Flags of the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The first national flag of the Confederate States of America.
Name	"The Stars and Bars"
Use	National flag
Adopted	March 4, 1861 (first 7-star version) November 28, 1861 (final 13-star version)
Design	Three horizontal stripes of equal height, alternating red and white, with a blue quadrilateral in the canton, inside the canton are white five-pointed stars of equal size, arranged in a circle and pointing outward.
Designed by	Nicola Marschall
The second national flag of the Confederate States of America.
Name	"The Stainless Banner"[lower-alpha 1]
Use	National flag
Proportion	1:2[lower-alpha 2]
Adopted	May 1, 1863
Design	A white rectangle two times as wide as it is tall, a red quadrilateral in the canton, inside the canton is a blue saltire with white outlining, with thirteen white five-pointed stars of equal size inside the saltire.
Designed by	William T. Thompson[lower-alpha 3]
Designed by	Arthur L. Rogers[10]

There were three successive national flag designs that served as the official national flags of the Confederate States of America (the "Confederate States" or the "Confederacy") during its existence from 1861 to 1865. Since the end of the American Civil War, private and official use of the Confederacy's flags, and of flags with derivative designs, has continued under some controversy, both philosophical, political, cultural, and racial, in the United States. These include flags displayed in states, cities/towns/counties, schools/colleges/universities, private organizations/associations, and by individuals.

Today, the current state flag of Mississippi features the familiar Confederate "battle flag" in the "canton", or upper left corner, the only current U.S. state flag to do so. Georgia's state flag is very similar to the first national flag of the Confederacy, the "Stars and Bars", even though its design has not incorporated the Confederate "battle flag" since 2001 (X-shaped, blue "St. Andrew's Cross" with 13 white stars on a red field) design in the canton of the upper left corner. The designs of several other American state flags, currently in use, such as that of Virginia and Louisiana, date to the time of the Confederacy and the American Civil War. The current flag of North Carolina is also a modified version of the 1861 Confederate flag's design.

National flags

First national flag: "The Stars and Bars" (1861-1863)

A Confederate "Stars and Bars" flag, captured by soldiers of the Union Army at Columbia, South Carolina.

Three versions of the flag of the Confederate States of America and the Confederate Battle Flag are shown on this printed poster from 1896. The "Stars and Bars" can be seen in the upper left. Standing at the center are Stonewall Jackson, P. G. T. Beauregard, and Robert E. Lee, surrounded by bust portraits of Jefferson Davis, Alexander Stephens, and various Confederate army officers, such as James Longstreet and A. P. Hill.

The first official national flag of the Confederacy, often called the "Stars and Bars", was flown from March 4, 1861 to May 1, 1863. It was designed by German/Prussian artist Nicola Marschall in Marion, Alabama and resembles the Flag of the Austrian Empire, (later Austria-Hungary, now the Republic of Austria) with which Marschall would have been familiar.^[11][12] The "Stars and Bars" flag was adopted March 4, 1861, in the first temporary national capital of Montgomery, Alabama, and raised over the dome of that first Confederate capitol. Marschall also designed the Confederate army uniform.^[13]

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 of South Carolina. 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." Miles had already designed a flag that would later become known as the Confederate "Battle Flag" (or the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee), and he favored his flag over the "Stars and Bars" proposal. But given the popular support for a flag similar to the United States flag ("the Stars and Stripes" - originally established/designed June 1777 during the Revolutionary War), the "Stars and Bars" design was approved by the committee.^[14] When war broke out, the "Stars and Bars" caused confusion on the battlefield at the Battle of First Bull Run/Battle of First Manassas (in northern Virginia) because of its similarity to the U.S. flag of the northern Union, which was still used by the United States Army (by now the Union Army), especially when it was hanging limp, down on the flagstaff. Also in the early years of the conflict, exacerbated by the fact that some Confederate units still wore dark blue coats or original state militia uniforms prior to the adoption of gray, butternut (tan or brown) uniforms with later generally anything else the lean units could scavenge as the war wore on.^[15]

However, the flag received criticism on ideological grounds for its aesthetic resemblance to the U.S. flag, which many Confederates disliked, seeing it as symbolizing of abolitionism and emancipation, which the Confederacy was officially in opposition to. 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. flag.^[16] In January 1862, George William Bagby, writing for the Southern Literary Messenger, wrote that many Confederates disliked the flag. "Every body wants a new Confederate flag," Bagby wrote, also stating that "The present one is universally hated. It resembles the Yankee flag and that is enough to make it unutterably detestable." The editor of the Charleston Mercury expressed a similar view, stating that "It seems to be generally agreed that the 'Stars and Bars' will never do for us. They resemble too closely the dishonored 'Flag of Yankee Doodle' … we imagine that the "Battle Flag" will become the Southern Flag by popular acclaim." In addition, William T. Thompson, the editor of the Savannah-based Daily Morning News also objected to the flag, stating in April 1863 that he was opposed to it "on account of its resemblance to that of the abolition despotism against which we are fighting."^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} In 1863, Thompson would go on to design the flag that would succeed the "Stars and Bars", the "Stainless Banner".^[4][5][6][7]

Over the course of the flag's use by the Confederacy, additional stars were added to the flag's canton, eventually bringing the total number of stars on the flag to thirteen. This reflected the Confederacy's claims of having admitted Kentucky and Missouri into the Confederacy. Although they were represented in the Confederate Congress, neither state was ever fully controlled or administered by the Confederacy. The first showing of the 13-star flag was outside the Ben Johnson House in Bardstown, Kentucky; the 13-star design was also in use as the Confederate navy's battle ensign.

• 

  First national flag with 7 stars
  (March 4, 1861 – May 21, 1861)

• 

  First national flag with 9 stars
  (May 21, 1861 – July 2, 1861)

• 

  First national flag with 11 stars
  (July 2, 1861 – November 28, 1861)

• 

  First national flag with 13 stars
  (November 28, 1861 – May 1, 1863^[1])

1. ^ "Confederate States of America government". Retrieved October 5, 2014. 

Second national flag: "The Stainless Banner" (1863-1865)

During the solicitation for a second Confederate national flag, there were many different types of designs that were proposed, nearly all making use of the battle flag, which by 1863 had become well-known and popular among those living in the Confederacy. The new design was specified by the Confederate Congress to 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."^[17]

The flag is also known as "the Stainless Banner" and was designed by William T. Thompson, a newspaper editor and writer based in Savannah, Georgia, with assistance from William Ross Postell, a Confederate blockade runner.^{[1][2][4][5][6][7]} The nickname "stainless" referred to the pure white field which took up a large part of the flag's design, although W.T. Thompson, the flag's designer, referred to his design as "The White Man's Flag".^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]} In referring to the white field that comprised a large part of the flag's design elements, Thompson stated that its color symbolized the "supremacy of the white man":

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.

—William T. Thompson (April 23, 1863), Daily Morning News^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

However, the official Confederate flag act of 1864 did not formally state what the white-colored field officially symbolized and thus, many Confederates at the time offered various interpretations. The Confederate Congress debated whether the white field should have a blue stripe and whether it should be bordered in red. As the flag's designer, W.T. Thompson opposed adding any such additional elements to the white field.^{[1][2][7][4][5][6]} William Miles delivered a speech supporting the simple white design that was eventually approved. He argued that the battle flag must be used, but for a national flag it was necessary to emblazon it, but as simply as possible, with a plain white field.^[18] In May 1863, when Thompson discovered that his design had been chosen by the Confederate Congress to become the Confederacy's next national flag, he was pleased. He praised his design as symbolizing the Confederacy's ideology and its cause of "a superior race", as well as for bearing little resemblance to the U.S. flag, which he called the "infamous banner of the Yankee vandals". Writing for Savannah's Daily Morning News, Thompson stated:

As a national emblem, it is significant of our higher cause, the cause of a superior race, and a higher civilization contending against ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism. Another merit in the new flag is, that it bears no resemblance to the now infamous banner of the Yankee vandals.

—William T. Thompson (May 4, 1863), Daily Morning News^{[1][2][4][5][6][7]}

The flags that were actually produced by the Richmond Clothing Depot used the 1.5:1 ratio adopted for the Confederate navy's battle ensign, rather than the official 2:1 ratio.^[8]

Initial reaction to the second national flag was favorable, but over time it became criticized for being "too white". 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. In addition, military officers voiced complaints about the flag being too white, for various reasons, such as the danger of being mistaken for a flag of truce, especially on naval ships, and that it was too easily soiled.^[10] Addressing these concerns, the flag's designer, W.T. Thompson, stated that the battle cross in the canton was sufficient enough to distinguish the flag from that of one of truce and that adding any additional elements would make the flag look too much like the U.S. one, which he referred to derisively as "the Yankee flag".^[4][5][6][7] However, despite these complaints, the second national flag was applauded by some for its design invoking Confederate ideology. George William Bagby praised the flag, referring to the saltire in the flag's canton as the "Southern Cross", as did others at the time, and stating that it embodied "the destiny of the Southern master and his African slave", pointing them southward to "the banks of the Amazon", expressing the desire many Confederates held of expanding slavery southward into Latin America.^[3]

• 

  Second national flag
  (May 1, 1863 – March 4, 1865^[1]), 2:1 ratio

• 

  Second national flag, also used as the Confederate navy's ensign, 1.5:1 ratio.

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CSAflag was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Third national flag: "The Blood-Stained Banner" (1865)

The third national flag (also called "the Blood Stained Banner") was adopted March 4, 1865. The red vertical bar was proposed by Major Arthur L. Rogers, who argued that the pure white field of the Second National flag could be mistaken as a flag of truce: when hanging limp in no wind, the flag's Southern Cross canton could accidentally stay hidden, so the flag could mistakenly appear all white.

Rogers lobbied successfully to have this alteration introduced in the Confederate Senate. He defended his redesign as having "as little as possible of the Yankee blue", and described it as symbolizing the primary origins of the people of the Confederacy, with the St. George's Cross of the English and British flags and the red bar from the flag of France.^[10]

The Flag Act of 1865 by the Confederate congress near the very end of the War, describes the flag in the following language:

The Congress of the Confederate States of America do enact, That the flag of the Confederate States shall be as follows: The width two-thirds of its length, with the union (now used as the battle flag) to be in width three-fifths of the width of the flag, and so proportioned as to leave the length of the field on the side of the union twice the width of the field below it; to have the ground red and a broad blue saltier thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with mullets or five pointed stars, corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States; the field to be white, except the outer half from the union to be a red bar extending the width of the flag.

—Flag Act of 1865, ^[9]

Despite the passage of the Flag Act of 1865, very few of these third national flags were actually manufactured and put into use in the field, with many Confederates never seeing the flag. 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.^[9]

• 

  Third national flag (after March 4, 1865)

• 

  Third national flag as commonly manufactured, with a square canton

Other flags

The "Bonnie Blue Flag"

In addition to the national flags of the Confederacy, a wide variety of flags and banners were flown by Southerners during the War. Most famously, the "Bonnie Blue Flag" was used as an unofficial flag during the early months of 1861. It was flying above the Confederate batteries that first opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, in South Carolina beginning the Civil War. The "Van Dorn battle flag" was also carried by Confederate troops fighting in the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters of war. In addition, many military units had their own regimental flags they would carry into battle. Other notable flags used are shown below.^[19]

Battle flag

The Army of Northern Virginia battle flag was square, of various sizes for the different branches of the service: 52 inches (130 cm) square for the infantry, 38 inches (97 cm) for the artillery, and 32 inches (81 cm) for the cavalry. It was used in battle beginning in December 1861 until the fall of the Confederacy. The blue color on the saltire in the battle flag was navy blue, as opposed to the much lighter blue of the Naval Jack.

The flag's stars represented the number of states in the Confederacy. The distance between the stars decreased as the number of states increased, reaching thirteen when the secessionist factions of Kentucky and Missouri joined in late 1861.^[20]

The Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia

At the First Battle of Manassas, near Manassas, Virginia, the similarity between the "Stars and Bars" and the "Stars and Stripes" caused confusion and military problems. Regiments carried flags to help commanders observe and assess battles in the warfare of the era. At a distance, the two national flags were hard to tell apart.^[21] In addition, Confederate regiments carried many other flags, which added to the possibility of confusion. After the battle, General P.G.T. Beauregard wrote that he was "resolved then to have [our flag] changed if possible, or to adopt for my command a 'Battle flag', which would be Entirely different from any State or Federal flag."^[15] 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". Miles described his rejected national flag design to Beauregard. Miles also told the Committee on the Flag and Seal about the general's complaints and request for the national flag to be changed. The committee rejected this idea by a four to one vote, after which Beauregard proposed the idea of having two flags. 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. 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."^[15]

Sovereignty or Secession Flag

The flag that Miles had favored when he was chairman of the "Committee on the Flag and Seal" eventually became the battle flag and, ultimately, the most popular flag of the Confederacy. According to historian 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. That flag was a blue St George's Cross (an upright or Latin cross) on a red field, with 15 white stars on the cross, representing the slaveholding states,^[22] and, on the red field, palmetto and crescent symbols. Miles received a variety of feedback on this design, including a critique from Charles Moise, a self-described "Southerner of Jewish persuasion". Moise liked the design, but asked that "the symbol of a particular religion not be made the symbol of the nation". Taking this into account, Miles changed his flag, removing the palmetto and crescent, and substituting a heraldic saltire ("X") for the upright one. The number of stars was changed several times as well. He described these changes and his reasons for making them in early 1861. 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". He also argued that the diagonal cross was "more Heraldric [sic] than Ecclesiastical, it being the 'saltire' of Heraldry, and significant of strength and progress".^[23]

According to Coski, the "Saint Andrew's Cross" (also used as the flag of Scotland), had no special place in Southern iconography at the time, and if Miles had not been eager to conciliate the Southern Jews his flag would have used the traditional Latin, "Saint George's Cross" (as used in the old ancient flag of England, a red cross on a white field). A colonel named 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.^[24]

Miles' flag, and all the flag designs up to that point, were rectangular ("oblong") in shape. General Johnston suggested making it square instead to conserve material. Johnston also specified the various sizes to be used by different types of military units. Generals Beauregard and Johnston and Quartermaster General Cabell approved the design of the 12-star Confederate Battle Flag at the Ratcliffe home, which served briefly as Beauregard's headquarters, near Fairfax Court House in September 1861. The 12th star represented Missouri. President Jefferson Davis arrived by train at Fairfax Station soon after and was shown the design for the new battle flag at the Ratcliffe House. Hetty Cary and her sister and cousin made prototypes. One such 12-star flag resides in the collection of Richmond's Museum of the Confederacy and the other is in Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans.

On November 28, 1861, Confederate soldiers in General Robert E. Lee's newly reorganized Army of Northern Virginia received the new battle flags in ceremonies at Centreville and Manassas, Virginia, and carried them throughout the Civil War. Beauregard gave a speech encouraging the soldiers to treat this new flag with honor and that it must never be surrendered. 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. From that point on, the battle flag only grew in its identification with the Confederacy and the South in general.^[25] Later, a 13th star was added for Kentucky.

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. Its continued use by the Southern Army's post-war veterans groups, the United Confederate Veterans (U.C.V.) and the later Sons of Confederate Veterans, (S.C.V.), and elements of the design by related similar female descendents organizations of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, (U.D.C.), led to the assumption that it was, as it has been termed, "the soldier's flag" or "the Confederate battle flag".

The square "Battle Flag" is also properly known as "the flag of the Army of Northern Virginia". It was sometimes called "Beauregard's flag" or "the Virginia battle flag". A Virginia Department of Historic Resources marker declaring Fairfax, Virginia, as the birthplace of the Confederate battle flag was dedicated on April 12, 2008, near the intersection of Main and Oak Streets, in Fairfax, Virginia.^[26][27][28]

Naval jacks and ensigns

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."

The First Confederate Navy Jack, in use from 1861 to 1863, consisted of a circle of seven to fifteen 5-pointed white stars against a field of medium blue. It was flown forward aboard all Confederate warships while they were anchored in port. One 7-star jack still exists today (found aboard the captured ironclad CSS Atlanta) that is actually dark blue in color (see illustration below, left).

The Second Confederate Navy Jack was a rectangular cousin of the Confederate Army's battle flag and was in use from 1863 until 1865. It existed in a variety of dimensions and sizes, despite the CSN's detailed naval regulations. The blue color of the diagonal saltire's Southern Cross was much lighter than the dark blue of the battle flag.

• 

  The First Confederate Navy Jack, 1861–1863

• 

  The Second Confederate Navy Jack, 1863–1865

• 

  The First Confederate Navy Ensign,1861–1863

• 

  The Second Confederate Navy Ensign, 1863–1865

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. It was generally made with an aspect ratio of 2:3, but a few very wide 1:2 ratio ensigns still survive today in museums and private collections. As the Confederacy grew, so did the numbers of white stars seen on the ensign's dark blue canton: 7, 9, 11, and 13 star groupings were typical. Even a few 14 and 15 starred ensigns were made to include states that were expected to secede but never completely joined the Confederacy.

The second national flag was later adapted as a naval ensign, using a shorter 2:3 ratio than the 1:2 ratio adopted by the Confederate Congress for the national flag. This particular battle ensign was the only example taken around the world, finally becoming the last Confederate flag lowered in the Civil War; this happening aboard CSS Shenandoah in Liverpool, England on November 7, 1865.

Confederate flag

The rectangular battle flag of the Army of Tennessee

Designed by William Porcher Miles, the chairman of the Flag and Seal committee, a now popular variant of the Confederate flag was rejected as the national flag in 1861. It was instead adopted as a battle flag by the Army of Northern Virginia under General Lee.^[29] Despite never having historically represented the CSA as a country nor officially recognized as one of the national flags, it is commonly referred to as "the Confederate Flag" and has become a widely recognized symbol of the American south.^[30] It is also known as the rebel flag, Dixie flag, and Southern cross and is often incorrectly referred to as the "Stars and Bars" (the actual "Stars and Bars" is the first national flag, which used an entirely different design).^[31] The self-declared Confederate enclave of Town Line, New York, lacking a genuine Confederate flag, flew a version of this flag prior to its 1946 vote to rejoin the Union.

20th-century popularity

During the first half of the 20th century, the Confederate flag enjoyed renewed popularity. During World War II some U.S. military units with Southern nicknames, or made up largely of Southerners, made the flag their unofficial emblem. The USS Columbia flew a Confederate Navy Ensign as a battle flag throughout combat in the South Pacific in World War II. This was done in honor of Columbia, the ship's namesake and the capital city of South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union. Some soldiers carried Confederate flags into battle. After the Battle of Okinawa a Confederate flag was raised over Shuri Castle by a Marine from the self-styled "Rebel Company" (Company A of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines). It was visible for miles and was taken down after three days on the orders of General Simon B. Buckner, Jr. (son of Confederate general Simon Buckner, Sr.), who stated that it was inappropriate as "Americans from all over are involved in this battle". It was replaced with the regulation, 48-star flag of the United States.^[32] By the end of World War II, the use of the Confederate flag in the military was rare.^[33] The 1979-1985 American television series The Dukes of Hazzard, set in a fictional Georgia county, featured the General Lee stock car with a prominently displayed Confederate naval jack on its roof throughout the series' run. In the 1994 movie, Forrest Gump, a Confederate flag can be seen at a US Army camp in Vietnam.

Controversy

The Confederate flag is a controversial symbol for many Americans today. A 2011 Pew Research poll revealed that nearly a third of all Americans, or 30%, have a "negative reaction" when "they see the Confederate flag displayed."^[34] According to the same poll, this is three times more than those who have a positive reaction. A majority (58%) have no reaction. In a 2013 YouGov poll, a plurality (38%) of those polled disapproved of displaying the flag in public places.^[35] In the same poll, a plurality (44%) of those asked viewed the flag as a symbol of racism, with 24% viewing it as exclusively racist and 20% viewing it as both racist and symbolic of pride in the region.^[35]

In Georgia, the Confederate battle flag was reintroduced in 1956, just two years after the Supreme Court decision Brown v Board of Education. It was considered by many to be a protest against school desegregation.^[36] It was also raised at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) during protests against integration of schools.^[37]

Supporters of the flag's continued usage view it as a symbol of Southern ancestry and heritage as well as representing a distinct and independent cultural tradition of the Southern United States from the rest of the country. Some groups use the Southern Cross as one of the symbols associated with their organizations, including groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.^[38] For other supporters, the flag represents only a past era of southern sovereignty.^[39] Some historical societies such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy also use the flag as part of their symbols. Some rockabilly fans hold the battle flag as their emblem as well.^[40]

As a result of these varying perceptions, there have been a number of political controversies surrounding the use of the Confederate battle flag in Southern state flags, at sporting events, at Southern universities, and on public buildings. In their study of Confederate symbols in the contemporary Southern United States, the Southern political scientists James Michael Martinez, William Donald Richardson, Ron McNinch-Su write:

The battle flag was never adopted by the Confederate Congress, never flew over any state capitols during the Confederacy, and was never officially used by Confederate verterans' groups. The flag probably would have been relegated to Civil War museums if it had not been resurrected by the resurgent KKK and used by Southern Dixicrats during the 1948 presidential election.^[41]

Southern historian Gordon Rhea further wrote in 2011 that:

It is no accident that Confederate symbols have been the mainstay of white supremacist organizations, from the Ku Klux Klan to the skinheads. They did not appropriate the Confederate battle flag simply because it was pretty. They picked it because it was the flag of a nation dedicated to their ideals: 'that the negro is not equal to the white man'. The Confederate flag, we are told, represents heritage, not hate. But why should we celebrate a heritage grounded in hate, a heritage whose self-avowed reason for existence was the exploitation and debasement of a sizeable segment of its population?^[42]

Symbols of the Confederacy remain a contentious issue across the United States and their civic placement has been debated vigorously in many southern U.S. state legislatures since the 1990s, such as Georgia. Supporters have labeled attempts to display the flag as an exercise of free speech in response to bans in some schools and universities, but have not always been successful in court^[43] when attempting to use this justification.

Display at South Carolina's state capitol

The South Carolina State House, site of the 2000 controversy

On April 12, 2000, the South Carolina State Senate passed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the top of the State House dome by a majority vote of 36 to 7. Originally placed there in 1961,^[44] "the new bill specified that a more traditional version of the battle flag would be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument honoring fallen Confederate soldiers". The bill also passed the state's House of Representatives, but not without some difficulty. On May 18, 2000, after the bill was modified to ensure that the height of the flag's new pole would be 30 feet (9 m), it was passed by a majority of 66 to 43. Governor Jim Hodges signed the bill into law five days later after it passed the state Senate. On July 1, 2000 the flag was removed from atop the State House by two students (one white and one black) from The Citadel, and placed on a monument on the front lawn of the capitol. Current state law prohibits the flag's removal from the State House grounds without additional legislation.

In 2005, two Western Carolina University researchers found that 74% of African-Americans polled favored removing the flag from the South Carolina State House altogether.^[45] The NAACP and other civil rights groups have attacked the flag's continued presence at the state capitol. The NAACP maintains an official economic boycott of South Carolina, citing its continued display of the battle flag on its State House grounds, despite an initial agreement to call off the boycott after it was removed from the State House dome.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has prevented South Carolina from hosting any championship sporting events in which the sites are determined in advance.^[46] This NCAA ban on post-season championships in South Carolina has been strictly enforced, with the exception of HBCU Benedict College. In both 2007 and 2009, the school hosted the post-season Pioneer Bowl game, in violation of the NCAA ban, though no action was taken.^[47] On April 14, 2007, Steve Spurrier, coach of the University of South Carolina football team, made an acceptance speech for a community service award in which he referred to the flag on the State House grounds as "that damn flag". This statement was also inspired by the actions of a local fraternity on that same day, whose members created controversy as they waved the battle flag while being videotaped for SportsCenter.^[48] On July 6, 2009, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced a decision to move three future baseball tournaments out of South Carolina citing miscommunications with the NAACP concerning the display of the Confederate flag in the state.^[49]

Use in state flags

Alabama and Florida

Flag of Alabama

It has been hypothesized that the crimson saltire of the flag of Alabama was designed to resemble the blue saltire of the Confederate Battle Flag. Most battle flags were square-shaped, and Alabama's flag is sometimes shown as a square. The legislation that created the state flag did not specify if the flag was going to be square or rectangular.^[50] The authors of a 1917 article in National Geographic expressed their opinion that because the Alabama flag was based on the Battle Flag, it should be square.^[51] In 1987, the office of Alabama Attorney General Don Siegelman issued an opinion in which the Battle Flag derivation is repeated, but concluded that the proper shape is rectangular, as it had been depicted numerous times in official publications and reproductions.^[52]

However, the saltire design of the Alabama state flag also bears resemblance to several other flags. It is identical to the flag of Saint Patrick, incorporated into the Union Flag of the United Kingdom to represent the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland. Except for the Great Seal in the center, it is almost identical to the Flag of Florida, which has its heritage in the Spanish Cross of Burgundy flag.

Another slim possibility is in the flag of Co. F 7th Regiment Alabama Cavalry. The regiment was the only Alabama regiment in Rucker's Brigade commanded by Col. Edmund Rucker of Tennessee, later Alabama, who became a prominent Montgomery businessman after the war. The flag of the brigade used a white background with a red saltire which did not always extend to the corners and charged with dark colored stars upon the saltire. The flag of Co. F, 7th Alabama Cavalry is currently held by the Alabama Department of Archives and History as part of its Alabama Civil War Period Flag Collection.^[53] But, the flag carried by Co. F 7th Alabama was not an Alabama Flag, it was the flag made for Rucker's Brigade a month before the 7th joined his brigade; the 7th was color party only after September 24, 1864. A bunting flag that exists, in the white and red configuration with 13 blue stars, is not believed to be Alabama associated, but tied to Rucker's Brigade.

Georgia

The current state flag of Georgia, adopted in 2003. It is based on the Confederacy's first national flag, the "Stars and Bars".

In 1956 the Georgian state flag was redesigned to incorporate the Confederate battle flag. Following protests over this aspect of the design in the 1990s by the NAACP, (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and other groups, efforts began in the Georgia General Assembly to remove the battle flag from the state flag's design. These efforts succeeded in January 2001 when Georgia Governor Roy Barnes pushed through a design that, though continuing to depict the Battle Flag, greatly reduced its prominence. This move deeply angered a large segment of Georgia's electorate, contributing to Barnes' defeat in the subsequent gubernatorial election in November 2002.

The following year, amidst dwindling demands for the return of the 1956 design ("Battle Flag" version) and lesser opposing demands for the continued use of the new "Barnes'" design, the Georgia General Assembly redesigned the flag yet again; it adopted a "compromise" design using the 13-star First National Flag of the Confederacy (the "Stars and Bars"), combined with a simplified version of Georgia's state seal placed within the circle of 13 stars on the flag's canton.

Recent flags of Georgia

Mississippi

Flag of Mississippi

The Confederate battle flag became a part of the flag of Mississippi in 1894. In 1906 the flag statutes were omitted by error from the new legal code of the state, leaving Mississippi without an official flag. The omission was not discovered until 1993, when a lawsuit filed by the NAACP regarding the flag was being reviewed by the Mississippian supreme court. In 2000 Governor Ronnie Musgrove issued an executive order making the flag official, which it did in February 2001. After continued controversy, the decision was turned over to citizens of the state, who, on April 17, 2001, voted 2:1 to keep the Confederate Battle Flag a part of the current state flag.^[54]

State seals

The first Confederate flag, along with five other flags appears on the reverse of the Seal of Texas, it is also flown along with five other flags in Austin. Both are meant to describe the six countries that had sovereignty over Texas.

The Alabamian coat of arms features the Confederate battle flag's saltire in its design.

Use on vehicular license plates

In Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia vehicle owners can request a state-issued license plate featuring the Sons of Confederate Veterans logo, which incorporates the square Confederate battle flag.^[55]

In 1998, a North Carolina appellate court upheld the issuance of such license plates in the case Sons of Confederate v. DMV, noting: "We are aware of the sensitivity of many of our citizens to the display of the Confederate flag. Whether the display of the Confederate flag on state-issued license plates represents sound public policy is not an issue presented to this Court in this case. That is an issue for our General Assembly."^[56] In 2015, the dispute over Texas vanity plates that would have borne the logo ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case pitting nationally famous free-speech advocates against those who view the battle flag as a symbol of hatred.^[57]

Legal recognition and protection

In some U.S. states the Confederate flag is given the same protection from burning and desecration as the U.S. flag. It is protected from being publicly mutilated, defiled, or otherwise cast in contempt by the laws of five U.S. states: Florida,^[58] Georgia,^[59] Louisiana,^[60] Mississippi,^[61] and South Carolina.^[62] However, laws banning the desecration of any flag, even if technically remaining in effect, were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Texas v. Johnson, and are not enforceable.^[63]

By contrast, in California, legislation enacted in 2014 prohibits the Confederate flag from being sold or displayed by government agencies, except for historical or educational purposes.^[64][65] The law is similar in spirit to current laws in Germany, which prohibit the public display of the symbols of "unconstitutional organizations" (such as Neo-Nazi parties) within the modern borders of Germany, with the exception that the California law applies only to government agencies.

UDC salute

A "salute" to the Confederate flag was written by Mrs. James Henry Parker of New York:

I salute the Confederate Flag with affection, reverence and undying remembrance.

It was officially adopted in 1933 by the UDC, the United Daughters of the Confederacy. This salute is still in use today by the organization and its auxiliary, the Children of the Confederacy^[66] and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.^[67][68][69]

According to the 1959 UDC handbook, this salute was to be given by the speaker while giving the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag; the Pledge was to be given first, and the speaker was directed to drop their right arm to their side before giving the salute.^[70] The current UDC flag code states that the speaker is to stand at attention and place their ungloved right hand over their heart. The order of precedence for flag salutes and pledges is: Salute to the Christian flag (if used), the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag, the Salute to the State Flag and then the Salute to the Confederate Flag. The speaker is to drop their right hand to their side in between each salute or pledge.^[71]

See also

• Flags of the U.S. states
• Bonnie Blue Flag
• Seal of the Confederate States

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Bonner, Robert. Colors and Blood: Flag Passions of the Confederate South. Princeton University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-691-11949-X.
• Coski, John M. (2005). The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01722-1. 
• Katcher, Phillip and Scollins, Rick. Flags of the American Civil War 1: Confederate. (Osprey Men-At-War Series), Osprey Publishing Company, 1993. ISBN 1-85532-270-6.
• Madaus, H. Michael. Rebel Flags Afloat: A Survey of the Surviving Flags of the Confederate States Navy, Revenue Service, and Merchant Marine. Flag Research Center, 1986, Winchester, MA. ISSN 0015-3370. (Eighty-page, all Confederate naval flags issue of The Flag Bulletin, magazine #115.)
• Marcovitz, Hal. The Confederate Flag, American Symbols and Their Meanings. Mason Crest Publishers, 2002. ISBN 1-59084-035-6.
• Preble, George Henry (1872). Our Flag: Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America. Albany: Joel Munsell. OCLC 423588342. Retrieved March 26, 2015. 
• Preble, George Henry (1880). History of the Flags of the United States of America: Second Revised Edition. Boston: A. Williams and Company. OCLC 645323981. Retrieved March 26, 2015. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flags of the Confederate States of America.

• The Flags of Bentonville: Union and Confederate flags that flew with units at the Battle of Bentonville, March 1865
• The Civil War: Confederate Flag