Albemarle Tradewinds March 2016 Final Web

Capt. Jim Brincefield
Carolina State Flag
On Feburary 20, 2016 Capt. Jim Brincefield
was relieved from suffering after a tragic
accident. Capt. Jim leaves behind wonderful
memories, but more importantly, a family
that needs our help. Capt. Jim was the most
kind, selfless, generous, hard-working man
that we knew . In his honor, a gofundme
page has been set up to help the Brincefield
Family. All funds donated will go directly to
the Brincefield Family.
https://www.gofundme.com/e7qvnves
www.scv.org
Some people still make a fuss over Confederate symbols on state property, but did you know that our own
North Carolina state flag, in its original form, was a Confederate flag?
Prior to 1861 NC didn’t have an official state flag. When they succeeded from the union, they designed a flag
to symbolize their newly declared independence. Have you ever noticed the dates on our state flag? Few people
ever take notice; much less know what they mean. The first date on the flag, May 20, 1775, is the date of the
Mecklenburg Declaration, a statement of independence from Great Britain that happened in North Carolina.
On the first version of our state flag, which is very similar to the flag we still have today, there was a second date,
below the star; it was May 20, 1861… This was a second statement of independence, this time from the United
States. Southern secessionist leaders evoked the Mecklenburg Declaration as a parallel to the South’s declaration
of independence from the North. Addressing a crowd in Charlotte, N.C., President Jefferson Davis is reported
to have said “people of this section were the first to defy British authority and declare themselves free.”
Two decades after the south surrendered their struggle for independence, NC leaders decided to revise their flag.
The red field of the old flag was replaced by blue; the star with the dates was modified into what is today our
state seal. The top date is the still the same, but the bottom date, depicting independence from the union was
traded for April 12, 1776, the date of the Halifax resolves, when NC officially called for independence from
Great Britain.
So next time you see our state flag down at the court house, you can thank our Confederate ancestors for
putting it there.
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