Soldiers’ Flag –
And National Flag



Suggested, but rejected, as the Confederate national flag in 1861, the ANV battle flag became revered as a symbol of the Confederate fighting man. Because it was the flag of the army that kept their nation alive, it also became a symbol of Confederate nationalism. The Confederate Congress incorporated its design into a new Confederate national flag that replaced the Stars and Bars in 1863, and as part of a slightly modified third national flag in 1865. Thus, it was the symbol not only of the Confederate fighting man but also of the slaveholding republic for which he fought. Used in many capacities thereafter, the pattern became, in effect, the Confederate flag.


Images:


Right of Cashtown Road (1863)
A watercolor by soldier-artist Allen Christian Redwood depicted the battle flag of his own unit, the 55th Virginia, in action during the first day of the battle of Gettysburg.
ACWM Collection, 1982.14.356

Second National Flag
This second national flag, with an ANV battle flag in the upper left on a white field, draped the casket of “Stonewall” Jackson when he lay in state at the Virginia State Capitol in May 1863 – two weeks after the Confederate Congress adopted the new flag pattern.
ACWM Collections, 0985.13.47