Bonnie Blue

[chilidog]

Tamaroa,
I never got around to responding about the Bonnie Blue flag in our PMs. Now that I think about it, I have read about it and seen pictures of it in Texas, but I never really saw it first hand anywhere in Texas. On the other hand, I have seen it fly over here in LA. It has roots in the area known as the "Felecianas." We have a West Feleciana parish, and an East Feleciana parish (we don't have counties in LA), but the Felecianas originally covered a much larger area.
I have never heard of any actual real estate that this flag belonged to. Where did the alegience to it come from?

Chilidog

[chilidog]

I found a little tid-bit of history about some real estate under the Bonnie Blue. It was the short-lived republic of West Florida. Check out: http://www.felicianatourism.org/history.htm for the rest of the story.

Chilidog

[chilidog]

I came across the tune and lyrics for the bonnie blue flag. Check out: http://www.nps.gov/gett/gettkidz/gkmusic/cwsong4.htm. An Irish imigrant watched the bonnie blue being raised over the state capitol in Mississippi and wrote a new set of lyrics for the old Irish drinking tune, " My Irish Jaunting Car."


Chilidog

[chilidog]

Okay, that link doesn't work from my post for some reason; try this one. http://www.contemplator.com/tunebook...i/blueflag.htm


Chilidog

[Mike Bell]

Chili,
What did the Bonnie Blue look like?
Bluehawk

[Tamaroa]

Mike, it is a field of blue with a single large star in the center. After the Republic of West Florida, it was supposedly used by south carolinians as early as the nullification crisis of 1832. That explains its popularity during the War of Secession or whatever you want to call it in 1861. It never was a state flag or an official flag of the Confederacy as far as I know. Just a symbol of states rights and secession.

Bill

[chilidog]

Here's a link to another picture of it with a brief writeup about it flying over south Mississippi for a short while. http://www.its.state.ms.us/et/portal/MSFlags/flags.html
I still can't figure why it was so popular during the civil war when it flew over only a small piece of land in the first place.


Chilidog

[Tamaroa]

Chilidog,

After the Confederacy was formed, the Confederate congress argued about the design of the flag that would represent the new nation. Like politicians everywhere, they could not agree on anything. Some of the politicians did not want to even change the flag saying that it was not the flag they had the quarrel with. Others hated it or what it represented so much that they referred to it as "that old rag".

The Bonnie Blue was used as a temporary Confederate National flag until they approved a new design. Confederate Congress needed to have a design approved prior to Lincoln's inauguration. the only one they could really agree on in so short a time was the Stars and Bars because it was different from the US flag and yet very similiar as well. It was an important political consideration to have the flag adopted and flying by the time Lincoln was inaugurated to prove a point that the South land was separate and distinct. They approved it on the same day that Lincoln took the oath. But the Bonnie Blue was a substitute until the Stars and Bars or the "First National" was official.

Bill

[Mike Bell]

Bill and Chili,
Its was a beautifully simple image, the Bonnie Blue. Its interesting to realize that by designing the CSA first national flag an effort was seemingly made to show some solidarity with the common colonial origins of all the then existing states by including such imagery as stars, blue field and red/white stripes...I had never thought of that until today.

[zag]

The first recorded use of the lone star flag dates to 1810. On September 11, 1810 a troop of West Florida dragoons set out for the provincial capitol at Baton Rouge under this flag. They were joined by other republican forces and captured Baton Rouge, imprisoned the Governor and on September 23, 1810 raised their Bonnie Blue flag over the Fort of Baton Rouge. Three days later the president of the West Florida Convention, signed a Declaration of Independence and the flag became the emblem of a new republic. By December 10, the flag of the United States replaced the Bonnie Blue after President Madison issued a proclamation declaring West Florida under the jurisdiction of the Governor of the Louisiana Territory.

With this rebellion in mind, this flag was used by the Republic of Texas from 1836 to 1839. On January 9, 1861 the convention of the People of Mississippi adopted an Ordinance of Secession. With this announcement the Bonnie Blue flag was raised over the capitol building in Jackson.

Harry Macarthy (Irishman) was so inspired that he wrote a song entitled "The Bonnie Blue Flag" which became the second most popular patriotic song of the Confederacy. The Confederate government did not adopt this flag but the people did and the lone star flags were adopted in some form in five of the southern States that adopted new flags in 1861.

Here in San Antonio, my wife and I host a Southern Historical Conference & Bonnie Blue Ball.

http://southerngrace.biz/bonnieblue/

* Both MO and KT had representatives in the CSA and USA national legislatures. They both had designated units in the national armies. Both the CSA and USA national governments recognized them as part of their respective countries. The only reason the two states are considered only part of the USA is that they were occupied by invaiding USA troops. Both MO and KT *were* a recognized part of the CSA.