Confederate flag

The Confederate flag flies near the South Carolina Statehouse, in Columbia, S.C. For 15 years, South Carolina lawmakers refused to consider removing the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds, but opinions changed within five days of the massacre of nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, as a growing tide of Republicans joined the call to remove the battle flag from a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse and put it in a museum. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Annin Flagmakers, the New Jersey-based company that is the oldest and largest American manufacturer of flags, announced Tuesday it would stop making and selling the Confederate flag.

"I just sent out the email to our factories saying, 'Cease and desist. Let's not sell this stuff,'" said Carter Beard, president of the company that is headquartered in Roseland.

The company's decision came as the Confederate flag has become the center of a national debate in the wake of the attack on an African Methodist Episcopalian church in Charleston, S.C. The 21-year-old man arrested for the killings of nine congregants posed for numerous photos online waving the Confederate flag.

The governor of South Carolina on Monday asked the state legislature to authorize removing the flag from the Capitol grounds.

"Flags are very powerful symbols, and clearly this flag has become a symbol of a negative aspect of our past." said Beard, who is the sixth generation to lead the flag company. "For some people, it represents something very negative."

As for those who value the flag as a symbol of state or regional history, Beard said, "They'll be able to find this product through other sellers. I'm sure someone will jump into that market."

The company currently lists two Confederate flags in its catalog for retailers: the conventional rectangular flag, and a square-shaped Field Artillery version used during the Civil War.

The company - which specializes in American-made flags - has factories in Ohio and Virginia. Besides the American flag, they make state, provincial and historical flags.

Annin's decision comes as retail giants WalMart and Amazon announced they will stop selling the flag. Annin doesn't sell the Confederate flag to WalMart stores, but does sell it through Amazon.

The Confederate flag represents only a small portion of the company's business, Beard said. The flags were sold mostly to small retailers in the South, and to the Civil War reenactment community, he added.

Orders that were received before Tuesday's corporate decision were completed, but all manufacture, shipping and sales have been halted immediately, he said.

Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com, or at (732) 902-4557. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.