American Civil War regiments were very devoted to their regimental flags. Being part of the color guard was an honor many members of a regiment sought. All regimental movements were conducted in relation to the position of the flag and the color company. In fact, both the Federal and State governments provided flags for Union Regiments, as well as the Confederate Government and States for the Southern ones. A surprising number of flags were also provided by home communities where the regiments were raised.

Many wargamers spend a great deal of time painting wonderful figures but place very little emphasis on their flags. Next to wargaming terrain, flags are second on my list of importance to provide a visual gaming experience. Do not get me wrong; well-painted figures do create a visual impression, but what about the flags? Do you spend time creating beautiful flags, or do you just slap on the commercial paper variety available to the hobby?

Next to a wonderfully painted flag (which few of us have the ability let alone the time to create), a well-prepared paper flag can be impressive. Commercially produced flags can be manipulated with beautiful results. After a recent conversation with Ivor at Cold Wars, I agreed to submit this article, even though it does not deal with terrain which I normally write about.

I follow several steps to create a visually impressive flag. First I take a commercially-produced paper flag (I like Cotton Jim's Flags though not to slight Orv Banasik or other producers of paper flags), and closely cut it out of the sheet. I then fold the flag over onto itself and add any cuts, tears or battle scars I want to appear on the finished flag. If the parent regiment is new, I do not usually add cuts etc. Veteran units and units on campaign receive this touch. To create cuts and tears, use a sharp X-acto knife and cut wedges and pieces out of the flag. Cuts can simply be made by cutting the flag in select places.

To create battle scars (ie. shot and shell holes), take a large baby pin and bend it out. This will create a pin with a handle (see photo above). Next, take a lighter, candle or burner and heat the pointed end red hot. Pierce the flag (I like to place the flag on a piece of cardboard box to allow for a fast puncture). The flag will now have some holes and burn marks. Again, if it is a newer unit or new flag, you can skip this step.

Once the flag has reached this step, use white glue and attach the flag to the flagstaff and add folds and ripples. This part of the process is important to give the flag the effect of animation. When the flag dries, your work will be permanent. Let dry for 12-24 hours.

Last, we need to provide some weathering and staining to the flag. I use heavily watered-down black paint wash for this process. This allows me to dull the brighter colors and whites to show the effect of weather, sun, and battle smoke. The flags also more closely match the painting techniques of my troops.

Sometimes I will add less watered down black paint to the deep crevices and folds creating a greater shadow effect. Naturally, a new unit/flag will not have as heavy a wash applied. The greater the battleworn affect I am trying to achieve, the heavier the wash I apply. Let dry and then spray with an acrylic matte to preserve your efforts.

Try this technique and see how it highlights your armies. You can also consider applying the wash to existing flags to provide a better effect without replacing the flags you already have.

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