Flag of Mississippi

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Flag of Mississippi from 1894-present

1861 flag

The flag of Mississippi echoes the Confederate "Stars and Bars" flag and the Confederate battle flag. It was adopted in 1894.

It is the only U.S. state flag to incorporate the Confederate battle flag, included in the design as a memorial to Confederate dead (see External Links, below).

1 Official description
2 Pledge to the Mississippi State Flag
3 2001 flag referendum
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Official description

The official description of the flag is found in Mississippi Code, Section 3-3-16, Design of state flag:

The official flag of the State of Mississippi shall have the following design: with width two-thirds (2/3) of its length; with the union (canton) to be square, in width two-thirds (2/3) of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltire thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union; the field to be divided into three (3) bars of equal width, the upper one blue, the center one white, and the lower one, extending the whole length of the flag, red (the national colors); this being the flag adopted by the Mississippi Legislature in the 1894 Special Session.

[edit] Pledge to the Mississippi State Flag

The pledge to the state flag (from Miss. Code Ann., Section 37-13-7(1972)) is:

"I salute the flag of Mississippi and the sovereign state for which it stands with pride in her history and achievements and with confidence in her future under the guidance of Almighty God."

[edit] 2001 flag referendum

2001 flag proposal

On April 17, 2001, a referendum to change the flag was put before Mississippi voters. The proposal would have replaced the Confederate battle flag with a blue canton with 20 stars. The outer ring of 13 stars would represent the original Thirteen Colonies, the ring of six stars would represent the six nations that have had sovereignty over Mississippi territory (Indian nations, France, Spain, Britain, the United States, and the Confederate States), and the inner and slightly larger star would represent Mississippi itself. The 20 stars would also represent Mississippi's status as the 20th member of the United States. The referendum was soundly defeated in a vote of 65% to 35%. [1] [2]