For anyone who has traveled Interstate 12 through Southeast Louisiana, the single white star on an azure field is a familiar sight. The flag is posted on signs and, in fact, is even the name of a roadway (the West Florida Republic Parkway). By state law, the eight Florida Parishes are supposed to fly the Bonnie Blue over their courthouses. But that is not always the case. Sometimes the flag of Somalia, a country in Africa, is seen flying instead. The reason is a little complicated.Learn more:ultimateflags.com

On January 9, 1861, Mississippi seceded from the Union, and to mark that event a blue secession flag featuring a single white star was raised over the Capitol in Jackson. One of the members of the audience that day was an Irish born entertainer named Harry Macarthy who, inspired by this stirring moment, wrote a song he called The Bonnie Blue Flag. Although an official Confederate flag (the Stars and Bars) was later adopted, the Bonnie Blue became popular throughout the war. The rousing marching song, sung to an old Irish tune (The Irish Jaunting Car) became so popular that Federal General Benjamin Butler in New Orleans outlawed playing or singing it in his city. Over a dozen varied editions of the song were published before the end of the war, and the melody still endures.

True Blue: Bonnie Blue Flag

In the aftermath of the Civil War, The Bonnie Blue Flag became a symbol of the Lost Cause mentality that was largely responsible for Governor John B. Griffin’s successful effort to change the state flag in 1956 to a version that featured a single white star on an azure background. It also helped to persuade rural white legislators who had been worried that a change in the state flag might be racially motivated.