Year Adopted: January 2021

New Magnolia Flag. Earlier Flag: adopted 1894, admitted to the Union in 1817 as the 20th state. Three equal horizontal bands of blue, white and red from top to bottom, with a "Union Square", often recognized as a Confederate battle flag in a canton on the hoist above the bottom red band.

Earlier flags over Mississippi. Colonial period through 1894: flags of France (Fleur de Lis), Great Britain (Red Ensign and St George Cross flags), and Spain (flag of Castile and Leon, or Castles and Lions) before becoming the Territory of Mississippi in 1798. 19th century and Confederacy: flag of the Republic of West Florida (Bonnie Blue flag), the "Magnolia Flag", 1861, a white flag with a Bonnie Blue canton, a green Magnolia tree centered on the white, and a red vertical band on the fly end. It remained in use until 1894. Several Confederate States flags also flew during the War Between the States (1861-1863).