Kentucky Orphan Brigade’s 6th Kentucky Infantry Battle Flag

The 6th Kentucky Infantry was organized at Bowling Green Kentucky and mustered into service on November 19th, 1861. It was brigaded with three other Kentucky regiments (3rd, 4th, and 9th) as well as the 4th and 31st Alabama regiments which all together made up the 1st Kentucky Brigade also known as the “Orphan Brigade”. The Brigade which was part of the Army of Tennessee fought in nearly all of the major engagements in the western theatre including Shiloh, Baton Rouge, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and the Atlanta Campaign just to name a few. During the Atlanta Campaign at the battle of Jonesboro on August 31st, 1864, the Orphan Brigade was ordered to attack an entrenched Union position which was halted by the defenders. The next day, the brigade was overwhelmed and mostly surrounded by two-thirds of a Union Army division, and many of the men of the 2nd, 6th, and 9th Kentucky were captured, along with the flag of the 6th Kentucky. The remnants of the brigade were able to fall back and mount a successful defense thus halting the Union advance. After the battle of Jonesboro, there were only around 500 men of the Orphan Brigade left fit for duty and they were converted to a “mounted infantry” and engaged in delaying tactics against General Sherman’s “March to the Sea” following all the way to Savannah. Later, the Orphan Brigade was ordered to Washington GA where they surrendered on May 7th, 1865. The 6th Kentucky’s flag had been issued to them in January of 1864 along with all of the other regiments of the Orphan Brigade in an effort by General Joseph E, Johnston to standardize the flags carried by the Army of Tennessee as was the case with the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV). The flags were rectangular rather than square like the ANV flags. The 6th Kentucky inscribed their flag with “6th Reg Ky Vols” and the battle honors of the major battles in which they were engaged as was the custom at the time. The “crossed, inverted cannons” honor represents the capture of enemy artillery as they overran and captured a section of a Union battery at Chickamauga. The original flag is currently in the custodianship of the Kentucky Military History Museum in Frankfort KY.

This is a reproduction of the 6th Kentucky Infantry flag and has a vintage/aged finish. It is designed to look like the original preserved flag appears today (not as it would have appeared in 1864). The actual dimensions are not exactly the same as the original flag. The artwork is visible on both sides, however, the reverse side is significantly lighter than the front and the lettering reads correctly on one side only.