It is my understanding, from some research online, that many states didn't have an official flag before the Civil War.
e.g., Alabama

Flags Of The World.com

Right. The revisonist "state's right's version" and the one where the South fought to maintain the economic advantage that slavery gave them, which boiling it down to the lowest common denominator - fighting to maintain the institution of slavery.

Oh barf. Read the declarations of secession. In their own words it was about slavery.

Well no duh. Slavery gave the South a great economic advantage and they fought to maintain it. Saying that there's a difference there is intentionally obfuscating the issue.

No, the North was not in the business of doing the right thing because it was the right thing. The North didn't fight to end slavery so much as the South fought to keep it. The two aims may be diametrically opposed, but it wasn't the motivating factor for the North.

And most Nazis who fought for Hitler didn't kill any Jews. So what.

And since this has gone completely off the rails and I'm going to get my hand smacked for taking the discussion there, let's bring it back -

Why does the South really celebrate the Civil War? They got their asses kicked. It was fought for a crappy purpose, no matter how many coats of revisionist shellac they want to put on it. And even if they swallow their own BS on that, it's still war - a war where hundreds of thousands of men and boys died fighting their countrymen. Why does it need to be a source of pride? War is not something to be proud of. It's an ugly and disgusting thing that is the last resort and there's no glory in it. It's diplomacy by force. Why these people want to commemorate such an ugly time in this country's history by flying that flag is beyond me. And in an official capacity - these state governments who fly the Confederate flag - it's a flag of rebellion. That's pretty screwy. You're a part of the government, yet you're going to make your state symbol a historic symbol of rebellion against the government. Makes no sense.

Most didn't have state flags before the war, some used seals. I think Va and SC may have had a state flag before the CW.

Now that I didn't know. It does explain some things.

Off-topic, another big peeve of mine was that I have a book of Flags Of The World. It has the flags of all the French provinces, but none of the Italian ones. At least I can look those up online now. :sunny:

What puzzles me is the dislike the flag seems to get even when flown under the Stars and Stripes.

If I fly the CSA Flag,it does not mean I condone slavery. It does not make me a racist. It does not mean I find pride in the killing of 600,000 Americans over ideological reasons. To me,the CSA Flag is simply a part of my upbringing. And so long as it is flown respectfully and properly,I fail to see how this makes me a bad person. If the Cause is not being glorified,then I see no harm in a CSA Flag being flown.

You're free to fly it and display it. My problem is it's being pushed out of federal and state property, parks and museum, even if being used in historical context.

It's pretty bad when a "Museum of the Confederacy" can't fly one.

Providing a biased source does nothing to back up your claims.
After all an author who does "pro south studies" lacks any balance, and a "traditional southern agrarian" sure likes the way them plantations were set up.

Nah, just the big plantation owners liked it. Those folks were not the cause of the war.
As a native of the emerald isle, sir, I don't see you as having a dog in this fight. It's just the typical history written by the victors and what they write is usually 99% hogwash. So why shouldn't a southerner try to set the record straight, biased or not? King Abraham was the major cause of the conflict with his "proclamations" and the same old tired GOP rhetoric that has been attempting to circumvent the constitution both then and now.:hmmm:
I still feel that General Sherman should have been tried for war crimes. Just for the burning of Atlanta alone. Lincoln got what he deserved. All the south got out of it was wrecked. Damn Yankees!

Yes, quite silly. Nothing like being spoon fed what some feel you should see and understand.

That's a dismissal used over and over by Americans to try to shut up anyone who disagrees with them. While I disapprove of Tribesman's tactics in many cases, he has shown himself to be a student of history and a fan of the truth.

Not even close, as I have shown on many occasions here.

Everyone should always try to set the record straight. The problem is that most Southerners who make that claim are more biased than anyone arguing for the other side. "History", as presented by Southern apologists, is invariably one-sided and self-serving, and nowhere near the truth.

I won't argue with you there, because your feelings are as valid as anyone's. On the other hand I once met a man from Georgia who said that a lot of modern Atlantans wish Sherman would come back and finish the job.

In this case I agree with you absolutely.

I just noticed this. Should I go through his points one by one and show how many of them are themselves wrong, or even outright lies, or will you take my word for it?

Shall I simply link to the arguments you never bothered to answer the last time around. Or the time before that? Or that? How about the Cornerstone speech again?

Willful ignorance for the sake of sentimentality is foolhardy enough to border on vice.

Doesn't matter what flags "we" can or can't fly, "we" now suck! :D