Pardon the BloggEruption

A Minor Vexillogical Point

OK, everyone, repeat after me. The Confederate Battle Flag is NOT the "Stars and Bars." It is the Confederate Battle Flag.

Again. The Confederate Battle Flag is NOT the "Stars and Bars." It is the Confederate Battle Flag.

Let's have a little Southern history lesson, shall we? Upon creation of the CSA in 1861, this flag was adopted. This flag was known as "Stars and Bars," in contrast to the USA's "Stars and Stripes."




Notice how similar in general design it is to Old Glory? Now, picture having to discern whether you're seeing the CSA flag or the USA flag from several hundred feet away, through a haze of powder smoke or in low light. Pretty tough, huh? To remedy this problem, the Confederate Army took to using a different design and shape (square, as opposed to the normal elongated rectangle) for its battle flag, the now-familiar "Southern Cross," which features a blue St. Andrew's Cross on a red (or sometimes orange-ish red, the colors were never really defined) field.




In 1863, the CSA adopted a new flag, replacing the original Stars and Bars. The new national flag consisted of a stark white field with the CSA battle flag occupying the union square. This was a pretty dumb move, considering that when it flew over garrisons or towns, it would sometimes be taken for a white flag of surrender if there was insufficient wind to display the union square. To remedy this problem, a thick red horizontal bar was added to the fly end of the flag in 1865, shortly before Lee's surrender.

So, for all y'all Yankee folks out there, please get your facts straight regarding the CSA's flags. It's darned annoying, from both a flag-lover's standpoint, and as a proud Texan and Southerner.