Civil War historians were flummoxed by Apple's removal of Civil War games from its App Store that included images of the Confederate flag. The controversial symbol is key to depicting history, they said.

“It seems to me that pulling Civil War games might be an extreme response to the flag controversy, as if the Civil War didn't exist,” said Bob Brinkmeyer, a professor of Southern studies at the University of South Carolina. “As these games remind us, the South lost.”

Apple's decision on Thursday came soon after major retailers and e-commerce sites, from Wal-Mart to Amazon to EBay, banned sales of Confederate flags and products with Confederate images on them.