Flag: 29th Alabama Infantry (Misidentified as the 34th Al. Inf.)
Catalogue No. 86.1898.1
(PN10113-10114)
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Provenance Reconstruction:

This flag was captured by 1st Lt. William T. Simmons, Co. C, 11th Missouri Infantry on December 16, 1864 near Nashville, Tennessee. Lt. Simmons was recommended for and received the Congressional Medal of Honor. The flag was forwarded to the War Department where it was assigned War Department Capture Number 211. In 1905, the flag was mistakenly sent to the Louisiana Historical Association. There it was examined and determined to be the flag captured by Lt. Simmons which was reported to be the 34th Alabama Infantry. It was returned to the State of Alabama effective March 4, 1906.

While the flag captured by Lt. Simmons is identified as the 34th Alabama Infantry in the Official Records, the 34th was nowhere in the vicinity of the position assaulted by the 11th Missouri. It is believed that this is probably the flag of the 29th Alabama Infantry. Perhaps at the time the Official Records were compiled, the handwritten report was improperly transcribed confusing 29 for 34.

Sources:
       Curator's Object Files, Civil War Flags, Alabama Department of Archives and History.
       Madaus, Howard Michael. The Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1976.
       U.S. War Department. American Decorations 1862-1926. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1927.
       U.S. War Department. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.