Re: Missouri State Guard colored arm patches Wilsons Creek.
"The uniform of the Confederate Army [of the west] is multiform. They are not uniformed at all, and generally speaking, it is impossible to distinguish a Colonel from a private. The only mark of distinction about them, except for their arms, is a piece of flannel stitched to the left shoulder. I was told that white flannel was the distinguishing mark of the troops, yellow that of Arkansas, red that of Louisiana, and so on. Of course this only applies to the Southwest."
Correspondent, Register of Rock Island, Illinois, Sept. 11, 1861
"The uniform of the Confederate Army [of the west] is multiform. They are not uniformed at all, and generally speaking, it is impossible to distinguish a Colonel from a private. The only mark of distinction about them, except for their arms, is a piece of flannel stitched to the left shoulder. I was told that white flannel was the distinguishing mark of the troops, yellow that of Arkansas, red that of Louisiana, and so on. Of course this only applies to the Southwest."
Correspondent, Register of Rock Island, Illinois, Sept. 11, 1861
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