First Confederate National Flag:
The First National Flag eventually had 13 stars. The admission of Kentucky and Missouri in September and December brought the circle of stars to thirteen. During battle this flag was sometimes confused with the Union Stars and Stripes, therefore it was replaced by the 2nd National flag in 1863. Although there were only 11 states in the Confederacy, there were stars added for Missouri and Kentucky because both sides claimed these states. Missouri and Kentucky actually had two state governments: the elected governments which seceded and joined the Confederate States, and provisional governments created by the Union who actually held them.
In actuality, there were multiple versions of this flag. Examples on file include those with a single star as well as these star counts - 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 , 15 and 17.
Second Confederate National Flag:
Although popular legend states that because the pattern and colors of the Stars and Bars flag did not distinguish it sharply from the Stars and Stripes of the Union, it sometimes led to confusion on the battlefield. So the legend states it was decided to design a new flag for the Confederate States that was in no way similar to the Union's Stars and Stripes. However, the real reason this flag was designed had nothing to do with the U.S. flag. It had more to do with the Confederate Congress seeking a more "Confederate" flag, to honor the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, and to replace the First National Flag which had split feelings in the South.
Therefore, on May 1, 1863, a second design was adopted, using the "Southern Cross" Battle Flag as the canton on a simple white field. This second design was sometimes called "the Stainless Banner" and is sometimes referred to as the "Stonewall Jackson Flag" because its first use was to cover Stonewall Jackson's coffin at his funeral. The nickname "stainless" referred to the pure white field. This design was also used as the Confederate Naval Ensign between 1863-1865.
Army of Northern Virginia Battle Flag:
Because the colors that different commands and regiments carried on the field were a major means of identification, local commanders designed special battle flags to distinguish units during battles. The most famous of these Confederate Battle flags was that of the Army of Northern Virginia.
The famous "Southern Cross" design was born when Southern Congressman William Miles suggested the design to General Beauregard, who took it to the army's commander General Johnston. The first battle flag was made in September of 1861 by Hettie, Jennie, and Constance Cary of Richmond.
The Second Confederate Navy Jack:
The Second Naval Jack is basically a rectangular version of the "Southern Cross" as found on the canton of the Second Confederate National flag. The blue color in the saltire (the diagonal cross), however, is much lighter than on the national flag or the battle flag. It was flown by Confederate warships from 1863 to 1865.
After taking command of Confederate forces of the west in 1864, General Joseph Johnston modified the square Army of Virginia Battle flag for his Army of Tennessee, changing it to a rectangular shape similar to the Confederate Navy Jack. The attempt was met with disfavor by western commands who had fought under different flags earlier in the war. However, this rectangular flag later became the official flag of the United Confederate Veterans after the war, and today is mistakenly accepted as the "Confederate Flag."
Robert Edward Lee was an American general who was commander of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. he is regarded as having been an effective and principled strategist who worked relentlessly to reunify the country after the bloodshed of the American Civil War.
- Lee was born into an aristocratic Virginian family:
The Lee family was synonymous with power in the colony of Virginia. Robert Lee's war hero father, ‘Light Horse' Harry Lee, fought alongside, and was best friends with, George Washington during the Revolutionary War (1776-83). Lee even delivered the eulogy at his funeral.But the Lee family wasn't without its problems: Robert E. Lee's father fell into financial difficulties, and even went to debtors' prison. Lee's mother, Anne Lee, was often supported by relative William Henry Fitzhugh, who was responsible for ensuring that Lee attended United States Military School at West Point.
- He excelled at school:
Lee was a model student at West Point military school, and graduated second in his class behind Charles Mason, who went on to become Chief Justice of the Iowa Territorial Supreme Court. The focus of the course was engineering.Lee did not incur any demerits during the four-year course, and was nicknamed the ‘Marble Model' because of his drive, focus, tall height, and good looks.
- He married the great-granddaughter of First Lady Martha Washington:
Lee courted his distant cousin and childhood sweetheart Mary Anna Randolph Custis in 1829, shortly after he had finished his schooling. She was the only daughter of George Washington Parke Custis, the grandson of Martha Washington.Lee and Custis' letters to one another were understated, since Mary's mother often read them. Mary's father initially refused Lee's proposal of marriage, on account of his father's disgraced circumstances. However, the two were wed a few years later, and went on to have a 39-year marriage that bore three sons and four daughters.
- He fought in the Mexican-American War:
Lee fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) as one of General Winfield Scott's chief aides. He was instrumental in several American victories through his personal reconnaissance as a staff officer, which allowed him to discover routes that the Mexicans hadn't defended because they thought it was impossible to pass through the terrain.General Scott later wrote that Lee was "the very best soldier I ever saw in the field".
- Lee declined the offer of a Union leadership post:
At the beginning of the American Civil War, seven southern states seceded and started a rebellion against the North. The day after Lee's home state Virginia seceded, his former mentor, General Winfield Scott, offered him a post to lead the Union forces against the South. He declined, stating that he felt it was wrong to fight against his home state of Virginia.Indeed, though he felt that slavery in principle was a bad thing, he blamed the ongoing conflict on abolitionists, and accepted the pro-slavery policies of the Confederacy. Ultimately, he chose to fight as a Confederate to defend his homeland.
- He became President of Washington College:
Lee took up a post as President of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Virginia, and served from 1865 until his death. His name allowed for large-scale fund-raising, which transformed the school into a leading Southern college.Lee was well-liked by the students, and introduced a hierarchical, rewards-based system like that at West Point. He stated, "we have but one rule here, and it is that every student be a gentleman." He also recruited students from the North as a way of encouraging reconciliation.
- Lee was never pardoned or had his citizenship restored during his lifetime:
After the war, Lee was not arrested or punished, but he did lose the right to vote as well as some property. In 1865, President Andrew Johnson issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon for those who had participated in the rebellion against the United States. Fourteen classes were excepted, though, with members having to make special application to the President.Lee signed his amnesty oath as required by President Johnson the same day he became President of Washington College, but he was not pardoned and his citizenship was not restored during his lifetime.
- Lee's pre-war family home was converted into Arlington National Cemetery:
Arlington House, formerly known as the Curtis-Lee Mansion, was seized by Union forces during the war and converted into Arlington National Cemetery. Across its 639 acres, the nation's dead, beginning with the American Civil War, have been buried there. Notable people buried there include President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy.
| Confederate Commanders | |
|---|---|
| https://www.nps.gov/gett/learn/historyculture/confederate-commanders-at-gettysburg.htm | |
 | General James Longstreet The most trusted of Lee's corps commanders, Longstreet's troops would bear the brunt of the fighting on July 2nd and July 3rd at Gettysburg. The general was in charge of the main Southern attack on the last day of the battle, even though he did not believe in its success. Much of the Southern controversy about Gettysburg centers around Longstreet's decisions during the battle, some that would haunt him until the last of his days. |
 | Richard S. Ewell Commanding the Second Corps that was once "Stonewall" Jackson's, General Ewell was brave in battle and efficient in following orders. At Gettysburg his troops arrived in the right place and attacked at the right time, stampeding Union troops through Gettysburg and capturing hundreds. His decisions later that same day would cause many to wonder what might have occurred had a more aggressive commander been in the general's boots. |
 | General Ambrose Powell Hill Commanding the Third Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, Hill's troops opened the battle on July 1, 1863. His troops also fought on July 2, and he sent the better part of two divisions into the grand assault on July 3, also known as "Pickett's Charge". Tragically, General Hill did not survive the war. He was killed in Virginia barely a week before the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House. |
 | General Henry Heth Marching from Cashtown, Pennsylvania on the morning of July 1, 1863, General Heth's troops fired the first southern shots of the battle. At the height of the fighting that day, he was struck in the head by a minie ball and knocked senseless though he was fortunate to recover just in time to lead his command during the retreat back to Virginia. After the war he wrote his memoirs, adding that Lee's army had never been so confident of victory as they were during the Gettysburg Campaign. |
 | General John Bell Hood An aggressive and brave commander who hailed from Kentucky, General Hood commanded a division under General Longstreet. His troops marched 18 miles on July 2nd and then attacked Union troops on Little Round Top and at Devil's Den. The general was seriously wounded in the arm while leading his troops into battle and though surgeons did not amputate the shattered limb, it would hang useless by his side for the remainder of his life. |
 | General George E. Pickett One of the more flamboyant of Lee's generals, Pickett worried that his Division of Virginians would fail to see action during the Gettysburg Campaign. As events turned out, his Virginians would reach the "High Water Mark" of the battle and of the Confederacy. His name is forever associated with the third and final day of the battle and the climactic attack against the Union center, known as "Pickett's Charge". |
 | General J.E.B. Stuart Bold and dashing, "Jeb" Stuart was the "beau ideal" of southern horsemanship. Commanding the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, he directed a successful raid through Maryland and Pennsylvania that ended in controversy when his arrival at Gettysburg came long after the battle had begun, earning him an embarrassing censure from the army commander. Stuart's horsemen fought a pitched battle three miles east of Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 3rd and he was soundly defeated. Gettysburg was one of Stuart's few defeats during the war. |
 | General John B. Gordon Commanding a Georgia brigade in Ewell's corps, Gordon was an experienced soldier who had almost lost his life at the Battle of Antietam in 1862. His troops put many of the Union troops to flight on July 1after which he occuppied the town of Gettysburg and was an interested observer at corps headquarters. Gordon survived the conflict and was assigned by General Lee to lead the surrender parade of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House in 1865. After the war, Gordon served several terms as the Governor of Georgia, was an influential leader of The United Confederate Veterans, and in 1904 published his stirring memoir of service, Reminiscences of the Civil War. |
 | Colonel Edward P. Alexander In command of a reserve artillery battalion in Longstreet's Corps, the responsibility of the cannonade prior to Pickett's Charge on July 3rd was placed on his shoulders. It was Alexander who sent the message to General Pickett begging him to advance while his depleted artillery could still support the charge but was frustrated by misplaced ammunition supplies and the overwhelming Union artillery response. After the war, Alexander wrote extensively about his wartime experiences including his role in the artillery fighting at Gettysburg. |
 | Brigadier General Lewis Armistead Commanding a brigade in Pickett's Division, Armistead led his troops on foot across nearly a mile of open field and into the Union line where he was wounded and captured. A career Army officer before the war, many of his closest army acquaintances were serving the Union cause at Gettysburg. He died in a Union field hospital the following day. |
 | Colonel William C. Oates As colonel of the 15th Alabama Infantry, this former lawyer and outspoken newspaperman found himself and his regiment fighting in some of the roughest terrain on the Gettysburg battlefield. In the bitter contest with the 20th Maine Infantry on the boulder-strewn slope of Little Round Top, he would lose almost half of his regiment, including his brother numbered among the slain. |
 | Colonel Eppa Hunton Leading the 8th Virginia Infantry in Garnett's Brigade, Hunton was painfully wounded during Pickett's Charge and his regiment lost its flag to the 16th Vermont Infantry. A brigadier general by war's end, he afterward became a vocal critic of his former division commander and refused to visit the Gettysburg battlefield where he had lost so many of his closest friends. |
 | Major General Jubal A. Early West Point graduate and soldier, lawyer, major of Virginia Volunteers in the War with Mexico and member of the Virginia house of delegates, Early commanded a division of troops in Richard Ewell's Corps. His troops were the first to enter Gettysburg on June 26, 1863, where he levied a demand for supplies and money from town officials before moving on toward York, Pennsylvania. His hard marching troops swept away the Union Eleventh Corps on July 1 but could not break the defenses of East Cemetery Hill the next day. |
 | General James J. Pettigrew This handsome officer led a North Carolina brigade in the desperate fight on July 1st and a division in Pickett's Charge on July 3rd. Eleven days later, while in command was the final defensive line of the army's river crossing on the Potomac River at Williamsport, Pettigrew was mortally wounded by a Union cavalryman, the last general officer lost by Lee in the Gettysburg Campaign. |
