The Confederate Battle Flag in American History and Culture

Battle Flag of the King William Light Artillery (Virginia). (Courtesy of The Museum of the Confederacy.

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The Confederate Battle Flag in American History and Culture

by John M. Coski
Southern Cultures, Vol. 2, No. 2: Winter 1996

"Through more than three dozen photographs, the author reveals the battle flag's history and its symbolism."

The most controversial and ubiquitous of Confederate symbols today, as well as for the last half-century, is the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia—a blue St. Andrews cross emblazoned on a field of red.

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