St. Andrew's CrossJoseph Stromberg rightly points out that the media prefers to refer to the St. Andrew's Cross on the Confederate battle flag as a letter X. Of course, it is not a letter X. It is a cross – in particular, the St. Andrew's Cross. In vexillology (the study of flags), the technical term for such a cross is a saltire. Webster's Third New International Dictionary (I don't have the OED on hand; sorry) defines a saltire as: noun, singular:
The term derives from the Middle English and Middle French words for an X-shaped animal barricade that people could jump over. Presumably, the animals could jump over the middle of the X as well, but it never occurred to them to do so. Webster's, by the way, provides an additional definition of a saltire: adj.: shaped like an X. So perhaps there is nothing sinister going on in the mantra that the Confederate flag is an "X," but given that the mere reference to "an X" is an incomplete history of flags featuring the St. Andrew's Cross, and given the larger cultural climate of hatred of all things Christian, I smell a rat. This is of particular concern to me, as I am a Roman Catholic and a parishioner at, well, wouldn't you know it – St. Andrew's. In the church, there is a statue of St. Andrew himself, holding a big X in his hands. Why? He lived far too long ago to have been a Spike Lee fan or a follower of Malcolm X. The reason he is holding the X is that it is not an X – it is a cross. Saint Andrew, you see, was crucified on an X-shaped cross. The St. Andrew's Cross is not unique to the Confederate battle flag. The reason that the CSA put the St. Andrew's Cross on its flag is the Scottish heritage of the South.
A similar situation to the Scottish situation is found in many nations, such as Germany, whose government flag has an eagle in the center of the red, black and gold banner, as does Austria (similar eagle issues).
For those who do not read Afrikaans, Stromberg has provided a translation: "This [Burger flag] is a revised form of the Voortrekker flag. T. F. Burgers, as President of the South African Republic, tried to replace the Transvaal Vierkleur with this flag. From 1875, however, the Vierkleur was the official flag of the ZAR. The Burger flag was however sometimes hoisted next to the Vierkleur in Burgers's time, and was usually known as the President's flag." (Much like those pesky Mississippians, the South Africans did not want a replacement flag.)
Saint Andrew is also the patron saint of Russia. Unsurprisingly, then, the ensign of the Russian Imperial Navy which flew during the reign of the Czars (left), as well as the Russian Imperial Navy Jack (at right) both feature the St. Andrew's Cross.
A variant also appears on the Spanish Cross (the Cross of Burgundy, flown from 1516 to 1556 by Charles I of Spain), (below) although I am not sure of any connection. However, since this flag was flown by Cortez in his conquest of Mexico, it is perhaps on the endangered banners list as well.
The Left certainly hates the Confederate flag because it is "the flag of a stateless nation" that, despite its military surrender, has never surrendered its spirit.
April 21, 2001 Mr. Dieteman is an attorney in Erie, Pennsylvania, and a PhD candidate in philosophy at The Catholic University of America. © 2001 David Dieteman |
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Joseph
Stromberg has brought to my attention the fact that, where the St.
Andrew's Cross is concerned, in South Africa, the Transvaal (South
African Republic, or ZAR) flag from 
But
back to St. Andrew and his cross.
And
let's not forget the flags of Alabama (left) and Florida. (right).
Given
the 
The
The
navy jack (or ensign, which was carried by some ground troups, as
noted by 
Perhaps
the Left also despises the St. Andrew's Cross because of Andrew's
very name – it means "manly" in Greek. Post-modern, relativist
western civilization simply cannot abide the concept of manliness.