Hundreds of proposed national flag designs were submitted to the Confederate Congress during competitions to find a First National flag (FebruaryMay 1861) and Second National flag (April 1862; April 1863). According to one account, these flags were later turned in so that their bunting could be recycled into other flags. The number remained 11 through the summer, but increased when Missouri and Kentucky were admitted to the CSA by Acts of Congress approved 28 November 1861 and 10 December 1861, respectively. Flags Collection - Confederate Museum 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. It was sometimes called "Beauregard's flag" or "the Virginia battle flag". 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. Offline . As many as eight more stars were later added to represent states admitted to or claimed by the Confederacy. However, when the war started, the Stars and Bars confused the battlefield. This would serve to show the world the South was truly sovereign. Stars and bars may refer to: Stars and Bars (flag), the first (1861-1863) flag of the Confederate States of America Stars and Bars (1988 film), 1988 comedy starring Daniel Day-Lewis Stars and Bars (1917 film), 1917 silent film comedy directed by Victor Heerman William Porcher Miles, a Confederate congressman and Beauregards aide-de-camp, designed it, borrowing an X-shaped pattern known as St. Andrews Cross and emblazoning it with one star for each seceding state. The colors red, white and blue were symbolic of France, red and gold colors of Spain and 13 stripes of the United States. [11], Initial reaction to the second national flag was favorable, but over time it became criticized for being "too white." The protesters were demanding diverse hiring and were boycotting the area's stores. Why on some Southern Cross Battle Flags is the center or thirteenth star omitted? The second national flag was later adapted as a naval ensign, using a shorter 2:3 aspect ratio than the 1:2 ratio adopted by the Confederate Congress for the national flag. national flag consisting of seven white stars on a blue canton with a field of three alternating stripes, two red and one white. Return to the Confederate Flags Home Page. [31] Gray stated that the white field represented "purity, truth, and freedom. "[40], According to Coski, the Saint Andrew's Cross (also used on the flag of Scotland as a white saltire on a blue field) had no special place in Southern iconography at the time. Solar max fabric also has a special UV resistance built right into the weave of the fabric to minimize sun fade and chemical deterioration. [18] The "Stars and Bars" was also criticized on ideological grounds for its resemblance to the U.S. flag. Of 23 identified 1st national flags from Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, most (16) bear eleven stars; and of these, 7 are arranged in a circle of eleven, while 5 have ten stars surrounding a center star. NOTE: The 4"x6" size is mounted to a 10" staff with a spear top. Miles described his rejected national flag design to Beauregard. Was there a cavalry size Army of Northern Virginia battle flag? Flag officially used: September 1860 Summer, 1861, George P. Gilliss flag, also known as the Biderman Flag, the only Confederate flag captured in California (Sacramento). Symbolism and Meaning of the Confederate Flag - Symbol Sage 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. Quick View. The red Saint Georges cross is symbolic of the Episcopal church of which Gen. Polk was Bishop of Louisiana. / Forwarded to Montgomery, Ala. Feb 12, 1861, / Adopted by the Provisional Congress March 4, 1861". STARS AND BARS Images of the first Confederate national flag with more than 13 stars. The Southern Cross symbolized rebelliousness,writes historian John M. Koskibut now it gained a more specific connotation of resistance to the civil rights movement and to racial integration.. The thirteen stars stand for the thirteen states that were part of the Confederacy. The "Stars and Bars" flag, now called the Confederate first national pattern, was selected (without a formal vote) by the Confederate government in March 1861. They resemble too closely the dishonored 'Flag of Yankee Doodle' we imagine that the 'Battle Flag' will become the Southern Flag by popular acclaim." ", The square "battle flag" is also properly known as "the flag of the Army of Northern Virginia". The first flag was raised over the capitol in Montgomery by Miss Letitia Christian Tyler, the granddaughter of President John Tyler. Add to Plan. Four camp colors or flank markers accompanied each of these national colors. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. Miles' flag lost out to the "Stars and Bars". But though the flag had been adopted by advocates of segregation and white supremacy, many denied that aspect of its meaning and instead insisted it stood for the Southern ideals espoused by the Lost Cause. Stars and bars - Wikipedia First National Confederate States of America Flag - Cotton. [13] The Columbia-based Daily South Carolinian observed that it was essentially a battle flag upon a flag of truce and might send a mixed message. CSA- Flags Only - Ultimate Flags Also available below is a Vinyl Decal (suitable for outdoor use). Blue Collar. In Texas, various lone star designs were used during the was for Texas Independence in 1836. This caused major problems at the July 1861 Battle of First Manassas and during other skirmishes as some troops mistakenly fired on their own comrades. Confederate Battle Flag | National Museum of American History In July 1944, one month after the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, the 79th Infantry Division drove Nazi troops out of the French town La Haye-du-Puits. 80s Bar Brea, CA - Last Updated January 2023 - Yelp In this image from January 6, 2021, a man flies the flag at the rally for then-President Donald Trump that led to an armed siege of the U.S. Capitol. STARS AND BARS Images of 7 Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. The flag was issued in the fall of 1861. According to Museum of the Confederacy Director John Coski, Miles' design was inspired by one of the many "secessionist flags" flown at the South Carolina secession convention in Charleston of December 1860. To this end, he proposed his own flag design featuring a blue saltire on white Fimbriation with a field of red. [44][45][46], The fledgling Confederate States Navy adopted and used several types of flags, banners, and pennants aboard all CSN ships: jacks, battle ensigns, and small boat ensigns, as well as commissioning pennants, designating flags, and signal flags. Variant of the first national flag with 13 stars, The second national flag of the Confederate States of America. [56][57] A YouGov poll in 2020 of more than 34,000 Americans reported that 41% viewed the flag as representing racism, and 34% viewed it as symbolizing southern heritage. In February of 1863 the purchase of these 1st national flags ceased when General Beauregard instituted the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, as modified by Charlston Clothing Depot. Enterprise. The first official flag of the Confederacy, called the " Stars and Bars ," was flown from March 5, 1861, to May 26, 1863. The Truth About Confederate History: Part 1 | Snopes.com Our Stars and Bars flags are made from 100% Dupont Solar-Max nylon material or 100% cotton. The first national flag of the Confederacy with thirteen stars was used until May 1, 1863. Because of its similarity to the U.S. flag, the Stars and Bars was sometimes confused with the Stars and Stripes in the smoke of battle. Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. LEE. "[32], Regardless of who truly originated the Stainless Banner's design, whether by heeding Thompson's editorials or Beauregard's letter, the Confederate Congress officially adopted the Stainless Banner on May 1, 1863. Thereafter, the number of stars continued to increase until Tennessee gained her seat as the 11th State on 2 July 1861. Over the years the flag was changed by adding and . Twitter. The museum is also known as Louisianas Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall. During the Civil War, some of the units from Louisiana and Texas adopted the Bonnie Blue flag as their official banner of the Confederacy. Note, this is not to be confused with the Confederate Battle Flag. (Physical symbols of white supremacy are coming down. 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. 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. 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". Find the perfect The stars and bars flag stock video clips. [19] As early as April 1861, a month after the flag's adoption, some were already criticizing the flag, calling it a "servile imitation" and a "detested parody" of the U.S. The flag was adopted by the permanent congress on May 1, 1863. As word spread about the conservation program the flag of the 10th Louisiana Infantry was adopted by a Canadian Reenacting Group that portrayed the unit. Native American Flags. Of 32 Confederate 1st national flags from the states of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, a surprisingly large proportion of the Georgia flags (5 out of 25- 20%) bore seven stars in a circle. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Stars and Bars, the name of the first national Confederate flag. 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,[38][39] and, on the red field, palmetto and crescent symbols. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. 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). Its popularity persisted, and over the ensuing decades, the battle flag became a generic symbol of rebellion spotted on TV shows like The Dukes of Hazzardand on stage with bands likeLynyrd Skynyrd. 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. PD. First flag with 7 stars(March 4 May 18, 1861), Flag with 11 stars(July 2 November 28, 1861), Last flag with 13 stars(November 28, 1861 May 1, 1863), The Confederacy's first official national flag, often called the Stars and Bars, flew from March 4, 1861, to May 1, 1863. In the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally, demand for the banner surged across the country. [ 1] The Stars and Bars flag was adopted March 4, 1861 in Montgomery, Alabama and raised over the dome of . Stars and Bars (First National Flag) image by Wayne J. Lovett, 24 June 2001 The flag which first flew over Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, SC in 1861. LEE. The design of the Stars and Bars varied . It was not unusual to visit a Civil War reenactment and see the groups selling bowls of beans for $3.00 with the proceeds going toward the flag conservation program. Patroitism is Not a Pejorative : This ain't Hell, but you can see it The number of stars was changed several times as well. Beauregard gave a speech encouraging the soldiers to treat the new flag with honor and that it must never be surrendered. and the later Sons of Confederate Veterans, (S.C.V. They objected to the Democratic Partys adoption of a pro-civil rights platform and were dismayed when hundreds of thousands of Black Americans registered to vote in Democratic primaries after the Supreme Court declared all-white primaries unconstitutional. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos. Can we bring a species back from the brink? But it didnt look like that from a distanceand in the thick of battle, it was hard to tell the two apart. Johnstons attempt was met with disfavor by many commands who were reluctant to give up the flags which they had fought under from Shiloh to Chickamauga. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars&qu. [18] He turned to his aide, who happened to be William Porcher Miles, the former chairman of the Confederate Congress's Committee on the Flag and Seal. In addition to the Confederacy's national flags, a wide variety of flags and banners were flown by Southerners during the Civil War. [30] When Thompson received word the Congress had adopted the design with a blue stripe, he published an editorial on April 28 in opposition, writing that "the blue bar running up the center of the white field and joining with the right lower arm of the blue cross, is in bad taste, and utterly destructive of the symmetry and harmony of the design. Congress did not adopted a formal Act codifying this flag, but it is described in the Report of the Committee on Flag and Seal, in the following language: The flag of the Confederate States of America shall consist of a red field with a white space extending horizontally through the center, and equal in width to one-third the width of the flag. The First National Flag -- Stars and Bars May 4, 1861 - May 1, 1863 The Confederate States of America solicited designs for a national flag early in 1861. Kentucky), and even from Union states (such as New York). 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. Adult Admission: Adult $10.00 Children (under the age of 14) $5:00. Confederate flag Meaning | Politics by Dictionary.com The Confederate War Department chose two similar sized flags for the forts that came under their control as a result of secession. Robed Ku Klux Klan members watch Black demonstrators march through Okolona, Mississippi, in 1978. Many different designs were proposed during the solicitation for a second Confederate national flag, nearly all based on the Battle Flag. Beaureguard for the battle flag then named the Army of the Potomac. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. p. 211. 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. [16], One of the first acts of the Provisional Confederate Congress was to create the Committee on the Flag and Seal, chaired by William Porcher Miles, a Democratic congressman, and Fire-Eater from South Carolina. The Confederate Congress specified that the new design be a white field "with the union (now used as the battle flag) to be a square of two-thirds the width of the flag, having the ground red; thereupon a broad saltire of blue, bordered with white, and emblazoned with mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States. Regiments carried flags to help commanders observe and assess battles in the warfare of the era. The trend continued with local reenactment groups raising the necessary funds to conserve flags. The Confederate States of America used three national flags during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865, known as the "Stars and Bars" (1861-1863), the "Stainless Banner" (1863-65), and the "Blood-Stained Banner" (1865). Sign In . 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. The Flag Act of 1865, passed 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 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. The design that was rejected early in 1861 as the Confederate national flag was adopted by Joseph E. Johnson and P.G.T. While no standard proportions or sizes prevailed nationwide in the Confederate States of America, a survey of 112 identified company or regimental flags from the cis-Mississippi states that conform to the pattern of the Confederate 1st national flag does indicate that several regional variations do predominate. Just under half of these flags (18) bore eleven stars, of which 8 bore a center star with the other ten stars surrounding it. Confederate generals P.G.T. In the U.S. Army the garrison flag (flown on special occasions) was 20 feet on the hoist by 36 feet on the fly, while the storm flag (flown during inclement weather and less formal occurences) was directed to measure 10 feet on the hoist by 20 feet on the fly. Email. Stars and Bars | Confederate flag | Britannica To remedy this inadequacy, General Beauregard caused a number of Confederate 1st national flags to be made from the bunting that had been seized at the former Gosport U.S. Navy Yard near Portsmouth, Virginia. The third national flag of the Confederate States of America. The chairman was William Porcher Miles, who was also the Representative of South Carolina in the Confederate House of Representatives. In 2000, the NAACP began a 15-year-long economicboycott of South Carolina because of its use of the flag. Our acid dye process saturates right through the flag producing deep and vivid colors that never crack or peel. 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. A young . View. During the command of Major-General John Pemberton, the Confederate Quartermaster Department in the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, (and later Florida) relied on the Charleston military goods dealership of Hayden & Whilden to furnish flags for the Department. The ensign of the Confederate States Revenue Service, designed by Dr. H. P. Capers of South Carolina on April 10, 1861. Interestingly, a significant number of Tennessee company and regimental 1st national flags were made of silk and were of very large size, often exceeding 8 feet on their flys. It was designed by Prussian -American artist Nicola Marschall in Marion, Alabama, and is said to resemble the Flag of Austria, with which Marschall would have been familiar. Notable examples include the flag that adorned the coffin of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, that of the Washington Artillery, famed artillery unit of New Orleans, the First Florida Infantry which saw action along side many Louisiana units at Shiloh, and the Sixth Louisiana (Orleans Rifles) embroidered with the inscription Let Us Alone, Trust In God. There is an active flag restoration program and donors may contribute funds to be used toward the restoration of any flag. Second national flag (May 1, 1863 March 4, 1865), 2:1 ratio, Second national flag (May 1, 1863 March 4, 1865), also used as the Confederate navy's ensign, 3:2 ratio, A 12-star variant of the Stainless Banner produced in, Variant captured following the Battle of Painesville, 1865, Third national flag (after March 4, 1865), Third national flag as commonly manufactured, with a square canton, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 18:54. national flag consisting of white stars (50 since July 4, 1960) on a blue canton with a field of 13 alternating stripes, 7 red and 6 white. 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. Today, alongside the nations growing acknowledgment of systemic racism and widespread Black Lives Matterprotests, the Confederate flag predictably makes appearances at white supremacist gatherings. [53] The "rebel flag" is considered by some to be a highly divisive and polarizing symbol in the United States. "Stonewall" Jackson as it lay in state in the Virginia capitol, May 12, 1863. 1st National Confederate Flag for Car - Stars and Bars Double Sided Car Flag $ 24.95 First National Confederate Flag - 7 Star Stars and Bars Cotton 3 x 5 ft. $ 59.95 Confederate 1st National 13 Stars & Bars - License Plate $ 19.95 First National 11 Stars Flag Nylon Embroidered 3 x 5 ft. $ 49.95 In such cases, one of the company flags would be chosen to serve as the regimental flag. ), led to the assumption that it was, as it has been termed, "the soldier's flag" or "the Confederate battle flag. There are over 140 flags in the collection of Memorial Hall, most of which are from Louisiana regiments. Flag of Georgia (U.S. state) - Wikipedia This was replaced again in 2003 with a flag resembling the Stars and Bars. [54][55] A 2020 Quinnipiac poll showed that 55% of Southerners saw the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism, with a similar percentage for Americans as a whole. Designed by William Porcher Miles, one of the congressmen of the Confederate, the new flag had a blue X-shaped pattern called St. Andrew's Cross against a red background. In addition to the 112 1st national flags from states east of the Mississippi, a number of Confederate 1st national flags from the trans-Mississippi region have also been surveyed. William Miles delivered a speech supporting the simple white design that was eventually approved. The Stars and Bars Flag is the first official flag of the Confederacy. They traveled to New Orleans from Ontario to unveil the flag. Introduction: National Flags of the Confederacy . PDF The State Flag of Georgia: The 1956 Change In Its Historical Context It was distinct from the Unions flag. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? The thirteen stars stand for the thirteen states that were . The stars represent the seven seceded states of the U.S. The Stars and Bars' resemblance to the U.S. flag, combined with similarities between the two sides' uniforms and the general confusion of battle, contributed to an incident at First Manassas in which Confederate forces fired on a Confederate infantry brigade commanded by Jubal A.