"The Second National C. S. A. "
- The Stainless Banner

Not more then a year after the adoption of the Stars and Bars the issue of designing a new flag for the Confederate States was raised with the intention to create a flag that was in no way similar to the Union's Stars and Stripes. Adopted on May 1, 1863 this flag displayed the Battle Flag in the canton on a field of pure white, giving it it's name the "Stainless Banner". The specs were not very strickly adhered to and in many cases the canton was rectangular. The white field is symbolic for the purity of the Cause which it represented.

One of the first uses for this flag was to drape the coffin of General Thomas J. Jackson. "Stonewall" Jackson died on May 10, 1863 from pneumonia he contracted in the treatment of his injuries received on May 2nd. On May 12, his body lay in state in the Confederate House of Representatives, by order of the President, the first new flag manufactured draped his coffin.

This "Stainless Banner" is now on display in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond.

The Civil War in South Carolina
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