Modern display of the Confederate flag initially proposed, and rejected, as the national flag in 1861. The design was instead adopted as a battle flag by the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) under General Robert E. Lee. Most popular today is a rectangularized variant of the originally square ANV battle flag, common in modern reproductions. (A similarly rectangular flag was used during the war by the Army of Tennessee under General Joseph E. Johnston.) Despite never having historically represented the Confederacy as a country nor been officially recognized as one of its flags, it is commonly referred to as "the Confederate Flag" and has become a
General officers in the Confederate States Army combat, to be the senior general officer in the CSA. That seniority strained the relationship between Joseph E. Johnston and Jefferson Davis. Johnston considered himself the senior officer in the Confederate States Army and resented the ranks that President Davis had authorized. However, his previous position in the U.S. Army was staff, not line, which was evidently a criterion for Davis regarding establishing seniority and rank in the subsequent Confederate States Army. On February 17, 1864, legislation was passed by the Congress to allow President Davis to appoint an officer to command the Trans-Mississippi Department in the Far West, with