Legislative History

Efforts to gather and preserve New Jersey Civil War flags began in 1871 when, on 29 March, the New Jersey Senate and Assembly authorized the Quartermaster General to recover Civil War flags not in his possession and place them, along with those already held by the state, in the State House (P.L. 1871, Joint Resolution No. VII, p. 135). Seventeen years later, on 8 March 1888, the Senate and Assembly authorized funding to build a fireproof room in the State House for the flags (P.L. 1888, Joint Resolution No. VIII, p. 559). The legislature also decided to return Confederate flags to the southern states and in 1908 issued a joint resolution authorizing the Governor to do so (P.L. 1908, Joint Resolution No. 4, p. 728). New Jersey Civil War flags (and the Confederate flags which could not be properly identified for return), as well as a number of World War I flags which were later added to the collection, were on display in the State House and later the State House Annex until the mid-1980s, when they were transferred to the Cultural History Bureau of the New Jersey State Museum.

The first group of records in this series consists of flag-related correspondence of the Adjutant General's office from the period 1888-1914. This includes, first, correspondence between New Jersey's Adjutant General R. Heber Breintnall and the adjutants general of the former Confederate states -- mostly replies to Breintnall's inquiry as to whether New Jersey Civil War flags were held by the southern states (none were located).

Next is correspondence regarding Confederate flags, i.e. efforts of New Jersey adjutants general R. Heber Breintnall and Wilbur F. Sadler Jr. to return flags held by the state of New Jersey to the southern states. The most involved of these exchanges concerns the return of the Bedford South Dragoons' flag to Virginia (see items 12 and 16 below). Of particular interest are letters of W. F. Graves, former commander of the Dragoons, which provide a history of the flag and the actions of his company during the war. Also of interest is correspondence relating to a flag held by New Jersey which was believed to be Stonewall Jackson's headquarters flag while encamped at Chancellorsville. Two letters written in October 1910 by Thomas R. Munford, a Confederate cavalryman who fought at Chancellorsville, to General E. Burd Grubb (who led New Jersey troops at Chancellorsville) refute this claim and also provide a colorful firsthand account of the 1863 battle. The flag in question was never identified and remains with the State Museum collection (see slide #134).

Also included with the original records are several early photographs of New Jersey and Confederate flags. These and the correspondence are part of the large collection of Civil War material transferred from the Adjutant General's Office to the Archives in 1968. The correspondence was in binder #348, "Flags," and has been disbound and foldered for preservation purposes.

Finally, the series also includes modern slides of the "State House" flag collection which were received from the Cultural History Bureau of the New Jersey State Museum in 1991. The set consists of slides of 141 New Jersey and Confederate Civil War flags and 51 New Jersey World War I flags. It should be noted that the flags (held by the State Museum) are no longer on display because of their fragile condition.

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