The so called Confederate flag is also known popularly as the "Stars and Bars." Around these here parts, they just call it the "Rebel Flag." Historians are fond of saying that it takes an average of 100 years for the issues motivating any war anywhere to be somewhat resolved. The Civil War still wages on in America (moreso south of the Mason-Dixon line). The Stars and Bars or the Rebel Flag or the Confederate Flag is a popular bumper sticker, tatoo, t-shirt logo, and it flies over houses and pickup trucks and in some of the most interestingly unlikely places. "Dixie" is and probably always will be more popular than "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" in a significant portion of the country. All of this is no problem for me...to each his own delusions. Just thought I would interject a note of reality concerning pop culture in America in 2005, lest we start counting how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. :-) > [Original Message] > From: Paul Drake <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 11/16/2005 5:30:19 PM > Subject: [VAROOTS] > > I have been asked about and have seen several discussions about why some people in the "South" insist on defiantly displaying "the Confederate Flag". > > In short, the South (whatever that is) doesn't display it !! What you have been seeing is the "Battle Flag", a banner seen in the heat of battle upon which troops might rally, which banner was NEVER the flag of the Confederate Nation, and did not represent the citizens of the Southern States. > > Only in the last half of the 20th Century have rednecks and rabble rousers thrust that battle symbol - the St. Andrews Cross standing alone - in the face of Afro-Americans and others sensitive to the evils that misunderstanding of the Southern cause brought about. > > Unless I am mistaken, I believe that there are no photos of Lee, Davis, or any other high ranking Southerners with the Battle Flag. As witness thereto, at my website I have posted a photo of a 1911 Little Rock, AR parade of the United Confederate Veterans (UCV). Look at it closely; there are NO battle flags displayed by anyone at that event, yet no one could credit their earlier loyalty to the South. You will there find what the South considered its flag alongside the Stars and Stripes of the U.S., the battle flag being conspicuous in its absence. > > Paul Drake JD > Genealogist & Author > <www.DrakesBooks.com> > 931-484-9129 > > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx >