The monument to the 1st Massachusetts Infantry on the Emmitsburg Road features the diamond shape of the Third Corps’ badge.
Many of the Army of the Potomac regimental and battery monuments at Gettysburg feature the unit’s respective corps badges. Originating with the late General Philip Kearny, who came up with the idea of using a colored piece of cloth to identify the men and officers of his division, the idea of an army-wide identification system was adopted by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker after he assumed command of the Army of the Potomac. Hooker’s chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Daniel Butterfield, was assigned the task of designing a distinctive shape for each corps badge. Butterfield also came up with the idea of using a specific color for each division: red for the first, white for the second, blue for the third. These badges were typically worn on the top of the kepi, left side of the hat, or over the left breast. They quickly became very popular, morale-boosting symbols of unit pride, and for that reason it is no surprise that many of the badges are featured prominently on unit monuments at Gettysburg.
(The Confederacy never initiated a badge system for identifying their soldiers’ units.)
Below are the flags featuring each respective badge that was carried by each infantry division of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg. (You will also see these badges displayed on each unit’s monument page.)
First Corps of the Army of the Potomac
The corps badge of the First Corps was a full moon.
Second Corps of the Army of the Potomac
The corps badge of the Second Corps was a trefoil or clover. This led to the Second Corps adopting the battle cry “clubs are trumps.”
Third Corps of the Army of the Potomac
The corps badge of the Third Corps was a diamond or lozenge.
Fifth Corps of the Army of the Potomac
The corps badge of the Fifth Corps was a Maltese cross.
Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac
The corps badge of the Sixth Corps was a Greek cross.
Eleventh Corps of the Army of the Potomac
The corps badge of the Eleventh Corps was a crescent moon.
Twelfth Corps of the Army of the Potomac
The corps badge of the Twelfth Corps was a five-pointed star.
By learning to identify the corps badges, one can often quickly determine what corps a unit belonged to when viewing the monuments on the battlefield.