Flags of the Confederate States of America diagonal cross design. Miles' flag and all the flag designs up to that point were rectangular ("oblong") in shape. General Johnston suggested making it square to conserve material. Johnston also specified the various sizes to be used by different types of military units. Generals Beauregard and Johnston and Quartermaster General Cabell approved the design of the 12-star Confederate Battle Flag at the Ratcliffe home, which served briefly as Beauregard's headquarters, near Fairfax Court House in September 1861. The 12th star represented Missouri. President Jefferson Davis arrived by train at Fairfax Station soon after and was shown the design for the
Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Provisional Congress of the Confederate States The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing body of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America (CSA) from February 4, 1861, to February 17, 1862. It sat in Montgomery, Alabama, until May 20, 1861, when it adjourned to meet in Richmond, Virginia, on July 20, 1861. It added new members as other states seceded and directed the election on November 6, 1861, at