Deo vindice

The motto appears on the margin beneath the device of the Seal of the Confederate States.
Deo vindice on the 1864 CS$500 banknote

Deo vindice (Latin for "(With) God (as our) defender/protector")[note 1] was the national motto of the Confederate States of America. It appears on the margin beneath the device of the Seal of the Confederate States.[1] Never codified by law, Deo vindice was considered the de facto motto of the Confederate States from April 30, 1863, when the Confederate States Congress passed an act (Joint Resolution No. 4), establishing a Seal of the Confederate States.[2] The national motto was first used publicly in 1864.

Notes

  1. ^ The exact translation is open to some interpretation.

See also

References

  1. ^ Sigillologia. Being Some Account of the Great or Broad Seal of the Confederate States of America. A Monograph. Washington, D.C.: Kervand & Towers. 1873. pp. 4–5. LCCN 10019533. OL 25400537M – via Powell & Ginck.
  2. ^ Matthews, James M., ed. (1863). The Statutes at Large of the Confederate States of America, Passed at the Third Session of the First Congress; 1863. Richmond: R. M. Smith, Printer to Congress. p. 167. OL 25389078M.