Flags of the Confederacy

Hard core reenactors will no doubt find the information in this article very rudimentary, but for the casual student of the history of the Confederacy this article should be of interest.

There were literally hundreds of different regimental battle flags used by the Confederacy during the War of Northern Aggression.

To begin with, the flag show below is the flag most people know and associate with the Confederacy today. This rectangular flag is what most people would call the Rebel Flag. However, in this form (rectangular) it is most accurately referred to as the Confederate Naval Jack:-

The official Confederate Battle Flag which was submitted to congress and approved by General G. T. Beauregard was in fact of a square design:-

This was to be issued in three sizes:-

1. 30" x 30" for use by Cavalry
2. 36" x 36" for use by Artillery.
3. 48" x 48" for use by Infantry.

The Rebel Flag or Battle Flag is often incorrectly referred to as the Stars and Bars. In point of fact, the flag that was nicknamed the Stars and Bars was the First National Flag of the Confederacy as shown below:-

The First National Flag (Stars and Bars) was first raised on March 4th 1861 on the day Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office.

The seven stars on this design represented the original seven Confederate States that seceded; South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas.

Its similarity to the Flag of the United States caused a lot of confusion on the battlefield and was a direct reason for the creation of the official Battle Flag. In some of the first battles that took place like 1st Manassas (Bull Run to you Billy Yanks), rebel regiments flying this flag were mistaken for federal troops and visa versa. Individual regimental battle flags weren't much better, with a lot of duplication on both sides. Hence the need for the official Battle Flag.

Before the First National Flag its' worth mentioning the Bonnie Blue Flag. Never an official flag of the Confederacy it was however one of the first flags to appear at some of the early conventions while the South was beating its war drums:-

Of course it is immortalized in the song, "The Bonnie Blue Flag" which no Southern Partisan can hear without a feeling of pride.

The Second National Flag of the Confederacy was first used on May 12, 1863. It was used on this day to cover the coffin of one of the South's greatest generals Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson. From this day on it became know as the Stainless Banner:-

The Third National Flag of the Confederacy was passed by Senate on February 6, 1865:-

The red band down the right hand side was added to the Third National Flag because it was discovered that the Second National Flag could be mistaken for a surrender flag if was hanging down and not blowing outwards in the wind.

Lee surrendered on April 10, 1865 so very few Third National Flags were actually made and flown.

Of course as mentioned at the start of this article, there were literally hundreds of variations and different types of battle flags. Towards the end of the war it became common for Battle Honors to be added to a regiments flags to indicate the battles they had participated in:-

The Battle Flag of the Confederacy is often referred to as the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia as it was most commonly used by Lee's troops. If you are interested enough do a quick browse of the internet and you will soon turn up a multitude of variations. The Army of Tennessee flew a rectangular flag similar to the Navy Jack. The Hardee flag was a blue flag with a while oval center. General Polk's flag used the St. George's Cross rather than the diagonal cross, etc.

Although misinformed or ignorant groups today sometimes try to associate the Rebel Flag with racism, it is not now and most certainly wasn't at its conception anything of the sort. It was a soldiers flag first and foremost and continues today to be a proud symbol of Southern Pride and History.

- Stonewall (SASA # 4866)