Description
The Bonnie Blue Flag was the flag of the short-lived Republic of West Florida of 1810 and closely resembles the flag that was used as the banner of the Confederate States of America at the start of the American Civil War in 1861. It consists of a single, five-pointed white star on a blue field.
History
The flag was first used by the Republic of West Florida, which broke away from Spanish West Florida in September 1810 and was annexed by the United States 90 days later.[1][2] In 2006, the state of Louisiana formally linked the name “Bonnie Blue” to the West Florida banner by passing a law designating the Bonnie Blue Flag as “the official flag of the Republic of West Florida Historic Region“.[3]
When the state of Mississippi seceded from the Union in January 1861, they adopted the Republic of West Florida Flag as many had ties to the West Florida rebellion. A flag bearing a single white star on a blue field was flown from the capitol dome.[4] Harry McCarthy helped popularize this flag as a symbol of the Confederacy by writing the words to the popular song “The Bonnie Blue Flag” early in 1861. Some seceding southern states incorporated the motif of a white star on a blue field into new state flags.[5]
The “Bonnie Blue Flag” was used as an unofficial flag during the early months of 1861. It was flying above the Confederate batteries that first opened fire on Fort Sumter, beginning the Civil War. The Van Dorn battle flag was also carried by Confederate troops fighting in the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters of war. In addition, many military units had their own regimental flags they would carry into battle.
In 2007, one of six known Bonnie Blue flags from the Civil War era was sold at auction for $47,800. The flag had been carried by the Confederate 3rd Texas Cavalry and later exhibited as part of the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition.[6]
In popular culture
In the novel Gone with the Wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell and the 1939 film version, Rhett Butler nicknames his newborn daughter “Bonnie Blue Butler” after Melanie Wilkes remarks that her eyes will be “as blue as the bonnie blue flag.”[7][8]
Similar flags
The Bonnie Blue flag is similar in design to a few other official flags, although its conception is different. The flag of Somalia is almost identical, featuring a white star superimposed on a lighter blue background. The comparable flag of Vietnam features a yellow star set against a red backdrop. Similarly, the flag of the former Congo Free State and its successor the Belgian Congo had a yellow star affixed onto a dark blue field.
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