Flags of the Confederate States of America
The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and the "Blood-Stained Banner", used in 1865 shortly before the Confederacy's dissolution. A rejected national flag design was also used as a battle flag by the Confederate Army and featured in the "Stainless Banner" and "Blood-Stained Banner" designs. Although this design was never a national flag, it is the most commonly recognized symbol of the Confederacy.
Three versions of the flag of the Confederate States of America and the Confederate Battle Flag are shown on this printed poster from 1896. The "Stars and Bars" can be seen in the upper left. Standing at the center are Stonewall Jackson, P. G. T. Beauregard, and Robert E. Lee, surrounded by bust portraits of Jefferson Davis, Alexander Stephens, and various Confederate army officers, such as James Longstreet and A. P. Hill.
Pennant of Admiral Franklin Buchanan, CSS Tennessee, at Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864
Confederate naval flag, captured when General William Sherman took Savannah, Georgia, 1864
First variant of flag proposal by A. Bonand of Savannah, Georgia
Modern display of the Confederate battle flag
Although the Confederate States of America dissolved at the end of the American Civil War (1861–1865), its battle flag continues to be displayed as a symbol. The modern display began during the 1948 United States presidential election when it was used by the Dixiecrats, a political party that opposed civil rights for African Americans. Further display of the flag was a response to the civil rights movement and the passage of federal civil rights laws in the 1950s and 1960s.
1896 lithograph of the three Confederate national flags and the battle flag
Members of the Detroit-based National Socialist Movement marching at Market Square in Knoxville, Tennessee in 2010
3rd Flag of the Confederacy and the Bonnie Blue Flag at Jefferson Davis Park, Washington, 2018
City Hall in Laurel, Mississippi in 2012