This book has captured, in both word and image, the essence of a Southern state and the people caught up in the maelstrom of an epic conflict that reverberates to this day. Through 128 pages and 200 vintage images, sketches, documents, and other images culled from a variety of sources, this important volume tells the story of Florida's unique role in the most divise chapter of American History
After Florida seceded from the Union in January 1861, a number of unofficial flags flew over the state. The general assembly passed an act directing Governor Madison S. Perry to adopt "an appropriate device for a State flag which shall be distinctive in character."
Six months later the Governor had the Secretary of State record the description of Florida's first official flag. Whether it was ever raised over the Capitol or in the field is unknown. The flag shown here is reconstructed from a written description.
Many flags have flown over Florida since European explorers first landed here in the early sixteenth century. Among these have been the flags of five nations: Spain, France, Great Britain, the United States, and the Confederate States of America. Numerous other unofficial flags also have been flown on the penninsula at one time or another. Only a written description remains of some of these banners.
A joint resolution of the legislature in 1899, approved by state voters in 1900, made our current State Flag the official banner of Florida. The official specifications for the flag can be found in Chapter 15.012 of the Florida Statutes. "The State Flag shall conform with standard commercial sizes and be of the following portions and descriptions: The seal of the state, in diameter one-half the hoist, shall occupy the center of a white ground. Red bars, in width one-fifth the hoist, shall extend from each corner towards the center, to the outer rim of the seal." The Department of State is the custodian of the State Flag.
Between 1868 and 1900, Florida's state flag consisted of a white field with the state seal in the center. During the late 1890s, Governor Francis P. Fleming suggested that a red cross be added, so that the banner did not appear to be a white flag of truce or surrender when hanging still on a flagpole.
