Stars and Bars
Preserved but no longer current.
The flag of the eleven Con- federate States of America who broke away from the Union in 1860. It consisted of two broad horizontal red bars with a narrow white bar between them; in the top left corner a blue union bearing eleven white stars arranged in a circle.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Stars and Bars” mean?
The flag of the eleven Con- federate States of America who broke away from the Union in 1860. It consisted of two broad horizontal red bars with a narrow white bar between them; in the top left corner a blue union bearing eleven white stars arranged in a circle.
Is “Stars and Bars” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.