“The Stainless Banner”

 

On May 1, 1863, the flag you see above became the official national flag of the Confederate States of America. The version seen in the picture above has a slightly different design for use as a naval ensign. The flag above flew over one of the ships of the Confederate Navy.

The name “The Stainless Banner” came from the large white field that takes up most of the flag. White, seen as a symbol of purity, was chosen by the designer to symbolize the “supremacy of the white man” and he referred to it as “The White Man’s Flag”. (Even typing his words makes my skin crawl.) That man, William T. Thompson, was a newspaper editor in Savannah, GA who also doubled as a blockade runner.

His design for the new flag was submitted to Congress and his newspaper was sued to rally support for the new standard. Eventually, thanks to the Richmond papers carrying his editorials, approval for the design gained momentum. Some have implied that he was the creator of the more familiar “battle flag” of the Confederacy but that preexisted the second national flag and was only used by Thompson.

Reception

When the Confederate Congress passed the official act naming that design as the national flag, it seemed well received by the public. Before long though it was thought to be, ironically, “too white”. Having the battle flag sitting on top of a white flag was sending a bit of a mixed message. A white flag generally indicated surrender. not a good thing to be flying over the battlefield.

In 1865, near the end of the war, the design was changed to include a red vertical stripe at the far edge. This “bloodline” symbolized those lost in the war.

The flag was last flown in an official capacity on the CSS Shenandoah that was based out of Liverpool, England. On November 7, 1865, it was lowered but lives on as a symbol. One thing is for sure, 150 years later the flag still has an impact.