History of the Confederate Flag

The six southern states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida met February 4, 1861, in convention at Montgomery, Alabama, and established the Confederate States of America. They were soon joined by Texas, and later they were joined by Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Virginia. Missouri and Kentucky were prevented from seceding by the presence of federal troops, but both states sent unofficial representatives to the Confederate Congress and both supplied troops to the Confederate Army. The eleven seceding states, plus Missouri and Kentucky, are represented in the constellation of thirteen stars in the Confederate flag. The Confederate Navy Jack, also called "The Confederate Flag," is a rectangular version of the Battle Flag, usually about 3×5 feet. The blue color in the diagonal cross is much lighter than in the Battle Flag, and it was flown only on Confederate ships from 1863 to 1865. The design was originally made by South Carolina Congressman William Porcher Miles with the intent to be the first national flag, but it was rejected by the Confederate government for looking too much like crossed suspenders. It was used by a few army units, including the Army of Tennessee as their battle flag. Today, it is the most universally recognized symbol of the South, where it is commonly called the rebel or Dixie flag. What is usually called "The Confederate Flag" or "The Confederate Battle Flag" is still a widely-recognized symbol. The display of the flag is controversial and a very emotional issue, generally because of disagreement over exactly what it stands for. To many in the South it is simply a symbol of pride and heritage. Others see it as a symbol of the of slavery which the Confederate government defended, or of the Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern States for almost a century later. According to Civil War historians, the flag traditionally represented the south's resistance to northern political dominance; it became racially charged during the Civil Rights Movement, when protecting segregation suddenly became the focal point.

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