Florida Secession Flag Cotton 3 x 5 ft. Texas Navy

Florida Secession Flag – Cotton – Beautiful flag for re-enactors.

(See also Texas Navy)

This flag which features a Bonnie Blue in the canton on a field of 13 red and white stripes goes by a couple of names, including the “Lone Star Flag,” but most commonly it is the “Chase Flag.” It was raised over the navy yard at Pensacola in early 1861, after state of Florida troops took control of the Federal forts and navy yard of Pensacola. Col. William Chase, commanding the Florida troops, directed that this flag be raised to replace the Union flag, until the state government could establish an official one. The flag had thirteen alternating red and white stripes, and a blue field with a single large star in the center. It was used for This flag served for eight months, until September of 1861.

When Col. Chase took command of the situation in Pensacola he was 67 and had already had a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. After graduating from West Point in 1815, Chase spent 41 years in the army. There were four forts in Pensacola, and he knew them well, having supervised their construction. In fact, he had supervised the construction of all the major forts in the Gulf, including two more close by in Mobile, Alabama – Forts Morgan and Gaines. Fort Zachary Taylor on Key West and Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas were also built by Chase.