I suppose "some" would be those voices in your head, but the Confederate flag makers sure considered them to be "Southern States" (with the exception of Nebraska which was not a state at all until long after the waR was over.)
Variation of the number of stars on Confederate Flags.The reason for the variations in number of stars in the Stars and Bars was due to lack of centralized purchasing. The original ones had 7 stars and more were added as additional states joined and the flag makers became aware of the number of states.
In Oct. 1861, a rump legislative body in Missouri dissolved the bond to the union and joined the confederacy. Kentucky was recognized as neutral at first but later was represented in the Confederate congress, bringing the stars to 13. However many flagmakers only recognized those states that were able to maintain state governments within their own territory, so that 41% of the over 300 surviving STARS AND BARS have only 11 stars. Missouri and Kentucky were overrun by the union and maintained representation in the federal government.
One interesting variation is the 12 star version, used by Nathan Bedford Forest, who swore not to include the star for Georgia, "as long as a yankee remains on Georgia's soil."
Of the survivors those having eight stars, 9%; nine stars, 5%; ten stars, 4%; twelve stars, 9%; fourteen stars, 0.6%; and 15 stars, 5%. The fourteenth star was for Maryland, whose governor was under house arrest and whose legislature was disbanded until the jailed members were replaced in a election where all voters had to take an oath of allegiance to the federal government. The 15th star was for Delaware, the other slave state. Unlike Maryland, who raised a number of regiments in exile from citizens who escaped across the river into Virginia and actually had more troops in the field for the confederacy then Florida, Delaware, the first state in the union, remained loyal to the federals.
The most interesting (at least to me) version of the Stars and Bars is the 18 star version used by Gen. Stand Watie, the last confederate general to surrender his command, the Cherokee Brigade. It had 13 white stars in a circle and 5 red ones for the "five civilized nations", the five indian tribes that joined the confederacy.
GEN Albert Pike designed the flag you are speaking of. (fwiw, we Tsaligiyi had our own WAR banner, too, which was flown with & sometimes instead of the "Cherokee Battle Flag".)
the Tsaligiyi battle flag was red with seven stars in the shape of "the Big Dipper" centered on the flag, with the constellation "tipped" so that the "water" would pour out. it was flown at least as early as February 1862. (the first KNOWN one, which is in the tribal museum, is made from the "underskirt" of a blood-RED wedding dress - fyi, Tsaligiyi brides did NOT traditionally wear WHITE wedding dresses, as WHITE is the traditional color of DEATH among our people! RED, being the color of LIFE, was ONE of the usual colors for wedding attire for both women & men.)
free dixie,sw