First Confederate Flag Marker and Monument, Louisburg, North Carolina
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member showbizkid
N 36° 05.926 W 078° 18.053
17S E 742989 N 3998276
A monument and marker commemorating the creation of the first Confederate national flag, the Stars and Bars and its relationship to Louisburg and North Carolina.
Waymark Code: WME45
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 06/03/2006
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member GeoGordie
Views: 87


There were three different national flags for the Confederacy in its brief existence. The "Rebel Flag" or "Southern Cross" flag we often see on good ol' boy's pickup trucks wasn't actually a Confederate States of America flag, but a battle flag (although the second and third national flags incorporated the Southern Cross in their designs).

This marker commemorates the (purported) native son creator of the Stars and Bars and notes that this flag flew for the first time in North Carolina at Louisburg.

There are actually two families who are still arguing over which one of their descendants created the flag. Click HERE for a brief description of this controversy.

This is a granite monument with a brass plaque. It sits in front of the Franklin County Courthouse in Louisburg.

The plaque reads:

ERECTED SEPETEMBER 1923
BY
THE NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION
UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY
IN APPRCIATION OF THE FACT
THAT THE FIRST FLAG OF THE CONFEDERACY
"THE STARS AND BARS"
WAS DESIGNED BY A SON OF NORTH CAROLINA
ORREN RANDOLPH SMITH

AND MADE UNDER HIS DIRECTION BY
CATHERINE REBECCA (MURPHY) WINBORNE.
FORWARDED TO MONTGOMERY, ALA. FEB 12, 1861,
ADOPTED BY THE PROVISIONAL CONGRESS MARCH 4, 1861,
FIRST DISPLAYED IN NORTH CAROLINA AT LOUISBURG
MARCH 18, 1861

The Stars and Bars was ultimately replaced by a new Confederate flag design. The Stars and Bars resembled the U.S. Stars and Stripes and created confusion on the battlefield. The second Confederate flag, "The Stainless Banner", was approved as the new national flag in May 1863.

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Date Installed or Dedicated: 09/01/1923

Name of Government Entity or Private Organization that built the monument: North Carolina Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy

Union, Confederate or Other Monument: Confederate

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The Barbee's visited First Confederate Flag Marker and Monument, Louisburg, North Carolina 11/12/2016 The Barbee's visited it
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