Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 38.djvu/264

250 in chief. The centre of the red bar was charged with a larger five-pointed white star, and above and beneath it, in white letters the inscription, "May 20, 1775," "May 26, 1861," the dates of the Mecklenburg declaration of independence and of the State Ordinance of Secession.

A flag of this description, captured from the Thirty-fifth North Carolina Volunteers, is in the Washington Museum. After the naval battle at Hatteras Inlet, July 30, 1861, Lieutenant Bankhead, of the United States ship Susquehanna, brought off from the forts two flags as trophies. One was a color-standard, made of heavy twilled silk, fringed with gold; the colors, red and white, the union blue, having a gilt star on each side. On one was inscribed, "Presented by the ladies of Shiloh, Camden County, to the North Carolina defenders."' Over the star was "'May 20, 1775"; underneath, "May 20, 1861." The letters and star were gold gilt, and beautifully executed. The other flag bore this inscription, "Independent Grays, August 1, 1859." Its union had nine stars.

Early in February, 1861, a convention of six of the seceding States, viz., South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida, assembled at Montgomery, Ala. These States were represented by forty-two delegates. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was elected President, and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President, of the Confederate States of America for the current year.

While the committee had the matter of a permanent government under consideration, the convention discussed the subject of a national flag.

Various devices were presented. The designers, in many instances, were patriotic ladies, and many of the designs were but modifications of the grand old Stars and Stripes.

On the 9th of February, Mr. Memminger presented to the convention a flag sent by the young ladies of Charleston, S. C, as a model flag for the Confederate States. The device was a blue cross on a red field, with six five-pointed stars or mullets blazoned on the cross. At the same time he presented another, from a gentleman, which had fifteen stars within a cross, but the cross upon a different ground.