Confederate Flag?

[G-fan 27]

I figured it was posted before on the forums so i looked around, but i didnt find it so here we go.

Why is the confederate flag portrayed as the flag of the 13 colonies and not the actual confederate flag.

I mean would that really offend anybody seeing as this is a game about the civil war and that was the flag used 150 years ago. I mean the flag portrayed for the south right now is just sorta a realism breaker.


I just find it ridiculous that people could find historical facts offensive even though that event was in the PAST. I hope you could get the confederate flag as the actual flag.

[Rithal]

I figured it was posted before on the forums so i looked around, but i didnt find it so here we go.

Why is the confederate flag portrayed as the flag of the 13 colonies and not the actual confederate flag.

I mean would that really offend anybody seeing as this is a game about the civil war and that was the flag used 150 years ago. I mean the flag portrayed for the south right now is just sorta a realism breaker.


I just find it ridiculous that people could find historical facts offensive even though that event was in the PAST. I hope you could get the confederate flag as the actual flag.

If you mean the flag in the upper left corner next to the "War of Rights", that is actually the official flag of the confederate government, or at least one of them. The Stars and Bars (That's what we call it in the south ;) ) is basically what the government flew over government buildings, over forts, ect. It does look similar to the first American colonial flag because both have thirteen stars in a circle. In the colonial flag, these stars of course represented the thirteen colonies. In the confederate flag however, these stars represented the eleven states that seceded plus Kentucky and Missouri. The main way to tell the difference is the colonial flag has thirteen red and white stripes while the confederate flag only has three large red and white stripes. Its an easy mistake to make.

U.S Colonial Flag: http://thumbs1.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mw2F1Ef330z9uLE3g8eieNg.jpg
Confederate Government Flag (Stars and Bars): http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/u/us-csa13.gif

The other flag I think you are talking about is the Confederate Battle Flag, which is more widely known and associated with the south. It was only carried into battle and not actually flown as the official flag.

Confederate Battle Flag: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Battle_flag_of_the_US_Confederacy.svg/200px-Battle_flag_of_the_US_Confederacy.svg.png

[Hinkel]

Like Rithal said, we are using the correct and authentic flag, which was common during that time - the maryland campaign of 1862. The Dixie cross was introduced a while before the battle of Antietam, but most regiments used the Stars and Bars like we are using on our homepage and banner.

The confederate Battle Flag got famous more after the Battle of Antietam.

Since there were also 13 confederate states, the flag is indeed similar to the flag of the 13 colonies. But the 13 bars are missing ;)

Looking at your profile, it seems you are american. I thought you would know the history of your country a bit better ;)

[Rithal]

Looking at your profile, it seems you are american. I thought you would know the history of your country a bit better ;)

Ouch. That might leave a mark :eek:

[TrustyJam]

If not, that doesn't matter. We welcome everyone interested in learning a thing or two about the war. :)

- Trusty

[Brooklyn]

It's Wikipedia, but it does give a good run down of the CSA flags history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America

[G-fan 27]

i have a pretty good knowledge of history, better than most common people at least, i really havent looked much into this time period, and really its not like this is common knowledge that everyone gets taught in schools (though my knowledge of history exceeds that). Really i never noticed this flag before until now. It seems that in movies and stuff this flag was never shown much over the more common one.

However i am happy to see something in favor of realism with this flag shown now i know what it is, but since we are going to be in battles, will we see the confederate battle flag shown (the more recognizable flag) in any extent?

[Brooklyn]

i have a pretty good knowledge of history, better than most common people at least, i really havent looked much into this time period, and really its not like this is common knowledge that everyone gets taught in schools (though my knowledge of history exceeds that). Really i never noticed this flag before until now. It seems that in movies and stuff this flag was never shown much over the more common one.

However i am happy to see something in favor of realism with this flag shown now i know what it is, but since we are going to be in battles, will we see the confederate battle flag shown (the more recognizable flag) in any extent?

Well the Army of Northern Virginia received the new battle flags on November 28, 1861 and this game is going to take place during the Maryland Campaign in 1862 so we will be seeing the confederate battle flag, but if I remember correctly there were still regiments in the Army of Northern Virginia carrying the "Stars and Bars" into battle.

[GeorgeCrecy]

When it came to going into battle, regiments on both sides had two flags they would carry, the regimental or battle flag and the national flag. So yes, you will see not only the Confederate Battle Flag, but also the National flag as well.

[Rithal]

When it came to going into battle, regiments on both sides had two flags they would carry, the regimental or battle flag and the national flag. So yes, you will see not only the Confederate Battle Flag, but also the National flag as well.

There were many Confederate regiments though that only carried the "southern cross" correct? Didn't it greatly depend on the regiment? I know that many regiments like those from Texas were sometimes known to carry state flags as well as battle flags, and there of course more here and there, but I don't think it was too uniform throughout the army.

[GeorgeCrecy]

Indeed it wasn't. In some ways, you also saw the same in the North as well. The regimental flag was also many times the state flag that had "___ Regiment" on it and previous battles listed on it as well. You also saw Confederate regiments that did the same but with the Rebel Battle Flag.

[Soulfly]

as you may see at my profile picture ;)

[Historical Player]

You have to remember that the Confederate didn't have a well formed army until late to early 1863. They were using different flags, and uniforms until they got a true military order together. They had to form an army, and a government in a very short time.

[11thTexasInfantry]

The Bonnie Blue is technically the original flag. But no one recognizes it.

[Rithal]

The Bonnie Blue is technically the original flag. But no one recognizes it.

Kind of. It was flown over batteries in South Carolina I believe during the bombing of Fort Sumter but it wasn't really "official". The first official Confederate flag was the "Stars and Bars" with seven stripes I think. ;)

[Sox]

There were many Confederate regiments though that only carried the "southern cross" correct? Didn't it greatly depend on the regiment? I know that many regiments like those from Texas were sometimes known to carry state flags as well as battle flags, and there of course more here and there, but I don't think it was too uniform throughout the army.

If memory serves, only North Carolina & Virginia continued to supply their regiments with a state flag throughout the war, most other states either did not bother at all, or ceased to do so very early on in the conflict. At the date mentioned above (November 28, 1861) 120 of the new battle flags (48 in' square ) were issued to regiments in the Army of Northern Virginia for the first time. This was the Army of Northern Virgina battle flag (although it was also adopted by some western regiments) as opposed to the flag at the top of the page, which was the first national flag for the Confederate States of America.