Bonnie Blue Flags – 2- Ply Polyester

Sizes ranging from 3×5 to 8×12 Heavy-Duty 2-Ply Polyester Bonnie Blue Flags

The actual size of the flag in the picture is 3×5. The artwork on the other sizes is the same.

2-ply polyester is the most durable option for those who fly their flag 24/7. These flags feature an appliqued white star that is beautifully outlined with heavy embroidery against a solid blue background.

• Heavy-duty 600 denier fabric
• Fully sewn construction
• Fade-resistant
• Heavy canvas header with three brass grommets
• 4 rows of stitching on the fly end to prevent premature fraying

Available sizes

• 3×5
• 4×6
• 5×8
• 6×10
• 8×12

History of the Bonnie Blue Flag

The first known use of the Bonnie Blue Flag, also known as the Lone Star Flag, was in 1810 in the West Florida territory, which included the Florida Panhandle, as well as parts of modern-day Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. After the Revolutionary War, Spain managed to regain control of this territory. Resentment of this Spanish rule resulted in the inhabitants of the West Florida Territory taking up arms to remove themselves from it. On September 11th, 1810, West Florida Dragoon troops marched to Baton Rouge where they were joined by other militia groups and attacked the Spanish fort there. The Spanish garrison was overwhelmed, thus losing control of the fort along with the West Florida territory. The flag of the Republic of West Florida was unfurled and raised above the newly captured fort. The flag was described as a dark blue banner with a single white star in the center. The majority of the families that inhabited the new republic were of Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent. The word “Bonnie” was commonly used in Scottish and Irish dialects to mean beautiful or pretty or in reference to an attractive lady, hence the term “Bonnie Blue”. The Republic of West Florida was dissolved only three months later as the territory was annexed by the United States as part of the “Louisiana Purchase”.

The simple, yet striking design of the Bonnie Blue Flag was to become the inspiration for many flag designs throughout history after the 1810 West Florida experience. In 1819 Dr. James Long along with approximately 300 men, mounted an expedition into what is now Texas in an attempt to free it from Spanish control. They carried a flag that was made by Dr. Long’s wife, Jane. The flag was described as a bright, red background with a single white star in the center and was known as the Jane Long flag and is also considered to be the first Lone Star Flag to be flown on Texas soil. The Lone Star Flag was also the inspiration for the single star above the cannon on the Gonzales “Come and Take it” flag and some historians believe that the Gonzales flag was, in part, the inspiration for the single star above the bear on the California state flag. The Lorenzo de Zavala flag was believed to be a blue flag with a white star and the letters T E X A S encircling the star with one letter filling each gap of the star. The William Burnet flag, which served as the first national flag of the Republic of Texas was virtually identical to the Bonnie Blue Flag, except the star was gold instead of white. The modern-day Texas flag also has the lone white star against a blue background represented.

In 1861, without an official flag, various militia units in what was to become the Confederate States of America unofficially adopted the Bonnie Blue design as a symbol of rebellion against what was considered by many in the southern states to be unjust and excessive authority exerted by the federal government. Blue flags with single white stars were raised by several of the Confederate batteries that attacked Ft. Sumpter thus marking the beginning of the Civil War. The use of the flag in the early days of the Confederacy was largely inspired by a song written by a famous minstrel performer named Harry McCarthy. The song was entitled “The Bonnie Blue Flag” AKA “We are a Band of Brothers”. It was performed at the New Orleans Academy of Music where some Texas volunteer militia were in attendance, including the 8th Texas Cavalry (Terry’s Texas Rangers) and the 1st Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment for a mustering-in ceremony. Terry’s Texans were so impressed by the song and the enthusiasm generated all over the southern army, that they fashioned their own version of the Bonnie Blue flag out of course wool, with the star in the center pointing downward in the manner preferred by Texans. This design was the first battle flag of the 8th Texas Cavalry. Others in the Confederacy viewed the imagery of the single star as a representation of removing the individual star of their state from the American flag as they seceded from the union.