This detailed historical reference covers every known flag representing the Confederate State of Carolina and its role in the Civil War. Many flags have represented the state of South Carolina over its long history. After years of locating, measuring, and determining the historical significance of more than one hundred flags displayed during the War Between the States, historian Glenn Dedmondt presents the most detailed and comprehensive look at South Carolina’s Civil War-era flags. Included in this volume are: the Lone Star and Palmetto Flag, the first Southern flag hoisted over Fort Sumter; the Charleston Depot battle flag, and the naval Jack, flown only on a ship of war when in port. Through these banners and the stories that surround them, Dedmondt relates the story of South Carolina’s Civil War years.

This volume covering North Carolina’s Civil War–era flags tells the story of the Confederate State through its banners of pride, battle, and rebellion. Throughout the 1860s, the Confederate State of North Carolina flew scores of flags over its government, cavalry, and navy. Symbolizing the way of life those men sought to protect, these flags provide a unique index to the history of the Civil War in this southern coastal state. This comprehensive study of North Carolina’s Civil War–era flags presents a wide-ranging collection of these banners, along with information on their origins and meanings. From the flags of the Guilford Greys to the Buncombe Riflemen, this collection is a fascinating portrait of the state’s ill-fated battle for independence.

The definitive history of South Carolina's Confederate flag controversy and 2005 finalist for Popular Culture Book of the Year from ForeWord Magazine.

In recent years, the Confederate flag has become as much a news item as a Civil War relic. Intense public debates have erupted over Confederate flags flying atop state capitols, being incorporated into state flags, waving from dormitory windows, or adorning the T-shirts and jeans of public school children. To some, this piece of cloth is a symbol of white supremacy and enduring racial injustice; to others, it represents a rich Southern heritage and an essential link to a glorious past. Polarizing Americans, these flag wars reveal the profound--and still unhealed--schisms that have plagued the country since the Civil War. The Confederate Battle Flag is the first comprehensive history of this contested symbol. Transcending conventional partisanship, John Coski reveals the flag's origins as one of many banners unfurled on the battlefields of the Civil War. He shows how it emerged as the preeminent representation of the Confederacy and was transformed into a cultural icon from Reconstruction on, becoming an aggressively racist symbol only after World War II and during the Civil Rights movement. We gain unique insight into the fine line between the flag's use as a historical emblem and as an invocation of the Confederate nation and all it stood for. Pursuing the flag's conflicting meanings, Coski suggests how this provocative artifact, which has been viewed with pride, fear, anger, nostalgia, and disgust, might ultimately provide Americans with the common ground of a shared and complex history.

A Civil War historian provides an in-depth look at Confederate flags, covering their symbolism, historical background, and political significance. In the decades that followed the fall of the Confederate States of America, much information on the flags of the member states was lost. By the same token, many misunderstandings about these flags have persisted in popular myth. In The Flags of the Confederacy, Devereaux Cannon provides an authoritative and detailed overview of these flags and their various meanings. Devereaux provides essential context for each flag with an overview of the civil and political structures of the Confederate States of America. He also delves into the many stories surrounding each flag’s development and usage, providing both an essential historical reference and a rare window into Confederate life.

Discusses the debate and ongoing controversy surrounding the Confederate battle flag in South Carolina; traces its history from the American Civil War to use by Ku Klux Klan to its appearance on the State House grounds; text illustrated with 43 images including evolution of various Confederate flags, newspaper clippings about the controversy surrounding the flag during the later 20th century, photos of government supporters and opponents, and political cartoons.

Presented chronologically, each flag is represented as it was when created.