Until recently, the flag of the Confederate States of America remained an integral symbol of Southern heritage. In the decades following World War II, however, cracks appeared in its foundation. Many young white Southerners began to associate it with disunity and treason, and Northern and African-American voices questioned the wisdom of using it in rituals that honored a national heritage they associated with slavery and segregation. Even the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) could not keep the flag from becoming, in their words, “confetti in careless hands.”URL:https://ultimateflags.com/products/first-national-confederate-flag-7-stars-and-bars-nylon-embroidered/

Exploring the First National Confederate Flag: Symbolism and History

In May 1863, the Confederacy adopted its first official national flag–known colloquially as the Stainless Banner–which featured the Army of Northern Virginia battle flag emblazoned on a field of white. That design was favored by Congressman William Porcher Miles, but it drew criticism because it looked too much like the Union flag and might confuse soldiers on the battlefield. General Joseph Johnston, commander of the Army of Tennessee, also favored a rectangular upside-down version of the Battle Flag with a red bar extending over the width of the flag.

The UDC and the Confederate Congress eventually settled on a variant of the Stainless Banner with 13 stars arranged in a blue saltire or X shape on a red field. This pattern was also used by the Army of Tennessee and, after it was redesigned by General Beauregard in March of 1865, as the Navy Jack and the flag of the new State of Georgia.