Variant of the first national flag with 13 stars, The second national flag of the Confederate States of America. The battle flag of Gen. Polks Corps saw action from Shiloh through the final surrender of the Army of Tennessee. A modification of that design was adopted on March 4, 1865, about a month before the end of the Read More symbolism of sovereignty But despite recurrentdebates about its meaning and appropriateness, the flag never really disappeared. This design has become commonly regarded as a symbol of racism and white supremacy or white nationalism, especially in the Southern United States. Just under half of these flags (18) bore eleven stars, of which 8 bore a center star with the other ten stars surrounding it. Ships chandlers, Henry Vaughan in Mobile, Alabama and Hugh Vincent in Charleston, South Carolina, accepted orders to manufacture Confederate 1st national flags of these sizes. Sign In . on the subject of Regimental or badge flags made of red with two blue bars crossing each other diagonally on which shall be introduced the stars, We would then on the field of battle know our friends from our Enemies.[18]. The flag had become big businessand led a double life both as a nostalgic symbol and a deeply evocative banner of racism. The museum is also known as Louisianas Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall. "The present one is universally hated. The design of the Stars and Bars varied over the following two years. One seven-star jack still exists today (found aboard the captured ironclad CSS Atlanta) that is actually "dark blue" in color (see illustration below, left). After taking command of the main Confederate army in the west, Gen. Jos E. Johnson adopted this variation of the Virginia Battle Flag for the Army of Tennessee. This flag proposal was the first variant submitted by William T. Riddle of Eutaw, Alabama. 1863-1865 version of Confederate Flag. Van Dorn was relieved of command after the Battle of Corinth in 1862. As the Confederacy grew, so did the numbers of stars: two were added for Virginia and Arkansas in May 1861, followed by two more representing Tennessee and North Carolina in July, and finally two more for Missouri and Kentucky (while the legality of Missouri's secession is contested, neither states partisan governments achieved substantive territory or population). This would serve to show the world the South was truly sovereign. He argued that the battle flag must be used, but it was necessary to emblazon it for a national flag, but as simply as possible, with a plain white field. By 1863, it had become well-known and popular among those living in the Confederacy. Across the South, Citizens Councils and the Ku Klux Klanflew the battle flag as they intimidated Black citizens. THE CONFEDERATE 1ST NATIONAL FLAG (THE STARS & BARS) AS A MILITARY FLAG. It was never the official flag of the Confederacy. In addition to the Confederacy's national flags, a wide variety of flags and banners were flown by Southerners during the Civil War. Their cantons bore eleven white, 5-pointed stars arranged in a circle. [13] The Columbia-based Daily South Carolinian observed that it was essentially a battle flag upon a flag of truce and might send a mixed message. Hundreds of examples were submitted from across the Confederate States and from states that were not yet part of Confederacy (e.g. (Miles had originally planned to use a blue St. George's Cross like that of the South Carolina Sovereignty Flag, but was dissuaded from doing so.) Solar max fabric also has a special UV resistance built right into the weave of the fabric to minimize sun fade and chemical deterioration. The Bonnie Blue gained popularity throughout the South through the song THE BONNIE BLUE FLAG written by Harry McCarthy in 1861. STARS AND BARS Images of 8, 9 and 10 Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. Photograph courtesy the Library of Congress, Photograph by Flip Schulke, CORBIS/Corbis/Getty, Photograph by Kris Graves, National Geographic. James B. Walton submitted a battle flag design essentially identical to Miles' except with an upright Saint George's cross, but Beauregard chose the diagonal cross design.[41]. A lithograph from 1897 displays four prominent designs of the Confederate flag and states that the images "help in keeping within us recollections of those who gave their lives to the 'Lost Cause,' and to perpetuate the memories and traditions of the South.". [14][15] The original version of the flag featured a circle of seven white stars in the navy-blue canton, representing the seven states of the South that originally composed the Confederacy: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. national flag consisting of seven white stars on a blue canton with a field of three alternating stripes, two red and one white. The Republic was short lived and soon dissolved. (2016). Georgia adopted a new state flag in 2000, which contained a small inset image of the 1956 flag, along with other historical flags. "Everybody wants a new Confederate flag," Bagby wrote. To this end, he proposed his own flag design featuring a blue saltire on white Fimbriation with a field of red. The trend continued with local reenactment groups raising the necessary funds to conserve flags. Many individual companies received splendid flags from the communities from which they were raised, but the regiments into which they were assembled did not necessarily share in this enthusiasm. First National Confederate States of America Flag - Cotton. Its a story of rebellion, racism, and disagreement over the true history of the Civil Warand as the controversy over its use during the Capitol riots shows, its divisive even 160 years after it was designed. The Committee began a competition to find a new national flag, with an unwritten deadline being that a national flag had to be adopted by March 4, 1861, the date of President Lincoln's inauguration. Activist and filmmaker Brittany "Bree" Newsome climbed a 30-foot pole outside of the South Carolina state capitol to remove the Confederate flag weeks after a shooting at a predominantly Black Charleston church in 2015. The . General Johnston suggested making it square to conserve material. Why on some Southern Cross Battle Flags is the center or thirteenth star omitted? The Congress inspected two other finalist designs on March 4: One was a "Blue ring or circle on a field of red", while the other consisted of alternating red and blue stripes with a blue canton containing stars. William Porcher Miles, however, was not really happy with any of the proposals. the Confederate States of America began to use its first flag, the Stars and Bars, on March 5, 1861. Due to the flag's resemblance to one of truce, some Confederate soldiers cut off the flag's white portion, leaving only the canton.[33]. President Jefferson Davis' inauguration took place under the 1861 state flag of Alabama, and the celebratory parade was led by a unit carrying the 1861 state flag of Georgia. The Southern Cross symbolized rebelliousness,writes historian John M. Koskibut now it gained a more specific connotation of resistance to the civil rights movement and to racial integration.. Because of its similarity to the U.S. flag, the Stars and Bars was sometimes confused with the Stars and Stripes in the smoke of battle. They resemble too closely the dishonored 'Flag of Yankee Doodle' we imagine that the 'Battle Flag' will become the Southern Flag by popular acclaim." The first flag was produced in rush, due to the date having already been selected to host an official flag-raising ceremony, W. P. Miles credited the speedy completion of the first "Stars and Bars" flag to "Fair and nimble fingers". Robed Ku Klux Klan members watch Black demonstrators march through Okolona, Mississippi, in 1978. The "Stars and Bars" The First Confederate National Flag (1861 - 1863) The Confederate Battle Flag (1861-1865) VII. Native American Flags. Our acid dye process saturates right through the flag producing deep and vivid colors that never crack or peel. The result was anything but uniformity in the colors carried by the armies that coallesced in the Shenandoah Valley and around Centreville in June. Four camp colors or flank markers accompanied each of these national colors. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. Confederate National flag of Fort McAllister, Confederate National Flag captured from Fort Jackson, Battle flag of the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment used at Antietam, Surrender flag of Army of Northern Virginia. The first official use of the "Stainless Banner" was to drape the coffin of General Thomas J. All rights reserved. 1st National Confederate Flag 7 Star Stars and Bars Confederate Cotton Flag 5 x 8 ft. $ 149.95. The 12th star represented Missouri. June 14, 2020. After the former was changed in 2001, the city of Trenton, Georgia has used a flag design nearly identical to the previous version with the battle flag. First National Confederate Flag - "Stars and Bars" READ MORE [47], The First Confederate Navy Jack, 18611863, The First Confederate Navy Ensign, 18611863, The Second Confederate Navy Jack, 18631865, The Second Confederate Navy Ensign, 18631865, The Second Navy Ensign of the ironclad CSS Atlanta, The 9-star First Naval Ensign of the paddle steamer CSS Curlew, The 11-star Ensign of the Confederate Privateer Jefferson Davis, A 12-star First Confederate Navy Ensign of the gunboat CSS Ellis, 18611862, The Command flag of Captain William F. Lynch, flown as ensign of his flagship, CSS Seabird, 1862, Pennant of Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSSTennessee, at Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864, Digital recreation of Admiral Buchanan's pennant, Admiral's Rank flag of Franklin Buchanan, flown from CSS Virginia during the first day of the Battle of Hampton Roads and also flown from the CSS Tennessee during the Battle of Mobile Bay, Confederate naval flag, captured when General William Sherman took Savannah, Georgia, 1864, The first national flag, also known as the Stars and Bars (see above), served from 1861 to 1863 as the Confederate Navy's first battle ensign. Flag officially used: September 1860 Summer, 1861, George P. Gilliss flag, also known as the Biderman Flag, the only Confederate flag captured in California (Sacramento). Many restored flags are always on display. [44][45][46], The fledgling Confederate States Navy adopted and used several types of flags, banners, and pennants aboard all CSN ships: jacks, battle ensigns, and small boat ensigns, as well as commissioning pennants, designating flags, and signal flags. Note, this is not to be confused with the Confederate Battle Flag. Return to the Confederate Flags Home Page. Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. Its continued use by the Southern Army's post-war veteran's groups, the United Confederate Veterans (U.C.V.) The 1879 flag was introduced by Georgia state senator Herman H. Perry and was adopted to memorialize Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. The Audience went wild, and the song was an instant success. Taking this into account, Miles changed his flag, removing the palmetto and crescent, and substituting a heraldic saltire ("X") for the upright cross. When their backs are against the wall, they turn to the flag, he says. Congress did not adopted a formal Act codifying this flag, but it is described in the Report of the Committee on Flag and Seal, in the following language: The flag of the Confederate States of America shall consist of a red field with a white space extending horizontally through the center, and equal in width to one-third the width of the flag. For many on the receiving end of hundreds of years of racism, the Confederate battle flag embodies everything from hatred to personal intimidationa far cry from the sanitized Lost Cause narrative that helped fuel its rise. Twitter. One such 12-star flag resides in the collection of Richmond's Museum of the Confederacy and the other is in the Confederate Memorial Hall Museum in New Orleans. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. NOTE: The 4"x6" size is mounted to a 10" staff with a spear top. He described the idea in a letter to his commanding General Joseph E. Johnston: I wrote to [Miles] that we should have 'two' flags a 'peace' or parade flag, and a 'war' flag to be used only on the field of battle but congress having adjourned no action will be taken on the matter How would it do us to address the War Dept. The thirteen stars stand for the thirteen states that were . In 2000, the flag over the state house was removed, at the . Though as compared to the Confederate Battle Flags, stars and bars were less known, this first flag was used as the official flag of the Confederacy from March 5, 1861, to May 26, 1863. [34][35] As a result of this first usage, the flag received the alternate nickname of the "Jackson Flag". In Texas, various lone star designs were used during the was for Texas Independence in 1836. The "Sibley Flag", Battle Flag of the Army of New Mexico, commanded by General Henry Hopkins Sibley. It was distinct from the Unions flag. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars&qu. 2nd National Confederate Flag 2nd National Confederate Flag - Cotton 12 x 18 inch Rogers defended his redesign as symbolizing the primary origins of the people of the Confederacy, with the saltire of the Scottish flag and the red bar from the flag of France, and having "as little as possible of the Yankee blue" the Union Army wore blue, the Confederates gray.[13]. The final version of the second national flag, adopted May 1, 1863, did just this: it set the St. Andrew's Cross of stars in the Union Jack with the rest of the civilian banner entirely white. The pattern and colors of this flag did not distinguish it sharply fom the Stars and Stripes of the Union. The largely residential area and its neighbors still have excellent bars to choose from that cater to different scene preferences. But it didnt look like that from a distanceand in the thick of battle, it was hard to tell the two apart. It was not unusual to visit a Civil War reenactment and see the groups selling bowls of beans for $3.00 with the proceeds going toward the flag conservation program. The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flag adopted by the delegates to the Louisianas secession convention in January of 1861 represented Louisianas historical roots. Available for both RF and RM licensing. As many as eight more stars were later added to represent states admitted to or claimed by the Confederacy. If Miles had not been eager to conciliate the Southern Jews, his flag would have used the traditional upright "Saint George's Cross" (as used on the flag of England, a red cross on a white field). [6] In explaining the white background of his design, Thompson wrote, "As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause." "[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29], The Confederate Congress debated whether the white field should have a blue stripe and whether it should be bordered in red. The Confederate Congress specified that the new design be a white field "with the union (now used as the battle flag) to be a square of two-thirds the width of the flag, having the ground red; thereupon a broad saltire of blue, bordered with white, and emblazoned with mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States. ), and elements of the design by related similar female descendants organizations of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, (U.D.C. Contributions can be made to the Memorial Hall Foundation by sending a check, using a credit card or by contributing through the website. Isnt the Rectangular battle flag really the Navy Jack? The thirteen stars stand for the thirteen states that were part of the Confederacy. Stars and Bars From March of 1861, through April of 1863, during America's Civil War, the Stars and Bars was the official flag of the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis State Historic Site & Museum. South Carolina, which had defiantly flown the banner at its capitol for years,retired it that year, and multiple retailers stopped selling merchandise featuring the flag now labeled ahate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League. STARS AND BARS Images of 12 Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. But as secession got underway, the Confederate States of America adopted a flag that riffed off the Unions stars and stripes. Although the creating legislation for the national flag adopted by the Confederate Provisional Congress on 4 March 1861 did not specify the proportions that the new national flag was to follow, the Confederate War Department shortly afterward determined on the sizes for the military garrison and storm flags. According to Museum of the Confederacy Director John Coski, Miles' design was inspired by one of the many "secessionist flags" flown at the South Carolina secession convention in Charleston of December 1860. "[40], According to Coski, the Saint Andrew's Cross (also used on the flag of Scotland as a white saltire on a blue field) had no special place in Southern iconography at the time. Currently 24 Flags are on display, while 9 conserved flags await framing, and several others are being considered for conservation. The federal dark state is creating laws without congress. The flag was issued in the fall of 1861. In the early summer of 1861, the army was renamed the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) commanded by Gen. R.E. These Confederate national colors seem to have measured 4 feet on their hoist by 5 1/2 feet on the fly. The diagonal cross was preferable, he wrote, because "it avoided the religious objection about the cross (from the Jews and many Protestant sects), because it did not stand out so conspicuously as if the cross had been placed upright thus." Miles received various feedback on this design, including a critique from Charles Moise, a self-described "Southerner of Jewish persuasion." Miles described his rejected national flag design to Beauregard. Miles had already designed a flag that later became known as the Confederate Battle Flag, and he favored his flag over the "Stars and Bars" proposal. Although the officially specified proportions were 1:2, many of the flags that actually ended up being produced used a 1.5:1 aspect ratio. STARS AND BARS Images of 13 Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. Our Stars and Bars flags are made from 100% Dupont Solar-Max nylon material or 100% cotton.