| 1. | I      have reviewed this report on Form 10-K of Cornerstone Bancshares, Inc.      (the “Issuer”) for the fiscal year ended December 31,  2009. |
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| 2. | Based      on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a      material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the      statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements      were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this      report; |
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| 3. | Based      on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information      included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the      financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the Issuer as      of, and for, the periods presented in this period  report; |
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| 4. | The      Issuer’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing      and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange      Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial      reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) for      the Issuer and have: |
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| (a) | designed      such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure      controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure      that material information relating to the Issuer, including its      consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those      entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being      prepared; |
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| (b) | designed      such internal controls over financial reporting, or caused such internal      control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to      provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial      reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external      purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting      principles; |
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| (c) | evaluated      the effectiveness of the Issuer’s disclosure controls and procedures and      presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the      disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by      this report based on such evaluation;and |
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| (d) | disclosed      in this report any change in the Issuer’s internal control over financial      reporting that occurred during the Issuer’s fourth fiscal quarter that has      materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the      Issuer’s internal control over financial  reporting. |
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| 5. | The      Issuer’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most      recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting to the      Issuer’s auditors and the audit committee of Issuer’s board of      directors: |
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| (a) | all      significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or      operation of internal control over financial reporting which are      reasonably likely to adversely affect the Issuer’s ability to record,      process, summarize and report financial information;  and |
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| (b) | any      fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other      employees who have a significant role in the Issuer’s internal control      over financial reporting. |
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| Date:      March 30,      2010  |        | /s/  Nathaniel F.      Hughes   |   |
|--------------------------------------|--------|-----------------------------------------------------|--------|
|                                 |   | Nathaniel      F. Hughes, President and             |   |
|                                 |   | Chief      Executive Officer                        |   |
|                                 |   | (principal      executive officer)                  |   |

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