This is the First National Flag of the Confederacy, the Stars and Bars. STARS AND BARS Images of 12 Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. A young . The "Stars and Bars" caused much confusion on the battlefield because of its similarity to the United States flag, the "Stars and Stripes." The Confederate Army never had an official battle flag. The stars and bars flag Stock Photos and Images - alamy.com Beauregard gave a speech encouraging the soldiers to treat the new flag with honor and that it must never be surrendered. 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. "[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. 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". What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? In addition to the Confederacy's national flags, a wide variety of flags and banners were flown by Southerners during the Civil War. The first flag was raised over the capitol in Montgomery by Miss Letitia Christian Tyler, the granddaughter of President John Tyler. Nonetheless both were still represented in the Confederate Congress and had Confederate shadow governments composed of deposed former state politicians. The flag was adopted by the permanent congress on May 1, 1863. 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. However, Miles' flag was not well received by the rest of the Congress. Offline . Heres why each season begins twice. 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. [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). 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. Over the years the flag was changed by adding and . Many different designs were proposed during the solicitation for a second Confederate national flag, nearly all based on the Battle Flag. Stars and Bars | Confederate flag | Britannica The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. LEE. Flag of Georgia (U.S. state) - Wikipedia 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. One More Step . The stars and bars flag Stock Videos - alamy.com On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. But as secession got underway, the Confederate States of America adopted a flag that riffed off the Unions stars and stripes. Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. 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. Protesters fought the symbol in public spaces and educational institutions. The result was anything but uniformity in the colors carried by the armies that coallesced in the Shenandoah Valley and around Centreville in June. The 12th star represented Missouri. Was there a cavalry size Army of Northern Virginia battle flag? Modern display of the Confederate battle flag - Wikipedia 80s Bar Brea, CA - Last Updated January 2023 - Yelp Miles' flag lost out to the "Stars and Bars". ", "Gen. Beauregard suggested the flag just adopted, or else a field of blue in place of the white." 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. The protesters were demanding diverse hiring and were boycotting the area's stores. This would serve to show the world the South was truly sovereign. The Bonnie Blue gained popularity throughout the South through the song THE BONNIE BLUE FLAG written by Harry McCarthy in 1861. 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. The Confederate "Stars & Bars" Is Still the Flag of One US State The "Stars and Bars" was unpopular among Confederates for its resemblance to the United States flag, which caused . 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. (Physical symbols of white supremacy are coming down. STARS AND BARS Images of 11 Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. The blue flag with the circle of white told the Yankees that they facing the troops of Gen. Wm. Why are there 13 stars on Confederate flags? CONFEDERATE 1ST NATIONAL UNIT FLAGS IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA. William Miles delivered a speech supporting the simple white design that was eventually approved. Flags Collection - Confederate Museum 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). But as secession got underway, the Confederate States of America. Thereafter, the number of stars continued to increase until Tennessee gained her seat as the 11th State on 2 July 1861. Flags of the Confederate States of America - Wikipedia 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. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. 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) 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 . First variant of flag proposal by A. Bonand of Savannah, Georgia, Second variant of flag proposal by A. Bonand, Flag proposal submitted by the "Ladies of Charleston", First variant of flag proposal by L. P. Honour of Charleston, South Carolina, L. P. Honour's second variant of First national flag proposal, Confederate First national flag proposal by John Sansom of Alabama, William Porcher Miles' flag proposal, ancestor flag of the Confederate Battle Flag, John G. Gaines' First national flag proposal, Flag proposal by J. M. Jennings of Lowndesboro, Alabama, Flag proposal submitted by an unknown person of Louisville, Kentucky, One of three finalist designs examined by Congress on March 4, 1861, lost out to Stars and Bars, Second of three finalists in the Confederate First national flag competition, Confederate flag proposal by Mrs E. G. Carpenter of Cassville, Georgia, Confederate flag proposal by Thomas H. Hobbs of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Flag proposal by Eugene Wythe Baylor of Louisiana, Flag proposal submitted by "H" of South Carolina, A Confederate flag proposal by Hamilton Coupes that was submitted on February 1, 1861, The Confederate national flag proposal of Mrs Irene Riddle, wife of William T. Riddle of Eutaw, Alabama. Unit abbreviations on two of the surviving flags were applied with separately cut and applied red cotton letters. The battle flag was also featured in the state flags of Georgia and Mississippi, although it was removed by the former in 2003 and the latter in 2020. Three horizontal stripes of equal height, alternating red and white, with a blue square two-thirds the height of the flag as the canton. Confederate Flag Meaning - Historyplex Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. 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. 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. As the crowd of President Trumps supporters rioted, many hoisted the symbol of a short-lived splinter nation that tore the Union apart. The Republic was short lived and soon dissolved. 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]. The flag had become big businessand led a double life both as a nostalgic symbol and a deeply evocative banner of racism. NOTE: The 4"x6" size is mounted to a 10" staff with a spear top. Kentucky), and even from Union states (such as New York). 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. 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. Twitter. Neither state voted to secede or ever came under full Confederate control. 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. 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." These skeletons may have the answer, Scientists are making advancements in birth controlfor men, Blood cleaning? 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. Deep South. 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. flag. Denounced as a hate symbol, the Confederate flag remains popular among white supremacists and Southerners who claim it as their heritage. The flag was issued in the fall of 1861. The general consensus is that it was designed by Prussian-American artist Nicola Marschall.The design consists of a red-white-red triband (possibly inspired by the Austrian flag, with which Marcschall would . The first national flag of the Confederate States of America was created in 1861 and had seven stars to represent the breakaway states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama,. After the former was changed in 2001, the city of Trenton, Georgia has used a flag design nearly identical to the previous version with the battle flag. A crowd of white teenagers protest school integration in Montogmery, Alabama, in 1963. The Audience went wild, and the song was an instant success. Four camp colors or flank markers accompanied each of these national colors. Just under half of these flags (18) bore eleven stars, of which 8 bore a center star with the other ten stars surrounding it. 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 The Confederate flag had three bars, red, white, red and a blue field with stars on it. When rebels fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, theyflew a blue banner with a single white star called the Bonnie Blue Flag. Why the Confederate Flag Flew During World War II As the Confederacy grew, so did the numbers of stars: two were added for Virginia and Arkansas in May 1861, followed by two more representing Tennessee and North Carolina in July, and finally two more for Missouri and Kentucky (while the legality of Missouri's secession is contested, neither states partisan governments achieved substantive territory or population). [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." 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,". 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. 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. Why do people still fly the Confederate flag? - BBC News [47], The Second Confederate Navy Jack was a rectangular cousin of the Confederate Army's battle flag and was in use from 1863 until 1865. The Adopt-A-Flag Program was initiated. Confederate Flags | Missouri State Parks Confederate generals P.G.T. In 1961, South Carolina began to fly the Confederate flag over its state house. It was distinct from the Unions flag. 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". [49], 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. Newsome was arrested, but state officials voted to remove the flag from the building the following month. 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. Only 13 flags, however, had been delivered to Major J.B. McClelland at Richmond by the battle of 1st Manassas (Bull Run), and none of these may have been distributed to the Army at Centreville before the battle. This was replaced again in 2003 with a flag resembling the Stars and Bars. Many restored flags are always on display. 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 square "battle flag" is also properly known as "the flag of the Army of Northern Virginia". In 1816, the command operated in Missouri and Arkansas but was transferred to Northern Mississippi. 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. 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. 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. Solar max fabric also has a special UV resistance built right into the weave of the fabric to minimize sun fade and chemical deterioration. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. Hetty Cary and her sister and cousin made prototypes. The very first national flag of the Confederacy was designed by Prussian artist Nicola Marschall in Marion, Alabama. The Stars and Bars, which the Confederate Congress had adopted in March 1861 because it resembled the once-beloved Stars and Stripes, proved impractical and even dangerous on the battlefield because of that resemblance. This new flag spread quickly in use across the South, even beyond the borders of the seven States of the CSA. Though inextricably linked with the Confederacy, the flag was never its official symbol. Though it hassome Black supporters, it remains shorthand for a defiant South and all that implies. In the center of the union a circle of white stars corresponding in number with the States in the Confederacy. Despite the official pattern and numbers, however, individual examples of the Stars and Bars varied greatly, with numbers of stars ranging from 1 to 17, and star patterns varying greatly beyond the officially sanctioned circle. [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. 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 Man's Flag," a name which never caught on. 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 First Official Flag of the Confederacy. The Flags of the Old Dominion Guards, 1st Louisiana Infantry (Dreuxs Battn.) 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. But given the popular support for a flag similar to the U.S. flag ("the Stars and Stripes" originally established and designed in June 1777 during the Revolutionary War), the "Stars and Bars" design was approved by the committee.[17]. 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. 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. The name derived from the blue canton with a circle of white stars and the three red, white, and red bars in the flag's field. Confederate Battle Flag - Encyclopedia Virginia Taking this into account, Miles changed his flag, removing the palmetto and crescent, and substituting a heraldic saltire ("X") for the upright cross. 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. Confederate Battle Flag | National Museum of American History STARS AND BARS Images of Lone Star versions of the first Confederate national flag. 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) flag, especially when it was hanging limp on its flagstaff. Amid the smoke and general chaos of battle, it was hard to distinguish the Confederate national flag, the "Stars and Bars," from the U. S. national flag, the "Stars and Stripes." Confederate Congressman William Porcher Miles suggested that the army have a . 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.