Flags of the Confederate States of America

For the contemporary usage, see modern display of the Confederate battle flag.

Confederate States of America
First national flag of the Confederate States of America, with seven stars.
"The Stars and Bars"
UseNational flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Proportion5:9
AdoptedMarch 4, 1861 (first 7-star version)
December 10, 1861 (final 13-star version)
DesignThree horizontal stripes of equal height, alternating red and white, with a blue square two-thirds the height of the flag as the canton. Inside the canton are seven, eleven, or thirteen white five-pointed stars of equal size, arranged in a circle and pointing outward.
Designed byNicola Marschall
"The Stainless Banner"[a]
Second flag of the Confederate States of America
The second national flag of the Confederate States of America
UseNational flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Proportion1:2[b]
AdoptedMay 1, 1863
DesignA 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.
"The Blood-Stained Banner"
Third flag of the Confederate States of America
The third national flag of the Confederate States of America.
UseNational flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Proportion2:3
AdoptedMarch 4, 1865
DesignA 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.[c]
Designed byMaj. Arthur L. Rogers[13]

The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and the "Blood-Stained Banner", used in 1865 shortly before the Confederacy's dissolution. A rejected national flag design was also used as a battle flag by the Confederate Army and featured in the "Stainless Banner" and "Blood-Stained Banner" designs. Although this design was never a national flag, it is the most commonly recognized symbol of the Confederacy.

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. These include flags displayed in states; cities, towns and counties; schools, colleges and universities; private organizations and associations; and individuals. The battle flag was also featured in the state flags of Georgia and Mississippi, although it was removed by Georgia in 2003 and Mississippi in 2020. However, the new design of the Georgia flag still references the original "Stars and Bars" iteration of the Georgia flag. After the Georgia flag was changed in 2001, the city of Trenton, Georgia, has used a flag design nearly identical to the previous version with the battle flag.

It is estimated that 500–544 flags were captured during the civil war by the Union. The flags were sent to the War Department in Washington.[14][15]

  1. ^ Preble 1872, pp. 414–417
  2. ^ Preble 1880, pp. 523–525
  3. ^ Coski 2013. "A handful of contemporaries linked the new flag design to the "peculiar institution" that was at the heart of the South's economy, social system and polity: slavery. Bagby characterized the flag motif as the "Southern Cross" – the constellation, not a religious symbol – and hailed it for pointing 'the destiny of the Southern master and his African slave' southward to 'the banks of the Amazon,' a reference to the desire among many Southerners to expand Confederate territory into Latin America. In contrast, the Savannah, Ga., Morning News editor focused on the white field on which the Southern Cross was emblazoned. "As a people, we are fighting to maintain the heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored races. A White Flag would be thus emblematical of our cause." He dubbed the new flag "the White Man's Flag," a sobriquet that never gained traction."
  4. ^ Thompson, William T. (April 23, 1863). "Daily Morning News". Savannah, Georgia.[full citation needed]
  5. ^ Thompson, William T. (April 28, 1863). "Daily Morning News". Savannah, Georgia.[full citation needed]
  6. ^ Thompson, William T. (May 4, 1863). "Daily Morning News". Savannah, Georgia.[full citation needed]
  7. ^ Loewen, James W.; Sebesta, Edward H. (2010). The Confederate and Neo Confederate Reader: The Great Truth about the 'Lost Cause'. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-60473-219-1. OCLC 746462600. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013. Confederates even showed their preoccupation with race in their flag. Civil War buffs know that 'the Confederate flag' waved today was never the Confederate States of America's official flag. Rather, it was the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. During the war, the Confederacy adopted three official flags. The first, sometimes called 'the Stars and Bars,' drew many objections 'on account of its resemblance to that of the abolition despotism against which we are fighting,' in the words of the editor of the Savannah Morning News, quoted herein.
  8. ^ Kim, Kyle; Krishnakumar, Priya. "What you should know about the Confederate flag's evolution". Los Angeles Times. No. June 23, 2015. California. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  9. ^ Wood, Marie Stevens Walker (1957). Stevens-Davis and allied families: a memorial volume of history, biography, and genealogy. p. 44. Retrieved September 1, 2015. This design was suggested by William T. Thompson, editor of the Savannah (Ga.) Morning News, who, in an editorial published April 23, 1863, stated that through this design could be attained all the...
  10. ^ Allen, Frederick (May 25, 1996). Atlanta Rising: The Invention of an International City 1946–1996. Taylor Trade. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-4616-6167-2. Retrieved September 1, 2015. By modern standards, the greatest flaw of the 'Stainless Banner' was its other popular nickname, bestowed by William T. Thompson, editor of the Savannah Daily Morning News, who called it 'the White Man's Flag' and argued that it represented 'the cause of a superior race and a higher civilization contending against ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism' – a bit of racist rhetoric that is plainly unacceptable in current public discourse.
  11. ^ "The Second Confederate National Flag (Flags of the Confederacy)". Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference fotc3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference autogenerated1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 32., Confederate States' flags". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  15. ^ "Returned Flags Booklet, 1905 | A State Divided". PBS LearningMedia. Retrieved January 7, 2024.


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