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Taken in part from
www.confederateflags.org and
thanks to Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr.
for his outstanding word and documentation.
1st National |
2nd National |
3rd National |
Battle Flag |
Bonnie Blue |
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On 9 January 1861, the Convention of the People of
Mississippi adopted an Ordinance of Secession. With the announcement of the
Ordinance, a large blue flag bearing a single white star was raised over the
capitol building in Jackson.
The Bonnie Blue Flag, which was destined to be the second most popular
patriotic song in the Confederacy.. |
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The original flag of the Confederate States of America,
commonly known as the "STARS AND BARS", was approved by the Congress of the
Provisional Government of the Confederate States, and first hoisted over the
capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama, on the afternoon of the 4th day of
March, 1861. Congress did not adopted a formal Act codifying this flag, "The
flag of the Confederate States of America shall consist of a red field with
a white space extending horizontally through the center, and equal in width
to one-third the width of the flag. The red space above and below to be the
same width as the white. The union blue extending down through the white
space and stopping at the lower red space. In the center of the union a
circle of white stars corresponding in number with the States in the
Confederacy. " |
| This new flag spread quickly in use across
the South, even beyond the borders of the seven States of the CSA. The
official version was to have the stars in a circle, with the number
corresponding to the States actually admitted to the Confederacy. Thus,
there would have been 7 stars from 4 March 1861 until 7 May 1861, when
Virginia became the 8th Confederate State by Act of Congress. Thereafter,
the number of stars continued to increase until Tennessee gained her seat as
the 11th State on 2 July 1861. The number remained 11 through the summer,
but increased when Missouri and Kentucky were admitted to the CSA by Acts of
Congress approved 28 November 1861 and 10 December 1861, respectively.
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The second flag of the Confederate States of
America, commonly known as the "STAINLESS BANNER", was created by an Act of
the Congress of the Confederate States, approved by the President on the 1st
day of May, 1863. The Flag Act of 1863 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 field to be white, the
length double the width of the flag, 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; thereon a broad saltier of blue, bordered with white, and emblazoned
with white mullets or five pointed stars, corresponding in number to that of
the Confederate States." |
The Flag of the Confederate States of America
1 May 1863 to 4 March 1865.
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The third and final flag of the Confederate States of
America, was created by an Act of the Congress of the Confederate States
(Second Congress, Session II), and approved by the President on the 4th day
of March, 1865, four years to the day after the first raising of the STARS
AND BARS in Montgomery. |
The Flag of the Confederate States of America
after 4 March 1865.
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| The Flag Act of 1865 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 saltier 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." |
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Navies have their own specific flags and flag terminology.
The principal flag denoting nationality on any ship, whether naval or
civilian is called the ensign.
CS Navy Ensign as prescribed by the Regulations of 26 May
1863. The ensign of the Confederate States Navy was the same as the
national flag, that pattern from 1863 to 1865 being the design known as the
Stainless Banner. It was flown from the stern of a ship, usually from a gaff
on ships rigged for sail, and on an ensign staff on steamers without sails
and ironclad gunboats. |
| Twenty-five days after the Stainless Banner
became the official Confederate flag, the Secretary of the Navy issued
regulations governing navy ensigns. Rather than the 1:2 ratio officially
prescribed for the national flag, the regulations called for the ensign to
have a length one and one-half times the width of the ensign. In fact, the
national flags actually made for the army corresponded to the proportions of
the navy regulations. |
Ensign of the CSS Virginia
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| Like the flag as used on land,
Stars and Bars navy ensigns are found with a variety of numbers of stars and
patterns of arrangement. Navy ensigns will have from seven to thirteen
stars. They are more likely than their land-bound counterparts to follow the
official requirement that the stars be in a circle, though often that circle
will surround a central star. There are, however, variations from the
circular pattern. |
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A jack is a small flag flown at the bow of a ship. It is
not flown while the ship is at sea, but only when at port, or while entering
or leaving a port. The staff from which a jack is flown is often removed
when the ship is underway. It is said that this was to keep it clear of the
forward field of fire in combat.
By tradition inherited from the Royal Navy, the jack of
the US Navy is the union of the ensign. The CS Navy carried forward this
tradition. As a result, since in the 1861-1863 period the ensign was
the Stars and Bars, the jack was a plain blue flag charged with white stars.
Except for the number of stars, it was identical to the jack of the US Navy.
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| The 1863 jack was a rectangular version of
the battleflag canton of the ensign. The 1863 jack, as a result, is similar
in design to the
Battle Flag used in the Army of Tennessee from late 1863 to
1865.
The only known surviving jack of this period is the one
illustrated here from the CSS Atlanta. It has only seven stars, and
although on board the Atlanta when it was captured in June 1863, may date to
an earlier period. Like the ensign, jacks in use in this period probably
could be found with star numbers ranging from seven to thirteen.
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Jack of the CSS Atlanta |
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Confederate Battleflag |
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