Timeline-191, or Southern Victory Series (novel series)

The books are based on a timeline where the CSA did not lose the War of Secession (they won the battle of Sharpsburgh and were recognised by France and Great Britain). The series follow the lives of various characters (and their relatives later on) over a period that begins in 1881 then jumps to 1914 and onward to 1945 (or possibly beyond since there is still at least one book left) retelling the first and second world war with most of the famous events, battles and characters being given a North American twist.

The Author (Harry Turtledove) mix real lives entities (when they are Americans) with some placeholder ones when they could not have logicaly taken part. For example, in the later books, US General Irvin Morell is Rommel's counterpart and fight against General Patton (a confederate tank expert). The battle of Pittsburgh is highly similar to the battle of Saint Petersburgh and the CSA's Freedom Party is almost identical in organisation to the NSDAP down to the SA-like "Stalwarts" and SS-inspired "Freedom Party Guard". Some of the later organisation (the "Combat Wings") even end up going into battles late during the war wearing molted camouflage uniform (unlike the regular army's plain "butternut" combat tunics).
Marc Pasquin, 25 December 2006

The only (vague) description of the Canadian flag (pre-US occupation) is the following taking place 2 decades after the invasion (SA:RE p.45):

Mary could barely remember the mostly dark blue banner of the dominion of Canada.

I wonder what flag might be meant by that. It could be a reference to the colour seen at the edges of the Union Jack or it could be some sort of canadian blue ensign

It is quite possible on the other hand that in this timeline Canada began using its own emblems earlier on than *here* since they are said to have used a distinctive roundel during the first world War (GW:AF p.98):

He spied no other [canadian] aircraft with red maple leaf inside white circle inside blues.

If it is a distinctive one thought, I can't think of any historical ones that would fit save the "Pearson Penant" with darker blue bands (and even that's a stretch):

There was one flag proposal, shown on the CBC website, that consisted of a branch with 3 maple leaves in red fimibriated white centered on a dark blue background but since I had never seen it before (or since) in print, I doubt Turtledove would have either.
Marc Pasquin, 6 January 2007

In 1914, the flag is described this way:

(GW:AF p.22) "[...] Stars and bars like the sixteen-star banner above the post office [...]"

The exact number is not given afterward but because they lost some states later on, and so did the USA earlier in this timeline, one has to wonder if they ever have adopted some kind of official policy to remove stars.
Marc Pasquin, 25 December 2006

The CSA resulting from the historical changes made in the novel was a federation composed of 12 States (including Kentucky), plus the Indian Territory, now known as Oklahoma. In Turtledove's world , modern Oklahoma becomes the Confederate State of Sequoyah, which eventually adds a 13th star back to the flags of the CSA.

It is unclear whether the saltire battle flag, which is used as a military flag and a navy ensign, is the square pattern of the Army of Northern Virginia or the rectangular pattern of the Army of Tennessee. The cover art would seem to suggest the latter.
Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr, 21 October 2000

In battle, the CSA had used the confederate battle flag with which we are familiar. At the begining of the Great War, a parade by cavalrymen is mentioned (GW:AF p.22):

Some of [the crowd] waved Maltese-cross battle flags like the one that flapped at the head of the squadron [...]

Based on other books in the series, the battle flag is clearly the one we are familiar with but is "maltese" a common word for "saltire" in some part of the US *here* ?
Marc Pasquin, 25 December 2006

this is a mighty big conjecture, since I don't know the books very well, but...

If the CSA had 16 states, then the stars on the battle flag would be four per arm, with nothing in the centre. If you take a red fimbriated saltire on blue and remove the centre of the saltire, then through a figure/ground switch you get a blue fimbriated Maltese cross on red. Perhaps that is what is being implied.
James Dignan, 26 December 2006

The naval ensign when first mentioned appears to be the same as *here* (GW:WIH p.388):

[...] the [CSA] naval ensign, which, like the Confederate battle flag on land, displayed St. Andrew's cross in blue on red.

However, a later comment would seem to make it a square flag (SA:TG p.170):

The Confederate naval ensign, a square version of the C.S. battle flag, completed the disguise.

On the other hand, it could be something like the second CSA national flag: a plain white ensign with a square CBF in canton.
Marc Pasquin, 25 December 2006

At one point during the Great war, the battle flag was adopted as a roundel (AE:TVO p.584):

Fighters and bombers with the C.S. battle flag on wings an tail [...]

Its not clear however is this a rectangular or square pattern.
Marc Pasquin, 25 December 2006

A flag described in the earlier novels could have been the first attempt at a flag since it is never seen again in later novels:

(AE:BAI p.218): The men in the second rank bore white banners with FREEDOM printed on them with angry red letters [...].

(AE:BAI p.329): Some carried Freedom Party flags, others the confederate battle flag with reversed colors that the Party also used.

(AE:BAI p.349): [...] some Confederate banners, some C.S. battle flags with colors reversed, some white banners blazoned with the red word FREEDOM.

Since it is mentioned separate from the reversed CBF in the second quote, it would seem that the official "Freedom Party flag" (at least early on) was the plain white with red letters.
Marc Pasquin, 25 December 2006

I saw a book recently, one of Harry Turtledove's alternate history novels, set in the 1930ies. The dust cover shows (among other stuff) a flag design consisting of a red background with a blue swastika edged and starred white.

I'm not familiar with Turtledove's "universe", but (even if it does include an independent Confererate Sates of America, the real thing plus most of Texas, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Sonora and Chihuahua), I can't see any intimate connection between CSA and Nazi Germany (intimate enough to reach the flag, that is). AFAIK, in his alternate timeline the CSA are a poor country and Germany is more or less allied to the rump US (or not so rump, since it includes most English-speaking Canada).
António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 July 2002

I happen to have read these novels, and the cover illustration is based on the flag of the CSA Freedom Party — which, in Turtledove's universe, is a fascist movement that arises in the CSA after the nation's defeat in an alternate WW I. (The CSA, the UK and France fought the USA, Germany and Austria-Hungary.)

The Freedom Party flag is the Confederate Battle Flag with colors reversed: blue field, white-bordered red saltire with white stars. Turtledove notes, by the way, that the national flag of his alternate CSA is the Stars and Bars.

Despite the cover illustration, there is no hint in the novels that the swastika is actually an insignia of the Freedom Party.
Tom Gregg, 11 July 2002

The RCCBF (Reverse Colours Confederate Battle Flag) is decribed in many part of the books such as this one:

(AE:BAI p.218): [some had flags] that might have been Confederate battle flags save that they featured a red St. Andrew's cross on blue, not blue on red.

(AE:TVO p.2): [...] the Freedom Party flag, a Confederate battle flag with colors reversed: a star-belted red St. Andrew's cross on a blue field.

One last note regarding the CBF and RCCBF (Reverse Colours Confederate Battle Flag): the RCCBF is *always* described as a CBF with reversed colours without any mentions of the number of stars meaning they both are probably meant to have the same one. Combine with the fact that unlike the National Flag the number of stars is never mentioned on the CBF, I think that the CBF and RCCBF might both contain a fixed number of stars (probably 13 for traditional reasons). Also, because of the quote under the Naval ensign part above, it would also seem that, despite the illustration on some of the books covers, the RCCBF is rectangular. [See rightmost flag in gallery above.]

I could even understand why they kept a fixed number: having to repaint all the armed forces vehicles every time a new state is added would be a bother....
Marc Pasquin, 25 December 2006

Harry Turtledove did not "invent" this flag design for his Freedom Party. He borrowed it from the variant of the Army of Northern Virginia battle flag used by regiments of the Confederate army west of the Mississippi River.

An image of it can be seen here and an explanation can be read here.
Devereaux Cannon, 16 September 2005