[19] As early as April 1861, a month after the flag's adoption, some were already criticizing the flag, calling it a "servile imitation" and a "detested parody" of the U.S. Share. 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.". Gen. Earl Van Dorn adapted a red banner with stars and crescent moon as the battle flag for his command. and the later Sons of Confederate Veterans, (S.C.V. Miles also told the Committee on the Flag and Seal about the general's complaints and request that the national flag be changed. The Confederacy adopted a total of three national flags before its collapse in 1865. For use of Confederate symbols in modern society and popular culture, see, Flags of the Confederate States of America. STARS AND BARS Images of 7 Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. Its continued use by the Southern Army's post-war veteran's groups, the United Confederate Veterans (U.C.V.) This flag saw action in the battles in the west. The design of the Stars and Bars varied . [43], The Army of Northern Virginia battle flag assumed a prominent place post-war when it was adopted as the copyrighted emblem of the United Confederate Veterans. [3] In January 1862, George William Bagby, writing for the Southern Literary Messenger, wrote that many Confederates disliked the flag. [30] When Thompson received word the Congress had adopted the design with a blue stripe, he published an editorial on April 28 in opposition, writing that "the blue bar running up the center of the white field and joining with the right lower arm of the blue cross, is in bad taste, and utterly destructive of the symmetry and harmony of the design. [16], One of the first acts of the Provisional Confederate Congress was to create the Committee on the Flag and Seal, chaired by William Porcher Miles, a Democratic congressman, and Fire-Eater from South Carolina. A modification of that design was adopted on March 4, 1865, about a month before the end of the Read More symbolism of sovereignty ), led to the assumption that it was, as it has been termed, "the soldier's flag" or "the Confederate battle flag. These Confederate national colors seem to have measured 4 feet on their hoist by 5 1/2 feet on the fly. These skeletons may have the answer, Scientists are making advancements in birth controlfor men, Blood cleaning? William Miles delivered a speech supporting the simple white design that was eventually approved. Isnt the Rectangular battle flag really the Navy Jack? [18] He turned to his aide, who happened to be William Porcher Miles, the former chairman of the Confederate Congress's Committee on the Flag and Seal. The first flag was raised over the capitol in Montgomery by Miss Letitia Christian Tyler, the granddaughter of President John Tyler. The . A flag with a blue field and a single white star was used by the Louisiana Florida Parishes when they formed the Republic of West Florida in 1810. Many of the proposed designs paid homage to the Stars and Stripes, due to a nostalgia in early 1861 that many of the new Confederate citizens felt towards the Union. Adult Admission: Adult $10.00 Children (under the age of 14) $5:00. Variant of the first national flag with 13 stars, The second national flag of the Confederate States of America. One More Step . STARS AND BARS Images of Lone Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. In 2015, the flag came roaring back into the national consciousness when a white supremacist killed nine churchgoers at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Many soldiers wrote home about the ceremony and the impression the flag had upon them, the "fighting colors" boosting morale after the confusion at the Battle of First Manassas. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. In a Feb. 10 memo to its public affairs offices, the Defense Department said that having service members carry the U.S. flag horizontally or land it on the ground after a parachute jump is no . Photograph courtesy the Library of Congress, Photograph by Flip Schulke, CORBIS/Corbis/Getty, Photograph by Kris Graves, National Geographic. The number remained 11 through the summer, but increased when Missouri and Kentucky were admitted to the CSA by Acts of Congress approved 28 November 1861 and 10 December 1861, respectively. The Confederate battle flag was born of necessity after the Battle of Bull Run. (Physical symbols of white supremacy are coming down. The 1879 flag was introduced by Georgia state senator Herman H. Perry and was adopted to memorialize Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Many Confederates disliked the Stars and Bars, seeing it as symbolic of a centralized federal power against which the Confederate states claimed to be seceding. 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 "Sibley Flag", Battle Flag of the Army of New Mexico, commanded by General Henry Hopkins Sibley. Replacing the Star and Bars in May of 1863, the first official use was at the funeral of Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson. Some of the homages were outright mimicry, while others were less obviously inspired by the Stars and Stripes, yet were still intended to pay homage to that flag. [citation needed], The First Confederate Navy jacks, in use from 1861 to 1863, consisted of a circle of seven to fifteen five-pointed white stars against a field of "medium blue." ", The square "battle flag" is also properly known as "the flag of the Army of Northern Virginia". national flag consisting of white stars (50 since July 4, 1960) on a blue canton with a field of 13 alternating stripes, 7 red and 6 white. 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. Thereafter, the number of stars continued to increase until Tennessee gained her seat as the 11th State on 2 July 1861. LEE. But the battle flag has since been claimed by white supremacists and mythologized by others as an emblem of a rebellious Southern heritage. Inside the canton are seven to thirteen white five-pointed stars of equal size, arranged in a circle and pointing outward. A mans world? Even though the national flag changed in 1863, this flag saw continued use until 1865. The union blue extending down through the white space and stopping at the lower red space. Our Stars and Bars flags are made from 100% Dupont Solar-Max nylon material or 100% cotton. The first Confederate national flag bore 7 stars representing the first seven states to secede from the U.S. and band together as the Confederate States of America: South Carolina, Mississippi . These include flags displayed in states; cities, towns and counties; schools, colleges and universities; private organizations and associations; and individuals. [47], The Second Confederate Navy Jack was a rectangular cousin of the Confederate Army's battle flag and was in use from 1863 until 1865. The song was sung by Mr. McCarthy in a New Orleans theater before a packed house. In addition to the 112 1st national flags from states east of the Mississippi, a number of Confederate 1st national flags from the trans-Mississippi region have also been surveyed. "[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. 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. Four camp colors or flank markers accompanied each of these national colors. CONFEDERATE 1ST NATIONAL UNIT FLAGS IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. After the war, this design was adopted as the official flag of the United Confederate Veterans and today most people refer to as The Confederate Flag. The committee asked the public to submit thoughts and ideas on the topic and was, as historian John M. Coski puts it, "overwhelmed by requests not to abandon the 'old flag' of the United States." As historian John M. Coski writes, Confederate heritage organizations insisted that the flag was rightfully theirs and stood only for the honor of their ancestors. At the same time, however, the symbol was publicly claimed by those who challenged Black peoples humanitypeople like Byron De La Beckwith, a Mississippi white supremacist who murdered civil rights activistMedgar Evers in 1963 and who wore a Confederate flag pin on hislapel throughout his 1994trial. Within the blue saltire were seven white stars, representing the current seven states of the Confederacy, two on each of the left arms, one of each of the right arms, and one in the middle. Johnston also specified the various sizes to be used by different types of military units. First flag with 7 stars(March 4 May 18, 1861), Flag with 11 stars(July 2 November 28, 1861), Last flag with 13 stars(November 28, 1861 May 1, 1863), The Confederacy's first official national flag, often called the Stars and Bars, flew from March 4, 1861, to May 1, 1863. Stars and Bars (final version) This was replaced again in 2003 with a flag resembling the Stars and Bars. The Flags of the Old Dominion Guards, 1st Louisiana Infantry (Dreuxs Battn.) The Bonnie Blue Flag is on the right. Find the perfect The stars and bars flag stock video clips. The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? After images of the shooter, Dylann Roof, carrying Confederate battle flags emerged, multiple states bowed to pressure to remove them from memorials. Smith, Louisburg", University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "The Declarations of Causes of Seceding States", "Confederate battle flag: Separating the myths from facts", "Letter of Beauregard to Villere, April 24, 1863", "Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag", 37 New Historical Markers for Virginia's Roadways, "2008 Virginia Marker Dedication: Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag", North & South The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society, "Why the Confederate Flag Made a 20th Century Comeback", "Confederate flag removed: A history of the divisive symbol", "Trump keeps fighting a Confederate flag battle many supporters have conceded", "Majority Of Southerners Now View The Confederate Flag As A Racist Symbol, Poll Finds", "What the Confederate flag means in America today", "American Electorate Continues to Favor Leaving Confederate Relics in Place", "National Tracking Poll #2107045 / July 09-12, 2021 / Crosstabulation Results", Active autonomist and secessionist movements, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America&oldid=1142855463, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2023, Articles with incomplete citations from July 2020, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles with style issues from July 2022, Pages using infobox flag with unknown parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015, Articles needing additional references from September 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Similarly the patriotic ladies of the South who prepared most of the company and regimental flags for the military units raised in the Southern states chose whatever proportions and sizes seemed aesthetic. Bats and agaves make tequila possibleand theyre both at risk, This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome. [49], Though never having historically represented the Confederate States of America as a country, nor having been officially recognized as one of its national flags, the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia and its variants are now flag types commonly referred to as the Confederate Flag. "A surviving Georgia flag in the collection of the, Bonner, Robert E., "Flag Culture and the Consolidation of Confederate Nationalism. Hetty Cary and her sister and cousin made prototypes. A young . The results were mixed. Georgia adopted a new state flag in 2000, which contained a small inset image of the 1956 flag, along with other historical flags. It was distinct from the Unions flag. The editor of the Charleston Mercury expressed a similar view: "It seems to be generally agreed that the 'Stars and Bars' will never do for us. All rights reserved. Were most of the flags made in the Confederacy sewn by hand or by sewing machine? This particular battle ensign was the only example taken around the world, finally becoming the last Confederate flag lowered in the Civil War; this happened aboard the commerce raider CSS Shenandoah in Liverpool, England, on November 7, 1865. [56][57] A YouGov poll in 2020 of more than 34,000 Americans reported that 41% viewed the flag as representing racism, and 34% viewed it as symbolizing southern heritage. 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. "Southern Confederacy" (Atlanta, Georgia), 5 Feb 1865, pg 2. The original flag of the Confederate States of America, commonly known as the "STARS AND BARS", was approved by the Congress of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States, and first hoisted over the capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama, on the afternoon of the 4th day of March, 1861. 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. Return to the Confederate Flags Home Page. [54][55] A 2020 Quinnipiac poll showed that 55% of Southerners saw the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism, with a similar percentage for Americans as a whole. The result was anything but uniformity in the colors carried by the armies that coallesced in the Shenandoah Valley and around Centreville in June. HistorianWilliam Sturkey, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina and author of Hattiesburg: An American City in Black and White, says that racists turn to the symbol again and again when they feel embattled and threatened. How Long After the Battle of First Manassas did the various battle flags replace the Stars and Bars or did they ever entirely replace it? Miles' flag lost out to the "Stars and Bars". In 1816, the command operated in Missouri and Arkansas but was transferred to Northern Mississippi. The first official use of the "Stainless Banner" was to drape the coffin of General Thomas J. STARS AND BARS Images of the first Confederate national flag with more than 13 stars. [58] A July 2021 Politico-Morning Consult poll of 1,996 registered voters reported that 47% viewed it as a symbol of Southern pride while 36% viewed it as a symbol of racism. Newsome was arrested, but state officials voted to remove the flag from the building the following month. "Everybody wants a new Confederate flag," Bagby wrote. This bunting was placed in the hands of Richmond military goods dealer, George Ruskell. The Audience went wild, and the song was an instant success. Confederate monuments soondotted the South, and the battle flag was added to the state flag of Mississippi. Then, as Confederate veterans began to die in the early 20th century, groups like the United Daughters of the Confederacy pushed to commemorate themand make their version of history the official doctrine of Southern states. Second national flag (May 1, 1863 March 4, 1865), 2:1 ratio, Second national flag (May 1, 1863 March 4, 1865), also used as the Confederate navy's ensign, 3:2 ratio, A 12-star variant of the Stainless Banner produced in, Variant captured following the Battle of Painesville, 1865, Third national flag (after March 4, 1865), Third national flag as commonly manufactured, with a square canton, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 18:54. Even a few fourteen- and fifteen-starred ensigns were made to include states expected to secede but never completely joined the Confederacy. Our historical flags are unsurpassed in quality and authenticity. Segregation and oppressiveJim Crow laws soon disenfranchised Black Southernersand members of the Ku Klux Klan terrorized them. Email. Why are there 13 stars on Confederate flags? In February of 1863 the purchase of these 1st national flags ceased when General Beauregard instituted the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, as modified by Charlston Clothing Depot. It was generally made with a 2:3 aspect ratio, but a few very wide 1:2 ratio ensigns still survive today in museums and private collections. The flag was issued in the fall of 1861. With the war over, the South entered Reconstruction, a period during which the now reunified United States ended slavery and gave Black Americans citizenship and voting rights. national flag consisting of seven white stars on a blue canton with a field of three alternating stripes, two red and one white. In addition to the Confederacy's national flags, a wide variety of flags and banners were flown by Southerners during the Civil War. Although the officially designated design specified a rectangular canton, many of the flags that ended up being produced utilized a square-shaped canton. As historian Caroline E. Janneynotes, the Lost Cause myth came about immediately after the war as Confederates struggled to come to terms with their defeat in a postwar climate of economic, racial, and social uncertainty.. Reviews on 80s Bar in Brea, CA - That 80's Bar, Totally 80's Bar & Grille, Club 80's Bar and Grill, Sandy Llama, Flashbackz Lounge & Grill, FlashPants 80s Cover Band, Club Rock It, The Paradox Arcade + Bar, Stubby's, Mi Vida Loca Bar and Lounge Early flags contain seven stars for the original seven states of the Confederacy. 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. In the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally, demand for the banner surged across the country. Though inextricably linked with the Confederacy, the flag was never its official symbol. Beauregard and Joseph Johnston urged that a new Confederate flag be designed for battle. The Confederate War Department chose two similar sized flags for the forts that came under their control as a result of secession. From then on, the battle flag grew in its identification with the Confederacy and the South in general. 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). The name derived from the blue canton with a circle of white stars and the three red, white, and red bars in the flag's field. It is historically also known as Memorial Hall. But though the flag had been adopted by advocates of segregation and white supremacy, many denied that aspect of its meaning and instead insisted it stood for the Southern ideals espoused by the Lost Cause. What changed?). Perry was a former colonel in the Confederate army during the war, and he presumably based the design on the First National Flag of the Confederacy, commonly known as the Stars and Bars. "[32], Regardless of who truly originated the Stainless Banner's design, whether by heeding Thompson's editorials or Beauregard's letter, the Confederate Congress officially adopted the Stainless Banner on May 1, 1863. 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). Pinterest. LEE. The Confederate flag had three bars, red, white, red and a blue field with stars on it. The result was the square flag sometimes known as the . In the U.S. Army the garrison flag (flown on special occasions) was 20 feet on the hoist by 36 feet on the fly, while the storm flag (flown during inclement weather and less formal occurences) was directed to measure 10 feet on the hoist by 20 feet on the fly. 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). The Confederate States of America used three national flags during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865, known as the "Stars and Bars" (1861-1863), the "Stainless Banner" (1863-65), and the "Blood-Stained Banner" (1865). When rebels fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, they flew a blue banner with a single white star called the Bonnie Blue Flag. Deliveries began on 18 July 1861 and continued until 7 August. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars&qu. In an effort to avoid the visual confusion, General Pierre Beauregardcommissioned a new battle flag design. 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). It is commonly referred to as the Rebel Flag, and often mistakenly called the Stars & Bars. Four flags with nine stars (eight around a center star) emanated from Louisiana but two also were made in Mississippi in the same style. The thirteen stars stand for the thirteen states that were part of the Confederacy. As the Confederacy grew, so did the numbers of white stars on the ensign's dark blue canton: seven-, nine-, eleven-, and thirteen-star groupings were typical. Today, alongside the nations growing acknowledgment of systemic racism and widespread Black Lives Matterprotests, the Confederate flag predictably makes appearances at white supremacist gatherings. [citation needed]. Native American Flags. Just under half of these flags (18) bore eleven stars, of which 8 bore a center star with the other ten stars surrounding it. 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. This flag was known as the 'Stars and Bars', though ironically the Stars and Bars have a completely different design as compared, to the rectangular Confederate flag. The Dixiecrats adoption of the Confederate battle flag as a party symbol led to a surge in the banners popularity, and a flag fad spread from college campuses to Korean War battlefields and beyond. 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. Can we bring a species back from the brink? The flag was adopted by the permanent congress on May 1, 1863. [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." Neither state voted to secede or ever came under full Confederate control. 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. 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. The white stars on the blue field represent the original Confederate States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas. The original flag of the Confederate States of America, commonly known as the STARS AND BARS, was approved by the Congress of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States, and first hoisted over the capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama, on the afternoon of the 4th day of March, 1861. The blue flag with the circle of white told the Yankees that they facing the troops of Gen. Wm. -"Letter from Richmond" by the Richmond correspondent of the, Journal of the Confederate Congress, Volume 6, p.477, John D. Wright, The Language of the Civil War, p.284, Healy, Donald T.; Orenski, Peter J. It houses the second largest collection of Confederate Civil War items in the world. That changed in 1948 with the Dixiecrats, or States Rights Democratic Party, a racist, pro-segregation splinterparty formed by Southern Democrats. The "Stars and Bars" caused much confusion on the battlefield because of its similarity to the United States flag, the "Stars and Stripes." The Confederate Army never had an official battle flag. Their cantons bore eleven white, 5-pointed stars arranged in a circle. This Stars & Bars flag, also known as the First Confederate, is fully printed and has 2 brass grommets on the left used for hanging. 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. The winner of the competition was Nicola Marschall's "Stars and Bars" flag. The blue color of the diagonal saltire's "Southern Cross" was much lighter than the battle flag's dark blue. Moreover, the ones made by the Richmond Clothing Depot used the square canton of the second national flag rather than the slightly rectangular one that was specified by the law. Deep South. There were three bars on the flag, two red and one white, and thus the popular name "Stars and Bars." First Flag of the Confederate States of America, March 4, 1861 The seven stars represent the seven original states: South Carolina; Mississippi; Florida; Alabama; Georgia; Louisiana and Texas.