I recently had a family member pass away who lived down south where his family was born and raised as far back as we could trace. We knew we had family members who fought in the civil war on the confederate side but for obvious reason don't bring it up or try to dig into much. However, going through his possessions we came across what looks to be a flag from the actual civil war. No one in our family can remember ever seeing this so it was either acquired in secret by him or there since they moved in in storage (early 1900's). It looks like the " The Second Confederate Navy Jack" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America#/media/File:Naval_jack_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America_(1863%E2%80%931865).svg) but has 'C.S.A.' on the top of the x, 'S.C.V.' on the bottom and then 1861 and 1865 on either sides of the x.
Does anyone know what this flag was used for?
I was able to find what the 'S.C.V.' and 'C.S.A.' means but I can't find anything specific on the flag itself or have seen any like this with the writing in it.
Hello there! As your question is related to looking for identification/information regarding military personnel, our Guide on Military Identification may be of use to you. It provides a number of different resources, including how to request service records from a number of national agencies around the world, as well as graphical aids to assist in deciphering rank, unit, and other forms of badges or insignia. While the users here may still be able to lend you more assistance, hopefully this will provide a good place to start!
What you have is the 'commercial variant' of the battle flag. The design is often called the flag of the army of northern Virginia, but the X-pattern was seen in all 3 confederate armies (Northern Virginia, Tennessee, and the Trans-Mississippi), and hundreds upon hundreds of regiments. They were all confiscated by the war department, and not returned until the Taft administration. In the meantime, a demand for a substitute arose, and the flag makers of New York and Philidelphia filled the demand by creating a french/italian-proportioned, non-bordered flag sometime before 1880, and probably right after the war. Thousands, perhaps even millions, were sold to veterans clubs and memorial societies. Your flag was probably sold blank, with 'Sons of Confederate Veterans' and 'Confederate states of America' being painted on after the fact. What you have is a special historical artifact.
If it makes you feel better, your ancestor probably wasn't engaged in slavery (76-80% of free men did not own slaves, 40% were in direct competition with slavery), and may have been a victim of simple class exploitation after the 1862 Conscription Act. Have a look at confederatevets.org, to check his date, then cross reference that with slavery norms in his home county, or home state. You might also find his name on the 1860 slave schedules done by a few states, but it is iffy.
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