When the War Department issued General Order No. 84 on July 22, 1862, in part, creating the Army IX Corps under General Burnside, most of the corps’ soldiers would have hardly noticed. The regiments of this new corps had been together for many months serving in North Carolina under Burnside. This organization was simply a formality as part of a larger Army reorganization.
After the new corps left Newport News for Fredericksburg in early August 1862, two of its divisions were sent to assist John Pope’s embattled army near Manassas Junction. These two divisions were placed under the command of General Jesse Lee Reno who would later become the permanent commander. The third division (including the 8th Connecticut) remained at Fredericksburg under the control of General Burnside. In early September 1862, the IX Corps reunited under Reno’s leadership as Burnside assumed command of the right wing of the Army of Potomac (I and IX Corps) for the Maryland Campaign.
The use of corps badges and flags came into vague with commanders during the Civil War. However, the practice wasn’t formalized until Joseph Hooker became the commanding general of the Army of the Potomac in 1863. During my visit to Chatham Manor, I found this IX Corps flag on display in the Washington room of the manor:
IX Corps flag on display at Chatham Manor
From my best research, this would appear to be the flag for the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, IX Corps. According to the plate at the bottom, it became the lifelong possession of Major Robert A. Hutchins after the war. Major Hutchins was formerly the Assistant Adjutant-General of the First Division of IX Corps.
While these flags were not in use during Oliver Case’s days with the IX Corps, the anchor on the flag stems from the amphibious service of Burnside’s Expeditionary Corps in North Carolina during the early days of 1862.