Corp badges

[Jimmayo]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

Excavated corps badges have been found in Butlers camps at Bermuda Hundred, around areas of Sherman's March as well as AOP areas. I would assume they were used in some numbers Army wide but perhaps they were more popular in the AOP since they were close to Washington and under the eye of more big wigs.

I have a few examples of the many types used on this page

http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/j_mayo/relics.html

[Rob Weaver]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

Jim: I never visited your site before. Beautiful pictures! Would I be correct in assuming that the USCT in Butler's command would also be wearing corps badges?

[Goat]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

Corps badges were adopted by commands other than the AoP, and in great variation, but not until later in the war in most instances (1864 and 1865, in min very many cases), and the adoption of those devices were usually decided upon in a less formal process.

The AoP badges were ordered into being by the high command at first, but not all units who served with the Army were ordered by the AoP command to adopt a certain device. The IV Corps is a good example: Burnside's Division, later Burnside's Ninth Corps, adopted a badge that featured the famous cannon, anchor and rope, set in a shield, to honor their service as an "amphibious" force earlier in the war. This was not one of the original badges ordered into service in March 1863, but it was never challenged either.

The Regulars were simply a part of the greater organization of the larger armies after the start of the war, and as such, were required, and probably the most consistent, in the proper display of the badges.

Rob Willis

[fedcampaigner]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

Dear Mr. Tittle,

According to the Regimental History of the 10th US Infantry, they were mostly assigned to 5th Corps, 2nd Division, except for a time in 1864 when it was assigned to the 9th Corps from 23d of April to the 11th of June and participated in the Battle of the Wilderness. After that it was back to the 2nd division, 5th Corps. Within this classification they were at times with 1st and at other times with the 2nd brigade.

That would make their Corps badge a white Maltese Cross, although I'm not sure whether or not they wore it. The article in CRRC2 does not draw a distinction between volunteer and regular units in the Army of the Potomac, so in accordance with the evidence that most troops wore it, this probably applies as well to the regulars.

I hope this helps.

P.S. This is to whomever knows the answer, but the CRRC2 article is about Corps badges of the Army of the Potomac, but was the wearing of these limited to only this Army, or also, for instance, Army of the Cumberland, James, etc.? I thought up to now that eventually the entire US Army used them until last night when the article, emphasizing the Army of the Potomac, made me start to wonder.

Why do I have a sneaky suspicion that somebody is going to suggest I use the search function?:D

Respectfully,

Thanks for help Joe. I knew that the 10th was for the most part in the fifth corp. After a little more research I found that the fifth corp didn't officially adopt their badge until March of '63 if I remember correctly. As you know our impression will most often be late '62 early '63. So, I guess the next question would be if they wore the badges before they were "official." I would imagine if the regs did not dictate the wearing of badges they wouldn't have.

[Goat]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

Mr. Tittle-
They would not have worn a badge before March/April of '63, because they hadn't even been designed yet. The only outfit who would have worn a "corps" badge would have been Kearny's old division of the 3rd Corps, who wore a red square, later diamond, at Kearny's insistance. This was the actual birth of the Corps badge concept.

YOS
R. Willis

[Charles Heath]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

Morgan, for a good general purpose primer on Army corps badges, dust off your handy copy of Billings' Hardtack & Coffee and check out pages 250 through 268, and then your copy of the CRRC2 -- pages 17 through 24, as written by that "Goat" feller.

[Dignann]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

Here is the order, as it appears in the Official Records, Series I, Vol. XXV, Part 2, p. 152:

CIRCULAR.]

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
March 21, 1863.

For the purpose of ready recognition of corps and divisions in this army and to prevent injustice by reports of straggling and misconduct through mistake as to its organization, 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 center of the top of the cap.

Inspecting officers will at all inspections see that these badges are worn as designated:

First Corps, a sphere--First Division, red; Second, white; Third, blue.
Second Corps, trefoil--First Division, red; Second, white; Third, blue.
Third Corps, lozenge---First Division, red; Second, white; Third, blue.
Fifth Corps, Maltese cross--First Division, red; Second, white; Third, blue.
Sixth Corps, cross--First Division, red; Second, white; Third, blue. (Light Division, green. )
Eleventh Corps, crescent-First Division, red; Second, white; Third, blue.
Twelfth Corps, star--First division, red; Second, white; Third, blue.

The sizes and colors will be according to pattern.

By command of Major-General Hooker:

S. WILLIAMS,
Assistant Adjutant-General,

Following the Battle of Chancellorsville, General Order No. 53 was issued. In it, the cavalry, two infantry regiments and the Provisional Brigade are mentioned as the only commands without badges in the Army of the Potomac. An excerpt from the Official Records, Series I, Volume XXV, Part 2, p. 471 follows:

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 53.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
Camp near Falmouth, Va., May 12, 1863.

IX. The badges worn by the troops, when lost or torn off, must be immediately replaced.

The officers of the staff on duty at these headquarters will wear a badge according to pattern in the assistant adjutant-general's office.

The only troops without badges are the cavalry, the Eighth Infantry, and Ninety-third New York Volunteers, on duty at headquarters, and the Provisional Brigade at Aquia and on the railroad.

Provost-marshals will arrest as stragglers all other troops found without badges, and return them to their commands under guard.

By command of Major-General Hooker:
S. WILLIAMS,
Assistant Adjutant-General.

It seems to me, that the regulars would have worn a badge. The only reason the 8th US Infantry and the 93rd New York Infantry would not have worn them at the time General Order 53 was issued, was that they were assigned to HQ. Upon returning to their parent brigades, I would bet they sewed their respective badges back on.

Eric

[TheRegularsDrummerCo.H]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

During the Battle of Gettysburg the 4th and 2nd US had the 5th Corps White Maltese cross and they also had it at Cedar Creek and I am sure a few others.

Adam Ward

[Darrell Cochran]

Re: Sykes Regulars and Corp Badges

The Regulars in the AOP did wear the V Corps badge, although - like a lot of information about the Regular infantry - how extensive the practice was remains clouded by the mists of time. There just aren't a lot of photos of Regular infantry soldiers around for us to go by.

But we do have some evidence. For example, if you can get your hands on Army Blue: The Uniform of Uncle Sam's Regulars, in the chapter on the Civil War you will find a photograph of a Hardee hat worn by a member of Company F, Third US Infantry ... And it can be identified as such by the huge white Maltese cross on the side, along with the bugle, 3, and F on the front - The only "3" in that division of the V Corps was the Third US.

What surprised me most about seeing that was not so much the corps badge, but the fact that any Regular soldier was still wearing a Hardee hat that late in the war - For years we'd been under the impression (no pun intended) that the Regulars packed up all that stuff in the spring of 62 and left it behind when they departed for the Peninsula. And we got that impression from one Cpl. Augustus C. Meyers of the 2nd US, who said that after March 1862 "they never saw [the fancy uniform items] again" after the brigade left Washington.

[jshstruve]

Re: Reminder: corps badges!

Mr Weddle.

I know its been years since this post has been talked on, However I found a picture of a VI corp soldier of the 121st N.Y.V, Which is wearing his badge sewn in a Greek cross. Thought you may be interested?

Josiah Struve

[den.bolda]

Re: Reminder: corps badges!

While doing some research to do a garrison impression at a local fort, I wondered about Regulars wearing the corps badge. We know that some CW veterans wore their corps badges long after they were no longer attached to that corps, so I wondered if Regulars would have continued to wear their corps badges after the war ended. I would guess they did not wear them, but I wanted to know if anyone else has considered this.