American Civil War

Confederate Battle Flags

The first national flag of the Confederacy, “the Stars and Bars” was adopted and flown from March 5, 1861 to May 26, 1863. Because the “Stars and Bars” was quite similar to the United States Army flag and it created significant confusion in the ebb and flow of action on the battlefield. Accordingly, the “Stars and Bars” was no longer carried on the battlefield after December 1861 and substituted for by the well-known flag that was red with two navy blue bars, each carrying stars to indicate the number of Confederate states. This was helpful to eliminate the previously noted battlefield confusion.

The first of the red flags with navy blue bars were made of high quality silk. However, silk, purchased in the open market, became limited in availability and quite expensive. Subsequently, some flags were made of silk and cotton and later in 1862 wool bunting was used as a material for the flags. The unit designations were sewn to the flags along with the appropriate battle honors. The stars designating the number of Confederate states were initially painted on with gold colored paint. Later they were made of fabric and sewn onto the flags. The number of stars was increased as additional states succeeded from the Union and joined or were accepted into the Confederacy. A particularly interesting and recommended book is Flags of Civil War Alabama, The (Flags of the Civil War)“>

The new battle flag’s design was based upon the St. Andrews cross. The actual St. Andrews cross is a white saltire on a blue field as in the image upon the field of the national flag of Scotland. There were numerous variations of the Confederate battle flag that, combined with the second variation of the Confederate Navy Jack, came to form the well-known 20th century rectangular Confederate flag which we see today.

The Confederate flag has been, and frequently still is, used to represent the South. During World War II some American military units, that were comprised or largely made up of Southerners made the Confederate flag their unofficial flag or unit identifier and carried it into battle. Then, and even more so now, the use of the Confederate flag was highly controversial and inflamed groups of individuals sensibilities.