Flags of Some Southern States Still Include Confederate Symbols

For 39 years, the Confederate battle flag — an instantly recognizable blue “X,” bedecked with white stars, against a red background — flew atop the Capitol dome in Columbia, South Carolina. It still flies on the State House grounds, and the governor wants it removed.

It is different from the South Carolina state flag, which features a white crescent moon and palmetto tree against a field of indigo.

But in at least five other Southern states, symbols of the old Confederacy form part of the state flags themselves.

Alabama

Adopted in 1895, the state flag of Alabama is a simple crimson “X,” also known as the cross of St. Andrew, against a field of white.

According to the Alabama Department of Archives and History, a state archivist concluded in 1915 that the flag was meant to “preserve in permanent form some of the more distinctive features of the Confederate battle flag, particularly the St. Andrew’s cross.”

Arkansas

The state flag of Arkansas features four stars and the name of the state inside a diamond. Three stars correspond to countries to which Arkansas belonged before its official statehood.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA sluggish Congress punts a long list of tasks until after the election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSIt’s rarely been harder for people to find new jobs

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Some of the medication has worn off’: Witness recalls failed Tennessee execution of Christa Pike

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Couldn’t let all of them die’: Hero Indian pilot attacked midair speaks for first time

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow Trump’s homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rights

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJudge guts noncitizen voting law used in Trump administration’s election push

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump to campaign in at least 17 states ahead of the midterms

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe prosecutor at the center of the Cornell maelstrom

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA sluggish Congress punts a long list of tasks until after the election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSIt’s rarely been harder for people to find new jobs

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Some of the medication has worn off’: Witness recalls failed Tennessee execution of Christa Pike

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Couldn’t let all of them die’: Hero Indian pilot attacked midair speaks for first time

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow Trump’s homelessness crackdown became a sweeping retreat from disability rights

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJudge guts noncitizen voting law used in Trump administration’s election push

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump to campaign in at least 17 states ahead of the midterms

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe prosecutor at the center of the Cornell maelstrom

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

The fourth was added by the Legislature in 1923 to represent the Confederacy, according to a state historian. The next year, separate legislation positioned the fourth star above the state name and put the other three below.

Florida

From 1868 to 1900, the flag was the state seal against a white background. Gov. Francis Fleming, who fought in the Confederate army, suggested adding the red “X” in the 1890s to distinguish it from a flag of surrender, according to the Department of State.

Florida’s state flag thus strongly resembles Alabama’s. Separately, a version of the Confederate flag known as the Stainless Banner flew over the west entrance of the Capitol from 1978 until 2001, when Gov. Jeb Bush ordered it removed.

Georgia

In 1956, Georgia adopted a flag that prominently incorporated the battle emblem. It came down in 2001 in favor of a compromise flag that made the Confederate imagery much smaller.

The current flag was adopted in 2003. It is the first national flag of the Confederacy, known as the Stars and Bars, with the state’s symbolic arch added inside a circle of stars. Georgia voters endorsed it by a 3-to-1 margin in a 2004 referendum.

Mississippi

Mississippi is the only state still incorporating the Confederate battle emblem into its state flag. Voters endorsed it by a margin of almost 2-to-1 in a 2001 referendum.

The Republican speaker of the state House said Monday that the emblem should be removed. “As a Christian,” he said, “I believe our state’s flag has become a point of offense that needs to be removed.”