Why Did the confederate change the design of the battle flag so many times?

Answer 1

The design of the battle flag was not changed at all. In the east, in General Lee's Army, they were usually 4' X 4", square, while in the Army of Tennessee in the west they were usually rectangular, as is seen today. The flag design which was changed was the Confederate National Flag, the Stars and Bars. General Beauregard designed the battle flag because the Stars and Bars, on smoky battlefields, looked too much like the old flag, the Stars and Stripes of the Union. This might cause friend to fire on friend. or allow the enemy to draw too near, from misinterpreting which flag they were showing. But the Confederate Navy continued to use the "First National" Flag, the Stars and Bars. This soon was seen to cause confusion at sea as much as it had on land, so the "Second National" flag was adopted, which was a white flag, with a miniature representation of the battle flag in the upper corner, where the stars had been. But this looked too much like a white flag of surrender, and more confusion resulted. So the "Third National" Flag was adopted, which was the same as the Second but with a broad red stripe added up and down the end, so it would no longer look like Rebel vessels were flying a white flag.