Why is the american flag has red and white stripes when the american civil war was between the "gray and Blue"

person1152

Gray and blue refers to the colour of the military uniforms.

The Don: in thought

grays and blues were the color of the uniforms. the flag or the north was red white and blue even during the war.

red stands for valor
white stands for purity
and blue stands for justice. the 13 stripes represent the original 13 colonies, and the stars represent the number of states.

jammer3160

What does the civil war have anything to do with the American flag colors.....did you ever study history before?????

hamrrfan

Blue (North) and gray (South) were the colors of the uniforms.

Lurch

Our national colors were decided well before the Civil War.
EDIT: I love it when I get thumbs down for a historically accurate answer. It reminds me to not take this forum too seriously and that some people just can't stand the truth.

Capitan del Camino Rio

Uniform colour.

Studbolt X

Gray uniforms = Confederacy

Blue uniforms = Union

Eric C

The flag was created LONG before the American Civil War... the grey & blue refer only to the traditional colors of the confederate & union soldiers and had nothing to do with representing the colors of the flag.

Colors of the flag have nothing to do with the Civil War. No connection whatsoever.

Google American Flag and learn .

flyit

American flag: The stripes represent the original 13 colonies; the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor, White symbolizes Purity and Innocence.

jmock333

Thanks for the laugh. : )

The color of the stripes have nothing to do with the uniform colors of the factions.

tankbuff, 19 violations so far

why is about you learning to spell, like you get to know how to build the sentance and then why about you make your own homework.

oscarsix5

Prior to the Civil War there existed a small regular (or full time) military in federal service that worn what was became known as Union Blue during the Civil War. At the same time all of the individual states maintained their own militia forces that worn 'State Gray' uniforms.

When the War broke out, there was no uniforms standards on either side and there were many regiments on both sides wearing the colors of their opposing force. Not only were there incidents of State Gray serving in Union formations and Union Blue in Confederate formations, both sides had units that were fond of wearing French African style uniforms. They were well into the first year of the war before the Union had all its units outfitted in Union Blue, the Confederacy tried to standardize on the State Gray uniform, however by 1863 it is more of a rag-tag-come-as-you-are affair.

Many of the Confederate soldiers that close on Gettysburg on July 1st, 1863 did so seeking shoes that were believe to be available there.

Amber

this is why the American political system needs revamped. More social studies & government in school!

Bob D

The Confederates wore grey uniforms and the Union wore Blue ones.
The flag had nothing to do with the uniforms..

Nutz Hangin

We fought the Brittish in our war for Independence, We were an expanding country with Red White and Blue on our flag for 100yrs, before the civil war.

John K

Depending on which book you consult, the red & white stripes are from a maritime flag or a prisoners suit. Since we as americans were mere colonists to the british, the prisoner motif was appropriate. (Europeans figured themselves freed slaves of the romans, so all their "columbia" figures have smurf hats, which is what roman slaves wore.)

I know the US federal troops wore blue for years before the civil war. Perhaps grey was just undied wool. They had to look different. Confederate & union troops didn't always wear grey and blue, though....

Circle Takes The Square

The uniforms. The federals wore Blue and the rebels wore Grey.

Actually, in the last 2 years, the Rebels wore butternut (brown).

Cara: The Austrians did.

*Whoever is giving me "thumbs down" needs to pick up a damn history book....*

Muledancer

The red and white on the U.S. flag stands for the blood of the founding fathers which was shed for freedom (red) and the purity of God's new land of religious freedom (white).
There are 13 stripes, one for each of the original colonies. There is one star for each state in the union.

wachirasa

red and white is not a good idea for a military uniform, unless you are in snow or a slaughterhouse

rachael_xo

they prefered red and white.

shani k

why your eyes are above your nose when you breath first and then see

CyberForensics

Check it out

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_do_the_stripes_on_the_American_flag_represent

abodeequity

The United States flag is one of the nation's widely recognized and used symbols. Within the U.S. it is frequently displayed, not only on public buildings, but on private residences, as well as iconically in forms such as decals for car windows, and clothing ornaments such as badges and lapel pins. Throughout the world it is used in public discourse to refer to the U.S., both as a nation state, government, and set of policies, but also as an ideology and set of ideas.

Many understand the flag to represent the freedoms and rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights and perhaps most of all to be a symbol of individual and personal liberty as set forth in the Declaration of Independence. The flag is a complex and contentious symbol, around which emotions run high.

In terms of the symbolism of the design itself, a book about the flag published by the Congress in 1977 states: "The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun."[4] George Washington is credited for saying: "We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty."[5]

Many people also take the red and white to stand for the blood of those who gave their lives for freedom, and the presumed purity of the freedom ideal, respectively.

Cara

who is going to wear a white uniform? it'd be stained by the end of the first hour.

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