But as secession got underway, the Confederate States of America adopted a flag that riffed off the Union’s stars and stripes. When rebels fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, they flew a blue banner with a single white star called the Bonnie Blue Flag. Though inextricably linked with the Confederacy, the flag was never its official symbol. Today, alongside the nation’s growing acknowledgment of systemic racism and widespread Black Lives Matter protests, the Confederate flag predictably makes appearances at white supremacist gatherings.īut how did the battle flag, also known as the Southern Cross, come to represent the Confederacy in the first place? It’s a story of rebellion, racism, and disagreement over the true history of the Civil War-and as the controversy over its use during the Capitol riots shows, it’s divisive even 160 years after it was designed. As the crowd of President Trump’s supporters rioted, many hoisted the symbol of a short-lived splinter nation that tore the Union apart. Capitol on January 6, 2021, they brought an accessory: the Confederate battle flag. When a mob of armed insurgents flooded the U.S.
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