Confederate Red Ensign (Dixie Forever)

The Confederate Red Ensign is the civil ensign of the Confederate States.

It is one of the Confederate ensigns, and is used either plain, or adorned/embellished with a badge or other emblem in the bottom right quarter.

This flag is flown by Confederate merchant or passenger ships since 1873. Prior to this, Confederate ships flew either the national flag or a state flag, and this caused confusion with identification at sea, and trouble with the United States to the north.

The nascent Confederate Navy felt that it needed to make the various flags used by the various states in their nation more consistent for easier identification abroad, and modeled their usage after that of the British, their allies and biggest trading partner. The Blue Ensign would be the national colors for ships commanded by an officer of the Confederate Naval Reserve, and (with an appropriate badge) as national colors for ships in government (or later, state) service. The White Ensign was the ensign of the Confederate Navy, and the Red Ensign was assigned to Confederate merchantment.

Today, Red Ensigns charged with a state emblem are used with ships registered and operated mainly in state waters, while the plain red ensign operates in the high seas and on international voyages. It is most commonly seen on cargo ships traveling to Europe, Africa, Asia, and through the Panama Canal Zone.

The plain red ensign is the civil ensign or merchant ensign of the Confederate States. The flag has overall ratio of 1:2 with the Union occupying one quarter of the field and placed in the canton.