US Civil War - The J.P. Gillis Flag 1861
During the first year of the Civil War, this flag was captured in Sacramento, California. The creator was a Major J.P. Gillis, who flew the flag on the 4th of July, 1861. Major Gillis claimed he was celebrating the independence of the United States from Britain as well as the southern states from the Union. He unfurled his Confederate flag and proceeded to march down the main street of Sacramento to delight of the onlookers. The flag was of his own design and the canton contains seventeen stars rather than the Confederate's seven.
Because the flag was "captured" by Jack Biderman and Curtis Clark, who were enraged by Gillis' actions, the flag is often also referred to as the "Biderman Flag." Poor Clark, nobody ever refered to the flag as "The Clark Flag," except here.
