Mississippi changing its flag is not the end of the confederate symbols on state flags

Mississippi has made it official: The state flag, which bears the well-known Confederate battle flag cross, will be officially changed. The state's Republican governor signed the decision into law, solidifying another response to current racial calculations across the country.

However, while the Mississippi flag was the last to have the obvious image of the Confederate battle flag, there are other state flags that contain Confederate symbology that may be slightly more difficult to detect.

Confederate flags

First, let's clear up a common misconception: The crimson and blue flag that we generally refer to as the Confederate flag is, in fact, a Confederate battle flag, most famous to General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

The actual flag of the Confederate States looks very different: it has two red stripes and one white, with a familiar starfield on the hoist. There were four iterations throughout the Confederation's short life, each with different numbers of stars to correspond to the number of Confederate states at the time. The famous phrase "Stars and Bars", however, generally refers to the original Confederate flag, designed in 1861, which has seven stars arranged in a circular pattern. This is an important flag to remember when looking at some current state flag designs.

Here's something else to remember: Flags, as a national symbol, are a relatively new invention. Marc Leepson, historian and author of the book "Flag: An American Biography," explains that, until the last few hundred years, flags and pennants were used more widely for military purposes. (Another curious fact, Leepson points out: The United States had an official national flag years before France. The United States adopted its first version in 1777, while France did not adopt one until 1794, during the French Revolution).

"During the first third of our nation's history, from about 1777 to 1861, it was almost unknown for Americans to fly the flag. Most of the time it was mainly from the government, mainly from the military, and especially from the Navy," he says.
Ironically, all of that changed when the Confederacy was formed, and with it, an enemy flag. Suddenly, American flags appeared in and around Union homes, schools, and businesses, and the practice spread across the country in later years.
"When the Confederacy broke up, one of the first things the Confederate Congress did was to choose a flag," says Leepson. "There was a great debate, and the debate centered on how close the flag should be to the American flag. They held a contest, voted, and what did they do? They chose a flag with red and white stripes and stars." "
That proved difficult later in the war. According to Leepson, during the particularly hazy battle of Manassas in 1961, Confederate commanders realized that it was difficult to distinguish the two flags. Eventually, several iterations of the Confederate battle flag became more widely used.
When looking at the different flags below, here are a few things to keep in mind: the arrangement of the stripes in the field, the types and location of the stars, and what is happening in the canton: the upper left of a flag where you would normally see all fifty stars on an American flag. Also pay attention to the presence of a saltire, or the Cruz de San Andrés. That is the diagonal "X" that defines the Confederate battle flag. (It is also part of many other flags around the world, including the Union Jack.)

Alabama, 1895

Since the Saint Andrew's Cross is a widely used symbol, it can be easy to confuse the design of the Alabama flag as a mere coincidence. However, according to the 1915 Alabama Official Statistical Register, the flag "was intended by the [state] Legislature to permanently preserve some of the most distinctive features of the Confederate battle flag, particularly the cross of St. Andrew " This origin is also cited by the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Arkansas, 1924

Although the Arkansas flag is generally a visual cousin of the Confederate battle flag, it was actually designed in 1912 by a young woman from the city of Wabbaseka. According to a state historian's description of the flag, the diamond represented the Arkansas diamond mine, and the three stars inside represented the three nations to which the state belonged: Spain, France, and the United States.
It was not until 1923 that a Confederate reference was added. State lawmakers voted to add a fourth star to the inner diamond to represent the Confederation. The following year, they changed it so that the star representing the confederation was above the name of the state, and the other three below. This may be a first for most budding vexillologists, but it is a well-known fact among Arkansas residents. As recently as 2019, state lawmakers have introduced bills trying to remove the flag reference.

Florida, 1900
to represent the Confederation. The following year, they changed it so that the star representing the confederation was above the name of the state, and the other three below. This may be a first for most budding vexillologists, but it is a well-known fact among Arkansas residents. As recently as 2019, state lawmakers have introduced bills trying to remove the flag reference.



Before 1899, the Florida flag was only its state seal on a white background. That year, voters agreed to add a San Andres red cross to the flag which, again, could be attributed to coincidence. But the change was first proposed by then-Florida Governor Francis P. Fleming, a staunch secessionist who fought in the Confederate Army's 2nd Florida Regiment and was very active in Confederate Veterans groups after the war. Controversy over the flag breaks out from time to time in Florida, though historians disagree over whether the cross should remember the Confederacy. Some claim that it could be a reference to the flag of the Spanish Empire, known as the Cross of Burgundy.

Georgia, 2003

In the years since the Civil War, the Georgia flag has undergone several changes. However, it still looks a lot, a lot like the Confederacy flag, by the way. It used to contain a Confederate battle flag on its flight (the free side of the flag), a design change that was made in 1956.
Why add such a troublesome symbol? According to a 2000 State Senate report, compiled while Georgia pondered another flag change, the decision to add the battle flag came during the 1956 legislative session, when state lawmakers attempted to "preserve segregation, resisting the decision of the 1954 US Supreme Court Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, and maintaining white supremacy in Georgia. "
The flag was finally changed in 2003 after then-Governor Sonny Perdue gave voters the choice between a drastic and deeply unpopular redesign proposed in 2001 and a new proposal that closely resembled the "Stars and Stripes." Government materials confirm the connection: At the Georgia Secretary of State's site, the current flag is described as "based on the Confederation's first national flag."
The fact that Georgia citizens chose to add a Confederate symbol to their flag to protest unbundling shows just how deeply symbolic and actively rhetorical flags can be.
"The analogy that comes to mind is the Confederate statues," says Marc Leepson, the historian. "Most of the Confederate statues were not placed right after the Civil War. They were part of the spread of the Theory of Lost Cause, and then Jim Crow and segregation. They had a purpose in the public eye."
While there are ongoing conversations about culture, heritage, history, and the role of Confederate monuments and flags, in the case of the flag inspired by the Confederate battle of Georgia, it is difficult to push the heritage narrative when the true Reason: racism is well cemented there in the history books.