Flag of the Independent State of Louisianna
In 1812 Louisiana became the eighteenth state to join the Union. Almost fifty years later, Louisiana
became one of a list of states that formally seceded from the Union and, for two months afterward and
before joining the Confederate Union, Louisiana flew the flag of an independent nation, shown to the
left. This flag adopted on Feb. 11, 1861, consisted of 13 stripes (3 red, 6 white and 4 blue) with a
gold star in a red canton. The stripes were to represent the French tricolor. The canton was red, with
a single gold (or yellow) star; the colors representing the Spanish colors, the star representing
independence. Of course, Louisiana was French, and, for a time, Spanish.
