Not more then a year after the adoption of the Stars and Bars, the issue of designing a new flag
for the Confederate States was raised with the intention to create a flag that was in no way similar
to the Union's Stars and Stripes. Adopted on May 1, 1863 this flag displayed the Battle Flag in the
canton on a field of pure white, giving it it's name the "Stainless Banner". The white field is
symbolic for the purity of the Cause which it represented. One of the first uses for this flag was
to drape the coffin of General Thomas J. Jackson. "Stonewall" Jackson died on May 10, 1863 from
pneumonia he contracted in the treatment of his injuries received on May 2nd. On May 12, his body
lay in state in the Confederate House of Representatives, by order of the President, the first new
flag manufactured draped his coffin. This "Stainless Banner" is now on display in the Museum of the
Confederacy in Richmond.
|
