The stars are on the small US flag on the reverse. This is just above the first official Georgia State flag resembled the First National and did not initially have the state COA) which was not adopted until after the Civil War (1870s). This is pre-20th Century as the state COA was added to the state flag in something like 1901-1903 (I will have to dig into the file to get the exact date).

Cerveau painted this flag before he moved from Savannah to Natchez, Mississippi where he is buried today.

Greg Biggs