Part two of our continuing series on Confederate Flags and Symbols.  This article features the history behind the Great Seal of the Confederate States of America

      The Confederate Seal is made up of several different elements all symbolizing different aspects of the Confederacy. The central figure is the first president of the United States George Washington mounted on horseback. Washington was from Virginia and is featured in the same position as the statue of him in Richmond, which was the capital of the CSA.

 

     The image of Washington is circled by a wreath made up of the primary agricultural products of the Southern states. Corn, wheat, tobacco, rice, sugar cane, and of course, cotton. Around the outside portion of the seal are the words “The Confederate States of America: 22 February 1862” and the Confederate national Motto “Deo Vendice” which is Latin and means “Under God, Our Vindicator” or “With God as Champion”.  The date is significant because it is the date that Jefferson Davis was elected as the first and only President of the Confederate States and is also the birthday of George Washington".

     The dies for the seal were ordered from an engraver in England. They passed through the Union blockade and were delivered to Richmond before the end of the war but the press for which the dies were destined only made it to Bermuda. This made any use of the dies in an official capacity highly unlikely.

      The dies and the press both found their way into private hands before ultimately ending up in museums.  The dies are now featured in the collection of the Museum of the Confederacy (an outstanding museum BTW).

      The embossing press is on display in a National Museum in Bermuda.

 

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