Union Corps. Guidons

By Crusader1307

A “Corps.” (by American Civil War standards, as is today), is a designation term for a body of soldiers. It was once considered the “largest” of identifiers (with a Company being the lowest). On average in The Union (Northern Army) – a Corps. Was between 10-15,000 men (although these numbers changed wildly). In 1862, The Army decided to standardize a method of identifying each of the 43 Army Corps. - with Flags. Although Guidon shaped, these “Colors” were the size of a standard Flag (5x5). Light Blue in color, they had a Red numerical designation placed in the far Left portion. As was also developed, each Corps. Had it's own geometric shape. This was the beginning of the different identifiers still used today by The US Army. The use of the “Civil War” Era Corps. Colors were discontinued for the most part in 1865 (but revived by World War I).