State & Territory Flags
of the Confederacy
This section serves as a Virtual Memorial to the men and women who died for Southern Independence.
Their bravery, service, and sacrifice -no matter their faith, creed, or origins- will never be diminished or forgotten as long as they are honored. We consider it our sacred duty to see that it will never be forgotten as long as we, the heirs of their legacy, remain and continue to pass on the memories to the next generations.
- Dustin W. Seiler, Chartering President
Sons & Daughters of Confederate Veterans, Alamo City Chapter #2
STATE FLAGS
Each State Flag of the Confederacy allready had its own respective flags upon secceding from the Union from December of 1860 - June of 1861. Each flag here is depicted according to the date of their respecitive secession.
Flag of South Carolina - "First Gallant S.C., Nobly made the Stand"
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in December 1860, and was one of the founding member states of the Confederacy in February 1861. The bombardment of the beleaguered U.S. garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861, is generally recognized as the first military engagement of the war.
(December 20, 1860
Flag of Mississippi - "Next Quickly Mississippi"
Mississippi was the second southern state to declare its secession from the United States, doing so on January 9, 1861. It joined with six other southern states to form the Confederacy on February 4, 1861. Mississippi's location along the lengthy Mississippi River made it strategically important to both the Union and the Confederacy; dozens of battles were fought in the state as armies repeatedly clashed near key towns and transportation nodes.
(Janurary 9, 1861)
Flag of Florida - "The Sunshine Gulf State"
Florida participated in the American Civil War as a member of the Confederate States of America. It had been admitted to the United States as a slave state in 1845. In January 1861, Florida became the third Southern state to secede from the Union after the November 1860 presidential election victory of Abraham Lincoln. It was one of the initial seven states that formed the Confederacy on February 8, 1861, in advance of the American Civil War.
(Janurary 10, 1861)
Flag of Alabama - "Then Came Alabama, and Took Her by the Hand"
(Januray 11, 1861, Observed)
(Januray 11, 1861, Reversed)
Alabama was central to the Civil War, with the secession convention at Montgomery, the birthplace of the Confederacy, inviting other slaveholding states to form a southern republic, during January–March 1861, and to develop new state constitutions. The 1861 Alabama constitution granted citizenship to current U.S. residents, but prohibited import duties (tariffs) on foreign goods, and limited a standing military. The secession convention invited all states to secede, but only 7 Cotton States of the Lower South formed the Confederacy, with Alabama, while the majority of slave states were in the Union at the time of the founding of the Confederacy. The U.S. Congress had voted to protect the institution of slavery by passing the Corwin Amendment on March 4, 1861, but it was never ratified.
Flag of Georgia- "The Constitution State"
Georgia was one of the original seven states that formed the Confederate States of America in February 1861, triggering the U.S. Civil War. The state governor, Democrat Joseph E. Brown, wanted locally raised troops to be used only for the defense of Georgia, in defiance of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who wanted to deploy them on other battlefronts. When the Union blockade prevented Georgia from exporting its plentiful cotton in exchange for key imports, Brown ordered farmers to grow food instead, but the breakdown of transport systems led to desperate shortages.
(Januray 19, 1861)
Flag of Louisiana- "The Bayou State"
(Januray 26, 1861)
Louisiana was a dominant population center in the southwest of the Confederate States of America, controlling the wealthy trade center of New Orleans, and contributing the French Creole and Cajun populations to the demographic composition of a predominantly Anglo-American country. In the Colonial and Antebellum period, enslaved people (African and Irish) comprised the majority of the population during the eighteenth-century French and Spanish dominations. By the time the United States acquired the territory (1803) and Louisiana became a state (1812), the institution of slavery was entrenched. By 1860, 47% of the state's population was enslaved, though the state also had one of the largest free black populations in the United States. Much of the Anglo-American population, particularly in the cities, supported slavery, while pockets of support for the U.S. and its government existed in the more rural areas.
Flag of Texas- "The Seventh Star of the Confederacy"
(February 1, 1861, Traditional)
(February 1, 1861, Secession
Meny Texas Units adopted this flag for their units)
Texas declared its secession from the Union on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States on March 2, 1861, after it had replaced its governor, Sam Houston, who had refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. As with those of other states, the Declaration of Secession was not recognized by the U.S. government at Washington, DC. Some Texan military units, such as Hood's Texas Brigade, fought in the Civil War east of the Mississippi River, but Texas was more useful for supplying soldiers and horses for the Confederate Army. Texas' supply role lasted until mid-1863, when Union gunboats started to control the Mississippi River, which prevented large transfers of men, horses, or cattle. Some cotton was sold in Mexico, but most of the crop became useless because of the Union's naval blockade of Galveston, Houston, Indianola, and Corpus Christi.
Flag of Virginia- "Here's to Virginy, the Old Dominion State"
(April 17, 1861)
The State of Virginia became a prominent part of the Confederacy when it joined during the American Civil War. As a Southern state, Virginia held the state convention to deal with the secession crisis and voted against secession on April 4, 1861. Opinion shifted after the Battle of Fort Sumter on April 12 and April 15, when U.S. President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from all states still in the Union to put down the rebellion. For all practical purposes, Virginia joined the Confederacy on April 17, though secession was not officially ratified until May 23. A Unionist government was established in Wheeling, and the new state of West Virginia was created by an act of Congress from 50 counties of western Virginia, making it the only state to lose territory as a consequence of the war. Unionism was indeed strong also in other parts of the State, and during the war, the Restored Government of Virginia was created as a rival to the Confederate Government of Virginia, making it one of the states to have 2 governments during the Civil War.
Flag of Arkansas
NO STATE FLAG WAS ADOPTED
During the American Civil War, Arkansas was a Confederate state, though it had initially voted to remain in the Union. Following the capture of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Abraham Lincoln called for troops from every Union state to put down the rebellion, and Arkansas, along with several other southern states, seceded. For the rest of the Civil War, Arkansas played a major role in controlling the Mississippi River, a major waterway. Arkansas was the ONLY state at the time to not have adopted its own State flag until 1913.
(May 6, 1861)
Flag of North Carolina - "The Tarheel State"
(May 20, 1861)
During the American Civil War, North Carolina joined the Confederacy with some reluctance, mainly due to the presence of Southern Unionist sentiment within the state. A popular vote in February 1861 on the issue of secession was won by the unionists, but not by a wide margin. This slight lean in favor of staying in the Union would shift towards the Confederacy in response to Abraham Lincoln's April 15 proclamation that requested 75,000 troops from all Union states, leading to North Carolina's secession. North Carolina would help contribute a significant amount of troops to the Confederacy, and channeled many vital supplies through the major port of Wilmington, in defiance of the Union blockade.
Flag of Tennesee - "The Volunteer State"
(June 8, 1861)
The American Civil War significantly affected Tennessee, with every county witnessing combat. During the War, Tennessee was a Confederate state, and the last state to officially secede from the Union to join the Confederacy. Tennessee had been threatening to secede since before the Confederacy was even formed, but didn’t officially do so until after the fall of Fort Sumter when public opinion throughout the state drastically shifted. Tennessee seceded in protest to President Lincoln's April 15 Proclamation calling forth 75,000 members of state militias to suppress the rebellion.
INDIGENOUS TRIBES TERRITORY FLAGS
The seven indigenous tribes of the Midwestern territories also joined the Confederacy, providing some small troops that fought east of the Mississippi River and also remained in their ancestral lands. Brigadier General Benjamin McCollouch had operational command of these units during the Civil War, following Texas' secession.
Flag of the Choctaw Nation
(Janurary 9, 1861)
The Choctaw Nation was removed west of the Mississippi River after the signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in September 1830. The Choctaw in the American Civil War participated in two major arenas—the Trans-Mississippi and Western Theaters. The Trans-Mississippi had the Choctaw Nation. The Western had the Mississippi Choctaw. The Choctaw Nation had been mostly removed west before the War, but the Mississippi Choctaw had remained in the east. Both the Choctaw Nation and the Mississippi Choctaw would ultimately side with the Confederate States of America.
Flag of the Creek/Muscogee Nation
During the American Civil War, the tribe split into two factions, one allied with the Confederacy and the other, under Opothleyahola, allied with the Union. There were conflicts between pro-Confederate and pro-Union forces in the Indian Territory during the war. The pro-Confederate forces pursued the loyalists who were leaving to take refuge in Kansas. They fought at the Battle of Round Mountain, the Battle of Chusto-Talasah, and the Battle of Chustenahlah, resulting in 2,000 deaths among the 9,000 loyalists who were leaving.
(Janurary 10, 1861)
Flag of the Seminole Nation
(Janurary 10, 1861)
During the Civil War, in which many Seminole, including John Frippo Brown last Principal Chief of the Seminole Nation, had allied with the Confederacy, they were forced to make some land cessions under a new treaty with the US government. These included allocating a portion of their reservation for the Seminole Freedmen following emancipation of slaves in Indian Territory in 1866. The treaty granted the Black Seminoles who chose to stay on the reservation full citizenship in the tribe.
Flag of the Cherokee Nation
(October, 1861)
After Cherokee Principal Chief John Ross signed a treaty of alliance with the Confederate States in October 1861, he and the Cherokee Council authorized the formation of the 1st Cherokee Mounted Riflemen, to be commanded by Colonel John Drew. Most of the riflemen of the newly formed regiment were ideologically uncommitted to the goals of the Confederacy, but were loyal to Ross. Drew's regiment became part of Colonel Cooper's command and was ordered to help stop the flight of Union-supporting Creeks, led by their principal chief Opothleyahola, who were attempting to flee to Kansas. Although the unit participated in the Battle of Round Mountain, the Battle of Chusto-Talasah, and the Battle of Chustenahlah, they made known their dislike for fighting the Creeks, who had done the Cherokees no harm. They had expected to be fighting the invading Yankees, instead.