The Eight Flags of Mississippi

Eight Flags

Before Hurricane Katrina there was a display along the coast highway that had eight very tall flag poles with the eight flags that once presided over Mississippi in different eras. Now just as I was feeling all nostalgic about those flags I saw in the local paper on Saturday that the eight flags are finally flying once again. 

The first flag represents France. Since LaSalle was the first to claim the Mississippi River the French flag was flown from 1682 until 1783.

The second flag to be flown was the British. After the French and Indian War the British claimed the lower portion of Mississippi as part of their West Florida Colony. It flew from 1763-1779.

The third flag was that of Spain. Spain seized the lands of West Florida from the control of the British while they were elsewhere employed with a much bigger event called the Revolution. The Spanish flag flew from 1779-1785.

The fourth flag to be flown was the American flag. Mississippi became U.S. territory in 1798. The flag flew from 1798-1818.

Then there is the flag that flew for 74 days. The flag of the Republic of West Florida. The flag was known as the Bonnie Blue Flag. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 the Spanish refused to leave. In 1810 the Mississippians rebelled against the Spanish and overturned their authority becoming their own Republic for 74 days in 1810. They then applied for statehood. That was when the coastal region was brought into the territory of Mississippi.

The next flag to fly was the Mississippi Magnolia Flag which was flown after succession from the Union. It was flown from January 9, 1861- March 27, 1861.

After the short lived Magnolia flag we had the Stars and Bars of the Confederacy. It flew from 1861-1865.

The 8th and last flag flown is the flag of the State of Mississippi from 1894-Present. 

The new display in Biloxi