FIRST-EVER MISSISSIPPI CONFEDERATE FLAG BOOK NOW AVAILABLE!
Larry Hawkins, an SCV Compatriot from Tennessee, has just released the first edition of "Flags Used By Mississippi During the War Between the States," the first-ever book-length study of Mississippi Confederate Battleflags.
The book is the product of some ten years of research by Mr. Hawkins, and is illustrated with pictures (and some drawings) of over sixty Mississippi Confederate Battleflags.
Since the Mississippi Department of Archives & History is rumored to be working on their own book about the flags in their "Old Capitol" collection, Mr. Hawkins has focused exclusively on Mississippi Confederate Battleflags in other collections and in private hands.
Only 600 copies of this first edition have been produced, so it is important that interested persons get their orders in ASAP. These books are going to sell out almost immediately, as SCV National has already requested that Mr. Hawkins make the book available through SCV IHQ's bookstore. Mr. Hawkins will also advertise in national Civil War journals, so I would suggest that you get your order in yesterday.
This book was previewed at the MS SCV 5th Brigade Quarterly Meeting at Dixie in mid-February, and the response of the viewers was unanimously and overwhelmingly enthusiastic.
Books on the Confederate Battleflags of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas have been published and have long since become scarce collectors' items. (A book on Louisiana and Arkansas Confederate Flags was rumored to have been in the works last year, but I haven't heard anything more about it.)
Larry Hawkins' most excellent book now joins that pantheon of Confederate Battleflag books.
Mr. Hawkins' book is significant not only because it highlights for the first time Mississippi's Confederate Battleflags, but also because it's planned second edtion will also directly benefit both Beauvoir and the Mississippi Division's "Save the Battleflags" program.
Proceeds from the first edition, the one being offered here and now, will be used to finance the purchase of additional flag photos from major collections and also purchase the rather expensive rights to publish those photos. (Bear in mind that this first edition is already chockfull of MS CS Flag photos!)
The first edition will also hopefully generate additional information about both the flags featured in the first edition and other, as yet unidentified Mississippi Confederate Battleflags in private hands. Said Mr. Hawkins, "I am looking into a web site so people can order it and, most importantly, can send me pictures, drawing, histories, etc., on flags that I do not have."
The additional information and additional photos will be published in the second and enlarged edition. A publisher has already been in contact with Mr. Hawkins about the second, enlarged edition.
The first/second edition scenario was the only route available to Mr. Hawkins, a dedicated but unwealthy Battleflag researcher. (I think most Confederate researchers will find empathy in Mr. Hawkins’ fiscal position!)
All proceeds from this project will benefit Mississippi Confederate Heritage projects or entities. Said Mr. Hawkins, "I want to emphasize that any profits will go to Beauvoir and to Mississippi Flag preservation. I also plan, when finished, to give all the original notes and pictures to Beauvoir."
Mr. Hawkins is offering the first edition of the book for $30, plus $3 shipping and handling.
Considering the historical significance of the volume, the book is a steal at this price. It is 130+ pages, 8.5x11" format, and is printed on glossy, thick white paper. I have already been threatened with death by six friends who have promised to kill me if they don't get their own copies of this first-edition! It's that good.
If I may be allowed to insert here my own initial response to the book (from an email I sent Mr. Hawkins the evening I received the book): "Larry: I am almost crying tears of joy as I write this! My dear Sir, you have achieved a thing of greatness! I am astounded at the magnitude of your achievement vis-Ă -vis the Confederate Battleflags of Mississippi! I have wanted to hold a volume like this in my hands for some fifteen years, and, now, thanks to YOU, I am holding it! I am speechless. I am thrilled. I am infused with happiness! I am tap-dancing around my research room, Larry! Yippee!"
As a person who has been wholeheartedly involved with Mississippi Confederate Battleflag restoration for over ten years, I recommend "Flags Used By Mississippi During the War Between the States" with unabashed enthusiasm. It is not a perfect work, but it is a groundbreaking, most excellent, and historic first fruit that will find a welcome home on any Mississippi historian's bookshelf.
You may order your copy by sending $33 ($30 for the book, plus $3 S&H, making a total of $33) made payable to "Larry Hawkins") to:
Mississippi Flag Book
c/o Larry Hawkins
5597 Fair Cove
Memphis, Tennessee 38115
Larry has also set up an email address for email orders at flagsusedms@gmail.com.
He asks that people with additional information and/or photos of Mississippi Confederate Flags please share their data with him at this address so that the second edition of the book can be even more all-encompassing. Larry prefers to acquire digital pictures as he can more easily work with photos in electronic format.
Thanks to Mr. Hawkins for this great achievement, and thanks to all who purchase copies of same so that an even more expansive and all-inclusive second edtion can become a reality. Please don’t miss out on this amazing historical opportunity. -- Jim Huffman, Gainesville Volunteers, SCV Camp 373, Pearl River County, MS