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
Army of Northern Virginia They stayed in the area of Richmond in the course of the whole Northern Virginia Campaign and only returned on September 3, 1862 to the Army. Major General Hill's Division also remained in the eastern parts of Richmond with the order to bind McClellan's attention as long as possible. As it became predictable that the Army of the Potomac would soon be transferred to support Pope, Lee ordered the Division north. Hill never entered battle in the campaign. A total of about 54,000 soldiers saw action throughout the campaign. The Army's losses before and following the Battle of Second Manassas