South Carolina
Sovereignty & Secession Flag 1860
These flags arose on American soil shortly after the birth of the United States of America. First the
Muskogee Republic arose in 1799. Its capital was located near
Tallahasee, Florida with the name
Miccosukee. But in 1818 with the US Army under General Andrew Jackson's command with friendly Indian help obliterated it off the map during the
first Seminole War.
The leader of this forlorn nation with an indigenous bent was the charming and dashing
William Augustus Bowles. Director General Bowles was certainly a colourful character. Bowles was born in Maryland in 1763 and chose to fight on the Loyalist-Union side during the 1776 Colonial Rebellion. Although the narrative of
us-Americans versus
them-British mentality is the dominant line, Bowles and many other native born European bred colonials and the like - offer up a different point of view. Rather the 1776
Anglo-Colonial American Revolution can be framed as a civil war.*
Long before Jefferson Davis
the original Southern Rebel:
William Augustus Bowles of Maryland
But the State of Muskogee was never a British Colony. Much of the Muskogee Republic was composed of Southern Native Americans and
Seminoles. The last echos of this nation were terminated under President Andrew Jackson with the forced removal to Oklahoma - more famously known as the
Trail of Tears.
The Sovereignty Flag of South Carolina was flown in the early days of the secession under president
Buchanan. The design clearly embodies the essence of the now famous 'Confederate Flag.' But one difference is the number of stars. Official flags of the Confederacy had 7, 11, and 13 stars. The SC sovereignty flag had 15 stars in honor of the 15 Slave-holding states.
The uncanny coincidence is both national movements were crushed by the US Government. Ironically a South Carolina president and vice president oversaw the final removal of Natives who made up the forlorn Muskogee Republic in 1832. Less than 30 years later South Carolina would fly a similar flag for another forlorn nation - whose existence were at odds with the United States.
Flag of the Muskogee Republic
1799-1832
Both flags feature similar colours and patterns. The shared colours are red, white, and blue. The matching pattern is the blue cross that divides the field into four sections. Coincidentally their cantons reflect the natural duality of day and night. The older flag of the Muskogee Republic has a sun while the younger South Carolina secession flag honors the moon. Furthermore the stars of South Carolina are reflective of night.
The comparison of these flags under the umbrella of flag symmetry brings into focus the emotional charge often felt by both the Native American and Confederacy that lingers unto this day. The synchronous conjunction illustrates a karmic reflex of a wielding sort of cosmic justice.
The bitterness that many Native Americans feel from the US government in their coerced and unjust relocation to Oklahoma balances the lingering resentment felt by some Southerners. No Northerner can truly feel the bitterness of General Sherman's March to Atlanta nor can any Old World American feel the biting bitterness of President Jackson's Orders to march west under penalty of death.
The extreme prejudice of unjust law imposed by the US government coincidentally - under a South Carolina president would return back upon America when ironically South Carolina led another rebellion to defend their rights against the federal government.
These flags were featured in my presentation in 2009
at NAVA's 43rd congress, held at the original Citadel in South Carolina
Note most US history books often overlook that there were more than 13 colonies in British North America. 13 colonies may have signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 but more than 13 British American Colonies remained loyal to the Union and Crown: Barbados Colony, Newfoundland, Jamaica, Leeward Islands Colonies, Colony of Bahamas, Colony of Bermuda, Nova Scotia, Island of St. John, Rupert's Land, Grenada Island, Quebec, West Florida and East Florida.
