Category: Confederate Flags Heritage

Sunday mornings were usually quiet at Yale University.  Not so on the January 20th, 1861, when students and professors woke to find a secession flag on top of a campus building.  During the night some students had raised a flag with a red cross displayed in the center.  On the cross were 15 stars representing states, five of which had already seceded.  In the upper left corner were the crescent moon and palmetto tree of South Carolina.  A month earlier South Carolina had been the first state to secede from the Union.

The event became news across the country.  Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly not only reported the event, but showed an illustration of the flag atop the building (left).  Today we know this banner as the South Carolina Sovereignty Flag, and it is still flown today.  It also has an enduring life in an altered form:  the Confederate Battle Flag, with a diagonal cross instead of an upright one.

It may interest you to know that a third of the Yale men killed on Civil War battlefields were Confederates.  The names of Yale soldiers killed in the Civil War, Union and Confederate, were carved into a marble memorial at Yale in 1915.

Thirteen Yale Confederates reached the rank of brigadier general, and 2 ultimately became major  generals.  One of the major generals was William “Rooney” Lee, son of Robert E. Lee, who began his Confederate career as a captain of cavalry.  But while there were many Confederate Yale officers at various ranks, there were 43 who never rose above private.

One Yale alumnus served as Confederate Attorney General, and later held two cabinet posts.  He was the most senior government official from Yale, North or South.  Jefferson Davis’ private secretary was a Yale graduate.

Yale Alumni Hall (photo after the war, showing the flagpole on the tower to the left)

Southern students began returning to Yale in 1866, and there must have been plenty of conversations about the flag that had been raised five years earlier.  But the healing continued, and in the 1870’s ivy from Robert E. Lee’s home was planted on the Yale campus.

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Douglas the Camel served with the 43rd Mississippi Infantry during the Civil War.  By the time he became a Rebel, though, “Old Douglas” was already a veteran, having served with the U.S. Army camel brigade.  Here is his back story.

Jefferson Davis is well known as the President of the Confederacy, but it is less known that Davis graduated from West Point in 1828.  He commanded a regiment in the Mexican War of 1846, leading his troops with distinction at the battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista.   In a letter home we read these words about Colonel Davis from one of his soldiers:

“He is always in front of his men and ready to be the first to expose himself.  He has taken his troops into so many tight places, and got them out safely, that they begin to think if they follow him they will be sure to succeed.”

Jefferson Davis went on to become a U.S. Congressman, but it was as a U.S. Senator and later Secretary of War that his influence resulted in the Army Camel Experiment.  Congress appropriated $30,000 for “the purchase and importation of camels and dromedaries to be employed for military purposes.”

US Army Camel

One of the difficulties that the Army faced in the desert was the care and feeding of horses, mules and oxen. A creature used to desert conditions had obvious advantages.  Camels were fast, could carry heavy loads for days without water, and could forage on practically anything.

When these beasts first arrived, the local Texans did not believe they could carry the weights claimed.  So one of the officers had two bales of hay loaded onto one of the males.  That was only 600 pounds, so he had two more bales loaded, a total of 1,256 pounds.  The camel rose with ease and walked off.

By the time of the Civil War, “Old Douglas” had somehow made his way east to Mississippi and into the Confederate Army.  The men didn’t know anything about camels, and tried to keep him on a tether.  But no rope could ever hold Douglas, and eventually the soldiers learned to just let him graze freely.  That was no problem because he was never far from the men.

Besides acting a mascot, Douglas was assigned to the regimental band, carrying their instruments and supplies.

“Old Douglas” has the honor of his own grave marker.  This can be seen at Cedar Hill Cemetery, in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

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This unique flag was created in Richmond, Virginia, for the 5th Texas Regiment:  the “Bloody Fifth.”

This was one of three Texas regiments that fought with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.  Their flag was based on the design of the Confederate First National Flag, the Stars and Bars.  Instead of a circle of stars representing the Confederate States, it has one “lone star” in the upper corner, symbolizing Texas.  The men called it the “lone star flag,” or the Lone Star and Bars.

This flag was in use until the Army of Northern Virginia decided to standardize their battle flags, adopting the famous Southern Cross.  The lone star flag was then stored in a warehouse depot in Richmond.

Richmond, 1862

But some of the men hatched a scheme to get it back.  Their commanding general, John Bell Hood, ordered his brigade’s battle flags sent back to the depot in Richmond to have new battle honors added.  Some of the Texas officers went to the depot to return the flag.  While they were there, they swiped the original flag.  Then, when the authorized flag came back, two officers switched it for the lone star flag.

The next day the regiment marched out of camp, toward the Battle of Second Manassas.  On the way, a review was held, but the regiment’s color bearer kept the unauthorized flag hidden in its case.  As General Hood was riding down the line he noticed the case, and ordered that it be opened.  One officer described what happened next:

“…when its beautiful folds were given to the breeze a cheer broke loose, despite the fact that officers did all they could to restrain it.”

Hood was not happy, asking, “Adjutant, why do you not have your battle flag, sir?”

Regimental Adjutant Wood, one of the conspirators, replied that he had not seen it after it was sent to the depot (he may had not seen it since, but Wood was one of the officers who had snatched the Lone Star and Bars).

Wood said that since he did not have the authorized flag, “I brought along the Lone Star flag of Texas.”

Hood replied, “I believe you know more of this than you are willing to tell,” but continued reviewing his troops.

The Lone Stars and Bars soon led the regiment into some of its most famous battles, and we still reproduce it today.

To read about how the “Bloody” 5th got its name, click this link.

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It was the winter of 1861 – 1862.  The 5th Texas was encamped on the Potomac River, the 5th New York across the river.  The New Yorkers were a Zouave regiment, meaning they wore uniforms modeled after French Colonial soldiers.

The men on both sides were known for their courage.  Choice words were exchanged, explaining how the other would fare against them in a fight.  By the time the Texans moved on, they were more than ready to meet the New York Yankees in battle.

Their chance would come the following summer at Second Manassas, what the North called Second Bull Run.  The 5th Texas was part of General Hood’s Texas Brigade, in turn part of Major General Longstreet’s force of nearly 30,000 men, preparing to engage the Federals.  It was just after 4 PM when the Rebels rose and began their advance.

The Stone House at Manassas National Battlefield Park is one of only three intact pre-Civil War buildings remaining. Sitting at the intersection of Sudley Road and Warrenton Turnpike, the intersection controlled the battlefield. Both sides used it as a hospital for the wounded in both the “First and Second Battle of Manassas.”Virginia Tourism Corporation, www.Virginia.org

One of Hood’s men later wrote that the Confederates “rushed forward at a charge from the word go, all the time keeping up an unearthly yell….”

The first unit the Texans encountered was the 10th New York, who “fired one volley and fled, closely pursued.”  The 10th was driven backward, right into the location of the 5th New York.

The Texans advanced through woods and underbrush, pushing the men of the 10th in retreat.  When the 5th Texas got to the edge of the woods, there facing them was the 5th New York, on higher ground and across a creek.  A volley of fire from the Federals rang out, but the wooded terrain around the Rebels was good protection.  One Texan wrote, “From the Zouaves we received a heavy fire, which was kept up by both sides for a few minutes, but the steady well-directed aim of our Texas men told heavily on the enemy.”

The Texans charged into the New Yorkers, one of whom said, “Where the Regiment stood that day was the very vortex of Hell.”  The 5th New York was decimated, losing 332 men out of 525, the greatest number of soldiers killed of any Federal regiment in a single battle.  All in only ten minutes.

But the 5th Texas was not done.  They continued to advance, slicing through the Union lines.  They raced ahead of the rest of the Confederate army, moving as far as five miles from where they started.  As General Hood stated in his after-action report, the 5th Texas had “slipped the bridle,” and earned the name of “The Bloody Fifth.”

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Confederate territory included areas of the Five Civilized Tribes of Native Americans.  Tribal members joined the conflict.

The Cherokee Mounted rifles fought out west, ultimately coming under the command of one of their own, Stand Watie (shown here).

Watie’s birth name was Tak-er-taw-ker, meaning “Stands Firm.”  He combined parts of his own Cherokee name with that of his father, Oo-wat-ie, to call himself Stand Watie in English.

Stand Watie caught the attention of senior officers when he captured a Union artillery battery and conducted a skilled rear guard action to protect a Confederate army.  His courage, tactics and leadership lead to a higher command position.  The 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles formed in August of 1862, Colonel Stand Watie commanding.

Watie’s men were active in cutting Union supply lines and disrupting Federal operations in the Western Theatre of the Civil War.  His raids behind enemy lines forced the Union to commit thousands of troops to the area, instead of sending them east, where they were needed.

Cherokee had long been used to “close-range combat,” and they were masters of the irregular warfare of guerilla tactics.  They knew the tactics of hit-and-run, and how to limit their opponent’s capacity to attack them.

1st Cherokee Veterans

Watie’s regiment fought 18 battles and major skirmishes during the Civil War, including the pivotal Battle of Pea Ridge in northern Arkansas. His troops played an important role in protecting northern Texas and Indian Territory.

On May 10th, 1864, Watie was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, in command of the 1st Indian Brigade of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi.  He was the only Native American to reach the rank of a Confederate general, and the last Confederate general to officially cease hostilities, over two months after Appomattox.

The Cherokee Braves Flag is still reproduced today.  Sometimes known as the “Cherokee Brigade Flag,” the design was based on the Confederate First National Flag pattern.  The canton (upper left) is blue with eleven white stars in a circle, surrounding five red stars representing the “Five Civilized Tribes” (Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole). The red star in the center represents the Cherokee Nation. “Cherokee Braves” is lettered in red in the center of the white stripe.

Reproduction of Confederate Cherokee Flag

Watie displayed great commitment and bravery during his service to the Confederacy.  Just after the war he wrote the following to Texans, June 1865: “During the whole period of the war my people have stood side by side with your own gallant sons, between your homes and the enemy on the north.”  It was true:  Federal troops were never able to gain control of the area to access Texas from the north.

In 1995 the US postal Service issued a set of 20 commemorative stamps. General Stand Watie was one of those honored.

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Above you can see Thomas Bates of the 6^th Texas Infantry, holding a Bowie knife and revolver.  Texans played a key role at Antietam on September 17^th, 1862: the bloodiest single day in American military history.

The morning thundered as the armies of Robert E. Lee and McClellan clashed, near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Fights raged back and forth through Miller’s Cornfield and the West Woods, and General John Bell Hood’s Texas division fought bravely.  During a Union assault his 1^st Texas Regiment was ordered to counterattack in a place now known as “the cornfield.” As H. W. Berryman said in a letter to his mother, “They always take the Texans to the hottest part of the field.”

In a span of two hours, the Texas 1^st Regiment lost 82 percent of its men, the highest rate of casualties that any unit suffered in the war, North or South. Below you can read some of the first-hand accounts by the Texans.

Soldiers Crossing Antietam Bridge, Sep 1862

“…the air was full of shot and shell…it seemed almost impossible for a rat to live in such a place.”     J. M. Polk

“…the hottest place I ever saw on this earth or want to see hereafter.  There were shot, shells, and Minie balls sweeping the face of the earth… The dogs of war were loose, and ‘havoc’ was their cry.”

“…it seemed the whole world was in arms against us.”’     E. S. Carson

General Hood described the attack of his men in these words:

“It was here that I witnessed the most terrible clash of arms, by far, that occurred during the war. The two little giant brigades of this division wrestled with this mighty force, losing hundreds of their gallant officers and men but driving the enemy….”

Reproduction of the 1st Texas Regiment Battle Flag at Antietam

The Texans of the 1^st Regiment struggled to keep their Battle Flag in the air. Again, fromBerryman: “Just as fast as one man would pick it up, he would be shot down.  Eight men were killed or wounded trying to bring it off the field.  I can’t say we were whipped, but we were overwhelmed.”

That flag survived the battle, and became so famous that we still reproduce it today.

We are told of an exchange between General Lee and General Hood:

Lee: “Great God, General Hood, where is your splendid division?” 

Hood: “They are lying on the field where you sent them.”

In the end, the Battle of Antietam was a draw.  Courage was evident on both sides, but one Union soldier, defending the 80th New York Battery, said of the Confederates that it was “one of the finest exhibitions of pluck and manhood ever seen on any battlefield.”

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It may be of interest to read words from letters written home by Confederate soldiers during Christmas. The first is a letter by Henry Kyd Douglas, who was being held at Johnson’s Island Prison in Ohio. Henry had been with Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg, where he was injured and the captured. In a Christmas 1863 letter he wrote:

There came a carload of boxes for the prisoners about Christmas which after reasonable inspection, they were allowed to receive. My box contained more cause for merriment and speculation as to its contents than satisfaction. It had received rough treatment on its way, and a bottle of catsup had broken and its contents very generally distributed through the box. Mince pie and fruit cake saturated with tomato catsup was about as palatable as “embalmed beef” of the Cuban memory; but there were other things. Then, too, a friend had sent me in a package a bottle of old brandy. On Christmas morning I quietly called several comrades up to my bunk to taste the precious fluid of…DISAPPOINTMENT! The bottle had been opened outside, the brandy taken and replaced with water, adroitly recorded, and sent in. I hope the Yankee who played that practical joke lived to repent it and was shot before the war ended.

These next words are from a letter written by John Shropshire of the Texas 5th. He was camped on the Rio Grande on December 26th, 1861, and would have preferred that the enemy was there instead:

Dear Carrie, We arrived at this place last night, our mules & oxen broke down, having been out 36 hours without water. We came a new road nearly all the way from Fort Davis. The road was very heavy, & water was very scarce. Our horses are all in as good condition as could be expected, all poor & some of them very poor. Christmas day 1861 will be remembered a long time by this Regmt, not a man of which I guess, but would have gladly been at home. I thought of you many times & hoped that you were enjoying a good time. The eggnog & good things you had to eat I sincerely hope you had the good appetite to enjoy. I could have enjoyed a dinner with you amazingly. … I can not say how much glory we will gain, but I can say that we will have done as much hard work as any other soldiers in the Confederate service. Cavalry on the march have a hard time at best on the march but especially do they suffer when they march through a wilderness when a scarcity of every thing essential to comfort prevails. I candidly confess I never would have come this way had I imagined the country was so mean. In after years when Charlie’s grand children get old this country will be used for raising sheep. If I had the Yankeys at my disposal I would give them this country and force them to live in it.

I intended to write you a long letter but can not write for the men around me. Send me by mail all the good news you can get through by mail. I can not write any more. As soon as we get into quarters, I will write you again Good bye. Write to me every day.  God Bless you & Charlie.

In another letter to a wife, Henry Allen of the 9th Virginia Infantry wrote these words from Hilton Head, when it was not so pleasant a place to be:

I am quite well at this time we have had some very cold weather here we feel it much more seriously here than we would in a much colder climate and have suffered much as we have but few articles of bed clothing we are not allowed to receive money clothing or boxes of any kind and see quite a hard time generally. How are my dear little ones kiss them for me my love to all at home and to all other relatives and friends I wrote to John this morning. I know you will think of the absent me while eating the Christmas dinner I have nothing but dry bread for mine. Good by and God bless you my darling from your affectionate husband  Henry A Allen write soon

The day also created some gentler, kinder feelings on both sides. One tale is told of about 90 Union soldiers from Michigan who decorated pull carts, and making reindeer horns by tying tree branches together for the mules. These men filled the carts with food and other supplies, and handed out to poor Georgia civilians who were in dire heed. Some letters tell of men in both blue and gray setting aside their differences. Spencer Welch of the 13th South Carolina wrote of this story from Spotsylvania, Virginia:

Our regiment was on picket at the river a few days ago and the Yankee pickets were on the opposite bank. There is no firing between pickets now. It is forbidden in both armies. The men do not even have their guns loaded. The two sides talk familiarly with each other, and the Yankees say they are very anxious to have peace and get home. … While I write I hear Chaplain Beauschelle preaching at a tremendous rate. He seems to think everyone is very deaf.

There was similar peace where Tally Simpson of the 3rd South Carolina wrote to a friend back home:

This is Christmas Day. The sun shines feebly through a thin cloud, the air is mild and pleasant, [and] a gentle breeze is making music through the leaves of the lofty pines that stand near our bivouac. All is quiet and still, and that very stillness recalls some sad and painful thoughts. …

While we were there, Brig Genl Patrick, U.S.A., with several of his aides-de-camp, came over under flag of truce. Papers were exchanged, and several of our men bought pipes, gloves, &c from the privates who rowed the boat across. They had plenty of liquor and laughed, drank, and conversed with our men as if they had been friends from boyhood.

Write to me quick right off. I wish to hear from you badly. Remember me to my friends and relatives, especially the Pickens and Ligons. Hoping to hear from you soon I remain Your bud Tally Oh! that peace may soon be restored to our young but dearly beloved country and that we may all meet again in happiness.

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Private Valerius Giles had picket duty on Christmas day, 1861.  A member of the 4^th Texas Regiment, Giles “had a splendid view of the river for two or three miles in each direction.”  Across the river was a Union brigade from New York.

The day was bitterly cold, with snow “gently and silently falling, deepening the hills and valleys, melting as it struck the cold bosom of the dark river.”  Everything was calm as Val Giles stood sentry, about 100 yards from a battery of Confederate guns. Then he heard a man call out: “Look out, Lieutenant, a gun boat is coming down the river!”

Private Valerius C. Giles

Val listened as the officer in charge of the artillery, Lt. Lambert, barked orders to his men, and shells were rammed home in the cannons.    Looking down on the river the Texas sentinel could see a cloud of black smoke as the boat turned a bend in the river, “coming dead ahead under full steam.”  But the excitement was short-lived.  Another cry came out, “Oh, pshaw, Lieutenant, don’t shoot! She’s nothing but an old hospital boat, covered over with ‘yaller’ flags.”  Yellow flags were used to mark hospitals and ambulance units.

Soon Giles could read the name Harriet Lane on the boat, in use by the Hospital Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac.  As it would turn out, its appearance was a sort of omen.

After the alarm died down, Val described that “a melancholy stillness settled around me.”  The clouds became more leaden, the white silence ominous.   He felt restless and uneasy in the oppressive stillness, and “began to think of home and my mother and father away out in Texas, waiting and praying for the safe return of their three boys, all in the army and all in different parts of the Confederacy — one in the Tenth Texas Infantry at an Arkansas post, one in Tennessee or Kentucky with Terry’s Rangers, and one in the Fourth Texas Infantry in Virginia.”

Val was safe from any threat, but something was wrong:

“I tramped through the snow, half-knee-deep, although I was not required to walk my beat. I tried to divert my mind from the gloomy thoughts that possessed me, but all in vain. Suddenly I was startled from my sad reflections of home and kindred by distinctly hearing a voice I knew — my brother Lew’s voice — calling my name. I turned quickly, looked in every direction, heard nothing more and saw nothing but the white world around me and the dark river below me. He was two years my senior, had been my constant companion and playmate up to the beginning of the war.

It was four in the afternoon of December 25^th.  Private Giles knew that he’d heard his brother calling to him, but then decided it must have been his imagination.

Lewis Giles was assigned to the Eight Texas Cavalry, known as Terry’s Texas Rangers.  On December 17^th, 1861, Lewis took part in a charge at the Battle of Munfordville in Kentucky. Badly wounded, Lewis was taken to Gallatin, Tennessee, to the home of Captain John Turner, a close friend of his father.  The family later received word from Captain Turner that Lewis had died, at four PM on Christmas Day, 1861, while his brother Val stood picket on the banks of the Potomac.

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It was the winter of 1862, and the little Virginia town of Warrenton – a village, really – was in  the hands of the Yankees.  But the people of Warrenton were trying to make the best of it as Christmas approached.

One of the women living there was the wife of a Confederate General.  He was away, of course, performing his duties.  The general’s wife had formed up a dancing class for some of the young boys and girls, and this had given some cheer to an otherwise dreary year.  So the children decided they wanted to give a Christmas present to their teacher.

This presented quite a puzzle, as there were no stores, and no money with which to buy anything. The Union soldiers had their provisions, but they were not allowed to sell them because it was reported that the provisions were saved up for the Rebel soldiers.

However, the Yankees would sometimes buy homemade bread from the locals, and furnish supplies for the ladies to make pies and cakes.  The children became determined to get some money from their parents for their gift, and collected three dollars.  But what to do with it?  What would they buy?  After a lot of thought the children decided they would buy some sugar, tea and coffee.  But where?

One of the girls said, “Why, there is a very nice Yankee who has his headquarters in the lot next to our house, and I believe he would let us buy it if we asked him.”  But that brought about the question of who would “face the enemy.” After much discussion it was decided that five of the girls would go.

At this point I will let one of the girls, Janet Randolph, tell the rest of the story:

“You can hardly imagine a more scared set of little girls; but we must get our present, so down we marched and asked the sentinel who walked in front of the officer’s tent if we could see Col. Gardner on ‘important business.’  In a few minutes we were ushered into his presence.  I was to be the spokesman, but I am sure if the Colonel had not been so gentle and kind my mouth would never have been able to open.  Well, after a fashion, we made known our errand and offered our pitiful little three dollars, which meant so much to us, asking if we could let his sutler sell us that amount in sugar and coffee.  (A sutler was someone who followed an army and sold provisions to its soldiers.) Why certainly; it should be sent to us that afternoon.  You can hardly think how glad we were and how we thanked the Yankee Colonel.

“Now the pleasant part of my story comes: That afternoon up came the came the Colonel’s orderly with twenty pounds of sugar and a large package of coffee and tea (I suppose five times and much as our money would have bought) and a nice letter with three one-dollar greenbacks, saying that he was glad to contribute to the brave little girls who wished to give a Christmas present to the wife of a Confederate general who had given her time for their amusement.  Our delight can hardly be described to the little ones of to-day who have all they want for their comfort and amusement, and I believe that everybody who takes the trouble to read this little story will be glad to know that even in those hard days there were kind Yankees who did feel sorry for the little Confederate girls.”

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Flags are a very interesting piece of fabrics. The hold so many different meanings and representation depending on what they are. They can represent a whole country, and even cause controversy. To a historian their meaning is much different. They are a piece of history which needs to be preserved forever.

Key Takeaways:

• Flags can evoke strong emotions. Consider the recent controversy over flying the Confederate flag in South Carolina. Although they are used as symbols of governments and organizations, flags viewed differently by certain professionals.
• The flag took on a political meaning in 1948 when supporters of dissident Democrats, the so-called Dixiecrats, displayed the flag and “people consciously, purposely used it as a symbol of white Southern resistance to the federal government’s attempt at racial integration in the South,” Coski said.
• After the war the flag became a symbol of Confederate memory and later it became a symbol of Southern identity, Coski said. In the 1940s on Southern college campuses it became a popular symbol of things Southern, of collegiate hijinks and of rebelliousness, he said.

“Although the meaning of flags may change over time, conservators like Heffner remain focused on preservation.”

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.montgomery-herald.com/community/flag-silent-sentinels-of-history/article_5395bb58-c7f8-11e6-b0ba-bfe5dcd47494.html&ct=ga&cd=CAIyHDMzMmYyZjI2NWNhZTgzMjQ6Y29tOmVuOlVTOlI&usg=AFQjCNHN_V3twnA8dt-8kHCAQRtsOBecTw

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If you have been following this search then you know that in Part II the evidence began to point to a lone star on a blue field as being the Confederate flag of Alabama at secession.  In this final segment we will see what this flag actually looked like.

The turbulent times of 1860-1861 called for political messages to be sent by the man on the street, and many flags were being flown.  For example, the following is taken from an article in the December 22^nd, 1860 edition of the Utah Territory newspaper, “The Mountaineer”:

“The principal flag being shipped to Alabama is one modeled after our national bunting, but having fifteen stripes and fifteen stars in a blue field, encircling the words: “A united South.”

No one, though, would imagine this was a candidate for the new state flag.

Alabama Republic Flag

On the other hand, we know that flags with a single star did fly over Alabama after secession; indeed, in many areas of the South:  it was a popular image (more on that in a moment).   And as covered in Part II, we have Lady Liberty on the secession convention banner holding a flag with a blue field and a single star below the letters “ALABAMA.”  Do we have anything else that makes us thing this was the pattern of Alabama’s flag at this time?

Yes, but let me provide a quick background to it.  To do this we have go back into some very ancient history for a moment.

PLEIADES: THE SEVEN SISTERS

The Pleiades is a constellation of stars that is visible from virtually everywhere humans live.  It is often called the Seven Sisters in the Western World.  These were the seven daughters of the Greek God Atlas and the sea spirit Pleione.  (Atlas is the god who holds the world on his shoulder.)

This collection of stars has been known for a long time.  We find them in Chinese writings from over 3000 years ago.  The ancient Greek Poet Hesiod mentions them in a poem written around 700 BC, and Homer speaks of them in the Iliad and Odyssey.  The Bible contains at least three references to the Pleiades, in Job 9:9 and 38:31, and Amos 5:8.

However, one of these stars is less bright than the others, and at night most people can only see six of them. The story of a lost seventh Pleiad (sister), is a universal theme on Earth.   We find the lost Pleaid myth in European, African, Asian, Native American and Aboriginal Australian lore.

“THE LOST PLEIAD FOUND”

Earlier in this story we saw how delegate William Smith kept a journal on the Alabama Secession Convention.  He concluded the journal with a poem, entitled “The Lost Pleiad Found.”  Here it is:

“Long years ago, at night, a female starFled from amid the Spheres, and through the spaceOf Ether, onward, in a flaming car,Held, furious, headlong, her impetuous race:She burnt her way through skies; the azure hazeOf Heaven assumed new colors in her blaze;Sparklets, emitted from her golden hair,Diffused rich tones through the resounding air;The neighboring stars stood mute, and wondered whenThe erring Sister would return again:Through Ages still they wondered in dismay;But now, behold, careering on her way,The long-lost PLEIAD! lo! she takes her placeOn ALABAMA’S FLAG, and lifts her RADIANT FACE!”

A lone star, in an azure sky, Alabama’s proud Confederate flag.  Azure being a bright blue, we know the flag was gold and blue, as depicted in the flag in Liberty’s hand in the Alabama Secession Flag.

This basic pattern was a familiar to Southerners.  It has taken on various forms, including that of the Bonnie Blue Flag.

The Bonnie Blue has a white star on a blue background.  It is the first recorded use of a lone star flag in the South, and dates to 1810.  At that time there was a Spanish province called West Florida, made up of parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.   West Florida declared its independence from Spain in September of 1810, and became part of the U.S. one month later.  Carrying a blue flag with a single, five-pointed star, citizen forces captured Baton Rouge without loss to themselves, and imprisoned the Spanish governor.

The Bonnie Blue flag was well known to the populations in or near the old territory of West Florida, including Alabama, and was to become a popular rebel flag.

In early 1861, the Bonnie Blue flew over the capital building in Jackson, Mississippi, inspiring the southern patriotic song – “The Bonnie Blue Flag,” composed by Harry McCarthy.  From what we can tell, this song was almost as popular as “Dixie” among Southern troops.  Here is the first verse of that song:

We are a band of brothersAnd native to the soil,Fighting for the propertyWe gained by honest toil;And when our rights were threatened,The cry rose near and far–“Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue FlagThat bears a single star!”

A chorus of the song speaks of the first states to secede:

First gallant South Carolina

nobly made the stand

Then came Alabama

and took her by the hand.

Next, quickly Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida

All raised on high the Bonnie Blue Flag

that bears a single star.

There is no doubt that the Bonnie Blue was flying in many locations in Alabama at the time of secession, as it was in other Southern states.  We can see how Alabama might have adopted the Bonnie Blue, but in what form?

We have indications that Alabama was using a yellow or gold star, not a white one.  One of these clues is the color of the star on the Alabama Republic flag above, which appears to have been yellow or gold.  This color is also suggested by Smith’s use of the lost Pleiad’s “golden hair” in his sonnet about the flag.  The Seven Sisters of Greek mythology are traditionally portrayed with darker hair, in keeping with their Mediterranean heritage.

The likely design of the Confederate Flag of Alabama at secession, the Alabama flag of independence, had a single golden star on a blue field.  We can be sure that the shades of color and dimensions of the flag widely varied, as certainly did the star’s size.  But the basic appearance would have been as described above.

The Convention itself had an official status, and the members of the Convention knew what the Alabama flag was.  Had we been standing in the streets of Montgomery on the 11^th of January, 1861, we would have seen flags with a lone star on a blue field – or been waving them ourselves.  This was the accepted flag of Alabama at the time of secession, regardless of its unofficial status in the eyes of our modern authorities.

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