The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-01-20
Origin of the Confederate Battle Flag.

Origin of the Confederate Battle Flag.
The facts concerning the origin Of the
battle flag contained in this article are
deriyed froma speech by General Beau;
regafd before q special meating Of fLouisa|
lab GDVision, Army NORTHERN VirginiSI
Essociation, December s, 1878:
This banner, the witness and inspira-
of many victories, which was proudly
borne on every field from Manassas to
Appemattox, was conceived on 1.-The, field
ofbattle- on the last fatal field ceased
to have place or meaning in the world.
But the men smhD followedit and the;|
world which watched its proud advance
or defiant stand, see in it still the un.
stained banner Of the brave whose fpal
defeat but added lustre to their grand
est vicories. |. Il
It not tho flag of the Confederaey,, but
simply The banher-the battle Aag-was
of the Confederate soldier, As such it
SHOULD not share insgthei condemnation
which our cause received, or suffer from
its downfall, The whole world can unite
in chorus of praise to the gallantry OF
the men who followed where this banner
ftxas e tba battle II Manassas aSHss about bout
o'clock of the afternoon of tho 2lst Of
July, B6I When the fate of the Coafed-
eracy seemed trembling in the balance,
that General Beauregard, looking across
the Warrenton turnpike, which passed
throughfthe;galley. betweens: theposition
of the Confederate andaIhe elevation BE-
yond occupied by the Federal line, saw a
body of.tsoops moving towards his letl
and. the Federal right. VHe wns greatly
concerned to know. but could not decide:
what troops they were Whether Federal
or Confederate. The similarity ofunitorm
and of colors carried BY: ithe opppaing
armies, and the clouds Of dust, made it
Almost impossible to decide.
Shortly. before this time General,
Beauregafd had 1eeei we'd from the signal.
officer, Captain Alexander, q dispatch
saying t6Gt from the signal station in the
rear lie nas sighted the colors of thi.
column, dropping and covered with the
| dust of journeyings, but could not tell
whether they-1ose. the aud stripes or
thestarsand bays. .jHe thought, however,
chat they were probably Patterson's troops
arriving on the field aud reinforcing the
enemy.
General Beauregard was momentarily
expecting help from. the right, and the
| uncertainty and anxiety Of this hour
amounted to anguish. Still the column
pressed on. Calling staff officer, Gen
eral Beauregard instructed him to 60 at
once to General Johnston, at the Lewis
House, and say that the enemy were re.
ceiving;heayy -reinforcements, that the
troops On che plateau were very 'much
scattered, and that he would be compell-
ed to retire to the Lewis House and there
reform hoping that the troops ordered
up from the right would arrive in time
to enable him to establish and hold the
new line. = - 50 -
| Meanwhile, the unknown. troops we're,
pressing On. The day s:;wasi suitry, and
only at ,long intervals :9were There the
slightest breeze. The colors Of the mys,
terious column hung dropping on the
staff. General Beauregard tried again
and again to decide what colors they
carried. He used bis glass repeated
ly, and handing it to others begged them
to look, hoping that their eyes might be
keener than his.
| General Beauregasd was in a state of
great anxiety, but finally determined to
hold his ground, relying on the promised
help from the right, knowing that if it
arrived in time victory might be secured,
but feeling also that if the mysterious
column should be Federal troops the day
was lost.
Suddenly puff OF wind spread the
colors to the breeze. 1t was the Conled.
crate Aag-the stars and bars ! 1t was
Early with the Twenty -fouth Virginia,
the Seventh louisiana, and the Thirteenth
Mississippi. The column had by this
time reached the extreme right Of the
Federal lines. Tho moment the flag
was recognized 'Beauregard turned to his
staff right and left, saying, See that
the day is oursr' and ordered an i'm.
mediate advance. In the meantime
Early's brigade deployed into line and
charged the enemy's 'right-E'z7, also,s
dashed upon the field-and in. one hour
not an enemy was to be seen South 'oi
While on this field and suffering this
terrible anxiety, General Beauregard de-.
termined that the Confederate soldier,
must have flag 80 distinct from that Of.
the enemy that no doubt should ever
again endaDger his cause on the field of
battle. ,-~3l - :
Soon after the battle; hei entered into
correspondence Z with; Colpnal William
Porcher Miles, who had, served on his
staff during this day, with yiew3to secnr.
| ing his aid in the matter, and -proposinga
blue field, red bars, CROSSED, and gold
stars.
They discussed the matter at length.
| Colonel Miles thought it was contrary
to the law of heratdry that the ground
! should be blue, the bars red, and the stars
gold. He; proposed that tho ground,
sh6pld,be redj thebats blue, and the stars
| white.
General Beauregard approved the
change, and discussed the matter freely
with General Johnston. Meanwhile it
became known that the design for flag
was under discussion, and many designs
tfwere:sent in. One came from !Mississip.
pi; one from J. B. Walton and E. G.
| Hancock, which coincided with the de.
| sign OF Colonel Miles. The matter was
freely discussed at headquarters, till f.
| nally, when he arrived at Fairfax Court
House.. General Beauregard caused his
draughtsman IA German) to make draw
ings of all the various designs which had
been submitted. With these designs
before them the officers at headquarters
agreed on the famous old banner
| the red field, the blue cross, and the
white stars. The flag was then submit.
ted to the War Department, aud was ap
proved.
The first flags sent to the army we've
presented to the troops by General Beau.
regard in person, hethen expressing the
hope and confidence that it would become
4 } =