A Spanish-American War Cavalry Flag

Joseph Wheeler, an interesting and colorful character, was one of the of two soldiers who served as a general in the Confederate army and in the US Army. Born at Augusta, GA, September 10, 1836, he entered the military academy in July 1854, graduated in 1859, and joined the 1^st Dragoons. In June 1860 he transferred to the Regiment of Mounted Rifles (now the 3d Cavalry) and in April 1861, resigned to join the Confederate army. Wheeler rose to be a lieutenant general before the defeat of the Confederacy. [Heitman, vol I, p 1024]

After the Civil War Joe Wheeler served as a lawyer for Southern Railroad and became a member of the US House of Representatives, representing the 8^th District of Alabama. His statue in the US Capital’s Statuary Hall shows the esteem in which the state of Alabama holds this soldier and statesman. When the Spanish-American War broke out, he was appointed a major general of volunteers and was selected to command the 5^th Corps cavalry. Leonard Wood’s and Teddy Roosevelt’s 1^st Volunteer Cavalry (the Rough Riders) was part of Wheeler’s command. One of the great stories of the diminutive Wheeler (he was 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed only 120 lbs.), is that when the US forces attacked and the Spanish soldiers began to retreat (during the Las Guasimas affair), Wheeler, now of course wearing Union blue, reverted to his days in gray when he shouted, "Come on boys, we’ve got the Yankees on the run now!"

Joseph Wheeler, Jr., the oldest son, attended the US Military Academy and graduated in 1895, having previously spent a year at the University of Virginia, and a year at Lehigh University, majoring in mathematics. Gifted in mathematics, Joe junior, as he was known, joined the artillery. When the Spanish-American War broke out, Joe junior was teaching math at West Point. He became his father’s aide. After serving in the Santiago campaign, he returned to duty at the military academy for a short time, only to serve in the Philippines from 1899 through 1901.

At the outset of the Spanish-American War, while the Wheelers and a myriad of other volunteers, militia, and regular forces were shuffling to army posts, the US Army created a series of insignia for use "(W)hen the land forces of the United States are organized into army corps, divisions, and brigades," and then noted " the same will be designated by the … symbols, flags, and pennants…." [go 99, 1898] The distinctive flags and pennants created in July 1898 were used only during the Spanish-American War, as were the badges, except for the 8^th Corps that fought in the Philippine Insurrection.

Shown in Figure One are the designs adopted by the various corps. Only seven of these corps were ultimately organized due to the shortness of the war. The small enameled badges worn by soldiers are somewhat well known to military insignia collectors, but the flags and pennants in this series are certainly scarce, even in museums. These flags and pennants are shown in Figures Two and Three.

At the Joseph Wheeler home, in north central Alabama, is the flag of the 1^st Division cavalry, 5^th Corps. This is, perhaps, the only surviving cavalry flag from the Spanish-American war. Wheeler or his son evidently brought it back from Cuba, when they returned after General Wheeler served as a major general of volunteers and as the commander of the 5^th Corps cavalry. While the War Department’s general order prescribing the flags was not published until July 1898, evidently the Quartermaster General’s Department directed the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot to began to produce the variety of flags a month or more before that, so at least the 5^th Corps set could go to Cuba. The US force left Tampa in mid June, so certainly the flags that went with the 5^th Corps were in Florida at that time.

As noted above, Washington, DC, planners composed a force of 18 corps and started to fill out his force. Less than half of the corps were ever formed, and even fewer units saw combat. As part of the ambitions plan, the adjutant general published a scheme of badges and flags, assuming the large volunteer foreseen by the War Department planners. Based upon the resulting defining general order, the Quartermaster’s Department began to make flags and pennants and several companies cranked out versions of the small colored badges that soldiers wore on their uniform chest.

The Spanish-American War badge designs used to shape to distinguish a corps, and the colors further discriminated the divisions within a corps. First divisions had badges in red, 2d divisions white, and 3d divisions, blue. Units assigned to corps headquarters had badges that were concentrically colored, from the outside in, red, white, and blue. The 8^th Corps served in the Philippine Islands and after the war veterans frequently wore these badges that were in the general shape of an 8. Starting in 1899, Joseph Wheeler, Jr. served in the 8^th Corps in the Philippines, until returning in 1901. Less well known today is the 5^th Corps badge designed to represent a 5-sided fort or bastion, which both of the Wheelers were entitled to wear.

It should come as no surprise that if one visits the Wheeler home, one of the symbols found among the military artifacts would be the 5^th Corps fort. The Wheeler home itself is in rural northern Alabama, on Alternate US Highway 72, also designated Alabama Highway 20, about 15 miles west of Decatur. On some maps the location is identified as the town of Wheeler, giving it more prestige than the collection of the half dozen buildings on the highway might otherwise rate. Named Pond Springs, the Wheeler estate dates from 1818. Joe Wheeler married a young widow in 1866 and built the current home in the 1870’s. The estate was given to the State of Alabama in 1993, and exterior renovations began in 1999.

In January 2000 the Alabama Historical Commission closed the buildings for interior renovations and conducted a complete inventory. A photo of the 5^th Corps flag, identified at that time, is shown in figure four. It is of red and white wool bunting and is typical of guidons, pennants and field flags made by the Army during the 20^th Century. At the top and bottom of the sleeve are leather straps to hold the flag to a flagstaff.

The swallowtail flag is approximately 46-1/2 inches on the hoist and nominally 48 inches on the fly. Through use, the flag has become slightly stretched but it is in excellent condition otherwise. The actual dimensions are shown in the sketch (figure five), that also shows some of the original uneven construction.

During and after the Civil War, unit colors, standards, and guidons were silk. In the summer of 1890 the Quartermaster General’s Department for the first time, adopted two types of guidons: one for service use made of bunting, and one of silk for more formal occasions. [WD, QMG office, specifications numbered, 292 and 293, dated July 16, 1890, and 379, 380, 381, and 382, dated Nov 15, 1890] The army used wool bunting for guidons, recruiting flags, and various service pennants well after World War II. The wool bunting used in the 5^th Corps flag appears identical to that used in the various official service banners just listed.