The second
national flag of the
Confederate States of America. Adopted
in early 1863 by the
Confederate Congress, it replaced the
Stars
and Bars as the official national
flag, and remained so to the end
of the
Civil War.
Technically, the Stainless Banner featured a blue saltire cross with 13 stars on a red
canton, all on a white field. (In layman's terms, it was a white flag with the Southern Cross battle flag at
the upper left corner.)
For some reason, the Stainless Banner has never been popular with historical
preservation groups; most prefer the Southern Cross or Stars and Bars. I
personally like it, and was quite disappointed to find that miniature
versions of this flag were sold out at the Fort Sumter gift shop when
I visited Charleston in March.