During the American Civil War (1861–65), the Confederate States of
America abandoned the Stars and Stripes, the official flag of the United
States. (See American Flag.) The Confederates instead created their own
version of a national flag. Over the course of the war, the Confederate
Congress adopted three different official flags.
The first flag was adopted on March 14, 1861. It included seven
white stars to represent the seven states that had seceded. By the end of
the year, that number had increased to thirteen. No official proportions
or arrangement of stars were established, and flag makers often defined
the design themselves as a result. Though the first flag was intentionally
similar to the Stars and Stripes, the Confederate Congress eventually abandoned the design in search of something
less reminiscent of the Union.
On May 1, 1863, the Confederate Congress
adopted a new flag. This flag had a dominating
white field and included the battle flag of the
eastern Confederate armies. This flag earned the
nickname the “Stainless Banner” for its dominating white field. That trait is also what led the
Confederate Congress to adopt another version
of the flag, because in calm weather, the Stainless
Banner was often mistaken for a flag of truce.
On March 4, 1865, the Confederate
Congress revised the second design to include a
noticeable red bar along the end. This flag was
short-lived. Confederate forces surrendered in
April 1865, and the Confederacy came to an end.