More on Confederate Veterans and Their Real Flags

The controversy that exploded on social media yesterday over a supposed Confederate flag featured on websites across the federal government offers an important reminder of how misinformation is spread online. I know a little something about this.

In 2019, my book, Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth, was published. In it, I show how this myth spread online and why it persists to this very day. An inability to properly interpret primary sources, lack of knowledge of the Civil War and the Confederacy specifically, and the failure to consult with experts in the field have all contributed to its spread and continued presence online.

Another important factor is the apparent inability, on the part of many people, to properly search for and assess the websites that they come across. Little thought is given to the keywords used in searches and even less time is spent critically examining whether the information presented on a website is factual.

It’s even more problematic on social media sites, where misinformation often spreads like wildfire.

I did my best to provide useful historical context in connection to yesterday’s misinformation circus.

Perhaps we can continue to use this controversy as a learning opportunity.

I want to begin by addressing the source for this ridiculous claim. If you read through the comment thread in yesterday’s post, you will see that a number of people shared a link to a flag that they believe offers justification for the claims that a Confederate flag now adorns government websites.

As I am typing this post, this link is still floating around the interwebs.

Not one person, who has shared this link, has questioned the information offered nor has there been any attempt to verify whether the individual(s) responsible for this website are qualified to evaluate the history of the flags they are offering for sale. I for one can’t find any information about the owners of this site or their background and education.

Let’s take a look at the flag in question and focus in on the description provided by the sellers. [Click the image to expand if necessary or click the above hyperlink.]

Notice that no provenance is offered for this item. In other words, there is no record of previous ownership or anything to verify that it is what the seller claims it to be. This is where anyone, who claims to be responsible, should have stopped before posting a link to it on my newsletter or anywhere else for that matter.

Beyond the lack of provenance, the first question you should ask is why would Confederate veterans use a flag that features only nine stars? The Confederacy officially included eleven states between 1861 and 1865, but Confederate soldiers hailed from the four Border states that did not secede and remained in the United States. Again, why would these former soldiers limit themselves to only representing nine states?

The description also claims that this is a flag of the United Confederate Veterans. The UCV was founded in 1889 and included chapters all over the former Confederate states and beyond. The organization published the Confederate Veteran magazine, worked to support the veterans in their old age, and organized annual reunions.

What is important to note about the UCV is that it did not create its own unique flag as an organization. Take a look at promotional materials and advertisements for reunions and you will see images of various national and regimental flags, but you will not be able to find a single example of the flag pictured above.

(Source: Library of Congress)

(Source: The Online Books Page)

The most important flag for Confederate veterans was the battle flag, which featured the image of the St. Andrew’s Cross. These flags were usually square and were adopted by regiments in the Army of Northern Virginia by the end of 1861. Infantry regiments and artillery units often sewed the names of the battles in which they had participated.

Flag of the “King William Artillery,” Virginia Light Artillery (Source: American Civil War Museum)

As I pointed out yesterday, these were cherished emblems that guided regiments in the heat of battle and were often fought over in bloody hand-to-hand combat. This symbol was included in the Confederacy’s second and third national flags, which were adopted during the second half of the war. It points to the extent to which the battle flag had become a symbol of Confederate nationalism, most closely associated with Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Veterans preserved these tattered and often blood-stained regimental flags long after the war ended.

Florida veterans holding the remains of a battle flag (Source: Florida Memory)

Georgia veterans (Source: Encyclopedia Virginia)

In this example, veterans pose around a Confederate First National Flag.

(Source: Library of Congress)

I know of not a single example of Confederate veterans posing with anything close to the flag pictured above purporting to be a UCV flag.

Let me close by admitting that I have no idea how to identify the flag on sale at Historical Americana Co. What I do know is that, based on all of the avaialable evidence, it is not a wartime or postwar flag associated with the Confederacy or Confederate veterans.