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  CONFEDERATE FIRST NATIONAL (STARS & BARS) PATTERN BIBLE FLAG IN A LARGE SCALE WITH 7 WHITE-PAINTED STARS, MADE AT THE OPENING OF THE WAR, 1861

Available: Sold
Frame Size (H x L): 18.5" x 27"
Flag Size (H x L): 8.75" x 15.5"
Description....:
CONFEDERATE FIRST NATIONAL (STARS & BARS) PATTERN BIBLE FLAG IN A LARGE SCALE WITH 7 WHITE-PAINTED STARS, MADE AT THE OPENING OF THE WAR, 1861:

Confederate Bible flag in the first national format (a.k.a., Stars & Bars), made of silk and entirely hand-sewn. 7 stars are painted in white in a wreath pattern against the blue canton. 7 states seceded from the Union in the initial wave, between December 20th, 1860 and February second, 1861. The Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States of America was adopted on February 7th and the Stars & Bars was adopted as the first of three designs for the Confederate national flag on March 4th, a day that coincided with Abraham Lincoln's inauguration.

The original configuration had 7 stars to represent the 7 Confederate States. This was employed until the secession of more states. As with the Stars & Stripes, the Stars & Bars received a star for each new state, but the periods between each addition were very brief. Virginia voted in favor of secession on April 17th, 1861 and the ordinance was ratified on May 23rd by the state legislature. The star count would have been increased by flag-makers to 8 at some point during this window.

Bible flags were made for a soldier by a loved one, to be presented as a token of pride and affection when he went away to war. They received this name because they were typically carried in a Bible, both because this was the safest place that a soldier might keep a flat, treasured object on his person with limited places to do so, and because it sometimes doubled as a bookmark.

Bible flags were most often made of ladies’ dress silk or dress ribbon. A woman might use new fabric, but if the maker was a girlfriend of fiancée, as opposed to a mother or sister, then she might use fabric clipped from her own dress a way to further personalize the gift. Bible flags are found in all shapes and sizes, and with every star configuration imaginable, but most are small enough to fit in a small Bible. There was no standard size, however, so they were sometimes larger. This particular example is unusual due to its large size. I have seen a few in this scale, but they are more rare. Sometimes they could also have been waved in parades and rallies, because printed flags, commonly used in the North, were not produced during the war period in Southern designs. This one was folded and its specific history of use is unknown. Larger Bible flags are particularly nice because they make a bolder statement when framed and displayed and so are prized by flag enthusiasts.

Notes on Confederate Flag Design:
The Confederacy had three successive national designs, known as the First, second, and Third Confederate national flags. The First looked much like the Stars & Stripes. Also known as "The Stars & Bars", it consisted of white stars arranged on a blue canton and three linear stripes, which were instead termed "bars" (2 red with 1 white in-between).

Use of the Stars & Stripes and the Stars & Bars on the same battlefield created great confusion. For this reason, the second Confederate flag was adopted on May 26th, 1863. Known as the Stainless Banner, it was white in color, with the Southern Cross (a.k.a. the Confederate Battle Flag) serving as its canton. Soldiers and officers alike disliked this design because it looked too much like a surrender flag, especially if a unit that was carrying it was headed straight at you and there was no cross wind. If given the opportunity, soldiers would dip the fly end of the flag in blood.

36 days before the war’s end a red vertical bar was added at the fly end and the result became the third national design. This was called the “blood stained banner”, but officially the red did not represent blood, but rather paid homage to the French, who lent aid to the South during the war. If one were to replace the first third portions of the Third Confederate national flag with a blue vertical bar, the result would be the French tri-color (the national flag of France).

Many people are surprised to learn that by itself the Southern Cross was not the national flag of the Confederate States of America. Officially, in rectangular format, it served as the Confederate Navy Jack. In square format it came to be called “the battle flag”, partly because it was carried in this format, for that purpose, by Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, as well as by Beauregard’s Army and others. It also received widespread love in the South because the second and third national designs were not particularly admired by Confederate soldiers, the second for reasons previously stated and the third because the design was so short-lived.

Mounting: The gilded molding dates to the period between 1840 and 1870. This is a pressure-mount between 100% cotton, black in color, and U.V. protective acrylic. The black fabric was washed to reduce excess dye. An acid-free agent was added to the wash to further set the dye and the fabric was heat-treated for the same purpose.

Condition: There is significant soiling in the bars in limited areas. There is significant fabric loss in the white bar, due to the fact that this particular fabric contained weighting agents that were caustic to the textile. Period silk fabric from another flag was placed behind for masking purposes. Soiling around the stars results from the oil used to make the paint, which could have been mixed by hand. Many of my clients prefer early flags to show their age and history of use. The rarity and desirability of Bible flags warrants practically any condition.
Collector Level: Advanced Collectors and the Person with Everything
Flag Type: Sewn flag
Star Count: 07
Earliest Date of Origin: 1861
Latest Date of Origin: 1861
State/Affiliation: The Confederacy
War Association: 1861-1865 Civil War
Price: SOLD
 

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