"Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! is the most comprehensive history to date of the Confederate flag controversy that has engaged South Carolina politics for nearly four decades. Originally raised over the state capitol in 1961 to commemorate the centennial of the American Civil War, the flag remained atop the State House dome until July 2000. Failed negotiations and bitter confrontations between the flag's defenders and its opponents have made the "flag issue" a flash point of South Carolina politics and culture."

"Setting the stage for the political drama to come, K. Michael Prince places the Confederate battle flag - the flag most often displayed - in historical context, as one of many unit and national flags carried by Confederate forces. He also offers insights into the conflicting symbolism of these flags. For many citizens, usually white South Carolinians, the Confederate flag represents heroism, a fight for national survival, and a lost heritage, while many others, especially African Americans, view it as a symbol of oppression, violence, and human degradation."

"Prince tells the story from many perspectives, and the clashes between those boycotting South Carolina to force the flag's removal from the State House and those "defending it at the dome" make for fascinating reading. Even more interesting perhaps are the stories Prince tells of those seeking, ever more urgently in the 1990s, a political and social compromise that would free all South Carolinians - regardless of race, age, or ancestry - from narrowly partisan views of history."--Jacket.