"Any
people, anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise
up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them
better. This is a most valuable and most sacred right - a right which we hope
and believe is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in
which the whole people of an existing government may choose to exercise it.
Any portion of such people, that can may revolutionize and make their own of
so many of the territory as they inhabit.
Abraham
Lincoln, 12 January 1848
Civil War
National Flags
When northern
and southern Civil War flags are displayed together, we often see the square
St. Andrews battle flag, carried by the Army of Northern Virginia, displayed
with the national flag of the United States of America. This is historically
incorrect. It is only proper that the Confederate States of America
(CSA)
national
flag be shown with the USA national flag. This misrepresented display has
caused much confusion among those not well versed in our Civil War's history.
There were
over 150 battle flags carried by various Confederate regiments with the St.
Andrew's cross being, by far, the most familiar. It was probably so popular
because of the early successes of the Army of Northern Virginia. Popular as it
was, the square St Andrew's cross battle flag was not the CSA National Flag.
It was, however, the canton of the Second and Third CSA national flags.
Only two national flags are reproduced here (from
the two referenced websites below) which are included in our
Civil Warriors club logo. Good national flag reference website sources
include:
The United States of
America
The Union
flag flying over Fort Sumter at the start of the Civil War in mid-April 1861
was the 33-star flag, the familiar 13 red and white stripes with 5 rows of
stars in the canton. Four rows contained seven stars each with the middle
third row containing five stars. The 34th state, Kansas, had already been
admitted to the Union but the 34-star flag did not become official until 4
July 1861.
The Union
34-star flag was official from 4 July 1861 until 4 July 1863.
There were 5 rows of
stars with 4 rows of seven stars and the third middle row containing six
stars. Stars representing the southern states remained on the flag as the
national government did not want to recognize the Confederate state's claimed
right to secession. The war was to be treated as a rebellion.
USA 35-Star National Flag
(1863-1865)
The Union
35-star flag, which now included West Virginia, became official on 4 July 1863
and was the official national flag through the end of the Civil War. It was
the flag that Lee surrendered under at Appomattox. This flag had 5 rows of
seven stars. The Union 36-star flag, which now included Nevada, did not become
official until after the civil War on 4 July 1865.
The Confederate
States of America
The Bonnie
Blue Flag, a large blue silk banner bearing a single white star, representing
South Carolina as the first state to secede, was first flown at the
Mississippi secession convention. It was a very popular flag but many wanted
to adopt the founding fathers' preference for representing each state with
it's own star.
The First
National Flag (referred to as the Stars and Bars), never officially adopted by
an official vote, served as the national flag for the first two years of the
Confederacy. The canton was blue with a circle of stars representing the
Confederate states as they withdrew from the Union. The circle of stars grew
from 7 to 13 as other states joined the Confederacy.
There were three
horizontal stripes, red, white, and red.
CSA Second National Flag
(Stainless Banner, 1863-1865)
The Second
National Flag, displaying the St Andrews cross as the canton, was adopted
because the First National Flag was so indistinguishable from that of the
Union flag. It was first used to cover the coffin of Stonewall Jackson as he
laid in state in Richmond. The banner was white with no stripes so that when
there was little wind, it was often confused with a truce flag.
The Third
National Flag (referred to as the Final Edition) was not adopted until March
1865 when the war was virtually over. A vertical red stripe was added to the
outer banner to avoid it appearing to be a flag of truce on windless days.
