stars and bars confederate flag

In the early summer of 1861, the army was renamed the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) commanded by Gen. R.E. Hetty Cary and her sister and cousin made prototypes. were conserved soon after. As might be expected 2 of the flags from Virginia (the eighth state to join the Confederacy) bear seven stars around a larger center star, and 2 of the flags from North Carolina (the tenth Confederate state) bear ten stars. For many on the receiving end of hundreds of years of racism, the Confederate battle flag embodies everything from hatred to personal intimidationa far cry from the sanitized Lost Cause narrative that helped fuel its rise. Robed Ku Klux Klan members watch Black demonstrators march through Okolona, Mississippi, in 1978. But despite recurrentdebates about its meaning and appropriateness, the flag never really disappeared. Deep South. The first national flag of the Confederacy was the Stars and Bars (left) in 1861, but it caused confusion on the battlefield and rancour off it "Everybody wants a new Confederate flag,". ), led to the assumption that it was, as it has been termed, "the soldier's flag" or "the Confederate battle flag. Offline . ISBN978-0-8061-5575-3, modern display of the Confederate battle flag, private and official use of the Confederate flags, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, Modern display of the Confederate battle flag, "What you should know about the Confederate flag's evolution", "The Second Confederate National Flag (Flags of the Confederacy)", "The Third Confederate National Flag (Flags of the Confederacy)", "Nicola Marschall: Excerpts from "The German Artist Who Designed the Confederate Flag and Uniform", "First Confederate Flag and Its Designer O.R. [48], The "Bonnie Blue Flag"an unofficial flag in 1861, The "Van Dorn battle flag" used in the Western theaters of operation, Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia or "Robert E. Lee Headquarters Flag", 7-star First national flag of the Confederate States Marine Corps, Flag of the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles, under General Stand Watie, The first battle flag of the Perote Guards (Company D, 1st Regiment Alabama Infantry). The flag adopted by the delegates to the Louisianas secession convention in January of 1861 represented Louisianas historical roots. 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 Court House in September 1861. 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. For use of Confederate symbols in modern society and popular culture, see, Flags of the Confederate States of America. 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. Smith, Louisburg", University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "The Declarations of Causes of Seceding States", "Confederate battle flag: Separating the myths from facts", "Letter of Beauregard to Villere, April 24, 1863", "Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag", 37 New Historical Markers for Virginia's Roadways, "2008 Virginia Marker Dedication: Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag", North & South The Official Magazine of the Civil War Society, "Why the Confederate Flag Made a 20th Century Comeback", "Confederate flag removed: A history of the divisive symbol", "Trump keeps fighting a Confederate flag battle many supporters have conceded", "Majority Of Southerners Now View The Confederate Flag As A Racist Symbol, Poll Finds", "What the Confederate flag means in America today", "American Electorate Continues to Favor Leaving Confederate Relics in Place", "National Tracking Poll #2107045 / July 09-12, 2021 / Crosstabulation Results", Active autonomist and secessionist movements, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America&oldid=1142855463, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2023, Articles with incomplete citations from July 2020, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles with style issues from July 2022, Pages using infobox flag with unknown parameters, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015, Articles needing additional references from September 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. . The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars&qu. Miles described his rejected national flag design to Beauregard. After the war, this design was adopted as the official flag of the United Confederate Veterans and today most people refer to as The Confederate Flag. Miles had already designed a flag that later became known as the Confederate Battle Flag, and he favored his flag over the "Stars and Bars" proposal. It was sometimes called "Beauregard's flag" or "the Virginia battle flag". What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? Replacing the Star and Bars in May of 1863, the first official use was at the funeral of Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson. The "Stars and Bars" The First Confederate National Flag (1861 - 1863) The Confederate Battle Flag (1861-1865) VII. Adopted in February 1865, as a result from complaints made by the Confederate Navy that he predominate white color of the second national flag caused it be mistaken for a flag of surrender. Adopted by the provisional Confederate Congress in February of 1861, this was the first of three national Confederate flags. 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. The ANV was never the official flag of the Confederacy and was not called The Stars and Bars. [37] Also, Confederate regiments carried many other flags, which added to the possibility of confusion. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. In 2000, the NAACP began a 15-year-long economicboycott of South Carolina because of its use of the flag. Heritage or no, the Confederate flag retains its associations with centuries of racial injustice. It houses the second largest collection of Confederate Civil War items in the world. Buy Today. STARS AND BARS Images of 12 Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. Efforts to memorialize the Confederate dead also began as soon as the war ended, but they ballooned as white Southerners reclaimed their power after Reconstruction. The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. Today, alongside the nations growing acknowledgment of systemic racism and widespread Black Lives Matterprotests, the Confederate flag predictably makes appearances at white supremacist gatherings. William Porcher Miles, however, was not really happy with any of the proposals. 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. The committee rejected the idea by a four-to-one vote, after which Beauregard proposed the idea of having two flags. The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? Please be respectful of copyright. (Physical symbols of white supremacy are coming down. Similarly the patriotic ladies of the South who prepared most of the company and regimental flags for the military units raised in the Southern states chose whatever proportions and sizes seemed aesthetic. 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. "Southern Confederacy" (Atlanta, Georgia), 5 Feb 1865, pg 2. Four flags with nine stars (eight around a center star) emanated from Louisiana but two also were made in Mississippi in the same style. Gen. Earl Van Dorn adapted a red banner with stars and crescent moon as the battle flag for his command. At a distance, the two national flags were hard to tell apart. By 1863, it had become well-known and popular among those living in the Confederacy. 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. Bats and agaves make tequila possibleand theyre both at risk, This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome. The design of the Stars and Bars varied . Solar max fabric also has a special UV resistance built right into the weave of the fabric to minimize sun fade and chemical deterioration. Currently 24 Flags are on display, while 9 conserved flags await framing, and several others are being considered for conservation. 1st National Confederate Flag 7 Star Stars and Bars Confederate Cotton Flag 5 x 8 ft. $ 149.95. E arly in the war, most regiments carried the Confederate First National flag (the "Stars and Bars") or their state's flag since the Confederacy did not have an official battle flag. No seven star Confederate flags survive from these states. Many restored flags are always on display. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? It was flown forward aboard all Confederate warships while they were anchored in port. Find the perfect The stars and bars flag stock video clips. A flag with a blue field and a single white star was used by the Louisiana Florida Parishes when they formed the Republic of West Florida in 1810. Though it hassome Black supporters, it remains shorthand for a defiant South and all that implies. In 1816, the command operated in Missouri and Arkansas but was transferred to Northern Mississippi. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Stars and Bars, the name of the first national Confederate flag. Our Stars and Bars flags are made from 100% Dupont Solar-Max nylon material or 100% cotton. But once Reconstructionended in 1877, white Southerners hastened to restore what they saw as their rightful place at the top of a racially segregated social order. The first official flag of the confederacy was the Stars and Bars, and was reported to the provisional congress of the C.S. 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.[41]. But though it was extremely popular, this new battle flag which eventually became known as the Southern Crosswasnt adopted as the Confederacys official military or government symbol. [47], The First Confederate Navy Jack, 18611863, The First Confederate Navy Ensign, 18611863, The Second Confederate Navy Jack, 18631865, The Second Confederate Navy Ensign, 18631865, The Second Navy Ensign of the ironclad CSS Atlanta, The 9-star First Naval Ensign of the paddle steamer CSS Curlew, The 11-star Ensign of the Confederate Privateer Jefferson Davis, A 12-star First Confederate Navy Ensign of the gunboat CSS Ellis, 18611862, The Command flag of Captain William F. Lynch, flown as ensign of his flagship, CSS Seabird, 1862, Pennant of Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSSTennessee, at Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864, Digital recreation of Admiral Buchanan's pennant, Admiral's Rank flag of Franklin Buchanan, flown from 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, Confederate naval flag, captured when General William Sherman took 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. 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. The third national flag of the Confederate States of America. Email. General Johnston suggested making it square to conserve material. Beauregard gave a speech encouraging the soldiers to treat the new flag with honor and that it must never be surrendered. Share. In addition to the Confederacy's national flags, a wide variety of flags and banners were flown by Southerners during the Civil War. With the war over, the South entered Reconstruction, a period during which the now reunified United States ended slavery and gave Black Americans citizenship and voting rights. 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. Besides, many military units had their own regimental flags they would carry into battle. The first official flag of the Confederacy, called the " Stars and Bars ," was flown from March 5, 1861, to May 26, 1863. Return to the Confederate Flags Home Page. View. The identification stuck, and the flags use proliferated. Due to the flag's resemblance to one of truce, some Confederate soldiers cut off the flag's white portion, leaving only the canton.[33]. He described these changes and his reasons for making them in early 1861. Stars and Bars (final version) [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. [citation needed], The First Confederate Navy jacks, in use from 1861 to 1863, consisted of a circle of seven to fifteen five-pointed white stars against a field of "medium blue." The museum is also known as Louisianas Civil War Museum at Confederate Memorial Hall. Beauregard and Joseph Johnston urged that a new Confederate flag be designed for battle. [6] In explaining the white background of his design, Thompson wrote, "As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause." Newsome was arrested, but state officials voted to remove the flag from the building the following month. [34][35] As a result of this first usage, the flag received the alternate nickname of the "Jackson Flag". Just under half of these flags (18) bore eleven stars, of which 8 bore a center star with the other ten stars surrounding it. "[11], The flag is also known as the Stainless Banner, and the matter of the person behind its design remains a point of contention. Despite the 9:14 proportions established by the Confederate War Department, other civilian makers of the Stars & Bars soon gravitated to different proportions that included 2:3, 3:5, and 1:2. Its continued use by the Southern Army's post-war veteran's groups, the United Confederate Veterans (U.C.V.) flag. Native American Flags. But how did the battle flag, also known as the Southern Cross, come to represent the Confederacy in the first place? Confederate generals P.G.T. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? As historian Caroline E. Janneynotes, the Lost Cause myth came about immediately after the war as Confederates struggled to come to terms with their defeat in a postwar climate of economic, racial, and social uncertainty.. The stars represent the seven seceded states of the U.S. 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. Since the end of the Civil War, 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. [18] The "Stars and Bars" was also criticized on ideological grounds for its resemblance to the U.S. flag. [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. 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. Unit abbreviations on two of the surviving flags were applied with separately cut and applied red cotton letters. However, when the war started, the Stars and Bars confused the battlefield. There are over 140 flags in the collection of Memorial Hall, most of which are from Louisiana regiments. It is historically also known as Memorial Hall. In 2015, the flag came roaring back into the national consciousness when a white supremacist killed nine churchgoers at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Hundreds of examples were submitted from across the Confederate States and from states that were not yet part of Confederacy (e.g. Even though the national flag changed in 1863, this flag saw continued use until 1865. These Confederate national colors seem to have measured 4 feet on their hoist by 5 1/2 feet on the fly. Most famously, the "Bonnie Blue Flag" was used as an unofficial flag during the early months of 1861. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. When does spring start? Isnt a battle flag supposed to be square? William T. Thompson, the editor of the Savannah-based 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. The song was sung by Mr. McCarthy in a New Orleans theater before a packed house. Thereafter, the number of stars continued to increase until Tennessee gained her seat as the 11th State on 2 July 1861. And both South Carolina and Alabama began flying it over their capitols. Choose from a wide range of high quality 4K or HD videos and footage. "[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. That changed in 1948 with the Dixiecrats, or States Rights Democratic Party, a racist, pro-segregation splinterparty formed by Southern Democrats. According to one account, these flags were later turned in so that their bunting could be recycled into other flags. This pattern was embellished with the same 13 white stars that the original flag had. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. 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. Early flags contain seven stars for the original seven states of the Confederacy. The First National Flag of the Confederate States of America, 13 Stars and Bars Flag was used during the Civil War. [59][60], Drawing in the United Confederate Veterans 1895 Sponsor souvenir album. It resembles the Yankee flag, and that is enough to make it unutterably detestable." 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. 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. It was never the official flag of the Confederacy. 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. [50][51][52] It is also known as the rebel flag, Dixie flag, and Southern cross. Reviews on Bars With Darts in Brea, CA - Shady Nook, Squire's, The Blue Door Bar, Juke Joint Bar, The Bruery, A&C Billiards and Barstools, Brian's Original Sports Bar, Group Therapy Pub, Shotz Bar & Kitchen, Bigs 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 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. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. [58] A July 2021 Politico-Morning Consult poll of 1,996 registered voters reported that 47% viewed it as a symbol of Southern pride while 36% viewed it as a symbol of racism. 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. Marschall also designed the Confederate army uniform. Beaureguard for the battle flag then named the Army of the Potomac. This is the actual Stars & Bars, first official flag of the Confederate States of America, specifically the 13-star version which flew from 1861 to 1863: Confederate Stars & Bars ( public domain) Our acid dye process saturates right through the flag producing deep and vivid colors that never crack or peel. A lithograph from 1897 displays four prominent designs of the Confederate flag and states that the images "help in keeping within us recollections of those who gave their lives to the 'Lost Cause,' and to perpetuate the memories and traditions of the South.". The original flag of the Confederate States of America, commonly known as the "STARS AND BARS", was approved by the Congress of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States, and first hoisted over the capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama, on the afternoon of the 4th day of March, 1861. The ensign of the Confederate States Revenue Service, designed by Dr. H. P. Capers of South Carolina on April 10, 1861. The trend continued with local reenactment groups raising the necessary funds to conserve flags. This action piqued the interest of other members of the Foundation, reenactment groups and family members. A crowd of white teenagers protest school integration in Montogmery, Alabama, in 1963. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The number of stars was changed several times as well. ), and elements of the design by related similar female descendants organizations of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, (U.D.C. The first Confederate national flag bore 7 stars representing the first seven states to secede from the U.S. and band together as the Confederate States of America: South Carolina, Mississippi . What if we could clean them out? Georgia adopted a new state flag in 2000, which contained a small inset image of the 1956 flag, along with other historical flags. It was flying above the Confederate batteries that first opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, in South Carolina beginning the Civil War. 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." [14][15] The original version of the flag featured a circle of seven white stars in the navy-blue canton, representing the seven states of the South that originally composed the Confederacy: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. [31] Gray stated that the white field represented "purity, truth, and freedom. Riddle submitted his flag proposals to Stephen Foster Hale on February 21, 1861. "A surviving Georgia flag in the collection of the, Bonner, Robert E., "Flag Culture and the Consolidation of Confederate Nationalism. [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. (How the assassination of Medgar Evers galvanized the civil rights movement.). 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 inauguration.