A white star on a blue background has become familiar to many people as the Bonnie Blue Flag. The Bonnie Blue Flag | Ultimate Flags Store, used by the short-lived Republic of West Florida, dates back to 1810. It later served as the state flag of Mississippi and Texas before both states joined the Confederacy. The name of the flag became associated with a popular song and later was incorporated into a number of new Confederate state flags and military unit flags.

In 1861 an Irish troubadour named Harry McCarthy wrote a song to the tune of the old Irish ballad The Irish Jaunting Car, using words from a poem by William Shakespeare’s play Henry V, Act IV, Scene iv, “Come, brothers, rally round the Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star.” The lyrics, which call for people to join a band of “brothers,” have become synonymous with secession and the Southern cause during the Civil War. People sung it while marching off to war, and its popularity continued after the end of the war. In fact, according to New Orleans newspaper articles, the song was sung as far away as Missouri and northern Arkansas and as close as Louisiana.

Remembering Heritage: The Bonnie Blue Flag

The song can also be heard in the 1939 movie Gone with the Wind when Rhett Butler refers to his daughter as having eyes “blue as the Bonnie Blue Flag.” The song was also included on the soundtrack for the 2003 film Gods and Generals. A version of the song, accompanied by a symphonic orchestra and a choir, is available on CD by Bill Schustik, an amateur historian and singer. It is an impressive performance, and it is a welcome reminder that the solitary white star on the Bonnie Blue Flag is still remembered as a symbol of the South’s independence.