Saint Andrew's Cross

The X-cross is called a saltier. A saltier is an X-shaped figure in heraldry. Heraldry is the knowledge and art of describing coats of arms. The saltier usually occupies the entire field in which it is placed. The X-cross is more commonly known as the cross of St. Andrew and easily recognized as the national flag of Scotland.

According to tradition, St. Andrew the Apostle is responsible for bringing the Gospel to the Celtic peoples. He personally preached as far north as present-day Russia before being captured in Macedonia and crucified upon and X-shaped cross (Saltier). Andrew's disciples continued their great commission, preaching throughout Europe, reaching the Celts around 400 A.D., through the work of St. Columbia in Scotland and St. Patrick in Ireland. Thus, the cross of St. Andrew is the symbol of faith and the precious heritage of the Celtic race.

Following the First Battle of Manassas, General Joseph E. Johnston, General G. W. Smith, General Beauregard, and other Confederate officers were determined that the fiasco at Manassas would not happen again.

Johnston, the ranking Confederate officer, ordered all military units to use the flags of their states. But only Virginia had supplied her troops with their state flag. The Confederate officers were then determined to design and adopt a battle flag that would be clearly recognizable.

Beauregard Battle Flag

Beauregard, who had already anticipated the need for a new battle flag, wrote to William P. Miles, chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee of the Confederate Congress, suggesting the adoption of a new national flag. Failing in that effort, Beauregard asked his Louisiana officers to suggest some possible new designs for a battle flag.

When it became known that a new battle flag would soon be adopted, the high command was inundated with designs and drafts. Of the many different designs and configurations, the basic pattern that appeared most often was a cross, of various shapes, emblazoned with stars. The colors of red, white, and blue were also prominent.

After lengthy consideration was given to various designs, Johnston and Beauregard met with Quartermaster General William L. Cabell at the Fairfax Courthouse in Virginia in September 1861 to finalize the design of the new battle flag. Johnston proposed a flag in the shape of an ellipse with a red field and a blue saltier (a diagonal cross, often called a St. Andrew's cross) containing a white star for each Confederate state.

Beauregard had suggested in his letter to Congressman Miles a square or rectangular design consisting of a blue field with a red cross containing gold stars. It appears from that correspondence that Beauregard favored either a Latin cross (a crucifix) or a Greek cross (St. George's), rather than the diagonal cross of St. Andrew.

Congressman Miles found Beauregard's color combination to be contrary to the laws of heraldry and suggested a blue saltier, with white stars, on a field of red. Deferring to Miles' knowledge of heraldry, Beauregard accepted his modifications and included them in his final proposal to Johnston and Cabell.

As the three Confederate officers were considering the design of the battle flag, Cabell indicated that Beauregard's design would be easier and quicker to produce than Johnston's and there would be no waste of cloth in a square or rectangular flag. Johnston, though he outranked Beauregard, accepted Beauregard's design and directed that the new battle flag be a perfect square.

The size of the flag was 4 x 4' for infantry, 3 x 3' for artillery, and 2 1/2 x 2 1/2' for cavalry.

Recognized Christian Symbol

General Bradley T. Johnson, whose Maryland regiment fought with the Confederacy at Manassas, had seen a watercolor drawing of the original design and described the flag several years later as a red square, on which was displayed a blue St. Andrew's cross, bordered with white, and charged with thirteen white, five-pointed stars. He referred to this design as Beauregard's battle flag.

Its official adoption, by the South, is the only example of an overtly Christian symbol used in a national flag by any government originated in the Western Hemisphere.