8 Facts About the Confederate Flag You Didn’t Know About

You see the Confederate flag whipping back and forth in the wind, and your heart leaps, as you immediately feel a connection to it.

You’re not the only person who feels this way.

Research shows that 17% of Black people view the Confederate flag as a symbol of Southern pride, and 66% of white people embrace “Old Dixie” in this way.

The flag lives on. If you’re curious about the Rebellion, here are eight facts about the Confederate flag you may have never known.

This flag became the Confederacy’s first official flag after the Confederacy was created in the early part of 1861.

A special committee was charged with designing the flag. Although one approach was to develop a flag that mirrored the United States’ flag at that time, another approach was to produce a completely different flag. A variety of designs ended up being used to represent the Confederacy in the following years.

1. The Flag Started Out with an “X” Design

The flag’s first version featured a large blue “X” dotted with 13 white stars, all on a red background. The 13 states represented by the stars were South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

This was a Christian flag and the X design was a throwback to the St. Patrick Flag.  However, this version was flown for just two years.  Why?

Because soldiers on the Civil War’s two sides frequently confused the “Stars and Bars” of the Confederate flag with the “Stars and Stripes” of the Union flag. And this, of course, led to confusion on the battlefield.

Another reason for the design change is that the Congress of the Confederacy was simply unhappy with it, as they craved a flag that they felt was “more Confederate.”

As a result, in May of 1863, a second Confederate flag was introduced that integrated the banner of the Northern Virginia Army, led by General Robert E. Lee, with a white plane. It got its name — “The Stainless Banner” — from the white midsection present on the banner.

Then, in 1865, a third flag was unveiled that added a red-colored bar at the edge of the flag. It’s this red bar that led the flag to be called “The Blood-Stained Banner.”

Not many third version flags were produced prior to Lee’s surrender to Union troops in April of that year.

The good news is that the various versions of the Confederate flag are available today for purchase. Shop now to find the perfect flag to showcase with pride or keep in your personal collection of historical items.

2. Some State Laws Protect the Flag

Specifically, five states feature laws designed to protect the banner of the Confederacy: South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida.

In other words, if you decide to deface this flag in any of these states, you’ll receive the same punishment you’d receive for defacing the state flag or the American flag.

3. The Flag Is Still Part of the official State Flag of Mississippi… until a new one is proposed and approved that is.

South Carolina recently bowed to vocal public pressure to remove the Confederate banner from the state capitol. However, until just recently, Mississippi kept using the flag of the Confederacy on the state flag of Mississippi.

Back in 2001, the state did go through a period where efforts were made to change its flag. These efforts, though, failed, as flag proponents saw the flag as an important part of the state’s achievements and history.

To this day, students in school learn not only the United States banner fledge but also the Mississippi banner pledge. What will become of the official Mississippi State Flag now? Designs are currently being worked on for approval.

4. The Flag Represented Resistance to the Federal Government

Back in 1948, a party known as the Dixiecrats adopted the flag of the Confederacy as its party’s flag.

The party, which promoted segregation but was short-lived, chose this flag because the party’s members supported states’ rights. And this is exactly what the states of the Confederacy pushed for at the time of the Civil War.

Unfortunately the mainstream media chooses to align the Confederate Flag with racism. However, racism was not the original true purpose and meaning of this flag.  Those who represent resistance to the Federal government still to this day fly the Confederate flag along with the Gadsden flag.

5. Confederate Flags and Slave Ships Didn’t Mix

Confederate flags from the South were never flown on slave ships.

Rather, New England, English, Dutch, and Portuguese ships were utilized in the trading of slaves.

6. The Majority of Americans Don’t See the Flag as a Racist Symbol

According to a CNN survey conducted back in 2015, over 50% of Americans did not view the flag as racist. Rather, most Americans viewed the banner as a powerful symbol of pride in the South.

These results no doubt surprised critics of the flag. However, the results were actually no different from those of a similar 2000 study examining people’s perceptions of the Confederate banner.

Nowadays, due to so much fake news being reported, it’s hard to tell what’s true and accurate in the mainstream media anymore. 1 thing is for sure though, many Americans have a strong sense of pride and love of the Confederate Flag. 

Within the last few months, millions of Americans across the nation have ordered Confederate Flags to show their support against Nascar banning it, Mississippi banning it, and the Federal government trying to ban it. 

7. Georgia’s Previous State Flag Is Strongly Tied to the Confederacy

Many Georgians have no clue that their state’s flag was actually the Confederacy’s first flag.

If you take a close look at the old Georgia flag, you’ll see a Georgia “Coat of Arms” emblazoned between stars. This is a spitting image of the Confederacy’s first flag.

8. The Flag Continues to Strongly Represent the South

The Confederacy’s flag remains an iconic symbol of the South — one that continues to instill strong feelings in both its opponents and its proponents.

No matter who says what, the Confederate Flag is a part of our history and cannot be erased.  What we, as Americans, should be focused on, is how to come together as 1 and ensure this part of our pledge stays true: “indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL.”

Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed our post. Please share our posts on social media with other proud Confederates.

Brought to you by: Ultimate Flags

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