Our Company Flags

An example of he Mercury Flag

The South Carolina Guidon

Many regiments in the South Carolina were issued the 1st National Flag or what is known as the "Stars and Bars". The 1st National boasted three stripes of in the color of red, white and red and the blue canton featured 7 stars as the war progressed, 4 more stars were added. The standard 3 foot by 5 foot was the size of the 1st National Flag. Many other units were issued the State flag that featured the Palmetto tree and Crescent moon painted on silk.

In early 1862, in attempt to phase out the 1st National flag, a two colored and four pattern flag was introduced simply known as the Mercury Flag. The colors were separated in a diagonal pattern that made four triangles. The flags were made from silk and came in two sizes. The blue and white colored Artillery versions of these flags measured 56 inches by 59 ½ inches. The center was cream colored and had a Palmetto tree with cross cannon and the letters S.C. painted on it.

Another type of flag that may have been issued to the companies of Lucas' Battalion may have been a guidon. Only the Artillery and Cavalry were issued guidons. The horizontal bicolor guidon was garnet and black in color and measured 26 inches by 38 inches. A white cotton letter on the garnet color would have been the company letter, while garnet colored letters were sewn onto the black that was the abbreviation of the battalion.

In late 1862, General Pierre Beauregard took command of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Since several regiments in the Charleston area had their own flags, General Beauregard wanted to create a more uniformed army and the flags were among the first thing that needed to be changed. In the spring of 1863, the Virginia style Battle Flag was introduced to the men in arms at Charleston, South Carolina.

By March and April of 1863, The Charleston Depot began to manufacture the Army of Northern Virginia Style Battle Flag. By April 20th, 1863 Lucas' Battalion among other brigades and units was issued the new Charleston Depot Battle Flag. The Battle flag that Lucas' Battalion was issued was 48 inches squared and made from wool bunting with a red sleeve to slip over the flag pole. The cross was 8 inches wide with 13 stars measuring 4 1/2 inches across and they were spaced every 8 inches. The Battle flags were constructed by making the St. Andrews cross first and then sewing the white to the cross then adding four pieces of red for the main field to the white and then adding the white border with a sleeve. The stars were sewn onto one side of the Battle flag and then cut from the other side exposing the star. No battle honors or unit designations were painted or sewn onto the flag.