The Flags of the 28th Massachusetts

“Then raise the harp of Erin, boys, the flag we all revere
We’ll fight and fall beneath its folds, like Irish volunteers!” 

During the Civil War, US Army Regiments, both Regular and Volunteer, carried a set of colors consisting of a National Color and a Regimental Color. These symbols were a source of identification and inspiration to the men of the Regiment. They were carried into battle at the center of the Regiment’s line and marked the place of the Regiment on the field. Capturing the colors of an enemy unit was a high honor; conversely, losing one’s colors was a high shame. It was a great honor to be selected as a Regimental Color Bearer and men often risked their lives to pick up fallen colors lest they be captured.

The 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was issued nine flags during its Civil War Service. Three of these were National Colors; the other six were Regimental Colors. Five were issued by the Office of the Adjutant General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, three were given to the regiment by the City of Boston, and one was presented by Brig. Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher, who commanded the Irish Brigade during 1862 and early 1863. Eight of these
colors have been preserved in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Battle Flag Collection in the State House in Boston.

Eight of the Nine flags issued to the Regiment are depicted below. Click on each Flag to learn more about it.

National Flags

Period US Army Regulations established (in Article L) that each Infantry Regiment “shall have two silken colors.”

The first, or the National Color, of stars and stripes, would have thirteen horizontal stripes of equal breadth, alternately red and white, beginning in red. In the upper quarter, next to the staff, (e.g. on the upper left quadrant of the flag) is the Union, composed a number of white stars, equal to the number of States, on a blue field, one-third the length of the flag, extending to the lower edge of the fourth red stripe from the top. The Regulations dictate that Infantry Regiments would have the number and name of the Regiment embroidered with silver on the center stripe.

The Regulations also specified in paragraph 1466 that the size of each color was to be six feet six inches fly (length) and six feet deep on the pike (height). The length of the pike, including the spear and ferrule, was to be nine feet ten inches. The fringe of both flags was
to be yellow, cords and tassels, blue and white silk intermixed.

Regimental Flags

The second, or regimental color, was to be blue, with the arms of the United States embroidered in silk on the center. The name of the regiment in a scroll, underneath the eagle. As we shall see, the 28th Massachusetts never had the traditional blue infantry color.

Third Irish Color. The Battle Flag Collection in Massachusetts does not contain the Third Irish Color. Its existence is not 100% verified.

What is known is that after the Battle of Fredericksburg, Capt Charles Sanborn of Company K returned to Massachusetts bearing their battle-torn 1st National colors and the Pilot flag. As previously discussed, Massachusetts, on January 20, 1863, issued the Regiment its 2nd National. Apparently, no new state color was issued, rather, once again the city of Boston sent a 2nd green Irish flag back with Capt. Sanborn. When Sanborn returned with the new flags in February, Peter Welsh – soon to named color bearer) remarked in a letter dated February 15, 1863, that “our Captain has got back and brought a new green flag for the regiment.”

It is not certain what this flag looked like but, it has been assumed that it was likely a carbon copy of the Pilot flag. However, and somewhat confusingly, there a surviving green flag in Massachusetts that is identified as the “third Irish color carried by the regiment” but which does not bear much resemblance to the original Pilot flag. Moreover, this “third” Irish color was reportedly presented in May 1864 and not in 1863.

Download a Research Article on the Flags of the 28th Massachusetts

Acknowledgements: This short overview of the Flags of the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was created drawing upon the knowledge and expertise of many. Notable was Steven Hill’s 1995 paper “Colors Carried by the 28th Massachusetts Volunteers in the Civil War” written while he was the Massachusetts State House Battle Flag Collection historian. The pictures of the original flags in this narrative, as well as the physical dimensions of the original flags and staffs, are taken from his work. Accordingly, the Massachusetts State Archives has our thanks for providing the Hill document. The public websites of the two 28th Massachusetts reenactor units (Company H in New England, www.28thmass.org and Company B in the Washington DC area, www.28thMassCoB.org) proved invaluable sources of information.

Author: Jerome Lynes 2025. Contact the Author

Bibliography

Dyer, Frederick H. “A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion” – 28th Massachusetts Infantry entry, 1908. Retrieved 20 June 2025.

Hill, Steven W. “Colors Carried by the 28th Massachusetts Volunteers in the Civil War”, Massachusetts Archives Division, Boston, MA, 1995.

Eames, Steven, et al. “Flags of the 28th Massachusetts” retrieved 20 June 2025.

28th Massachusetts, Company B. “Historic Flags of the 28th Massachusetts, 1861-1865,” Retrieved 20 June 2025.

Hunter, Dave & The Island Register. “Letters from P.E.I – John J. MacDonald and the 28th Regiment Mass. Volunteers” Retrieved 25 June 2025.

Kohl, Lawrence and Richard, Margaret Cosse. “Irish Green and Union Blue: The Civil War Letters of Peter Welsh, Color Sergeant, 28th Massachusetts (The Irish in the Civil War)” Fordham University Press. NY, NY, 1 January 1986.

Pilot, Volume 25, Number 3, 18 January 1862, Boston, MA. Boston College Libraries, Retrieved 1 July 2025.

Revised United States Army Regulations of 1861 with an Appendix containing the Changes and Laws Affecting Army Regulations and Articles of War to June 25, 1863. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1863. Retrieved 25 June 2025.

The Civil War in the East, “The 28th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment,” Retrieved 22 June 2025

Wikipedia contributors.
– “Acallam na Senórach”. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2 July 2025
– “Fianna”. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2 July 2025.