On January 9, 1861, Mississippi officially removed itself from the Union. At the time, the Confederate States of America was still inexistent. After such secession, Mississippi gained its independence.
Later on, the residents of the state used a flag which used to be displayed in the Republic of Florida in 1810. The Mississippi people featured a flag with one white star against a blue canton. The banner was also known as the Bonnie Blue Flag, and songs and poems were made out of it.
Another name for such flag is the Magnolia Flag, because the banner showed a Magnolia tree against a white background. Other similar flags showed a red bar or fringe. In one corner, you can still see the Bonnie Blue design. The official flag of Mississippi was the Magnolia Flag for 33 years.
Others shared that the Confederate flag looked a lot like the national flag of America, so changes were made to create the necessary distinctions. Another reason for making the adjustments was that combatants had to look longer and closer to determine the difference between the two during battle.
In the Flag Act of 1863, it was indicated that the flag’s length should be twice as long as the width. The Mississippi flag, however, came in the standard size. One of the reasons was to prevent the enemy from thinking that the people of the state were waving a flag in surrender. The flag you see today is the result of such changes made and continues to be displayed everywhere.