The very heart of the Confederate fighting unit was its flag, which came in a variety of designs and colours. The flag was the rallying point on the field of battle and it marked the unit headquarters in camp. In 1865, at the war's end, it was the furling of the defeated Confederate banners that marked the final closing of that episode in history. With plenty of illustrations, including eight full page colour plates by Rick Scollins, Philip Katcher does a fine job of exploring the Confederate flags of the American Civil War. Men-at-Arms 252, 258 and 265 are also available in a single volume special edition as ‘Flags of the Civil War’.