The flag of the state of Mississippi was first adopted by the U.S. state of
Mississippi in April 1894, replacing the flag that had been adopted in 1861. The
flag was subsequently repealed in 1906 and readopted in April 2001. The flag is
unique among U.S. state flags as it is the sole remaining U.S. state flag which
still depicts the Confederate battle flag's saltire, after Georgia adopted a
new state flag in 2003. Pledge to the Mississippi state flag
The pledge to the state flag is: I salute the flag of Mississippi and the
sovereign state for which it stands with pride in her history and achievements
and with confidence in her future under the guidance of Almighty God.
The statute is part of the set of state statutes that governs the curriculum of
the state's public schools. Section 37-13-7 provides: "The pledge of
allegiance to the Mississippi flag shall be taught in the public schools of this
state, along with the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag."
History = Bonnie Blue flag =
Prior to 1861, Mississippi, like most U.S. states, had no official state flag.
When Mississippi declared its secession from the Union on January 9, 1861 near
the start of the American Civil War spectators in the balcony handed a
Bonnie Blue Flag down to the Session Convention delegates on the floor and
one was raised over the capitol building in Jackson as a sign of independence.
Later that night, residents of Jackson paraded through the streets under the
banner. Harry McCarthy, a singer and playwright who observed the parade, was
inspired to write "The Bonnie Blue Flag", which, after "Dixie", was the
most popular song in the Confederacy. = 1861 flag =
The first official flag of Mississippi was known as the Magnolia Flag. It was
the official flag of the state from 1861 until 1865 and it remained in use as an
unofficial flag until 1894, when the current state flag was adopted. On
January 26 the delegates to the Secession Convention approved the report
of a special committee that had been appointed to design a coat of arms and
"a suitable flag". The flag recommended by the committee was: "A Flag of white
ground, a Magnolia tree in the centre, a blue field in the upper left hand corner
with a white star in the centre, the Flag to be finished with a red border
and a red fringe at the extremity of the Flag." Due to time constraints and the
pressure to raise “means for the defense of the state” the delegates actually
neglected to officially adopt the flag in January, but did so when they
reassembled in March. The Magnolia Flag was not widely used or displayed during
the Civil War, as the various Confederate flags were displayed more
frequently. The Magnolia Flag remained the official state flag of Mississippi
until 1865, when following the conclusion of the Civil War, a
constitutional convention assembled in Jackson on August 22 began to revoke and
repeal many of the actions taken by the Secession Convention of 1861. Among
those repealed was the ordinance adopting a coat of arms and a state
flag, leaving Mississippi without an official flag.
= 1894 flag = On April 23, 1894 a new flag was adopted
by the Mississippi Legislature in a Special Session. In 1906, Mississippi
adopted a revised legal code that repealed all general laws that were not
reenacted by the legislature or brought forward in the new code. The 1906 legal
code did not bring forward the law that created an official state flag and a
coat of arms. Because of this oversight, likely inadvertent, the state of
Mississippi did not have an official state flag from 1906-2001. Nonetheless,
the 1894 flag continued to be used as the de facto state flag until it was
officially readopted on April 17, 2001. The Mississippi Code of 1972, in Title
3, Chapter 3, describes the flag as follows:
§ 3-3-16. Design of state flag. The official flag of the State of
Mississippi shall have the following design: with width two-thirds of its
length; with the union to be square, in width two-thirds of the width of the
flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltire thereon,
bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen mullets or five-pointed stars,
corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union; the field
to be divided into three bars of equal width, the upper one blue, the center
one white, and the lower one, extending the whole length of the flag, red; this
being the flag adopted by the Mississippi Legislature in the 1894
Special Session. 2001 flag referendum
In 2000, the Supreme Court of Mississippi ruled that the state
legislature in 1906 had repealed the adoption of the state flag in 1894. What
was considered to be the official state flag was only so through custom or
tradition during the previous 94 years. The flag was officially readopted on
April 17, 2001. In January 2001, Governor Ronnie
Musgrove appointed an independent commission which developed a new
proposed design, and on April 17, 2001, a non-binding state referendum to change
the flag was put before Mississippi voters. The proposal would have replaced
the Confederate battle flag with a blue canton with 20 stars. The outer ring of
13 stars would represent the original Thirteen Colonies, the ring of six stars
would represent the six nations that have had sovereignty over Mississippi
territory, and the inner and slightly larger star would represent Mississippi
itself. The 20 stars would also represent Mississippi's status as the
20th member of the United States. The referendum for a new flag was defeated
in a vote of 64% to 36% and the old flag was retained.
2015 flag controversy Following the Charleston church shooting
in June 2015 and subsequent discussion regarding the flying of the Confederate
battle flag at the South Carolina State House, Speaker of the Mississippi House
of Representatives Philip Gunn publicly called for the removal of the
Confederate flag from the canton of the flag of Mississippi. WLBT-TV in Jackson
reported that some homes in the area had begun flying the Magnolia Flag.
Mississippi U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker also stated that he believes the state flag
of Mississippi should be replaced, saying: "After reflection and prayer, I
now believe our state flag should be put in a museum and replaced by one that is
more unifying to all Mississippians,” Wicker said in a statement. “As the
descendant of several brave Americans who fought for the Confederacy, I have
not viewed Mississippi’s current state flag as offensive. However, it is
clearer and clearer to me that many of my fellow citizens feel differently and
that our state flag increasingly portrays a false impression of our state
to others." Mississippi governor Phil Bryant also weighed in on the
controversy, opining against a change, stating: "A vast majority of
Mississippians voted to keep the state's flag, and I don't believe the
Mississippi Legislature will act to supersede the will of the people on this
issue." On the 26th of October, the University of Mississippi removed the
state flag from its Oxford campus. On the 28th of October, the University of
Southern Mississippi followed by removing state flags from all flagpoles
on their campuses. See also
Coats of arms of the U.S. states Flags of the U.S. states
Coat of arms of Mississippi Symbols of the state of Mississippi
Great Seal of the State of Mississippi Constitution of Mississippi
Flags of the Confederate States of America
Notes References
External links Flags That Have Flown Over Mississippi
Mississippi at Flags of the World Mississippian State Symbols