Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|National flag}} {{about|historical uses of flags associated with the defunct Confederate States of America|modern uses|Modern display of the Confederate battle flag}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Use American English|date=February 2014}} {{excessive quotation|date=July 2022}}<!-- In First and Second flag sections--> {{Infobox flag | Name = Confederate States of America | Article = the | Image = Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg | Imagetext = Variant of the first national flag with 13 stars<br />(November 28, 1861 – May 1, 1863) | Nickname="The Stars and Bars" | Use = National flag | Symbol = {{FIAV|historical}} | Proportion =5:9 | Adoption = March 4, 1861 {{small|(first 7-star version)}}<br />November 28, 1861 {{small|(final 13-star version)}} | Design = Three horizontal stripes of equal height, alternating red and white, with a blue square two-thirds the height of the flag as the canton. Inside the canton are seven to thirteen white five-pointed stars of equal size, arranged in a circle and pointing outward. | Designer = [[Nicola Marschall]] | Image2 = Flag of the Confederate States of America (1863-1865).svg | Alt2 = Second flag of the Confederate States of America | Imagetext2 = The second national flag of the Confederate States of America | Nickname2="The Stainless Banner"{{#tag:ref|[[William Tappan Thompson]], editor of Savannah's ''Daily Morning News'', used a different nickname for the flag, calling it "The White Man's Flag", saying that the flag's white field symbolized the "[[White supremacy|supremacy of the white man]]". But it was a nickname that never gained traction with the public.<ref name="GHPreble1872">{{harvnb|Preble|1872|pp=414–417}}</ref><ref name="GHPreble1880">{{harvnb|Preble|1880|pp=523–525}}</ref><ref name=StainlessBannerBirth>{{harvnb|Coski|2013}}. "A handful of contemporaries linked the new flag design to the "peculiar institution" that was at the heart of the South's economy, social system and polity: slavery. Bagby characterized the flag motif as the "Southern Cross" – the constellation, not a religious symbol – and hailed it for pointing 'the destiny of the Southern master and his African slave' southward to 'the banks of the Amazon,' a reference to the desire among many Southerners to expand Confederate territory into Latin America. In contrast, the Savannah, Ga., Morning News editor focused on the white field on which the Southern Cross was emblazoned. "As a people, we are fighting to maintain the heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored races. A White Flag would be thus emblematical of our cause." He dubbed the new flag "the White Man's Flag," a sobriquet that never gained traction."</ref><ref name=SMNApril23>{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=William T.|title=[[Savannah Morning News|Daily Morning News]]|location=Savannah, Georgia|date=April 23, 1863}}{{full citation needed|date=July 2020}}</ref><ref name=SMNApril28>{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=William T.|title=[[Savannah Morning News|Daily Morning News]]|location=Savannah, Georgia|date=April 28, 1863}}{{full citation needed|date=July 2020}}</ref><ref name=SMNMay4>{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=William T.|title=[[Savannah Morning News|Daily Morning News]]|location=Savannah, Georgia|date=May 4, 1863}}{{full citation needed|date=July 2020}}</ref><ref name=StainlessBannerNeo>{{cite book|author-link1=James W. Loewen|last1=Loewen|first1=James W.|last2=Sebesta|first2=Edward H.|year=2010|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|location=Jackson, Mississippi|isbn=978-1-60473-219-1|oclc=746462600|title=The Confederate and Neo Confederate Reader: The Great Truth about the 'Lost Cause'|page=13|url=http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1338|access-date=December 5, 2013|quote=Confederates even showed their preoccupation with race in their flag. Civil War buffs know that 'the Confederate flag' waved today was never the Confederate States of America's official flag. Rather, it was the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. During the war, the Confederacy adopted three official flags. The first, sometimes called 'the Stars and Bars,' drew many objections 'on account of its resemblance to that of the abolition despotism against which we are fighting,' in the words of the editor of the ''Savannah Morning News'', quoted herein.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213161623/http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1338|archive-date=December 13, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=whatyoushouldknow>{{cite news|last1=Kim |first1=Kyle |last2=Krishnakumar |first2=Priya |title=What you should know about the Confederate flag's evolution |url=http://www.latimes.com/visuals/graphics/la-na-g-confederate-flag-history-20150623-htmlstory.html |location=California |work=Los Angeles Times |issue=June 23, 2015 |access-date=July 11, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712023515/http://www.latimes.com/visuals/graphics/la-na-g-confederate-flag-history-20150623-htmlstory.html |archive-date=July 12, 2015 }}</ref><ref name=MSWWood1957p44>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkZVAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA44 |title=Stevens-Davis and allied families: a memorial volume of history, biography, and genealogy|page=44|last=Wood|first=Marie Stevens Walker|access-date=September 1, 2015|date=1957|quote=This design was suggested by William T. Thompson, editor of the Savannah (Ga.) Morning News, who, in an editorial published April 23, 1863, stated that through this design could be attained all the...}}</ref><ref name=FAllenp67>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UgsxY0tm_8C&pg=PA67 |title=Atlanta Rising: The Invention of an International City 1946–1996|last=Allen|first=Frederick|page=67|access-date=September 1, 2015|quote=By modern standards, the greatest flaw of the 'Stainless Banner' was its other popular nickname, bestowed by William T. Thompson, editor of the ''Savannah Daily Morning News'', who called it 'the White Man's Flag' and argued that it represented 'the cause of a superior race and a higher civilization contending against ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism' – a bit of racist rhetoric that is plainly unacceptable in current public discourse.|isbn=978-1-4616-6167-2|date=May 25, 1996}}</ref>|group=note}} | Use2 = National flag | Symbol2 = {{FIAV|historical}} | Proportion2 = 1:2{{#tag:ref|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.<ref name="fotc">{{cite web |url=http://www.confederateflags.org/national/FOTCsbr.htm |title=The Second Confederate National Flag (Flags of the Confederacy) |access-date=October 24, 2005 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209190749/http://www.confederateflags.org/national/FOTCsbr.htm |archive-date=February 9, 2009 }}</ref>|group=note}} | Adoption2 = May 1, 1863 | Design2 = 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. | Image3 = Flag of the Confederate States of America (1865).svg | Alt3 = Third flag of the Confederate States of America | Imagetext3 = The third national flag of the Confederate States of America. | Nickname3="The Blood-Stained Banner" | Use3 = National flag | Symbol3 = {{FIAV|historical}} | Proportion3 = 2:3 | Adoption3 = March 4, 1865 | Design3 = A white rectangle, one-and-a-half times as wide as it is tall, a red vertical stripe on the far right of the rectangle, 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.{{#tag:ref|Although the officially designated design specified a rectangular canton, many of the flags that ended up being produced utilized a square-shaped canton.<ref name="fotc3" />|group=note}} | Designer3 = Maj. Arthur L. Rogers<ref name="autogenerated1" /> }} The '''flags of the Confederate States of America''' have a history of three successive designs during the [[American Civil War]]. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and the "Blood-Stained Banner", used in 1865 shortly before the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]'s dissolution. A rejected national flag design was also used as a battle flag by the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] and featured in the "Stainless Banner" and "Blood-Stained Banner" designs. Although this design was never a national flag, it is the most commonly recognized symbol of the Confederacy. Since the end of the Civil War, [[Modern display of the Confederate battle flag|private and official use of the Confederate flags]], particularly the battle flag, has continued amid philosophical, political, cultural, and racial controversy in the United States. These include flags displayed in states; cities, towns and counties; schools, colleges and universities; private organizations and associations; and individuals. The battle flag was also featured in the [[Flags of the U.S. states and territories|state flags]] of [[Flag of Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Flag of Mississippi|Mississippi]], although it was removed by the former in 2003 and the latter in 2020. After the former was changed in 2001, the city of [[Trenton, Georgia]] has used a [[Flag of Trenton, Georgia|flag design]] nearly identical to the previous version with the battle flag. == {{anchor|First flag}}<!--[[Stars and Bars (flag)]] redirects here--> First flag: the "Stars and Bars" (1861–1863) == {{gallery | height=100 | width=210 | align=center | mode=nolines | File:CSA FLAG 4.3.1861-21.5.1861.svg|First flag with 7 stars<br />(March 4 – May 18, 1861) | File:CSA Flag 21.5.1861-2.7.1861.svg|Flag with 9 stars<br />(May 18 – July 2, 1861) | File:CSA Flag 2.7.1861-28.11.1861.svg|Flag with 11 stars<br />(July 2 – November 28, 1861) | File:CSA FLAG 28.11.1861-1.5.1863.svg|Last flag with 13 stars<br />(November 28, 1861 – May 1, 1863) }} The Confederacy's first official national flag, often called the ''Poooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop'', flew from March 4, 1861, to May 1, 1863. It was designed by [[Prussia]]n-American artist [[Nicola Marschall]] in [[Marion, Alabama]], and is said to resemble the [[Flag of Austria]], with which Marschall would have been familiar.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/ArticlePrintable.jsp?id=h-1134|title= Nicola Marschall|date= April 25, 2011|publisher= The Encyclopedia of Alabama |access-date=July 29, 2011|quote= The flag does resemble that of the [[German language|Germanic]] European nation of Austria, which as a [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] artist, Marschall would have known well.}}</ref><ref name="hume" /> The original version of the flag featured a circle of seven white stars in the navy-blue [[Canton (flag)|canton]], representing the seven states of the South that originally composed the Confederacy: [[South Carolina in the American Civil War|South Carolina]], [[Mississippi in the American Civil War|Mississippi]], [[Florida in the American Civil War|Florida]], [[Alabama in the American Civil War|Alabama]], [[Georgia in the American Civil War|Georgia]], [[Louisiana in the American Civil War|Louisiana]], and [[Texas in the American Civil War|Texas]]. The "Stars and Bars" flag was adopted on 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 [[Uniforms of the Confederate States military forces|Confederate army uniform]].<ref name="hume">{{cite journal |url=http://www.archives.state.al.us/marschall/german.html |title=Nicola Marschall: Excerpts from "The German Artist Who Designed the Confederate Flag and Uniform" |first=Edgar Erskine |last=Hume |journal=The American-German Review |date=August 1940|access-date=June 26, 2015}}</ref> A monument in [[Louisburg, North Carolina]], claims the "Stars and Bars" "was designed by a son of North Carolina / Orren Randolph Smith / and made under his direction by / Catherine Rebecca (Murphy) Winborne. / Forwarded to Montgomery, Ala. Feb 12, 1861, / Adopted by the Provisional Congress March 4, 1861".<ref>{{cite web |title=First Confederate Flag and Its Designer O.R. Smith, Louisburg |author=Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina. |publisher=[[Wilson Library]], [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] |url=https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/22/}}</ref> 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 Party (United States)|Democratic]] congressman, and [[Fire-Eaters|Fire-Eater]] from [[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 later became known as the Confederate ''[[#Battle flag|Battle Flag]]'', and he favored his flag over the "Stars and Bars" proposal. But given the popular support for a flag similar to the [[Flag of the United States|U.S. flag]] ("the Stars and Stripes" – originally established and designed in June 1777 during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]), the "Stars and Bars" design was approved by the committee.<ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|pp=4–5}}</ref> As the Confederacy grew, so did the numbers of stars: two were added for [[Virginia in the American Civil War|Virginia]] and [[Arkansas in the American Civil War|Arkansas]] in May 1861, followed by two more representing [[Tennessee in the American Civil War|Tennessee]] and [[North Carolina in the American Civil War|North Carolina]] in July, and finally two more for [[Missouri in the American Civil War|Missouri]] and [[Kentucky in the American Civil War|Kentucky]] (neither of these two states seceded, but partisan factional "governments" declared secession without achieving control of substantial territory or population in either case). When the American Civil War broke out, the "Stars and Bars" confused the battlefield at the [[First Battle of Bull Run]] because of its similarity to the U.S. (or [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]) flag, especially when it was hanging limp on its flagstaff.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{harvnb|Coski|2005|p=8}}</ref> The "Stars and Bars" was also criticized on ideological grounds for its resemblance to the U.S. flag. 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.<ref name="The Declarations of Causes of Seceding States">{{cite web|url=http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/declarationofcauses.html|work=Civil War Trust|title=The Declarations of Causes of Seceding States|access-date=February 23, 2016|quote="Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product that constitutes the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution and was at the point of reaching its consummation. No choice left us but submission to abolition's mandates, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin. That we do not overstate the dangers to our institution, a reference to a few facts will sufficiently prove."}}</ref> 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.<ref name=StainlessBannerBirth /> In January 1862, [[George William Bagby]], writing for the ''[[Southern Literary Messenger]]'', wrote that many Confederates disliked the flag. "Everybody wants a new Confederate flag," Bagby wrote. "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: "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|Battle Flag]]' will become the Southern Flag by popular acclaim." [[William Tappan Thompson|William T. Thompson]], the editor of the Savannah-based ''[[Savannah Morning News|Daily Morning News]]'' also objected to the flag, due to its aesthetic similarity to the U.S. flag, which for some Confederates had negative associations with emancipation and abolitionism. Thompson stated in April 1863 that he disliked the adopted flag "on account of its resemblance to that of the abolition despotism against which we are fighting."<ref name="GHPreble1872" /><ref name="GHPreble1880" /><ref name=StainlessBannerBirth /><ref name=SMNApril23 /><ref name=SMNApril28 /><ref name=SMNMay4 /><ref name=StainlessBannerNeo /> Over the course of the flag's use by the CSA, additional stars were added to the canton, eventually bringing the total number to thirteen-a reflection of the Confederacy's claims of having admitted the [[Border states (American Civil War)|border states]] of [[Kentucky]] and [[Missouri]], where slavery was still widely practiced.{{#tag:ref|Neither state voted to secede or ever came under full Confederate control. Nonetheless both were still represented in the Confederate Congress and had Confederate shadow governments composed of deposed former state politicians.|group=note}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/24/us/confederate-flag-myths-facts/index.html|title=Confederate battle flag: Separating the myths from facts|author=Ben Brumfield|date=2015-06-24|publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> The first showing of the 13-star flag was outside the [[Ben Johnson House (Bardstown, Kentucky)|Ben Johnson House]] in [[Bardstown, Kentucky]]; the 13-star design was also in use as the Confederate navy's battle [[ensign]]{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}. == {{anchor|Second flag}}Second flag: the "Stainless Banner" (1863–1865) == {| class="wikitable" |- |[[File:Flag of the Confederate States of America (1863-1865).svg|x100px]] |[[File:Confederate States Naval Ensign after May 26 1863.svg|x100px]] |[[File:Stainless Banner (Mobile, Alabama variant).png|x100px]] |[[File:Stainlessbannerpainesville.png|x100px]] |[[File:Fortfisherrecreation.png|x100px]] |- | width=200px style="font-size: 90%; vertical-align: top;" |Second national flag (May 1, 1863 – March 4, 1865), 2:1 ratio | width=150px style="font-size: 90%; vertical-align: top;" |Second national flag (May 1, 1863 – March 4, 1865), also used as the Confederate navy's ensign, 3:2 ratio | width=150px style="font-size: 90%; vertical-align: top;" |A 12-star variant of the Stainless Banner produced in [[Mobile, Alabama]] | width=150px style="font-size: 90%; vertical-align: top;" |Variant captured following the Battle of Painesville, 1865 | width=150px style="font-size: 90%; vertical-align: top;" |Garrison Flag of [[Fort Fisher]], the "''Southern Gibraltar''" |} Many different designs were proposed during the solicitation for a second Confederate national flag, nearly all based on the [[#Battle flag|Battle Flag]]. By 1863, it had become well-known and popular among those living in the Confederacy. 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 [[Star (heraldry)|mullets]] or five-pointed stars, corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States."<ref name="fotc"/> The flag is also known as ''the Stainless Banner'', and the matter of the person behind its design remains a point of contention. On April 23, 1863, the ''Savannah Morning News'' editor William Tappan Thompson, with assistance from William Ross Postell, a Confederate blockade runner, published an editorial championing a design featuring the battle flag on a white background he referred to later as "The [[White people|White Man]]'s Flag."<ref name=SMNMay4 /> In explaining the white background, Thompson wrote, "As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained [[White supremacy|supremacy of the white man]] over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause."<ref name="GHPreble1872" /><ref name="GHPreble1880" /><ref name=StainlessBannerBirth /><ref name=SMNApril23 /><ref name=StainlessBannerNeo /><ref name=whatyoushouldknow /><ref name=MSWWood1957p44 /><ref name=FAllenp67 /> In a letter to Confederate Congressman C. J. Villeré, dated April 24, 1863, a design similar to Thompson's was proposed by General [[P. G. T. Beauregard]], "whose earlier penchant for practicality had established the precedent for visual distinctiveness on the battlefield, proposed that 'a good design for the national flag would be the present battle-flag as Union Jack, and the rest all white or all blue'... 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."<ref>Bonner, Robert E., "Flag Culture and the Consolidation of Confederate Nationalism." ''Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 68, No. 2 (May 2002), 318–319.</ref><ref>"Gen. Beauregard suggested the flag just adopted, or else a field of blue in place of the white." -"Letter from Richmond" by the Richmond correspondent of the ''Charleston Mercury'', May 5, 1863, p.1, c.1.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2013}}. "Some congressmen and newspaper editors favored making the Army of Northern Virginia battle flag (in a rectangular shape) itself the new national flag. But Beauregard and others felt the nation needed its own distinctive symbol, and so recommended that the Southern Cross be emblazoned in the corner of a white field."</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Letter of Beauregard to Villere, April 24, 1863 |work=Daily Dispatch |location=Richmond, VA |date=May 13, 1863 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2006.05.0747%3Aarticle%3D18 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zs0VJTbNwfAC&pg=PA16 16]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Edward D. |last=Townsend |title=Saving the Union: My Days with Lincoln and Stanton (Annotated) |date=August 25, 2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ToqACwAAQBAJ&pg=PT149 }}</ref><ref>William Parker Snow, ''Lee and His Generals'' (1867), [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Lee_and_His_Generals/nTtsL3C6zI0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22lee+and+his+generals%22+%22why+change+our+battle-flag%22&pg=PA260&printsec=frontcover] <!-- quote="This idea was adopted by the Congress, on the 1st of May". -->.</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=J. Michael |last1=Martinez |first2=William D. |last2=Richardson |first3=Ron |last3=McNinch-Su |title=Confederate Symbols in the Contemporary South |publisher=University Press of Florida |year=2000 |page=98 |isbn=978-0-8130-1758-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERsyiUOYI4kC&pg=PA98 }}</ref> The Confederate Congress debated whether the white field should have a blue stripe and whether it should be bordered in red. William Miles delivered a speech supporting the simple white design that was eventually approved. 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|pp=16–17}}</ref> 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."<ref name="GHPreble1872" /><ref name=SMNApril28 /> Confederate Congressman [[Peter W. Gray]] proposed the amendment that gave the flag its white field.<ref>Journal of the Confederate Congress, Volume 6, p.477</ref> Gray stated that the white field represented "purity, truth, and freedom."<ref>Richmond Whig, May 5, 1863</ref> 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. 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.<ref name="fotc" /> Initial reaction to the second national flag was favorable, but over time it became criticized for being "too white." Military officers also voiced complaints about the flag being too white, for various reasons, such as the danger of being mistaken for a [[white flag|flag of truce]], especially on naval ships where it was too easily soiled.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{harvnb|Coski|2005|pp=17–18}}</ref> 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. Due to the flag's resemblance to one of truce, some Confederate soldiers cut off the flag's white portion, leaving only the canton.<ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|p=18}}</ref> The first official use of the "Stainless Banner" was to drape the coffin of General [[Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson]] as it [[lay in state]] in the Virginia capitol, May 12, 1863.<ref>John D. Wright, The Language of the Civil War, p.284</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|p=17}}</ref> As a result of this first usage, the flag received the alternate nickname of the "Jackson Flag". == {{anchor|Third flag}} Third flag: the "Blood-Stained Banner" (1865) == {| class="wikitable" |- |[[File:Flag of the Confederate States of America (1865).svg|x100px]] |[[File:Flag of the Confederate States of America (1865, variant).svg|x100px]] |- | width=150px style="font-size: 90%; vertical-align: top;" |Third national flag (after March 4, 1865) | width=150px style="font-size: 90%; vertical-align: top;" |Third national flag as commonly manufactured, with a square canton |} Rogers lobbied successfully to have this alteration introduced in the Confederate Senate. Rogers defended his redesign as symbolizing the primary origins of the people of the Confederacy, with the [[saltire]] of the [[Flag of Scotland|Scottish]] flag and the red bar from the [[flag of France]], and having "as little as possible of the Yankee blue" — the [[Uniforms of the Union Army|Union Army wore blue]], the [[Uniforms of the Confederate States Armed Forces|Confederates gray]].<ref name="autogenerated1" /> The Flag Act of 1865, passed by the [[Congress of the Confederate States|Confederate congress]] near the very end of the War, describes the flag in the following language: {{blockquote|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 [[saltire]] 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.<ref name="fotc3">{{cite web|url=http://www.confederateflags.org/national/FOTC3dnat.htm |title=The Third Confederate National Flag (Flags of the Confederacy) |access-date=July 29, 2007 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130091945/http://www.confederateflags.org/national/FOTC3dnat.htm |archive-date=January 30, 2009 }}</ref>}} Due to the timing, 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.<ref name="fotc3" /> ==State flags== {{gallery items |[[File:Flag of Alabama (1861, obverse).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[Alabama in the American Civil War|Alabama]] (''[[Obverse and reverse|obverse]]'')<br />(January 11, 1861) |[[File:Flag of Alabama (1861, reverse).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of Alabama (''[[Obverse and reverse|reverse]]'')<br />(January 11, 1861) |[[File:No flag.svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[Arkansas in the American Civil War|Arkansas]]<br /> No flag{{#tag:ref|"Neither Arkansas nor Missouri enacted legislation to adopt an official State flag" (Cannon 2005, p. 48).|group=note}} |[[File:Flag of Florida (1861-1865).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[Florida in the American Civil War|Florida]]<br /> (September 13, 1861) |[[File:Flag of the State of Georgia (1861, red).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[Georgia in the American Civil War|Georgia]]<br /> (''[[de facto]]''){{#tag:ref|"A surviving Georgia flag in the collection of the [[American Civil War Museum|Museum of the Confederacy]] in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] . . . places the arms on a red field" (Cannon 2005, p. 39).|group=note}} |[[File:Flag of Louisiana (February 1861).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[Louisiana in the American Civil War|Louisiana]]<br /> (February 11, 1861) |[[File:Flag of Mississippi (1861-1865).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[Mississippi in the American Civil War|Mississippi]]<br /> (March 30, 1861) |[[File:Flag of North Carolina (1861).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[North Carolina in the American Civil War|North Carolina]]<br /> (June 22, 1861) |[[File:Flag of South Carolina (1861).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[South Carolina in the American Civil War|South Carolina]]<br /> (January 26, 1861) |[[File:Tennessee 1861 proposed.svg|180x100px|border]]|width=180|Flag of [[Tennessee in the American Civil War|Tennessee]]<br /> (''[[de facto]]''){{#tag:ref|"Despite . . . inaction of the [[Tennessee General Assembly|Tennessee legislature]], the flag recommended by Senator [Tazewell B.] Newman did see some limited use" (Cannon 2005, pp. 46-47).|group=note}} |[[File:Flag of Texas (1839–1879).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[Texas in the American Civil War|Texas]]<br /> (January 25, 1839) |[[File:Flag of Virginia (1861).svg|180x100px|border]]|Flag of [[Virginia in the American Civil War|Virginia]]<br /> (April 30, 1861) }} ==Indian Territory flags== {{gallery|mode=nolines|width=180|height=100 |Image:Flag of the Cherokee Braves.svg|[[:w:Cherokee|Cherokee Braves Regiment]] (modern-day Oklahoma) |File:Flag of The Choctaw Brigade 02.svg|Flag of the [[Choctaw Nation|Choctaw Brigade]] (modern-day [[Oklahoma]]) <br /> (adopted in 1860) |File:Flag of the Confederate States of America for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.svg|Flag of the [[Muscogee]] (Creek) Nation |File:Bandera confederats seminola.svg|Flag of the [[:w:Seminole in the American Civil War|Confederate Seminole]] }} == Battle flag ==<!-- This section is linked from Kentucky and Flag of Georgia (U.S. state) --> [[File:Our Heroes and Our Flags 1896.jpg|thumb|right|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 H. Stephens|Alexander Stephens]], and various Confederate army officers, such as [[James Longstreet]] and [[A. P. Hill]].]] [[File:Cherokee Confederates Reunion.gif|thumb|right|[[Cherokee in the American Civil War|Cherokee Confederates]] reunion in New Orleans, 1903]] {{multiple image |direction=vertical |width= |image1=North Virginia Third Bunting.svg |caption1=The Battle Flag of the [[Army of Northern Virginia]] |image2=General Forrest's Flag.svg| |caption2=Battle flag of [[Forrest's Cavalry Corps]], 1863–65. This was also known as the 'Mobile Depot' flag. |image3=Army of the Trans-Mississippi Flag.svg |caption3=The battle flag used by the [[Army of the Trans-Mississippi]] }} At the [[First Battle of Bull Run|First Battle of Manassas]], near [[Manassas, Virginia]], the similarity between the [[#First flag|"Stars and Bars"]] and the [[Flag of the United States|"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.<ref>{{cite web |author=Gevinson, Alan |url=http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/19424 |title=The Reason Behind the 'Stars and Bars |work=Teachinghistory.org |access-date=October 8, 2011}}</ref> Also, 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".<ref name="autogenerated2" /> 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 that the national flag be changed. The committee rejected the 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]]: {{quotation|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.<ref name="autogenerated2" />}} 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 Confederacy's most popular flag. 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, South Carolina|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 slave-holding states,<ref name="COSKI2009">{{harvnb|Coski|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zs0VJTbNwfAC&pg=PA5 5]}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|p=5}}</ref> and, on the red field, palmetto and crescent symbols. Miles received various feedback on this design, including a critique from Charles Moise, a self-described "Southerner of Jewish persuasion." Moise liked the design but asked that "...&nbsp;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 cross. 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."<ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|p=5}}: "describes the 15 stars and the debate on religious symbolism."</ref> 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. 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). 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|pp=6–8}}</ref> Miles' flag and all the flag designs up to that point were rectangular ("oblong") in shape. General Johnston suggested making it square 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 12-star Confederate Battle Flag's design at the Ratcliffe home, which served briefly as Beauregard's headquarters, near [[Fairfax, Virginia|Fairfax Court House]] in September 1861. The 12th star represented Missouri. President Jefferson Davis arrived by train at [[Fairfax Station, Virginia|Fairfax Station]] soon after and was shown the design for the new battle flag at the Ratcliffe House. [[Hetty Cary]] and her sister and [[Constance Cary Harrison|cousin]] made prototypes. One such 12-star flag resides in the collection of Richmond's [[American Civil War Museum|Museum of the Confederacy]] and the other is in the [[Confederate Memorial Hall Museum]] 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, Virginia|Centreville]] and [[Manassas, Virginia]], and carried them throughout the Civil War. Beauregard gave a speech encouraging the soldiers to treat the 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 [[First Battle of Bull Run|Battle of First Manassas]]. From then on, the battle flag grew in its identification with the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] and the South in general.<ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|p=10}}</ref> 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 [[Confederate government of Kentucky|Kentucky]] and [[Confederate government of Missouri|Missouri]] joined in late 1861.<ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|p=11}}</ref> 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 veteran's 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 descendants 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=7095 |title=Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag |website=The Historical Marker Database}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |series=Notes on Virginia |number=52 |year=2008 |publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources |title=37 New Historical Markers for Virginia's Roadways |page=71 |url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/pdf_files/Notes_On_Virginia_08.FINAL.Web.pdf |quote=B-261: Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fairfaxrifles.org/Photos-Fx_Mkr_Ded.html |title=2008 Virginia Marker Dedication: Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag |access-date=October 5, 2014 |website=FairfaxRifles.org}}</ref> == Naval flags == The fledgling [[Confederate States Navy]] adopted and used several types of flags, banners, and pennants aboard all CSN ships: [[Jack (flag)|jacks]], battle [[ensign]]s, and small boat ensigns, as well as commissioning pennants, designating flags, and signal flags.{{citation needed|date = November 2015}} The First Confederate Navy [[Jack (flag)|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." It was flown forward aboard all Confederate warships while they were anchored in port. One seven-star jack still exists today (found aboard the captured ironclad [[USS Atlanta (1861)|CSS ''Atlanta'']]) that is actually "dark blue" in color (see illustration below, left).<ref name=ancestors>{{cite web |last1=Loeser |first1=Pete |title=American Civil War Flags |url=http://www.loeser.us/flags/civil.html |website=Historical Flags of Our Ancestors |access-date=July 22, 2019}}</ref> 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 battle flag's dark blue.<ref name=ancestors /> {{gallery items | width=210 | [[File:Jack of the CSA Navy 1861 1863.svg|x100px|border]]|The First Confederate Navy Jack, 1861–1863 | [[File:CSA FLAG 4.3.1861-21.5.1861.svg|x100px|border]]|The First Confederate Navy Ensign, 1861–1863 | [[File:Conf Navy Jack (light blue).svg|x100px|border]]|The Second Confederate Navy Jack, 1863–1865 | [[File:Confederate States Naval Ensign after May 26 1863.svg|x100px|border]]|The Second Confederate Navy Ensign, 1863–1865 | [[File:StainlessbannerCSSAtlanta.png|x100px|border]]|The Second Navy Ensign of the ironclad [[CSS Atlanta|CSS ''Atlanta'']] | [[File:9-Star Ensing of Confederate States of America.svg|x100px|border]]|The 9-star First Naval Ensign of the paddle steamer [[CSS Curlew|CSS ''Curlew'']] | [[File:11-Star Ensing of Confederate States of America.svg|x100px|border]]|The 11-star Ensign of the Confederate [[Privateer]] [[Jefferson Davis (privateer)|''Jefferson Davis'']] | [[File:12-Star Ensing of Confederate States of America.svg|x100px|border]]|A 12-star First Confederate Navy Ensign of the gunboat [[CSS Ellis|CSS ''Ellis'']], 1861–1862 | [[File:ConfederateRevenueServiceEnsign11stars.png|x100px|border]]|The [[Command flag]] of Captain [[William F. Lynch]], flown as ensign of his flagship, [[CSS Sea Bird|CSS ''Seabird'']], 1862 | [[File:2011-10-1 Pennant, Personal, CSN, Admiral Buchanan (5375014875).jpg|x100px|border]]|Pennant of Admiral [[Franklin Buchanan]], {{Ship|CSS|Tennessee|1863|6}}, at [[Battle of Mobile Bay]], August 5, 1864 | [[File:Admiral Flag of the Confederate States of America.svg|x100px]]|Digital recreation of Admiral Buchanan's pennant | [[File:Admiral's Rank flag of Franklin Buchanan.svg|x100px|border]]|Admiral's Rank flag of Franklin Buchanan, flown from [[CSS Virginia|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 | [[File:Confederate Naval Flag, captured when Sherman took Savannah - Wisconsin Veterans Museum - DSC02988.JPG|x100px|border]]|Confederate naval flag, captured when General [[William Tecumseh Sherman|William Sherman]] took [[Sherman's March to the Sea|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. 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. 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. Even a few fourteen- and fifteen-starred ensigns were made to include states expected to secede but never completely joined the Confederacy. {{citation needed|date = November 2015}} The second national flag was later adapted as a [[Maritime flag#Ensigns|naval ensign]], using a shorter 2:3 aspect 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 happened aboard the commerce raider [[CSS Shenandoah|CSS ''Shenandoah'']] in Liverpool, England, on November 7, 1865. ==National flag proposals== {{Unreferenced section|date=September 2021}} Hundreds of proposed national flag designs were submitted to the Confederate Congress during competitions to find a First National flag (February–May 1861) and Second National flag (April 1862; April 1863). ===First National flag proposals=== When the Confederate States of America was founded during the Montgomery [[Constitutional Convention (political meeting)|Convention]] that took place on February 4, 1861, a national flag was not selected by the Convention due to not having any proposals. 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. Realizing that they quickly needed a national banner to represent their sovereignty, the [[Provisional Congress of the Confederate States]] set up the Committee on Flag and Seal. The chairman was [[William Porcher Miles]], who was also the Representative of South Carolina in the Confederate House of Representatives. 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 [[First inauguration of Abraham Lincoln|inauguration]]. This would serve to show the world the South was truly sovereign. Hundreds of examples were submitted from across the Confederate States and from states that were not yet part of Confederacy (e.g. Kentucky), and even from Union states (such as New York). Many of the proposed designs paid homage to the [[Flag of the United States|Stars and Stripes]], due to a nostalgia in early 1861 that many of the new Confederate citizens felt towards the Union. 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. Those inspired by the Stars and Stripes were discounted almost immediately by the Committee due to mirroring the Union's flag too closely. While others were wildly different, many of which were very complex and extravagant, these were largely discounted due to the being too complicated and expensive to produce. The winner of the competition was Nicola Marschall's [[#First flag: the "Stars and Bars" (1861–1863)|"Stars and Bars" flag]]. The "Stars and Bars" flag was only selected by the Congress of March 4, 1861, the day of the deadline. 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". This flag, made of [[Merino]], was raised by Letitia Tyler over the Alabama state capitol. 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. These two designs were lost, and we only know of them thanks to an 1872 letter sent by William Porcher Miles to P. G. T. Beauregard. William Porcher Miles, however, was not really happy with any of the proposals. He did not share in the nostalgia for the Union that many of his fellows Southerners felt, believing that the South's flag should be completely different from that of the North. To this end, he proposed his own flag design featuring a blue saltire on white [[Fimbriation]] with a field of red. (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.) 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. However, Miles' flag was not well received by the rest of the Congress. One Congressman even mocked it as looking "like a pair of Suspenders". Miles' flag lost out to the "Stars and Bars". {{gallery | mode=nolines | height=100 | width=210 | align=center | File:A. Bonand's flag proposal 1.jpg|First variant of flag proposal by A. Bonand of Savannah, Georgia | File:A. Bonand's flag proposal 2.png|Second variant of flag proposal by A. Bonand | File:Confederateproposalladiesofcharleston.png|Flag proposal submitted by the "Ladies of Charleston" | File:ConfederateproposalLPHonour1.jpg|First variant of flag proposal by L. P. Honour of [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], South Carolina | File:ConfederateproposalLPHonour2.png|L. P. Honour's second variant of First national flag proposal | File:ConfederateproposalJohnSansom.jpg|Confederate First national flag proposal by John Sansom of Alabama | File:Confederate States Proposed1 1861.svg|William Porcher Miles' flag proposal, ancestor flag of the Confederate Battle Flag | File:Confederateproposaljohnggaines.png|John G. Gaines' First national flag proposal | File:ConfederateproposalJMJennings.png|Flag proposal by J. M. Jennings of [[Lowndesboro, Alabama|Lowndesboro]], Alabama | File:Confederateproposalsamuelwhite.png|Samuel White's flag proposal | File:ConfederateproposalLouisville.png|Flag proposal submitted by an unknown person of [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], Kentucky | File:Confederate States Proposed3 1861.svg|One of three finalist designs examined by Congress on March 4, 1861, lost out to Stars and Bars | File:Confederate States Proposed2 1861.svg|Second of three finalists in the Confederate First national flag competition | File:ConfederateproposalMrsEGCarpenter.png|Confederate flag proposal by Mrs E. G. Carpenter of [[Cassville, Georgia|Cassville]], Georgia | File:ConfederateproposalThomasHHobbs.png|Confederate flag proposal by Thomas H. Hobbs of [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]], Tennessee | File:ConfederateproposalEugeneWytheBaylor.png|Flag proposal by Eugene Wythe Baylor of Louisiana | File:ConfederateproposalbyH.png|Flag proposal submitted by "H" of South Carolina | File:Confederateproposalhamiltoncoupes1stfeb1861.jpg|A Confederate flag proposal by Hamilton Coupes that was submitted on February 1, 1861 | File:Confederateproposalireneriddle.png|The Confederate national flag proposal of Mrs Irene Riddle, wife of William T. Riddle of Eutaw, Alabama | File:WilliamTRiddleproposed1.png|This flag proposal was the first variant submitted by William T. Riddle of Eutaw, Alabama. Riddle submitted his flag proposals to Stephen Foster Hale on February 21, 1861. }} == Flag variants == In addition to the Confederacy's national flags, a wide variety of flags and banners were flown by Southerners during the Civil 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, South Carolina|Charleston]] harbor, in [[South Carolina]] beginning the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. The "[[Van Dorn battle flag]]" was also carried by Confederate troops fighting in the [[Trans-Mississippi]] and Western theaters of war. Besides, many military units had their own regimental flags they would carry into battle.<ref>[[North & South (US magazine)|North & South – The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society]], Volume 11, Number 2, Page 30, Retrieved April 16, 2010, [http://www.northandsouthmagazine.com/images/volume11/ind11-1.pdf "The Stars and Bars"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714195019/http://www.northandsouthmagazine.com/images/volume11/ind11-1.pdf |date=July 14, 2011 }}</ref> {{gallery | mode=nolines | height=100 | width=210 | align=center | File:Bonnieblue.svg|The "[[Bonnie Blue Flag]]"—an unofficial flag in 1861 | File:The Van Dorn Flag.svg|The "[[Van Dorn battle flag]]" used in the Western theaters of operation | File:Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia.svg|Flag of the [[Army of Northern Virginia]] or "[[Robert E. Lee]] Headquarters Flag" | File:Flag of the Confederate States Marine Corps.svg|7-star First national flag of the [[Confederate States Marine Corps]] | File:Polks corps flag.svg|Flag of [[First Corps, Army of Tennessee]] | File:Flag of the Cherokee Braves.svg|Flag of the [[1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles]], under General [[Stand Watie]] |15=File:Perote Guards flag.svg|16=The first battle flag of the [[Perote Guards]] (Company D, [[1st Regiment Alabama Infantry]]). Flag officially used: September 1860 – Summer, 1861|17=File:JP Gillis Flag.svg|18=George P. Gilliss flag, also known as the Biderman Flag, the only Confederate flag captured in [[California in the American Civil War|California]] ([[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]])|19=File:SibleyFlag.svg|20=The "Sibley Flag", Battle Flag of the [[Army of New Mexico]], commanded by General [[Henry Hopkins Sibley]].|21=File:Flag of the Confederate States Revenue Service.svg|22=The ensign of the Confederate States Revenue Service, designed by Dr. H. P. Capers of South Carolina on April 10, 1861.|23=File:Missouri Regiments Army Banner.svg|24=Flag flown by Confederate Missouri regiments during the [[Vicksburg campaign]].{{sfn|Tucker|1993|p=122}}}} == Controversy == [[File:Confederate Rebel Flag.svg|thumb|An elongated version of the Battle Flag of the Army of Tennessee, and similar to The Second Confederate Navy Jack, in use from 1863 until 1865, although with the darker blue field of the Army's battle flag.]] {{for|use of Confederate symbols in modern society and popular culture|Modern display of the Confederate battle flag}} 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''. This design has become commonly regarded as a symbol of [[racism]] and [[white supremacy]] or [[white nationalism]], especially in the Southern United States.<ref name="Chapman2011">{{cite book|last=Chapman|first=Roger|title=Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRY27FkGJAUC&pg=PA114|access-date=February 21, 2013|year=2011|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-2250-1|page=114}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Confederate Flag|url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/confederate-flag|access-date=June 10, 2020|website=Anti-Defamation League|language=en}}</ref><ref name="McWhorter">{{cite news|last1=McWhorter|first1=Diane|date=April 3, 2005|title='The Confederate Battle Flag': Clashing Symbols|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/books/review/the-confederate-battle-flag-clashing-symbols.html|access-date=June 10, 2020}}</ref> It is also known as the ''rebel flag'', ''[[Dixie]] flag'', and ''Southern cross''. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as ''the Stars and Bars'', the name of the first national Confederate flag.<ref>{{harvnb|Coski|2005|pp=58}}</ref> The "rebel flag" is considered by some to be a highly divisive and polarizing symbol in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Little |first1=Becky |title=Why the Confederate Flag Made a 20th Century Comeback |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/06/150626-confederate-flag-civil-rights-movement-war-history/ |website=National Geographic |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=June 12, 2020 |date=June 26, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2015/07/confederate_flag_removed_a_his.html|title=Confederate flag removed: A history of the divisive symbol|author=The Associated Press|publisher=Oregon Live|date=July 10, 2015}}</ref> A 2020 [[Quinnipiac University Polling Institute|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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nguyen |first1=Tina |title=Trump keeps fighting a Confederate flag battle many supporters have conceded |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/18/trump-confederate-flag-battle-368607 |access-date=July 22, 2020 |work=Politico |date=July 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Reimann |first1=Nicholas |title=Majority Of Southerners Now View The Confederate Flag As A Racist Symbol, Poll Finds |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/07/15/majority-of-southerners-now-view-the-confederate-flag-as-a-racist-symbol-poll-finds/#78fc431b2c7a |access-date=July 22, 2020 |work=Forbes |date=July 15, 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2020/01/13/what-confederate-flag-means-america-today |title=What the Confederate flag means in America today |last=Sanders |first=Linley |date=January 13, 2020 |website=yougov.com |access-date=October 28, 2020 |quote=For a plurality of Americans, the Confederate flag represents racism (41%). But for about one-third of Americans (34%) – particularly adults over 65, those living in rural communities, or non-college-educated white Americans – the flag symbolizes heritage.}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 14, 2021 |title=American Electorate Continues to Favor Leaving Confederate Relics in Place |url=https://morningconsult.com/2021/07/14/confederate-statues-flag-military-bases-polling/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=National Tracking Poll #2107045 / July 09-12, 2021 / Crosstabulation Results |url=https://assets.morningconsult.com/wp-uploads/2021/07/14051637/2107045_crosstabs_POLITICO_RVs_v1_LM.pdf |page=176 |author1=Morning Consult |author2=Politico}}</ref> {{clear}} == Gallery == <gallery> File:Sponsor souvenir album - history and reunion (1895) (1895) (14576050240).jpg|Drawing in the [[United Confederate Veterans]] 1895 ''Sponsor souvenir album'' File:Jefferson Davis State Historic Site & Museum.JPG|Jefferson Davis State Historic Site & Museum. The [[Bonnie Blue Flag]] is on the right. File:Flag of Fort McAllister, GA, US.jpg|Confederate National flag of [[Fort McAllister]] File:Fort McAllister battle flag, GA, US.jpg|[[War flag|Battle Flag]] of the Emmett Rifles File:Confederate flag of Fort Jackson, LA, US.JPG|Confederate National Flag captured from [[Fort Jackson, Louisiana|Fort Jackson]] File:11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment battle flag army.mil-2008-09-10-145530.jpg|Battle flag of the [[List of Mississippi Civil War Confederate units|11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment]] used at [[Battle of Antietam|Antietam]] File:Surrender flag of the Civil War by Matthew Bisanz.JPG|[[Surrender of Lee|Surrender flag of Army of Northern Virginia]] </gallery> == See also == * [[Seal of the Confederate States]]<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not add the words "Great" or "of America" as it would be historically inaccurate. Those words were not in the 1863 law passed by the C.S. Congress establishing the Seal. Thank you. --> <!--You're welcome.--> ==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}} == References == {{Reflist}} === Sources === {{refbegin}} * {{cite book | last=Bonner | first=Robert | title=Colors and Blood: Flag Passions of the Confederate South | publisher=Princeton University Press | date=2002 | isbn=0-691-11949-X}} * {{cite book | last=Cannon | first=Devereaux D. Jr. |year=2005 |title=The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History |location=Gretna |publisher=[[Pelican Publishing Company]] |orig-year=1st pub. St. Luke's Press:1988 |isbn=978-1-565-54109-2}} * {{cite book|last=Coski|first=John M.|title=The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zs0VJTbNwfAC |year=2005 |publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-01722-1}} * {{cite book|last=Coski|first=John M.|title=The Confederate Battle Flag |year=2009 |publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02986-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zs0VJTbNwfAC |access-date=November 24, 2016}} * {{cite web|last=Coski|first=John M.|title=The Birth of the 'Stainless Banner' |date=May 13, 2013 |work=The New York Times |url=https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/the-birth-of-the-stainless-banner/ |access-date=January 27, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107164729/https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/the-birth-of-the-stainless-banner/ |archive-date=November 7, 2019}} * {{cite book | last1=Katcher | first1=Phillip | last2=Scollins | first2=Rick | title=Flags of the American Civil War 1: Confederate | series=Osprey Men-At-War Series | publisher=Osprey Publishing Company | date=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}}. * {{cite book|last1=Martinez|first1=James Michael|last2=Richardson|first2=William Donald|last3=McNinch-Su|first3=Ron|title=Confederate Symbols in the Contemporary South|date=2000|publisher=University Press of Florida|location=Gainesville, FL|pages=284–285|isbn=0-8130-1758-0}} * {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/ourflagoriginan00prebgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/ourflagoriginan00prebgoog/page/n444 414]|quote=as a people we are fighting to.|title=Our Flag: Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America, with an Introductory Account of the Symbols, Standards, Banners and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations|date=1872|location=Albany|publisher=Joel Munsell|oclc=612597989|last=Preble|first=George Henry|author-link=George Henry Preble}} * {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyflagunit00prebgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyflagunit00prebgoog/page/n582 523] |quote=William Ross Postell Flag. |title=History of the Flag of the United States of America: And of the Naval and Yacht-Club Signals, Seals, and Arms, and Principal National Songs of the United States, with a Chronicle of the Symbols, Standards, Banners, and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations |edition=2nd revised |date=1880 |location=Boston |publisher=A. Williams and Company |oclc=645323981 |last=Preble |first=George Henry|author-link=George Henry Preble}} * Silkenat, David. ''Raising the White Flag: How Surrender Defined the American Civil War''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019. {{ISBN|978-1-4696-4972-6}}. * {{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Phillip Thomas |title=The South's Finest: The First Missouri Confederate Brigade From Pea Ridge to Vicksburg |location=Shippensburg, Pennsylvania |publisher=White Mane Publishing Co. |year=1993 |isbn=0-942597-31-1}} {{refend}} "Southern Confederacy" (Atlanta, Georgia), 5 Feb 1865, pg 2. Congressional, Richmond, 4 Feb: A bill to establish the flag of the Confederate States was adopted without opposition, and the flag was displayed in the Capitol today. The only change was a substitution of a red bar for one-half of the white field of the former flag, composing the flag's outer end. == External links == {{Commons category|Flags of the Confederate States}} * {{curlie|Society/History/By_Region/North_America/United_States/Wars/Civil_War/Confederate_Flags|Confederate Flags}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULBCuHIpNgU "Not the Confederate Flag"] June 2015 on YouTube; 2:19 minutes. * [https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/partner/symbols-of-battle-civil-war-flags Symbols of Battle: Civil War Flags] at [[Google Arts & Culture|Google Cultural Institute]] {{US state flags}} {{Six flags of Texas}} {{Lists of flags}} {{Portal bar|American Civil War|Heraldry|North America}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Confederate States, Flags Of The}} [[Category:Flags introduced in 1861]] [[Category:Flags of the Confederate States of America| ]] [[Category:Lists of flags of the United States]] [[Category:Obsolete national flags]]'