, P. G. T. Beauregard, and Robert E. Lee, surrounded by bust portraits of Jefferson Davis and Confederate Army officers.]]

There were several flags of the Confederate States of America used during its existence from 1861 to 1865. Since the end of the American Civil War, personal and official use of Confederate flags, and of flags derived from these, has continued under some controversy.

The state flags of Mississippi and Georgia are based on Confederate flags. The flag of North Carolina is based on the state's 1861 flag, which dates back to the Confederacy and appears to be based on the first Confederate flag. The flags of Alabama and Florida appear to be of Confederate inspiration, but are probably derived from the Cross of Burgundy flag, which flew over the territory of Spanish Florida.

National flags

First national flag ("the Stars and Bars")

The first official flag of the Confederacy, called the "Stars and Bars," was flown from March 5, 1861, to May 26, 1863.

The first national flag of the Confederacy was designed by Prussian artist Nicola Marschall in Marion, Alabama. The Stars and Bars flag was adopted March 4, 1861 in Montgomery, Alabama and raised over the dome of that first Confederate Capitol. Marschall also designed the Confederate uniform.

One of the first acts of the Provisional Confederate Congress was to create the Committee on the Flag and Seal, chaired by William Porcher Miles of South Carolina. The committee asked the public to submit thoughts and ideas on the topic and was, as historian John M. Coski puts it, "overwhelmed by requests not to abandon the 'old flag' of the United States." Miles had already designed a flag that would later become the Confederate battle flag, and he favored his flag over the "Stars and Bars" proposal. But given the popular support for a flag similar to the U.S. flag ("the Stars and Stripes"), the Stars and Bars design was approved by the committee. When war broke out, the Stars and Bars caused confusion on the battlefield because of its similarity to the U.S. flag of the U.S. Army.

Eventually, a total of 13 stars would be shown on the flag, reflecting the Confederacy's claims to have admitted Kentucky and Missouri into their union. The first public appearance of the 13-star flag was outside the Ben Johnson House in Bardstown, Kentucky. The 13-star design was also used as the basis of a naval ensign.

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Second national flag ("the Stainless Banner")

During the solicitation for the second national flag, there were many different types of designs that were proposed, nearly all making use of the battle flag, which by 1863 had become well-known and popular. The new design was specified by the Confederate Congress to be a white field "with the union (now used as the battle flag) to be a square of two-thirds the width of the flag, having the ground red; thereupon a broad saltier [sic] of blue, bordered with white, and emblazoned with mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding in number to that of the Confederate States."

The nickname "stainless" referred to the pure white field. The flag act of 1864 did not state what the white symbolized and advocates offered various interpretations. The most common interpretation is that the white field symbolized the purity of the Cause. 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 for the simple white design that was eventually approved. He argued that the battle flag must be used, but for a national flag it was necessary to emblazon it, but as simply as possible, with a plain white field.

The flags actually made 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.

Initial reaction to the second national flag was favorable, but over time it became criticized for being "too white". The Columbia Daily South Carolinian observed that it was essentially a battle flag upon a flag of truce and might send a mixed message. Military officers voiced complaints about the flag being too white, for various reasons, including the danger of being mistaken as a flag of truce, especially on naval ships, and that it was too easily soiled. This flag is nonetheless a historical symbol of the civil war.

Third national flag ("the Blood Stained Banner")

The third national flag was adopted March 4, 1865, just before the fall of the Confederacy. The red vertical stripe was proposed by Major Arthur L. Rogers, who argued that the pure white field of the second national flag could be mistaken as a flag of truce. When hanging limp in no wind, the flag's Southern Cross canton could accidentally stay hidden, so the flag could mistakenly appear all white.

Rogers lobbied successfully to have this alteration introduced in the Confederate Senate. He defended his redesign as having "as little as possible of the Yankee blue", and described it as symbolizing the primary origins of the people of the South, with the cross of Britain and the red bar from the flag of France.

Other flags

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

===The Battle Flag=== Often referred to as The battle flag of the Confederacy it was the design that was the basis of more than 180 separate Confederate military battle flags.

The Army of Northern Virginia battle flag was usually square, of various sizes for the different branches of the service: 48 inches square for the infantry, 36 inches for the artillery, and 30 inches for the cavalry. It was used in battle beginning in December 1861 until the fall of the Confederacy. The blue color on the saltire in the battle flag was navy blue, as opposed to the much lighter blue of the Naval Jack.

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

At the First Battle of Manassas, the similarity between the Stars and Bars and the Stars and Stripes caused confusion and military problems. Regiments carried flags to help commanders observe and assess battles in the warfare of the era. At a distance, the two national flags were hard to tell apart. In addition, Confederate regiments carried many other flags, which added to the possibility of confusion. After the battle, General P.G.T. Beauregard wrote that he was "resolved then to have [our flag] changed if possible, or to adopt for my command a 'Battle flag', which would be Entirely different from any State or Federal flag."

Although Miles described his flag as a heraldic saltire, it had been thought to be erroneously described since the latter part of the 19th century as a cross, specifically a Saint Patrick's Cross. Supposedly this folk legend sprang from the memoirs of an aging Confederate officer published in 1893. However, further research has indicated that this was no folk legend. In 1863, during the session in which the Confederate Congress was voting on the 2nd National Flag, William G. Swan of Tennessee's second congressional district wished to substitute the following language:

That the flag of the Confederate States shall be as follows:
A red field with a Saint Andrew's cross of blue edged with white and emblazoned with stars.

Swan, who before the secession had been mayor of Knoxville and attorney general of Tennessee, had adapted his proposal from the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, but it was in fact identical to the flag proposed by William Porcher Miles in March 1861. Because he believed that the battle flag had been sanctified by the blood of Southern soldiers in their struggle for independence, Swan wished to adopt it for use by the nation now as a tribute to the valor of the Confederate fighting man. Further references to the link between the battle flag and the St. Andrew's Cross are made by Confederate soldiers during the war.

According to Coski, the Saint Andrew's Cross had no special place in Southern iconography at the time, and if Miles had not been eager to conciliate the Southern Jews his flag would have used the traditional Latin, Saint George's Cross. A colonel named James B. Walton submitted a battle flag design essentially identical to Miles' except with an upright Saint George's cross, but Beauregard chose the diagonal cross design.

Specifically, the St. Andrew's Cross is a white saltire on a blue field, as in the national flag of Scotland. The St. Patrick's Cross, as in the state flag of Alabama, is a red saltire on a white field. The Army of Northern Virginia battle flag has a blue saltire on a red field and is, therefore, neither the St. Andrew's nor the St. Patrick's Cross but a saltire as in the proposed but unadopted Second National flag.

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

On November 28, 1861, Confederate soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia received the new battle flags in ceremonies at Centreville and Manassas, Virginia, and carried them throughout the Civil War. Beauregard gave a speech encouraging the soldiers to treat this new flag with honor and that it must never be surrendered. Many soldiers wrote home about the ceremony and the impression the flag had upon them, the "fighting colors" boosting morale after the confusion at the Battle of First Manassas. From that point on, the battle flag only grew in its identification with the Confederacy and the South in general. Later, a 13th star was added for Kentucky.

The Army of Northern Virginia battle flag assumed a prominent place post-war when it was adopted as the copyrighted emblem of the United Confederate Veterans. Its continued use by the UCV and the later Sons of Confederate Veterans led to the assumption that it was, as it has been termed, "the soldier's flag" or "the Confederate battle flag".

The 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, Fairfax, VA.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans consider themselves the direct heirs of their ancestors' battle flags.

Naval jacks and ensigns

The practice of using primary and secondary naval flags after the British tradition was common practice for the Confederacy, linked as she was by both heritage and economy to the British Isles. The fledgling Confederate Navy therefore adopted and used jacks, battle ensigns, and small boat ensigns, as well as commissioning pennants, designating flags, and signal flags aboard its warships.

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

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

The first national flag, also known as the Stars and Bars (see above), served as the Confederate Navy's first battle ensign from 1861 to 1863. It was generally made with an aspect ratio of 2:3, but a few wide 1:2 ratio ensigns still survive today in museums and private collections. As the Confederacy grew, so did the numbers of white stars seen on the ensign's dark blue canton: 7, 9, 11, and 13 star groupings were typical. Even a few 14 and 15 starred ensigns were made to include states that were expected to secede but never joined the Confederacy.

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

The Confederate Flag

A rectangular variant of the battle flag used by some Confederate Army Units, now called "The Confederate Flag" or "The Confederate Battle Flag", despite its never having historically represented the CSA as a nation, has become a widely recognized symbol of the South. It is also called the "rebel", or "Dixie" flag, and is often incorrectly referred to as the "Stars and Bars" (the actual "Stars and Bars" is the First National Flag, which used an entirely different design).

During the first half of the 20th century the Confederate flag enjoyed renewed popularity. During World War II some U.S. military units with Southern nicknames, or made up largely of Southerners, made the flag their unofficial emblem. The flew a Confederate Navy Ensign as a battle flag throughout combat in the South Pacific in World War II. This was done in honor of Columbia, the ship's namesake and the capital city of South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union. Some soldiers carried Confederate flags into battle. After the Battle of Okinawa a Confederate flag was raised over Shuri Castle by a Marine from the self-styled "Rebel Company" (Company A of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines). It was visible for miles and was taken down after three days on the orders of General Simon B. Buckner, Jr. (son of Confederate general Simon Buckner), who stated that it was inappropriate as "Americans from all over are involved in this battle". It was replaced with the flag of the United States. By the end of World War II, the use of the Confederate flag in the military was rare.

Controversy

Displaying the flag

The display of the Confederate flag remains a highly controversial and emotional topic, generally because of disagreement over its symbolism.

Some groups use the Southern Cross one of the symbols associated with their organizations, including racist groups such as the Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. The flag is also sometimes used by separatist organizations such as the Aryan Nations. The Aryan Nation also uses the U.S. flag as well as the Christian flag displayed in some Protestant churches.

Supporters of the flag view it as a symbol of southern heritage and the independence of the distinct cultural tradition of the South from Northern government. Due to its ban in some schools and universities that have viewed it as a racist symbol, display of the flag has, in these contexts, also been considered an exercise of free speech.

A peer-reviewed study showed that exposure to the Confederate battle flag results in more negative judgments of black targets and resulted in lowered willingness to vote for Barack Obama among white students at Southern Virginia University. The study concluded that the prevalence of this flag in the South might contribute to a reticence to vote for a political candidate because of his race.

Some southerners claim that they see the flag as merely a symbol of southern culture without any political or racial connotation. An example of this would be the Bocephus Rebel Flag often sold at concerts performed by country music star Hank Williams, Jr or Kevin Fowler, heavy metal band Pantera, and southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. For some, the flag represents only a past era of southern sovereignty. Some historical societies such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy also use the flag as part of their symbols. Some rockabilly fans hold the Confederate flag as their emblem as well. The flag is a regular cultural meme, often appearing in association with a character intended to represent a stereotypical Southerner.

As a result of these varying perceptions, there have been a number of political controversies surrounding the use of the Confederate flag in Southern state flags, at sporting events, at Southern universities, and on public buildings. According to Civil War historian and native Southerner Shelby Foote, the flag traditionally represented the South's resistance to Northern political dominance; it became racially charged during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, when fighting against desegregation suddenly became the focal point of that resistance.

Symbols of the Confederacy remain a contentious issue across the United States and their civic placement has been debated vigorously in many Southern state legislatures since the 1990s.

Display at the South Carolina capitol

, site of the 2000 controversy]]

On April 12, 2000, the South Carolina State Senate passed a bill to remove the Confederate flag from the top of the State House dome by a majority vote of 36 to 7. Originally placed there in 1962, "the new bill specified that a more traditional version of the battle flag would be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument honoring fallen Confederate soldiers." The bill also passed the state's House of Representatives, but not without some difficulty. On May 18, 2000, after the bill was modified to ensure that the height of the flag's new pole would be , it was passed by a majority of 66 to 43. Governor Jim Hodges signed the bill into law five days later after it passed the state Senate. On July 1, 2000 the flag was removed from atop the State House by two students from The Citadel, one white, and one black, and placed on a monument on the front lawn of the capitol. Current state law prohibits the flag's removal from the State House grounds without additional legislation.

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

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

Use in State Flags

Alabama

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

However, the saltire design of the Alabama state flag also bears resemblance to several other flags. It is identical to the flag of Saint Patrick, incorporated into the Union Flag of the United Kingdom to represent the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland. It is almost identical to the Flag of Florida, which has its heritage in the Spanish Cross of Burgundy flag. Like in Florida, the Spanish Cross of Burgundy flew over most of Alabama into the 1800s. This has led to other origins being put forth as possibilities.

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

Georgia

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

The following year, amidst dwindling demands for the return of the 1956 design (“Battle Flag” version) and lesser opposing demands for the continued use of the new “Barnes’” design, the Georgia General Assembly redesigned the flag yet again, adopting a "compromise" design based largely on the First National Flag of the Confederacy (known as the "Stars and Bars").

Mississippi

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

North Carolina

The state legislature adopted this flag in March, 1885, to replace the original state flag that had been adopted on June 22, 1861, immediately following the state's secession from the Union on May 20, 1861. The red field of the old flag was replaced by blue in memory of the Bonnie Blue Flag, which was used as a symbol of secession during the war and flew over the batteries that opened fire on Fort Sumter, beginning the Civil War. The overall stripe pattern is also reminiscent of the "Stars and Bars" flag and the lone star state flag of Texas, also a member of the Confederacy.

Use on vehicular license plates

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

In 1998, a North Carolina appellate court upheld the issuance of such license plates in the case SONS OF CONFEDERATE v. DMV, noting: "We are aware of the sensitivity of many of our citizens to the display of the Confederate flag. Whether the display of the Confederate flag on state-issued license plates represents sound public policy is not an issue presented to this Court in this case. That is an issue for our General Assembly."

See also

Flags of the U.S. states

Bonnie Blue Flag

Confederate Seal

Notes

References

Bonner, Robert. Colors and Blood: Flag Passions of the Confederate South. Princeton University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-691-11949-X.

Coski, John M. The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-674-01722-6.

Katcher, Phillip and Scollins, Rick. Flags of the American Civil War 1: Confederate. (Osprey Men-At-War Series), Osprey Publishing Company, 1993. ISBN 1-85532-270-6.

Madaus, H. Michael. Rebel Flags Afloat: A Survey of the Surviving Flags of the Confederate States Navy, Revenue Service, and Merchant Marine. Flag Research Center, 1986, Winchester, MA. ISSN 0015-3370. (80-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.

External links

1860s Harper's Weekly Images Containing Confederate Flag

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

Georgia secession flags

Birthplace of the Confederate Battle Flag marker

Resolution unanimously adopted in 1989 by Sons of Confederate Veterans deploring use of the Confederate Battle Flag by hate groups

2000 resolution supporting display of Confederate Battle Flags adopted by the Sons Of Union Veterans of the Civil War

Category:Confederate States of America Category:Historical flags Category:Lists of flags Category:Obsolete national flags Category:Cultural history of the American Civil War Category:Politics and race

Name	John McCain
Jr/sr	Senior Senator
State	Arizona
Term start	January 3, 1987
Term end
Alongside	Jon Kyl
Predecessor	Barry Goldwater
State2	Arizona
District2	1st
Term start2	January 3, 1983
Term end2	January 3, 1987
Predecessor2	John Jacob Rhodes Jr.
Successor2	John Jacob Rhodes III
Order5	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Term start5	January 3, 1995
Term end5	January 3, 1997 January 3, 2005 January 3, 2007
Predecessor5	Daniel Inouye (1995) Ben Nighthorse Campbell (2005)
Successor5	Ben Nighthorse Campbell (1997) Byron Dorgan (2007)
Order6	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Term start6	January 3, 1997
Term end6	June 6, 2001 January 3, 2005 January 3, 2007
Predecessor6	Larry Pressler (1997) Ernest Hollings (2003)
Successor6	Ernest Hollings (1997) Ted Stevens (2005)
Birth date	August 29, 1936
Birth place	Coco Solo Naval Air Station, Panama Canal Zone
Birthname	John Sidney McCain III
Nationality	American
Party	Republican
Spouse	Carol Shepp (m. 1965, div. 1980) Cindy Lou Hensley (m. 1980)
Children	Douglas (b. 1959, adopted 1966), Andrew (b. 1962, adopted 1966), Sidney (b. 1966), Meghan (b. 1984), John Sidney IV "Jack" (b. 1986), James "Jimmy" (b. 1988), Bridget (b. 1991, adopted 1993)
Residence	Phoenix, Arizona
Alma mater	U.S. Naval Academy (B.S.)
Profession	Naval Aviator Politician
Religion	Baptist congregant (Brought up Episcopalian)
Net worth	$40.4 million (USD)
Signature	John mccain signature2.svg
Website	U.S. Senator John McCain: Arizona
Footnotes	This article is part of the series At that time, the Panama Canal was under U.S. control.
Before	John Jacob Rhodes
State	Arizona
District	1
Years	1983–1987
After	John Jacob Rhodes III}}

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