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Confederate seal never used
Was the Confederate Seal ever used in an official capacity?
Not likely.
Unused seal
The ornate Confederate seal was not available during the Civil War and probably never was used in an official capacity.The seal’s dies and press now are in separate museums.
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The seal of the 11 states that seceded during the Civil War did not have its design finalized until April 30, 1863. The embossing dies were ordered from an engraver in Great Britain and the seal dies eventually reached Richmond, Va.,before the end of the war.
However, due to risks of running the naval blockade around the Confederacy, the accompanying embossing press was only shipped as far as Bermuda.
It is surmised that the dies, crafted in silver, probably were not available in time for official use.
The dies and press passed through private ownership before entering museum collections. The dies now reside in Richmond's Museum of the Confederacy and the embossing press, equipped with brass replica dies, is in a national trust museum in St. George’s, Bermuda.
The seal prominently features George Washington on horseback, in the same position as a statue of him in Richmond.
Washington is surrounded with a wreath, featuring some of the main agricultural products of the Confederate States – wheat, corn, tobacco, cotton, rice and sugar cane.
The margin of the seal features the words "The Confederate States of America: 22 February 1862" and the national motto, Deo Vindice ("Under God, Our Vindicator" or "With God as [our] Champion").
The date on the seal represents when Kentucky’s Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president after the only Confederate general election. That date also is Washington's birthday.
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