Corps badge in the Civil War
Corps badges were worn - during the Civil War - by Union soldiers on the top of their army lining caps (kepi), the left side of their hats, or over their left breasts. The idea is attributed to General Philip Kearny , who instructed the men in his division to attach a 5 × 5 cm red cloth to their hats to avoid clutter on the battlefield. This idea was adopted by General Joseph Hooker after he took command of the Potomac Army so every soldier could be identified from a distance.
Daniel Butterfield designed different shapes of the badge for each corps . Butterfield also designed a different color badge for each division of the corps.
The badges for ordinary soldiers were cut from colored fabric, while badges for officers were made privately and from a higher quality fabric. Metallic badges were often made by jewelers and customized to suit the user's needs. The badges eventually became part of Army regulations and a great source of regimental pride.
Division badges were colored as follows:
- Red - first division
- White - second division
- Blue - third division
- Green - fourth division (in 6th, 9th and 20th Corps)
- Yellow - fourth division (with 15th Corps)
- Multi-colored - Headquarters or Artillery (certain corps)
