If you're a biker and a member of any online forum about motorcycling, you know that the one post that most bikers hate to see is when a newbie asks, "What kind of oil should I run in my bike?" You absolutely hate to see this topic come up because there is no right or wrong answer to the question, and the topic has already been beaten to death. Opinions vary on which oil is better, natural or synthetic, and the truth is that the owner of the bike is free to run whatever oil he wants and any discussion is pointless.
Such is the case with the age-old question of whether the Confederate Battle Flag is displayed with the star points facing up, or the star points facing down. If you're a supporter of the Confederate flag, this is a question that you absolutely hate to see come up because, as in the case of motorcycle oil, there is no right or wrong answer, and this topic as well has been beaten to death.
But for you folks who have never heard this conversation before, here's the honest truth about it.
There is no "right" or "wrong" way to display the Battle Flag, and the proof is in the pictures. Not pictures taken in contemporary times, but pictures taken of actual battle flags that were flown in the war such as the two at the top of this page. Pictures are the battle flags of the 28th Virginia Infantry and the 9th Texas Infantry. The first flag shows the stars points down, and the second shows the stars points up. These are but two of a myriad of pictures of original flags you can find on the internet, both with the stars up and the stars down.
If you do a little research you'll discover that when the Confederate government was laying out the rules for the design of the Confederate National Flags, they didn't specify whether the stars were displayed points up or points down. They did specify the size, color, and spacing, but said nothing about how the points were to be displayed. And since the Battle Flag (known as the Army of Northern Virginia flag) was never an official flag of the Confederacy, the Confederate government never published any guidelines for its design, display, and use. The only time the Confederate government mentioned it was when they laid out the design specifications for the Second and Third National Flags. Other than that, nothing.
In my humble opinion, there is no "right" or "wrong" way to display the Battle Flag, since it was displayed both ways during the War of the Rebellion as evidenced by the many pictures of original flags you can find on the internet. As long as you fly it, that's all that counts.
Deo Vindice
IHC
