Conservation Videos
Flag Profile Videos
Historic Flag Videos
Flag Productions
Rally Round the Flag
A 4-part slideshow of the Civil War flags in the Michigan Battle Flag Collection interspersed with quotes about the flags and regiments.
Oh, Could They but Speak
A 4-part documentary on the history and importance of Michigan’s Civil War battle flags, produced by Michigan Government Television.
Research Resources
Researchers working on projects for Save the Flags use a variety of sources to learn about the flags and the soldiers who carried them. Below you will find links to some useful sources we recommend.
Books Available to View Online
Michigan in the War (1882) is a book compiled by Michigan Adjutant General John Robertson. It gives a description of the efforts to organize troops, a brief history of each Michigan regiment, and a list of all the officers from Michigan with a short service record of each.
Colloquially called the Brown Books, this 46 volume set lists the men from Michigan who fought in the Civil War along with a brief service record for each. The books are organized by regiment, e.g. Volume 1 covers the First Michigan Volunteer Infantry; volume 2, the Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, etc.; Cavalry regiments begin with volume 31; Artillery is volume 42; The First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics is volume 43; The First Michigan Sharpshooters is volume 44; Miscellaneous regiments or men serving regiments from other states are in volumes 45 and 46.
Flags of Michigan excerpts all of the parts of Michigan in the War that deal directly with Michigan’s Civil War flags.
The Index to the Brown Books is a very useful source when you have the name of a soldier, but not the regiment he served with. This lists the men included in the Brown Books alphabetically by last name and details what volume and page number the soldier’s information can be found on.
This publication was prepared in 2015 to distribute to visitors at the Michigan State Capitol. It provides a brief history of Michigan’s involvement in the Civil War and the importance of flags.
Research Institutions & Organizations
The Archives of Michigan’s website has digitized collections of service records of soldiers and Civil War Photographs
The Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University has an online finding aid to the collections they hold that have materials related to the Civil War.
As home to over 400 collections containing items from the Civil War, the Bentley Historical Library has a large amount of information on their website including Digitized letters and collections and a list of regimental histories and narratives that are available online.
The American Battlefield Trust is a 501-c-3 organization responsible for caring for more than 57,000 acres of battlefield land. Their website features maps and descriptions of battles.
Historian and Collector George Wilkerson has spent over 35 years compiling information on the Fourth Michigan Infantry. The website contains information on the regiment, images of soldiers, transcribed diaries and letters, and articles about the regiment.
The Library at Michigan State University contains 95 collections with items from the Civil War. Some of these items are digitized for the public.
The Library of Congress has extensive digital collections featuring everything from maps and images to newspapers, oral histories, diaries, and even sheet music.
Publicity
Information provided by Save the Flags has been used in articles, podcasts and news stories over the years. Some tell of the flags and others about the project. Below are links to some of these articles and videos.
Print Resources
My Brave Mechanics: The First Michigan Engineers and their Civil War by Mark Hoffman (Wayne State University Press) 2007
Michigan and the Civil War by Jack Dempsey (The History Press) 2011
Grand Rapids and the Civil War by Roger Rosentreter (The History Press) 2018
They Died to Make Men Free: A History of the 19th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War by William M. Anderson (Morningside House, Inc.) 1994
The 4th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War by Martin Betera and Kim Crawford (Michigan State University Press) 2010
The Seventh Michigan Volunteer Infantry: The Gallant Men and Flag in the Civil War 1861-1865 by David Townshend (Southeast Publications Inc.) 1993
The 11th Michigan Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster by Eric Faust (McFarland and Company, Inc.) 2016
The 16th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War by Kim Crawford (Morningside House, Inc.) 2002
History of the Twenty-fourth Michigan of the Iron Brigade by O. B. Curtis (Winn and Hammond) 1891
Into the Tornado of War: A History of the 21st Michigan Infantry in the Civil War by James Genco (Abbott Press) 2012
Michigan At Antietam by Jack Dempsey and Brian Egen (The History Press) 2015
The Iron Brigade: A Military History by Allen T. Nolan (Indiana University Press) 1994
These Men Have Seen Hard Service: The First Michigan Sharpshooters in the Civil War by Raymond J. Herek (Wayne State University Press) 1998
Kalamazoo and the Civil War by Gary Gibson (The History Press) 2021
Oh! Hast Thou Forgotten: Michigan Cavalry in the Civil War: The Gettysburg Campaign by Richard Hamilton 2008
His Sword a Scalpel: General Charles Stuart Tripler MD, USA by Jack Dempsey (Mission Point Press) 2023
Heart in Tatters: Hunt Tripler and the Civil War by Jack Dempsey (Mission Point Press) 2022
Michigan’s Civil War Citizen-General: Alpheus S. Williams by Jack Dempsey (The History Press) 2019
Lansing and the Civil War
By Matthew J. VanAcker (History Press) Feb., 2023