the Potomac. There
were reasons for this. They were the first to adopt them, being at least
a year ahead of _all_ other corps, and more than two years ahead of many.
Then, by their use they were brought into sharper comparison in action
and on the march, and, as General Weitzel says, “they looked upon their
badge with pride, for to it they had given its fame.”
These badges can be seen in any parade of the Grand Army, worn on the cap
or hat, possibly now and then one that has seen service. I still have
such a one in my possession. But at the close of the war many of the
veterans desired some more enduring form of these emblems, so familiar
and full of meaning to them, and so to-day they wear pinned to the breast
or suspended from a ribbon the dear old corps badge, modelled in silver
or gold, perhaps bearing the division colors indicated, in enamel or
stone, and some of them inscribed with the list of battles in which the
bearer participated. What is such a jewel worth to the wearer? I can
safely say that, while its intrinsic value may be a mere trifle, not
all the wealth of an Astor and a Vanderbilt combined could purchase the
experience which it records, were such a transfer otherwise possible.
[Illustration: PLATE V.
MCINDOE BROS., PRINTERS, BOSTON.]