Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a tremendous framed Civil War Corps Badge for the XII Corps, one of the most well known & battle-torn Corps of the Civil War. This particular example was worn by Corporal Austin Merrick, Company B, 111th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Merrick was present at every battle and campaign participated in by the regiment, wearing this Corps badge. These badges were either worn on the top of your forage cap or on your uniform. After the war, Merrick worked as a Postmaster. The frame measures 5⅜ x 7⅝” and appears to be of the period. Considering the frame has typewritten words, we assume this frame was put together around the 1880s or 1890s.
The Corps badge is white, indicating that Merrick was in the 2nd Division of XII Corps. He enlisted on November 10th, 1861 and was discharged on July 19th, 1865, meaning he was with his regiment through the entire war.
The 111th Pennsylvania Volunteers (of which Merrick was with throughout the war) participated in the following Battles & Campaigns:
Battle of Cedar Mountain
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Gettysburg
Chattanooga Campaign
Battle of Wauhatchie
Battle of Lookout Mountain
Battle of Missionary Ridge
Battle of Ringgold Gap
Atlanta Campaign
Battle of Resaca
Battle of Dallas
Battle of New Hope Church
Battle of Allatoona
Battle of Gilgal Church
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Battle of Peachtree Creek
Siege of Atlanta
Sherman's March to the Sea
Carolinas Campaign
Battle of Bentonville
This is a Corps badge that saw the combat of some of the most horrifying battles of the American Civil War. To find any Corps badge from this war is scarce, but to find one with this amount of provenance is truly astounding. Don’t miss out on this unique piece of history. Comes ready for further research and display.
Corps badges in the American Civil War were originally worn by soldiers of the Union Army on the top of their army forage cap (kepi), left side of the hat, or over their left breast. The idea is attributed to Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny, who ordered the men in his division to sew a two-inch square of red cloth on their hats to avoid confusion on the battlefield. This idea was adopted by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker after he assumed command of the Army of the Potomac, so any soldier could be identified at a distance.
Maj. Gen. Daniel Butterfield, Hooker's chief of staff, was assigned the task of designing a distinctive shape for each corps badge. Butterfield also designated that each division in the corps should have a variation of the corps badge in a different color. Division badges were colored as follows:
Red — First division of corps
White — Second division of corps
Blue — Third division of corps
These were used in the United States' Army of the Potomac.
For the most part, these rules were adopted by other Union Armies, however it was not universal. For example, the XIII Corps never adopted a badge, and the XIX Corps had the first division wear a red badge, the second division wear a blue badge, and the third division wear white.
For Army corps that had more than three divisions, the standardization was lost:
Green — Fourth division of II, III, VI, IX, and XX Corps
Yellow — Fourth division of XV Corps (reportedly Orange was also used for a 5th Division Badge)
Multicolor — Headquarters or artillery elements (certain corps)
The badges for enlisted men were cut from colored cloth, while officer's badges were privately made and of a higher quality. Metallic badges were often made by jewelers and were personalized for the user. The badges eventually became part of the Army regulations and a great source of regimental pride.
