So here we are, turning a tragedy into a media circus by
convincing the public that the only way to address the tragic mass murder in South Carolina is to
banish that evil Confederate flag forever.
However, do our so-called media experts, social advocates, and political
opportunists really have their historical facts in order?
The flag they are removing from South
Carolina , Alabama , and Virginia was not the
Confederate Flag. No, this is a case of
mistaken identity common within the liberal media when fact checking seems to
be a lost art. By the way, if that flag really was
such a heinous and demonic symbol, why did the most popular Democrat of modern
times, Bill Clinton, use it prominently in his presidential campaign? Where was the liberal media in 1992?
No, they have it all wrong.
Yes, the flag flying over South
Carolina has no business being there. Not because it was the symbol of slavery in
the South during the Civil War, which it was not, and not because it was a flag
used in various forms by Confederate military regiments from the various
southern states during the Civil War, which is true.
No, we should take it down because a few politicians hijacked the battle flag of courageous Southern and ultimately American soldiers. The politicians hated the federal government, hated integration, and
hated equality, and were the same politicians who tried to change history by making that flag a symbol of hatred. By the way, those politicians were acting 100
years after the Civil War.
Ironically, the same politicians were all Democrats.
In 1948, Strom Thurmond's States' Rights Party adopted the
Battle Flag of Northern Virginia as a symbol of defiance against the federal government.
What precisely required such defiance?
At the time, the Democratic Party platform contained a progressive
component on civil rights. The opponents
to the platform feared it gave the president far too much power over the states
to enforce civil rights laws in the South.
In 1956, Georgia adopted its version of the same battle flag, not the flag
of the Confederacy, to protest the Supreme Court's ruling against segregated
schools, in Brown v. Board of Education.
The flag first flew over a state capitol in 1961 when
Governor George Wallace raised it over the grounds of the legislature in Alabama to defy President Kennedy and his efforts to
integrate Alabama
schools.
In fact his intent was quite specifically to link more
aggressive efforts to integrate the South with the trigger of secession 100
years before — namely, the storming of occupied Fort Sumter Fort Sumter , you might recall, is located at the mouth of Charleston Harbor
Opposition to civil rights legislation, to integration, to
miscegenation, to social equality for black people — these are the major plot
points that make up the flag's recent history. Not Vietnam . Not opposition to Northern
culture or values. Not tourism. Not ObamaCare. Not anything else.
What was the real
Confederate Flag?
Designing a Confederate flag was one of the first orders of
business for the new Confederate government. To take care of this,
the Committee on the Flag and Seal was formed. South Carolinian William Porcher
Miles was elected to chair the new committee. Miles put forward his own
design for the flag, but he soon ran into opposition when the committee asked
for public input on the new flag. The prevalent opinion was that the new flag
should resemble the "old" United States flag. One of the
designs submitted by the public began to gain some traction...
The new design had been submitted by a German-American
artist named Nicola Marschall. Marschall was born in St.
Wendel , Germany ,
and moved to Alabama
in 1849. When the committee solicited suggestions for the new flag, Mary
Clay Lockett, the wife of a friend, pushed Marschall to submit a design. After
some consideration, Marschall submitted a design said to be largely based on
the Austrian flag.
His design was adopted as the new Confederate flag over
Miles's design, largely because Marschall's was recognizably similar to the U. S. flag. The
new flag was soon popularly known as the "Stars and Bars" in an obvious nod to U. S.
"Stars and Stripes."
The "Stars and Bars" originally had seven stars
representing the seven original seceded states. More stars were added as more
states were claimed by the Confederacy until the thirteenth and final star was
added in late 1861.
Similarity to the U. S. flag was what made the first
Confederate flag popular, but it is also what eventually brought about its
demise...
Second and Third National Flags
Eventually, the Confederacy grew tired of having a flag that could easily be confused with their enemy's flag. So, the Committee on the Flag and Seal started work on a new design. Everyone agreed that the new design should incorporate the, now popular, battle flag...
In May of 1863, the second national Confederate flag was unveiled. The new design placed the battle flag in the upper left corner of the flag, and called for the body of the flag to be white. This new flag was commonly referred to as the "Stainless Banner." Unfortunately, this flag met with problems as well.
It was soon realized that, unless there was a strong wind to keep the "Stainless Banner" outstretched, the new flag tended to look like a white flag of truce. When the flag hung limply, it was easy to miss the battle flag in the corner. In time, it was decided that this problem should be remedied...
The third national Confederate flag was unveiled in March of 1865, only weeks before Lee's surrender. This design simply called for a vertical red bar to be added to the outer end of the "Stainless Banner." The new flag was dubbed the "Bloodstained Banner," and served as the national Confederate flag until the Confederacy was dissolved.
Origin of Confederate Battle
When most people think of a Confederate flag, the design that pops into their mind is more like this flag.
This flag is in fact the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern
Virginia, and it came about as a direct result of the similarity of the
"Stars and Bars" to the "Stars and Stripes."
The battle flag design is, in fact, the original design
suggested by William Miles for the national flag. Even though his committee had
rejected his design, Miles did not give up hope of finding a use for his flag.
That hope would be rewarded at the First Battle of Manassas (Bull
Run )...
This was the fist major battle of the civil war, and most of
the Confederate units involved simply carried the new national flag. Here is
where the problem with having a flag similar to that of your enemy was fully
realized. After dealing with the confusion on the battlefield caused by his
flags, the Confederate commander, General P. G. T. Beauregard, was anxious to
find a solution...
William Miles just happened to be one of Beauregard's aides,
and he told the General about his design that had been rejected. Beauregard
liked the idea, and the Committee on the Flag and Seal was asked to
change the national flag. They rejected the idea...
Knowing the importance of this problem, General Beauregard
suggested to his superiors that a uniform battle flag, that could not be
confused with the U. S.
flag, should be adopted. In the end, Miles's design was adopted as the official
Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, and it went on to become the most
popular and enduring symbol of the Confederacy.
Regarding the use of the Confederate battle flag, eleven states
officially seceded and joined the Confederacy, but the battle flag also
included stars for the slave states of Kentucky
and Missouri
because they formed Confederate governments in exile. Each state and often each general selected
their own version of a battle flag and use was restricted to the actual
fighting regiments.
Today what we call the Confederate Flag was never the
Confederate Flag of the Southern Confederacy, but 100 years later a version of
this battle flag was hijacked and used for a far more sinister use.
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