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As many of you know, there has been a lot of talk about whether or not confederate flags
should be allowed on Whyville. When the issue first came up, many of us had no idea what these
flags were, what they looked like or even why people are so upset by them.
We were given a brief explanation that said that these flags are often connected
to
racist groups and that they originated during the Civil War. For some people,
this seemed to be enough, and at the time it was for me, too, until a box
appeared on my Whyville screen, asking if these flags should be allowed on
Whyville.
Since I knew I didn't know all I needed to, I took it to myself to go and find
out exactly what these flags were about and why some people might want them so
badly.
I found myself on a website named 'Confederate Stars and Bars'. On this site
there were six confederate flags to look at, each with information.?? Here is
the link where I got the following information and images (borrowed without permission):
http://americancivilwar.com/south/conflag/southflg.html
The first Official Flag of the Confederacy
 The 'Stars and Bars' was used as the official flag of the Confederacy from March
1861 to May of 1863.
The patterns and colors seen on the flag didn't make a sharp distinction from
the 'Stars and Stripes' of the Union, causing much confusion on the battlefield.
The seven stars represent the original Confederate States:
South Carolina,
Mississippi,
Florida,
Alabama,
Georgia,
Louisiana and
Texas.
The second Official Flag of the Confederacy
 On May 1, 1863, a second design was used. This flag was mistaken for a white
flag of surrender especially when the air was calm and the flag hung droopily.
The flag now had 13 stars having been joined officially by four more states:
Virginia,
Arkansas,
Tennessee and
North Carolina
The third Official Flag of the Confederacy
 On March 4, 1865, a short time before the collapse of the Confederacy, a third
pattern was made. A bar of red was placed on the fly end of the white field.
The Confederate Battle Flag
 The best-known Confederate flag was the Battle Flag, the familiar "Southern
Cross". It was carried by Confederate troops into the field. The stars
represented the 11 states actually in the Confederacy plus Kentucky and
Missouri.
The
Confederate Navy Jack
 Used as a 'navy jack' flag at sea from 1863 onward. This flag has become the generally
recognized symbol of the South.
I hope that this will help people understand what these flags represented.
swoitypie
??
Editor's Note: Good research, swoitypie -- now, what do you feel the confederate flag represents today?
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