History of the Confederate Flag | Ultimate Flags Store emblazoned with the stars of every state in the South, became the emblem of the lost cause of secession and the shattered dream of a Confederate nation. The flag has recurred again and again in the battles over heritage, politics, and race that roil America today.
Unraveling the Past: History of the Confederate Flag
Amid the chaos of the battlefield, commanders sought a distinctive banner that would distinguish their troops from Federal units. The Stars and Bars, which the Confederate Congress adopted in March 1861, closely resembled the American flag and could confuse or even mislead soldiers on the field of battle. General Pierre Beauregard asked his aide, William Porcher Miles, to design a new flag that more clearly identified the rebel army. Miles created a design that combined St. Andrew’s Cross—a symbol of Christian martyrdom—with a field of white, which represented purity. This new battle flag—often called the Blood Stained Banner or the Southern Cross—was never officially adopted as a national Confederate flag, but it proved to be extremely popular among the army.
After the war, supporters of the States Rights Party embraced the flag to emphasize their emphasis on Constitutional principles like “states rights,” which translated into support for segregation. Efforts to separate the flag from its political use as a symbol of racism largely failed until 2015, when the murder of nine black churchgoers in Charleston brought it roaring back to the forefront. Multiple states bowed to pressure to remove the flag from memorials, and retailers stopped selling merchandise bearing it.