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PART VIII. FLAGS AND SYMBOLS OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES
Unit Introduction:
In part
eight we briefly
examine the origins and background of Confederate flags and symbols, particularly
the most often misunderstood, maligned and frequently abused by non-heritage
causes, the "Southern Cross" which was found on
many battle flags.
From
1641, when Massachusetts first legalized slavery, until 1865, when the
Confederate struggle for independence ended, slavery was a legal institution in
America. The Confederate battle flag flew for 4 of those 224 years, but
the U.S. flag and its colonial predecessors flew over legalized slavery for ALL
of those 224 years. It was the U.S. flag that the slave first saw, and it was
the U.S. flag that flew on the mast of New England slaves ships as they brought
their human cargo to this country. It is clear, that those who attack the
Confederate flag as a reminder of slavery are overlooking the most guilty of all reminders of American slavery, the U.S. flag.
The following information is provided as a general guide to the flags of the
Confederate States of America. There were many variations in the flags and
particularly the battle flags. This chapter will provide good background information on
the CSA flags but cannot in the space provided cover all the variations, materials,
colors, and times of service. There are many works that focus just on the battle
flag variations and students are encouraged to review those works referenced.
We would also like to gratefully acknowledge Devereaux D. Cannon Jr.
and Greg Biggs for valuable information shared over the years within their
research and publications. A great deal of their work has been compiled
here, however certainly endorse the purchase of their works for the serious
student of Confederate flags to get the full and complete history.
Unit Objective: To develop an
awareness of the history behind the flags and symbols of the Confederate
States of America and to dispel myths about them being hateful or racist
in origin.
A.
Flags of the
Confederate States of America Government
National flags are those
that identify a nation. These flags were very important and a matter of great
pride to those citizens in the Confederate States of America. It is also a
matter of great pride for their ancestors as part of their heritage and history.
For the first 24 days, the Confederate government had no officially approved
flag. The capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama flew the State flag of
Alabama. When Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as President of the Confederacy,
the inaugural parade was led by a company of infantry carrying the State flag of
Georgia.
 History does not record
who made the first Georgia state flag, when it was made, what it looked like, or
who authorized its creation. Probably, the banner originated in one of the
numerous militia units that existed in antebellum Georgia.
In 1861, a new provision
was added to Georgia's code requiring the governor to supply regimental flags to
Georgia militia units assigned to fight outside the state. These flags were to
depict the "arms of the State" and the name of the regiment, but the
code gave no indication as to the color to be used on the arms or the flag's
background. In heraldry, "arms" refers to a coat of arms, which is the
prominent design--usually shown on a shield--located at the center of an
armorial bearing or seal. Arms usually appear on seals, but they are not
synonymous with seals.
Based on the best
available evidence, the flag at right is a reconstruction of the pre-1879 Georgia
state flag as it would have appeared using the coat of arms from the 1799
state seal.
 The Great Seal of the
Confederacy A committee on Flag and
Seal was appointed by the Provisional Congress, the chairman of the committee
was William P. Miles of South Carolina. Hundreds of flag designs were received
from all over the new nation and from the now foreign country of the United
States. There was an unwritten deadline for a flag design of 4 March 1861
because that was the day Lincoln was to be inaugurated president of the United
States. On that date the Confederate States were determined to fly a flag to
express their own sovereignty.
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There were 3 major
"official" flags of the Confederate nation from 1861 to 1865, but many
people only know of the "Battle Flag", which was not a national flag
at all.
 Bonnie
Blue Flag: On 9 January 1861 the
Convention of the People of Mississippi adopted an Ordinance of Secession and a
large blue flag with a single white star was raised over the capital building in
Jackson. Although the Confederate government did not adopt it, the people did.
Lone star flags, in one form or another, were adopted in five of the Confederate
States that adopted new flags in 1861.
 The First National
"The Stars and
Bars" (4
March 1861-1 May 1863)On the morning of 4 March
1861 large models of the proposed flags were hung on the walls of the
Congressional chamber. The First National Flag "The Stars and Bars"
was adopted on the same day it was to be raised over the capitol at Montgomery.
A flag made of soft merino wool was completed within two hours of its adoption
by the Congress. The very first flag of the Confederate States of America was
raised by Miss Letitia Christian Tyler, grand- daughter of President John Tyler.
Six weeks later it was flying over Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
The Original First National
Flag of the Confederacy can still be seen today at Beauvoir, which is the
Jefferson Davis Memorial and Shrine, located in Biloxi, Mississippi, on the Gulf
Coast Highway. It had 7 stars in a circle on a blue field, to represent the 7
states of the CSA. Later versions would have 11 stars and then eventually 13
stars as other states were admitted to the Confederacy. The bars consisted of
two red and one white.
In their hurry to adopt a
flag and have it ready the same afternoon, the Congress forgot to enact a flag
law. Nowhere in the statute books of the Confederate States is a Flag Act of
1861. In official use for over two years, the Stars and Bars was never
established as the Confederate Flag by the laws of the land. The Stars and Bars
flag was replaced in 1863 by the "Stainless Banner".
 The Second National
Flag "The
Stainless Banner" (1
May 1863-4 March 1865) William P. Miles, chairman
of the Flag and Seal Committee, was not satisfied with the "Stars and
Bars" as the Confederate National Flag. He wanted to get away from any flag
that resembled the Union flag, but the mood of the Confederate people and their
representatives in Congress, seemed to indicated that they wanted the
"Stars and Bars" to be their National Flag. As the war started to drag
on, the sentimental feelings for the "Stars and Bars" began to fade
away. More and more Confederate citizens came to see the flag of the United
States as a symbol of oppression and aggression.
In February 1862, the First
Congress of the Confederate States assembled in Richmond. The new members of
Congress reflected the changing feelings of the people toward the flag. One of
the first actions of the new Congress was to appoint a new Joint .
Committee on Flag and Seal
with instructions to consider and propose a new Confederate Flag. On 19 April
1862 the committee submitted its report to both Houses of Congress. While the
debate over a new National Flag for the Confederate States of American was going
on, the Army of Northern Virginia had been engaged in several battles under its
Battle Flag. A great amount of Confederate blood was spilled under the Battle
Flag. Because of this members of Congress, and the citizens of the Confederacy,
wanted the Battle Flag incorporated into the CSA National Flag as a way of
paying respect to the Confederate Soldiers that were wounded and killed fighting
for the new nation's freedom and independence. Senate Bill No. 132 was put into
formal language by Representative Peter W. Gray of Houston, Texas. This bill was
passed on to the senate and passed with very little debate. Later that same day
President Davis signed the bill and gave the new flag to the Confederate States
of America. The new flag became official on the 1st of May 1863.
This second National
Confederate Flag was referred to as the "Stainless Banner" because of
its pure white field, and was said to represent the purity of the cause which it
represented. One of the first uses for the new flag was to drape the coffin of
General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. General Jackson as he lay in
state in the Confederate House of Representatives on 12 May 1863. By the order
of President Davis, his coffin was draped with the first of the new National
Confederate flags to be manufactured. This very first "Stainless
Banner" is now on display in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond.
Because of its use on General Jackson's coffin the new flag is at times referred
to as the "Jackson Flag". The Second National Flag was replaced by the
Third National Flag in 1865.
 Third National Flag
(4 March 1865-Present) In 1863 congress had argued
that "the white flag would not be taken for a flag of truce as it was
patterned after the old French Bourbon Flag", but the Stainless Banner flag
had been considered by many as looking too much like a flag of truce, the CSA
Navy in particular. As a result the flag was often manufactured with a shorter
fly length in order to minimize the white field.
A new flag bill was
introduced to the Confederate States Senate on 13 December 1864. Senator Thomas
J. Semmes of Louisiana introduced Senate Bill No. 137 with the statement that
"naval officers objected to the present flag, that in a calm looked like a
flag of truce". Much consideration followed the introduction of this bill,
including consultations with high ranking officers of both the Confederate navy
and army. The senate passed Bill No. 137 on 5 February 1865 on to the house,
which also passed it on 27 February 1865. It was signed into law by President
Davis on 4 March 1865. The last flag of the Confederacy would be similar to the
Stainless Banner, except that the Fly end would have a Red Bar for the last 25%
of the flags length.
Unlike existing war flags
of the earlier patterns, there are very few survivors of the 1865 version as it
was approved so late in the war. Many of the ones that do exist are actually the
1863 Stainless Banner with the fly shortened and a red bar added to the flag.
B. Origin of The Confederate Battle Flag
 CSA Battle Flag "The
Southern Cross" It was at the Battle of First Manassas, about four o’clock of
the afternoon of the 21st of July, 1861, when the fate of the Confederacy seemed
trembling in the balance, that Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.)
Beauregard, looking across the Warrenton turnpike, which passed through the
valley between the position of the Confederates and the elevations beyond
occupied by the Union line, saw a body of soldiers moving toward his
left, and the Union right.
 He was greatly concerned to know, but could not decide, what
troops they were, whether U.S. or Confederate. The similarity of uniform and of
the colors carried by the opposing armies, and the clouds of dust, made it
impossible to decide. The unknown troops continued to press on. The day was
sultry, and only at long intervals was there the slightest breeze. The colors of
the mysterious column hung drooping on the staff. General Beauregard tried again
and again to decide what colors they carried. He used his field glasses
repeatedly. General Beauregard was now in a state of great anxiety, but finally
determined to hold his ground, relying on the promised help from the right,
knowing that if it arrived in time victory might be secured, but feeling also
that if the mysterious column should be Union troops the day was lost.
Suddenly a puff of wind spread the colors to the breeze. It was the Confederate
flag , the Stars and Bars! It was Confederate General Jubal Early with the 24th
Virginia, the 7th Louisiana, and the 13th Mississippi.
It was while on this field and suffering this terrible anxiety,
General Beauregard determined that the Confederate soldier must have a flag so
distinct from the enemy that no doubt should ever again endanger his cause on
the field of battle. Soon after the battle General Beauregard entered into
correspondence with Colonel William Porcher Miles, who had served on his staff
during this day, with a view to securing his aid in the matter.
 General Beauregard complained to Johnston, so the
commanding General ordered the troops to use their state flags for recognition.
But there were not enough of these state flags for all the regiments. At right is a
sample rendition of one of the South Carolina State Flags, circa 1861.
There are reports of the backgrounds of various state flags being blue, red or
white. Blue was considered the most common.
The proposed battle flag was designed by General Beauregard and
was discussed at length between the two men. A meeting was subsequently held
with General Joseph E. Johnston (a German). who approved of the design, to make
a drawing of the flag. Meeting at Fairfax Courthouse (the headquarters of
General Beauregard) Beauregard and his officers agreed on the famous old banner
patterned after the Cross of Saint Andrew with the field of red, the blue cross,
and white stars. The flag was then submitted to the War Department and was
approved.
General Beauregard asked Congress to change the 1st
National Flag. Instead Congressman Miles suggested that the Army adopt a
distinctive battle flag for its own use. The design that Miles urged the army to
use was one that he had originally submitted to be the national flag of the
confederacy but was rejected. The Generals liked the red flag with the blue
cross and white stars but felt a square flag would be more convenient for
military use. In November 1861 the first battle flags were issued to regiments.
This flag is referred to as the "Southern Cross". It had 12 total
stars, 11 stars for the states currently in the CSA and one for Missouri, which
had seceded, but was not yet admitted to the Confederacy.
The first flags were made of silk which did not last
very long exposed to the harsh weather conditions the army had to live in. Many
of these flags faded to a pale reddish pink color. Army of Northern Virginia (Army of Northern Virginia
)
silk flags were used into 1863 by some units. Two were lost at Gettysburg for
example. Their borders were yellow and the hoist edge a blue sleeve. The next
flag issue was the Army of Northern Virginia cotton flags, also of 12 stars. These were made in April,
1862 and given to three brigades as a stop gap measure. The next issue of this
flag in 1862 was made of heavy English wool bunting. They would now proclaim 13
stars for 13 states.
The first wool bunting flags were made
in May 1862, Second Wool bunting flags in June (both with orange borders) and
Third Wool bunting flags (with white borders for the first time) from July 1862
until May 1864. Fourth Wool bunting flags (these were the only ones that were 51
inches square) came in June 1864 with later bunting issues beginning in October
through March 1865. The Army of Northern Virginia flew 9 variants of their battle flag during the war.
 Some
of the regimental flags would have the regimental designation painted in gold on
the blue cross above and below the central star. The regimental battle honors
were painted in blue on the red field of the flag. Further researchers point out
that most Army of Northern Virginia flags were unmarked by honors or unit designations. Only those
units in the 1863 divisions of D. H. Hill, A. P. Hill and Edward Johnson (issued
April, May and September 1863 respectively) had flags done with the gold letters
over the center stars and blue
 honors on the field. Pickett's Division received
flags in June 1863 with white painted unit designations on their fields. Some
brigades, like Cox's North Carolina Brigade, Kershaw's South Carolina Brigade and a few others had their
own flags done in particular manners, most with honors only, either painted on
the flag in white or blue letters or sewn on strips.
Battle Flags used on land by Confederate troops were
usually in three sizes:
INFANTRY FLAG: This flag was the largest size a 48
inches to a square side.
ARTILLERY FLAG: This flag was the middle size. 36
inches to a square side
CAVALRY FLAG: This flag was the smallest size. 30
inches to a square side
These measurements include the borders which were folded over the exterior of
the field of the flag. In May through September, 1863 the infantry flags were
only about 45 inches square to save scarce imported bunting. Also in many cases
the artillery used infantry sized flags.
The different sizes of the flags made it easier for the
commanders to not only tell what combat unit was where, but it also told the
commander what type of unit it was. The Battle Flag was always in front of the
regiment. This way the soldiers in the regiment always knew where they were to
be. Should a soldier ever be separated from his unit, all he had to do was look
for his regiment's flag.
It was indeed the intent of Generals Beauregard and
Johnston to permeate the Army of Northern Virginia flag all over the South in the field armies but
both men met resistance from commands in other areas that had already created
their own distinctive battle flags and so their efforts were mixed in terms of
results.
 The Armies of Tennessee, Mississippi, the states
departments, and the Trans-Mississippi Department all had variations on size,
shape color and markings on its battle flags. Many CSA battle flags were created
by other unit commanders for the same reasons the Army of Northern Virginia
flag was, to settle
battlefield confusion. General Leonidas Polk, an Episcopal bishop, created his flag (a St. George's cross) in 2
versions for his corps; General Hardee's Corps used the famous "moon"
flag of a white device (circle, oval or rectilinear, depending on when issued)
on a blue field (the flag was actually invented by General Simon Bolivar Buckner);
General Braxton Bragg's
Corps used flags inspired by the Army of Northern Virginia flag but with 12 six-pointed stars on it;
Breckenridge's Corps used First Nationals well into 1863 as their battle flags;
Bowen's Missouri Division used blue flags with red borders and a white Latin
cross on it; Van Dorn's Army of the West used a Middle Eastern looking flag with
a red field, either yellow or white stars and borders.
As for flags inspired by the Army of Northern Virginia
flag, The Army of
Tennessee (Army of Tennessee ) flag of 1864 was supposed to be square also like the
Army of Northern Virginia (as per
Johnston's orders to the Atlanta Depot) but the depot goofed and they came back
rectangular. The flags of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi & East
Louisiana ( the command unit for Polk's Army of Mississippi, Forrest's Cavalry
Corps and others) were also slightly rectangular but with only 12 stars. These
were made in Mobile by contractors Jackson Belknap and to a lesser extent James
Cameron. Neither flag had colored borders. The flags of the Department of South
Carolina, Florida and Georgia were also Army of Northern Virginia flag inspired but were built
differently. These square flags were made by the Charleston Depot and began
showing up in April 1863. They can be discerned easily from Army of Northern Virginia
flags by their
wider cross and colored pole sleeves of red or blue (Army of Northern Virginia
flags were tied to the
poles).
 Other
Army of Northern Virginia inspired flags, both square and rectangular
appeared in ad hoc situations in the west and Trans-Mississippi theaters. The
most unique were the flags of General John G. Walker's Texas Division issued in 1864. These
were square, blue flags with red St. Andrews crosses and 13 stars. Other battle
flags bore no resemblance to anything else previously known but contained
usually a device that was prominent to the troops that carried them.
All three national flags
also served as unit battle flags, particularly in the West and Trans-Mississippi theaters. The First National flag, despite being changed officially
in May 1863, was actually the only Confederate flag pattern that saw battle use from the
beginning to the end of the war. Examples were taken at Appomattox, in North
Carolina, and in battles of the 1864 campaigns.
Flags were carried into
the field by COLOR BEARERS. And surrounded by a COLOR GUARD. The man carrying
the flag could not use a weapon to defend the flag or himself, so an armed guard
was provided to defend the flag and barrier from attack or capture by the enemy.
It was considered a great honor to be appointed to a position of such great
responsibility. Being in the COLOR GUARD was also a great honor and
responsibility. The COLOR barrier had to hold the flag up straight even in a
strong wind.
C. Parts of the Battle Flag
The "HOIST" of a flag is the front side of the
flag that is attached to a line so the flag can be hoisted up a flag pole or
staff, or the mast of a ship.
The "FLY" of a flag is the length of the flag.
It's called a FLY because it flies in the breeze.
The "FLY END" of a flag in the end furthest
away from the flag pole or staff, or the mast of a ship.
The "BORDER" of the flag is the fabric that is
around the outside edge of the flag. It is used to keep the fabric of the flag
from fraying. In this illustration the BORDER is white. Not all flags of the
same kind had the same color BORDER. Not all flags have a BORDER.
The "FIELD" of the flag is the main
(background) color of the flag. In this example the FIELD is red with a white
border.
The "FIMBRATION" of the flag is the narrow
white strip between the blue SALTIER and the red FIELD of the flag. This
FIMBRATION was used because the rules of heraldry prohibit the use of color on
color. It is used to separate the colors. of the flag.
The "SALTIER" of the flag is the large blue X
on the flag. It is also know as the Southern Cross, the Greek Cross and the
Cross of St. Andrew.
The "MULLETT" of
the flag is another name for STAR. In this example the MULLETTS on the flag are
the white stars on the blue SALTIER. The
Confederate First National flag shows you what the flag's CANTON is. It is that
area of the flag that has the circle of white MULLETTS on the blue background.
D. Some Battle Flag
Variations-Southern Cross type
(Note: Most illustrations are from Mr.
Cannon's
book and are intended here for educational use only, and not for
commercial reproduction.)
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12 Star Battle Flag: Several
of these styles of Battle Flags were used in the Western Theater.
These flags were larger than most of the Confederate Infantry flags
as they are about 60" square.
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Army of Northern Virginia Battle Flag #2: This is a
sample of a 2nd Bunting issue early in 1862 with thirteen stars. The
Richmond Clothing Depot had a large quantity of orange material that was
used to border the flag on its upper, lower, and fly edges. Other issues
had yellow as shown here. The hoist edge was white.
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Army of Tennessee:
Similar
in design to the Army of Northern Virginia Battle Flag except the Army of Tennessee
flag is rectangular.
Average dimensions were 36 x 52 inches. Artillery flags
were smaller averaging 30 x 42 inches. General Joseph E. Johnston tried to
standardize the Army of Tennessee flags in use by issuing flags along this design in
March and April 1864. |
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Bragg's Corps, Army of
Mississippi-Pattern #1: Prior to Shiloh each of the Corps
commanders of the Army of of Mississippi (later called the Army of
Tennessee) were issued separate and distinctive Battle Flags. (Hardee,
Bragg, Polk, and Breckenridge).
Bragg's Corps flags had a
distinctive wide pink border. The flags were a little taller than wider,
(about 48 x 45) with twelve six pointed stars (at least one exception had
five pointed stars). These flags were used by most of Bragg's troops at
Shiloh.
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Bragg's Corps, Army of Mississippi-Pattern #2: The
second issue of the Bragg's Corps flag was a rectangle pattern. This
second pattern flag flew through the Battle of Missionary Ridge in 1863.
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Shelby's Missouri Brigade,
Trans-Mississippi Department: A silk Battle Flag that is bordered in white
with red silk fringe. General Shelby did not surrender his division in
1865. Instead he led approximately 200 men, who did not chose to be
reconstructed, across Texas toward their destination of Mexico. On 4 July
1865, General Shelby's men had reached the Rio Grande River. He had his
men weight their flags down with rocks and sink them in the river and they
left Texas soil. One flag survives today as it was rescued and hidden by
one of the soldiers who could not leave it behind.
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General Richard
Taylor Battle Flag, Trans-Mississippi Department:
This is often called a "reversal" flag due to the coloration.
General Taylor flew this flag in operations in West Louisiana in 1864 and
1865. Several Texas regiments are known to have flown similar flags.
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Western Theater,
Trans-Mississippi Department: A common flag
with many slight variations of the Trans-Mississippi
Department, especially with Texas cavalry regiments.
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E. Additional Confederate Military Flags
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1st
Confederate Naval Jack (4 March 1861-26 May
1863)The jack was flown from a "jack staff" located on the bow of a
ship, and was only flown when the ship was in port. The Naval Jack
denoted the ship was a ship of war |
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2nd
Confederate Naval Jack (27 May 1863-present) .
The naval regulations of 1863 adopted the new National Ensign and
also adopted a new Naval Jack. It was to be the same as the
regimental battle flags, except its length was to be one and a half
times its width. The Naval jack of 1863 is very much like the Battle
Flag of several units of the Army of Tennessee. |
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Cherokee
Braves, Trans-Mississippi Department:
This special flag's history commemorated the signing
of a treaty with the Cherokee Nation on 7 October 1861. This is a
"Stars and Bars" variation. A cluster of five red stars was added to
represent the five "Civilized" Indian Nations which were aligned
with the Confederacy. There is a similar flag that survives which
was flown by the First Cherokee Mounted Rifles.
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Choctaw
Brigade, Trans-Mississippi Department:
This was another Confederate Indian flag on a blue
field were found a red disk, edged in white. In white silhouette on
the red disk were represented traditional weapons of the Choctaw
Nation. These were the bow, arrow, and a tomahawk.
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General Cleburne's Division, Hardee's Corps,
Army of Tennessee: The regiments of
Cleburne's division had fought with the blue battle flags of
Hardee's Corps. When Johnston decreed a new battle flag for the
regiments of the Army of Tennessee in 1864, Cleburne protested. He
won the right for his division to be exempted from the order.
General Cleburne ordered fresh flags of the Hardee type to reequip
his division. These new flags however, featured painted battle
honors in white on a medium blue field. The oval disc of the
dark-blue Hardee flags became a smaller square with rounded corners.
Many regiments printed their designation in this rounded square. |
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Department of East Tennessee:
This 1862 flag featured the St. Andrew's cross. This flag, seeing
significant fighting, was quickly superceded by the more dominant
Corps designs of the Army of Tennessee. These flags were somewhat
crudely made and marked. This flag was seen as late as December 1862
at the battle Murfreesboro. |
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General Hardee's Corps, Army of Tennessee:
This was the distinctively designed Battle Flag of the troops under
General William J. Hardee's command. It was flown from the battle of
Shiloh in 1862 until just after the battle of Missionary Ridge. The
round disk was later changed to an oval and even some oval shapes
that resembled a square with rounded shoulders (Cleburne's
Division). Often the regiments would paint their unit designation on
the disk and their battle honors on the blue field or on the white
border.
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3rd Kentucky Mounted
Infantry: This
was another of the Christian Confederate flag themes. A blue field
with a red Roman cross, with white five point stars placed in the
cross.
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"Missouri" Battle
Flag, Trans-Mississippi Department:
This flag was found almost
exclusively with Missouri regiments in the Department, and that is
why it is often called the "Missouri" Battle Flag. The flag was blue
bordered with red with a white Roman cross near the hoist of the
flag.
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General Dabney Maury's
Headquarters Flag. This flag was used for a time by General Maury,
Department of the Gulf, at his headquarters in Mobile, AL from
around 1863- the capture of the city in late in the war.
Another example of the Christian theme and principles emulated by
the Confederate Armies.
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General Robert E.
Lee's Headquarters Flag, Army of Northern Virginia.
The cotton and wool
bunting flag was used by Robert E. Lee during the early part of the
War. It flew only over stationary camps, not on the battlefield. At
the end of the War the
flag was found stored with the Confederate War Department's records,
packed among captured Federal colors. It is possible that the flag,
or at least its odd star arrangement, was produced by the general's
wife.
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General Leonidas
Polk's Corps, Army of Tennessee: The Confederate General
and Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana chose this Battle Flag. The
Episcopal Church flag is a red cross of St. George. It is featured
as the central device in Polk's Corps flag. The is a white
fimbriation to separate the cross from the blue field and white
stars representing the Confederate states are placed on the red
cross.
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Sons of Erin, 10th
Tennessee Infantry CSA: An Irish Brigade formed in Nashville. The
words "Go Where Glory Waits You" are on the lower ribbon. Also
known as the "Bloody 10th" for the heavy losses it sustained in the
fighting at Ft. Donaldson. Most are familiar with the role of Irish
troops in the Northern army, but less is known about Irish troops in
Confederate service. The entire regiment at this time was furnished with
new uniforms by Lt. Col. McGavock, who was the former mayor of
Nashville. The uniforms were carefully described by Private Jimmy Doyle
in his diary, which has been preserved. Although the 10th Tennessee was
considered one of the best equipped regiments in the war's Western
Theater, its troops were armed at this time with flintlock muskets from
the War of 1812.
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General
Van Dorn's Corp, Trans-Mississippi Department:
This western theater
flag had a red field adorned with thirteen white stars
arranged in five rows, with a white crescent in the upper
corner. The flags were bordered in yellow and/or white. Used
at the Battle of Coritnth, MS, October 1862.
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Unit References and Resources:
- "The Flags of the
Confederacy, An Illustrated History" by Devereaux D. Cannon Jr.
- "Flags of the Confederacy Website
http://www.ConfederateFlags.org
- " The Flag Of The
Confederate States Of America" Southern Historical Society
Papers. Vol. XXXVIII. Richmond, Va., January-December. 1910
- "Flags Over Georgia" Georgia Office of the
Secretary of State
- "Flags of the American Civil War:
Confederate" by Philip Katcher, Rick Scollins
- "Flags of the American Civil War: State and
Volunteer", by Philip Katcher, Rick Scollins
- "The Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of
Tennessee" by Howard Michael Madaus
- "The Civil History Of The Confederate States" Confederate
Military History, Vol. 1
- "The Morale of the Confederate Armies-The Confederation Of
The Southern States", Confederate Military History, Vol. 12
Chapter X
- "Colours of the Gray", by Rebecca Ansell Rose
- "The Damned Red Flags of the Rebellion: The
Confederate Battle Flag at Gettysburg", by Richard Rollins
- "Embattled Banner: A Reasonable Defense of the
Confederate Battle Flag", by Don Hinkle
- "Rebel Flags Afloat: A Survey of the Surviving
Flags of the Confederate States Navy, Revenue Service, and Merchant
Marine", by Howard Madaus
- "The Returned Battle Flags", by Richard Rollins
-
- F. Heritage Preservation
Arguments Regarding Confederate Flags
The symbols of the Confederacy
and Confederate flags are under attack from groups in American.
The following Arguments 1 through 7 are
copyrighted (1996-1997 All Rights Reserved) by the Heritage Preservation
Association are shared by permission for educational purposes.
The Heritage Preservation Association has organized counter
attack arguments against those out to destroy Southern culture and its
symbols. Some arguments border on absurd and others appear on the
surface to have merit unless you take a minute to study a little deeper.
The most common arguments given for removing, changing or censoring a
Confederate symbols are here presented.
Immediately following each argument, is a logical response that
successfully refutes the argument, demonstrating why it usually fails in
its mission to convince.
Argument #1 "Since
the Ku Klux Klan fly the Confederate flag, it has become a symbol of
hatred, racism and intolerance. We cannot let our state
or school or
community, etc. project an
image of racism by flying a Confederate battle flag or something that
contains the Confederate battle flag."
First,
many in the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) do not fly the Confederate battle flag.
In fact, only a small number actually
 use a Confederate flag. However,
we are told that KKK bylaws require the U.S. flag and the Christian flag
to be present at every event. Most people are not aware that the largest
KKK membership is in the North and it has been that way since the early
1900s. Mr. Boyd Lewis, a Klan expert who spoke at DeKalb College in
Atlanta, states that at the height of Klan power, "Indiana had the
largest Klan population with over 2 million members between 1915-1916,"
(71). Most KKK groups prefer to use a U.S. flag or a Christian flag, yet
oddly enough, no one is calling for the permanent censorship of those
symbols! (at left is KKK 1920 in Washington DC.)
Americans have
been programmed, by the liberal media, into believing that the KKK is
only a "Southern Thing" and that only Southern symbols must pay for the
Klan's transgressions. A free-lance photographer and friend once related
with frustration at how the newspapers never buy or use his photographs
if they show the Klan carrying a U.S. flag. "They only want to use the
photographs that show a Confederate flag." Based on the magnitude of
media bias that would have us believe the Confederate flag and the Klan
go hand-in-hand, although incorrect, it is understandable why people
have the perceptions they do. However, those perceptions are based on
false information, and it is the perception that must be changed, not
the symbol that has been victimized by the perception.
At one
time, man had the perception that the earth was flat. This was because
his eyes were giving his brain false information, which was also fed by
the many stories told and retold by sailors at sea. However, once we
acquired accurate geographical information, we were forced to change our
perception and accept the fact that the earth was not flat, but round.
We must likewise change our false perceptions of Confederate symbols as
being symbols of the Klan, when it truth, they are not.
Second,
the use of a symbol by a person or group, does not convey the
characteristics of that person or group to that symbol. For example,
Malcolm X and the nation of Islam were indisputably, the black
equivalent of David Duke and the Klan. Both lived and preached racial
hatred. Both claimed to have found religion and converted. If the
Confederate flag symbolizes the Klan's white racism against blacks, then
we must interpret the "X" of Malcolm X, emblazoned on the clothes of
many black consumers, as being symbolic of Malcolm X's black racism
against whites. Intolerance of one symbol insures the intolerance of the
other.
-
-
Argument #2
"Confederate
symbols represented history at one time, but Confederate-Americans
have not acted to protect the sanctity of their symbols from use and
abuse by hate groups, thereby Southerners have forfeited their claim
to these symbols."
-
-
Southerners never willingly
gave up their symbols 130 years ago and the same is true today. The
abduction of our symbols by another group, does not constitute
forfeiture, especially when there is no recourse for preventing
their use by another group. Ironically, the same liberals who burn
and abuse the U.S. flag and Confederate flags, are the same ones who
work to overthrow the laws that are designed to protect those
symbols from abuse.
Even when the flag being abused is the
U.S. flag, the courts have ruled that laws against such abuse are
unconstitutional. If there is no recourse for protecting the U.S.
flag from abuse by hate groups, how can any flag be protected? If
the Nation of Islam marches with the black liberation flag, should
we assume that this flag now represents the same racism and
anti-Semitism espoused by this "hate group
Argument #3
"Confederate
symbols should not be honored because they are cruel reminders of the
by-gone era of slavery and slave-trade."
- Slavery was a legal
institution in this country for over 200 years. Africans were
brought here by northern slave traders to be used in northern
industry, long before the antebellum South or the Confederacy
ever existed. The first American colony to legalize slavery was
Massachusetts in 1641, only 17 years after the Pilgrims landed
at Plymouth Rock. "The slave trade became very profitable to the
shipping colonies and Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
and New Hampshire had many ships in the triangular trade," (72).
"The moral argument against slavery arose early in the New
England shipping colonies but it could not withstand the profits
of the trade and soon died out." (73).
 Thomas
Jefferson condemned the slave trade in the original draft of the
Declaration of Independence, but the New England slave traders
lobbied to have the clause stricken. In a short eleven year
period form 1755 to 1766, no fewer than 23,000 slaves landed in
Massachusetts. By 1787, Rhode Island had taken first place in
the slave trade to be unseated later by New York. Before long,
millions of slaves would be brought to America by way of
'northern' slave ships. After all, there were no Southern slave
ships involved in the triangular slave, it was simply too cruel.
William P. Cheshire, the senior editorial columnist for the
Arizona Republic recently noted, the New England Yankee who
brought slaves to America, "were interested in getting money,
not in helping their cargo make a fresh start in the New World."
He adds that northern slave ownership "isn't widely known -
American textbooks tend to be printed in Boston, not Atlanta -
but early New Englanders not only sold blacks to Southern
planters but also kept slaves for themselves as well as
enslaving the local Indian population," (74).
Slavery did
not appear in the deep South until northern settlers began to
migrate South, bringing with them their slaves. It was soon
discovered that while slaves were not suited to the harsh
climate and working conditions of the north, they were ideal
sources of cheap labor for the newly flourishing economy of the
agricultural South. Of the 9.5 million slaves brought to the
Western Hemisphere from 1500 - 1870, less than 6% were brought
to the United States. This means that our Hispanic, British and
French neighbors to the south owned over 94% of the slaves
brought to the New World. In the South, less than 7% of the
total population ever owned a slave. In other words, over 93% of
Southerners did not own any slaves, (75).
Attempts to
outlaw the slave trade in the north only increased the profits
of smuggling. In 1858, only two years prior to the birth of the
Confederacy, Stephen Douglas noted that over 15,000 slaves had
been smuggled into New York alone, with over 85 vessels sailing
from New York in 1859 to smuggle even more slaves. Perhaps it
was their own guilt that drove the abolitionists of the day to
point an accusing finger at the South, while closing their eyes
to the slavery and the slave trade taking place in their own
back yards.
For more than 200 years, northern slave
traders mad enormous profits that furnished the capitol for
future investments into mainstream industries. Who is more
responsible for slavery in America, the Southern plantation
owner who fed and clothed his slaves, or the New England
"Yankee" slave trader who brought the slaves here in the first
place?
From 1641, when Massachusetts first legalized
slavery, until 1865, when the Confederate struggle for
independence ended, slavery was a legal institution in America
that lasted over 224 years. The Confederate battle flag flew for
4 of those 224 years, but the U.S. flag and its colonial
predecessors flew over legalized slavery for ALL of those 224
years. It was the U.S. flag that the slave first saw, and it was
the U.S. flag that flew on the mast of New England slaves ships
as they brought their human cargo to this country. It is clear,
that those who attack the Confederate flag as a reminder of
slavery are overlooking the most guilty and hateful of all
reminders of American slavery, the U.S. flag.
- Bibliography:
- 72. The Concise
Dictionary of American History, (Scribner & Sons), p.876
73.
Ibid
74. The Arizona Republic, June 11, 1995
75. Rober
William Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman, Time on the Cross - The
Economics of American Negro Slavery (New York: Norton, 1974),
p.14
Argument #4 “Confederate
symbols should not be tolerated because they represent a government that
fought a war to keep blacks in bondage and to preserve the institution
of slavery.”
-
 This
is one of the most commonly used arguments against Confederate
symbolism and on of the easiest to prove false. Everyone knows
that the South (and the North) had slavery until 1865. The north
had slavery at least until 1866, due to some holdouts like Union
General Ulysses S. Grant who refused to give up his slaves until
the passage of the 13th Amendment.
Prior to 1866, slavery
was completely legal. The Supreme Court had ruled favorably on
the legality and constitutionality of slavery. Presidents
Buchanan and Lincoln both promised many times, that they would
not interfere with the practice of slavery. New laws were
recently put on the books protecting slave owners from loss of
slave property due to theft or runaways. Add to that, the fact
that the Confederate states constituted the fifth wealthiest
region in the world. The slave owning states had all of these
things and more. So why on earth would Southern states secede
from the United States? Surely, no one believes that the South
would have left the security of the Union and gone to fight a
war for something they already had! Countries do not fight wars
for the things they have, they fight wars to obtain the things
they do not have.
To emphasize how safe the institution
of slavery was, let's look at what it would have taken to
eliminate it. Since slavery was enshrined in the U.S.
Constitution, it would require a constitutional amendment and
that is very difficult to achieve. Two-thirds of the House and
Senate must agree to the amendment and then three-fourths of all
the states must vote to ratify the amendment before it can
become part of the U.S. Constitution. This simply would never
have happened as long as the Southern states stayed in the
Union! That's right, with the South in the Union, the northern
and Southern slave states would have voted down any attempt to
amend the Constitution, thereby guaranteeing that the
institution of slavery could continue almost indefinitely. So
you see, it is quite easy to prove that the South did not secede
and fight a war to maintain slavery, an institution they already
possessed.
What the South did not have was financial
freedom. Southerners were slaves to the industrial demands of
the north, just as blacks were slaves to the agricultural
demands of the South. Growth potential was severely limited in
the South, so long as the north continued to levy heavy tariffs
on things that Southerners needed to purchase and heavy taxes on
those things that Southerners produced. In the words of South
Carolina senator John C. Calhoun in 1850, "The north has adopted
a system of revenue and disbursements, in which an undue
proportion of the burden of taxation has been imposed on the
South, and an undue proportion of its proceeds appropriated to
the north ... The South as the great exporting portion of the
Union has, in reality, paid vastly more than her due proportion
of the revenue,"(76). Unfair taxation drove Americans to war
with Britain in 1775 and against each other in 1861. History is
quite clear on this point.
Bibliography:
- 76. John C. Calhoun,
"Speech on the Slavery Question," March 4, 1850 in Edwin
Rozweus., The Causes of the Civil War (Boston 1961), p. 4
Argument #5 “Since Confederate
symbols were erected and raised in defiance of court ordered integration
during the 1950's and 60', they should be removed."
This argument goes hand-in-hand
with those who try to portray the 1950's, especially in the South, as a
decade of hate. This approach was popular with "civil rights" groups in
Georgia as well as the liberal media. The Georgia state flag, for
example, was changed in 1956. Those who want the flag changed today,
claim that the current state flag was established as a slap in the face
of court ordered integration, even though records indicate otherwise.
 Integration
was ordered by the courts in 1952. If Georgia legislators were angry
over integration, it would not have taken them four years to change the
Georgia flag. If defiance had been the reason for the flag's change, it
would have been changed the very same day as the court decision! After
all, opposing integration in the 1950's was a popular position to hold,
and it earned votes for politicians, both in the north and the South.
The formula for providing quality education has always been an
illusive one with many variables. In the 1950's, some of those variables
discussed by the members of the state legislatures in the north and the
South included teacher salaries, improved curriculum, funding for new
schools and integration. Any state whose elected officials did not
thoroughly debate how court ordered integration might effect quality
education was done a serious disservice.
Yes, debates over
segregation and integration took place during the 1950's, but the timing
of those debates was chosen by the civil rights movement and not by the
defenders of segregation who would have preferred that the debates never
occur at all. Had the courts ordered integration 50 years earlier or 50
years later, the 1950's would have still been a decade of heritage not
hate.
In the 1950's and especially the South, a nationwide
preparation for the "Civil War Centennial" had begun. This event would
include many states with activities spanning several years. The 1996
Olympics in Atlanta paled in comparison to the celebration surrounding
the historic centennial event.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
issued a special proclamation calling on all state and federal employees
to take part in the festivities. The Postal Service issued a special set
of stamps to commemorate the event. Knowing that many visitors coming to
the South would take guided tours, hundreds and thousands of historic
markers were also placed throughout the 1950's in many states.
The decade of the 1950's saw an enormous outpouring of Southern
awareness that had its beginnings in the late 1930's with the incredible
success of Margaret Mitchell's novel, "Gone With The Wind" and its
subsequent movie premier in Atlanta. Hailed as an overwhelming success,
this classic and moving story of the South's struggle for independence
and then survival, continues to serve as an inspiration to millions of
Americans today.
Argument #6 "Confederate flags
are un-American and they do not represent all Americans."
It is impossible to find a symbol
of a flag that will represent everyone. The most accurate polls to date
show that 87% of all Americans are not offended by Confederate
symbolism. Many Americans feel that they are best represented by a
Confederate flag.
Actions that appease 13% of our population
while disenfranchising 87% of our population, are not progressive or
democratic. Nor are they very savvy from a political point of view. When
You have a symbol that is as popular as the Confederate battle flag, the
best solution is to simply leave it alone.
Any person who claims
that Confederate flags are un-American needs a remedial course in
geography. "America" as we refer to it, consists of all 50 states, not
just those that exist in the north. Southerners are Americans and their
flags are American flags as well. A patriotic symbol is one that
represents freedom and virtue to its owner, not necessarily to others
who view the symbol.
If the Confederate battle flag makes you
feel patriotic and proud to be a Southern, then it is just as patriotic
to fly a Confederate flag at your home or place of business as it is to
fly the flag of the United States.
Argument #7 "What's the big
deal? It's only a flag. Besides, you have all of those monuments,
memorials, markers, etc. to remind you of the Confederacy - Can't we
find a compromise?"
-
 The
issue of whether to fly a Confederate battle flag is only the
"tip of the iceberg". We are now seeing children abused in
schools for wearing clothing with a portrait of Robert E. Lee,
Stonewall Jackson or a likeness of a Confederate symbol, not
only by roving gangs of black students, but by the
administrators as well. We have seen numerous efforts by various
groups to change street names, remove Confederate monuments,
censor the playing of Dixie (a song written by a Northerner) and
otherwise purge our society of an visible remembrances of
Southern Heritage.
The tactic employed by the NAACP on a
national level went like this. In one state, the NAACP would
claim it was only the flag they wanted to remove. In another
state, they would claim it was only a monument, or this, or
that, trying to minimize the importance of their claim by
contradicting or ignoring what the other NAACP spokesperson had
said. In other words, they would use any means necessary to
remove a Confederate symbol from its place of honor. The
Heritage Preservation Association was the first "national" civil
rights organization for Southern Heritage and we exposed this
ploy of the NAACP for what it was. This forced the NAACP to go
public with their true intentions in 1991 by stating it was
their goal to remove ALL Confederate symbols from public
property. No more lies. No more hidden agendas. It was now out
in the open!
At the state or local level, their tactic
was to strike with the absurd and then back off just enough to
give the appearance of a "willingness to compromise". This ploy
usually starts with a "civil rights" leader or group coming out
with ridiculous proposals for censoring Southern symbols,
knowing and expecting that these proposals will meet with
opposition. The to show their "charity" and "flexibility", they
offer a "compromise" that amounts to something less, but still
hideous in the eyes of those who must give something up.
 Civil
rights leaders in Georgia, for example, declared that the
Georgia state flag was not historic since it was only 35 or so
years old. They wanted the Georgia state flag removed, but as a
"compromise" they would allow it to be flown on special historic
days. While this may sound charitable and rational to those who
dislike Confederate symbols, it was unacceptable to everyone
else. The HPA mirrored their efforts by suggesting "in the
spirit of compromise" that the black community give up Martin
Luther King Holiday, Black History Month in public schools and
Kwaanza. For those unfamiliar with Kwaanza, it is a pagan
harvest ritual, claiming to have African roots and celebrated
during Christmas by a few blacks. It was invented only a decade
or so ago, so it really has no historical importance, and is
considered by many to be un-American. These civil rights leaders
became furious that we would suggest that they give up anything.
We were supposed to be grateful that they didn't start another
race riot like the one Atlanta witnessed during the Rodney King
fiasco. We flatly refused, and the media portrayed us, the
victims, as "unwilling to compromise".
In Danville VA, a
black city council woman complained that a Confederate flag was
flying in front of the "Last Capitol of the Confederacy Museum
and Memorial", so the city took it down. Apparently, Southerners
are not supposed to fly Confederate flags anymore, even at
Confederate museums. The flag had been flying approximately 250
days a year. A "compromise" was to fly the flag 23 days out of
the year and those days would not be known. HPA and local
residents were shocked and angry. A local HPA chapter was formed
and within a year, had worked to elect one of their own to the
city council. Knowing that HPA would replace them one-by-one,
the city council became frantic to find a solution that would
meet with HPA's approval. They did. There is now a Confederate
monument where none stood before, and we have our Confederate
flag proudly flying, not 23 days a year, or 250 days a year, but
365 days a year! Now that is what HPA calls compromise.
In South Carolina, we have another prime example of the dangers
of compromise. Civil rights leaders wanted the Confederate
battle flag removed from the State House dome in Columbia where
if flies underneath the U.S. and state flags. To counter this,
numerous "pro-Southern" leaders in other organizations
introduced yet another compromise that would remove the flag
from the dome and place it next to a monument on the capitol
grounds.
But the monument had already been the target of
the NAACP. In other words, these so-called leaders were willing
to reduce the visibility of a Confederate symbol, give the civil
rights leaders what they wanted by removing it from the State
House dome, and place it next to a monument targeted for removal
and in a location where it would surely be vandalized. The HPA
exposed this "compromise" as cowardly, unthinkable, and
unacceptable. Even after the flag was "compromised" and moved
the the Confederate monument on the statehouse grounds, the
NAACP continues it actions of economic terrorism against the
State of South Carolina.
We have learned over the years,
and through many attempts to negotiate a solution, that those
who attack Southern Heritage are themselves, unwilling to
compromise. They expect Southerners away their heritage, but
they are not willing to give them anything in return. If we
start giving in on any issue, then all symbols of the South will
gradually disappear. Compromise has become the gradual
dismantling of Southern Heritage - one symbol at a time.
-
- A simple test for the
worthiness of any offer to compromise is to determine the
resulting visibility of the Confederate symbol being challenged.
After all, a true compromise is where both sides win something
or both sides lose something. If one side wins and the other
loses, that, by definition, is not a compromise but a defeat.
Any solution that reduces the value, validity or visibility of a
Confederate symbol is not a compromise and therefore
unacceptable.
-
-
- Argument #8
"The
Confederacy committed treason when it seceded from and fought
against the Union. Why should we tolerate the symbols that serve
to glorify this treasonous regime?"
-
- Similar arguments have
been used for centuries when one regime seeks to purge the
symbols of a previous civilization. In Russia, "the urge to
purge" was all powerful as communist extremists, first under
Lenin and then Stalin began renaming, in their own honor, towns,
cities, streets, and other historic landmarks. Old monuments and
memorials were destroyed and new ones took their place. For
example, St. Petersburg, the beautiful seaport city named after
Saint Peter, was renamed Leningrad. Statues of Lenin began to
replace the previous statues that honored religious deities or
the royal families, whose leadership originally brought Russian
to the brink of greatness, only to see it destroyed by communism
and left wing political ideology. Under Stalin, more pagan
self-worship was evident as the city of Volgograd was renamed
Stalingrad. Mount Communism became Stalin Peak and so on, until
all traces of previous greatness were wiped clean or
unrecognizable.
-
- The charge of treason,
against Southern states who sought only their freedom, is an old
charge that was settled long ago. It was taken from the "trunk
of tyranny" and dusted off for presentation only when it became
evident that current arguments for removing Confederate symbols
were failing to convince the majority of Americans. The charge
of treason was proven false over 140 years ago, and if
necessary, it will be proven so again.
-
-
- The
great emotions which engulfed the participants in the War for
Southern Independence can only be understood from their vantage
point. Those alive in 1861 were the grandchildren of the men and
women of the American Revolution. They were the recipients of
the stories and lore of the fight for independence as told by
their aging grandfathers. They named their children for
Washington, Jefferson, Henry and the other patriots.
-
- When issues again
caused serious citizens to consider a new declaration of
independence, there was not a man alive who did not believe in
the words of the original Declaration of Independence, that a
people had a God given right to throw off a government that they
believed oppressive. The spirit with which Southerners decided
to declare independence in 1860 and 1861 was the same as that
which led to the break with Britain in 1775.
-
- On January 12, 1848,
Abraham Lincoln from Illinois, serving in the U.S. House of
Representatives, spoke openly of a state's right to secede,
declaring "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
most sacred right, a right which we hope and believe is to
liberate the world." Many northern leaders also advocated the
rights of secession even though they would later fight a war to
prevent the Southern states from exercising those rights.
-
- With due credit,
President Abraham Lincoln made no pretense that his actions in
invading the Confederate States of America were legal,
constitutional, or even right, for that matter. He simply
believed that he must prevent the formation of a new and
powerful nation to his Southern border. Lincoln sought to
preserve "his view" of the Union. After his victory over the
South, there were no treason trials, even though some radicals
in Congress wanted them.
-
-
 Jefferson
Davis had served as a U.S. Senator for many years and as
Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce before becoming
the President of the Confederate States of America. After the
war's end, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis was
found and arrested in South Georgia on May 10, 1865. Lincoln had
already been assassinated on April 14 and the north was driven
crazy with hatred for the South, demanding Davis' head on a
platter.
-
- Held illegally in a
military prison for several years, Davis was charge but never
tried for treason. The U.S. Supreme Court simply refused to
sanction it. They knew that what the Southern states did was not
treason, but an attempt to exercise their constitutional rights.
If Jefferson Davis were brought to trial, it would only serve to
prove the South's innocence and the north's guilt. While
imprisoned, support for Davis poured in from all over the world.
From the Vatican, Pope Pius IX sent Davis a "Crown of Thorns"
made with his own hands, to symbolize Davis' sacrifice for the
cause of freedom. This crown can be seen today on display at the
Confederate Museum in New Orleans.
-
- This whole "treason"
affair had be come and embarrassment to the north, so Jefferson
Davis was finally released on May 11, 1867. He passed into
immortality on December 6, 1889. No one in the Confederacy was
ever convicted on charges of treason against the United States.
It was determined, that Man's quest for freedom was not treason
in 1865, and these writers believe that most Americans feel the
same today.
-
-
The Heritage Preservation
Association (HPA) is a national nonprofit organization utilizing
educational resources along with legal and political action to
protect and preserve the symbols, culture and heritage of the
American South. HPA has members in 49 states and 6 countries
with chapters in 10 states.
Unit References and Resources:
Heritage Preservation
Association, http://www.hpa.org/ P.O. Box 356,
Mansfield GA 30055, Tel: (404)
435-5184,
email inquiry:
http://www.hpa.org/emailhpa.htm
-
-
- Part 8 Questions:
-
In short essay format support an opinion for these
questions:
1. What is the difference
between a Confederate National Flag and a Battle Flag?
2. What problems arose,
causing the need for a more uniform Battle Flag to be adapted in the
Army of Northern Virginia?
3. Why were there so many
variations within the various battle flags?
4. Why do so many
Confederate Flags use some sort of Christian symbolism to represent
them?
5. Why were state flag
variations so popular in the early war?
6. Explain the significant
symbolism of the Great Seal of the Confederacy.
7. Often in error,
Confederate Battle flags are referred to as "The Stars and Bars",
therefore explain, compare and contrast the correct flag type "Stars
and Bars" and the correct flag type know as the "Southern Cross".
8. What were some of the
common alternations that a regiment or company may have made to
their Battle Flag?
9. Why do so many special
interests groups seem to want to eradicate Confederate symbols
including the battle flag?
10. Take a common argument against the use of Confederate
symbols, analyze the facts, and draw your own conclusion to their
use.
-
- © 2007 John K. McNeill SCV Camp #674, Moultrie, GA
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