State Flag of Maryland

September 19, 2011
The Flag of Maryland

The Flag of Maryland

The flag of the state of Maryland was adopted on November 25, 1904. The Maryland flag is rectangular and divided into four fields. The top left and bottom right fields feature the coat of arms of the Calvert Family and the top right and bottom left feature the coat of arms of the Crossland family.

Maryland is the only state in the United States to use a British coat of arms for its state flag. The two coats of arms represent the banner of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, who was a British politician, colonizer, and Parliament member in the seventeenth century. Calvert became interested in establishing colonies in Newfoundland, and, after realizing Newfoundland’s weather was unsuitable for English settlers, began drafting a royal charter to colonize what is now the state of Maryland. Although Calvert died several weeks before the charter was sealed, Calvert is historically recognized as the founder of Maryland.

George Calvert’s son, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore founded the colony of Maryland. From Maryland’s founding until the Civil War, only the gold and black Calvert coat of arms was used to represent Maryland. During the Civil War, Maryland remained in the Union; however, many of Maryland’s citizens chose to fight with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and began using the Crossland coat of arms as their secession banner.

After the Civil War, Maryland’s citizens began flying flags that included both coats of arms, in an effort to reconcile conflicted feelings. The flag of Maryland that is used today was first flown on October 11, 1880 at a parade marking the 150th anniversary of Baltimore’s fouding. It was later used on October 25, 1888 at Gettysburg during a ceremony dedicating monuments to the Maryland regiments that fought for the Army of the Potomac. Maryland’s state flag was officially adopted on November 25, 1904.

The flag of Maryland’s colors and symbols are used prominently throughout the state. The city of Baltimore and the counties of Baltimore, Howard, Calvert, and Worcester all have coats of arms and/or flags that incorporate one or both of the flag of Maryland’s coats of arms. The University of Maryland, Loyola University Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University, the Maryland’s sports teams all use the colors or symbols of the Maryland flag in some way as well.

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Flag of the State of Georgia

July 12, 2011

The current flag of Georgia.

The adopted flag of the U.S. state of Georgia is the newest state flag in the United States and has a very interesting story behind its development. Adopted just over eight years ago, on May 8, 2003, the flag is based off of the design of the Confederate States of America’s first national banner.

The current flag of Georgia, like the U.S. flag, is rectangular and includes a blue field in the upper left corner. The blue field includes the state of Georgia’s coat of arms and thirteen white stars. The coat of arms consists of three pillars, which represent the three branches of state and federal government: executive, legislative, and judicial. An American soldier with a drawn sword, dressed in a Revolutionary War uniform, stands between the pillars, symbolizing the state’s courage to defend the constitution.

Two phrases also appear in the blue field. “Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation,” Georgia’s state motto, appear on a banner around the pillars. “In God We Trust,” is written below the seal, but these words are not actually part of the official Georgia seal. The thirteen stars around the seal signify Georgia’s inclusion in the original thirteen U.S. colonies.

The rest of the flag consists of three horizontal stripes: the top and bottom stripes are red and the middle stripe is white.

Controversy over the state of Georgia’s previous flag, which was used from 1956 until 2001, ultimately led to the flag’s repeal and the design of a new flag. The flag adopted in 1956 prominently featured the Southern Cross, a prominent symbol of the Confederate States of America. Although proponents of the flag claimed that the Georgia state flag was designed to commemorate the Civil War Centennial, others took offense. The flag was adopted at the height of the American Civil Rights Movement, and white supremacy groups were using the Confederate flag as a symbol of racial protest.

Although pressure to adopt a new state flag increased throughout the second half of the twentieth century—especially before the 1996 Olympic Games, which were held in Atlanta—the flag was not replaced until 2001. In that year, the state legislature adopted a replacement flag that featured Georgia’s state seal above smaller versions of Georgia’s previous flag. The current flag of Georgia was adopted in 2003.

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Flag of South Carolina

November 26, 2010

The Flag of the State of South Carolina was adopted on September 28, 1861. The flag is rectangular with a blue background. In the center of the flag is a white palm tree. A white crescent appears in the upper left corner.

The Flag of South Carolina was first designed for use in the Revolutionary War. In 1775, Colonel William Moultrie developed the state’s first flag, a blue rectangular banner with a white crescent in the upper left corner, the blue color matching the militia uniforms. The word “liberty” appeared inside the white crescent on the first version of the flag.

The original Revolutionary War flag remained in use until 1861, when the South Carolina General Assembly adopted a flag with a palmetto tree in front of a white oval background. The flag was only in use for two days—it is thus known as the “two-day flag”—and two days later the palmetto tree was modified to a simpler white tree in front of the blue background.

The addition of the palmetto tree on the South Carolina flag recognizes Colonel Moultrie and his troops, who defended Charleston by constructing a fort from palmetto logs.  Because palmetto logs are soft, the British cannons were unable to destroy the fort, allowing the Americans to win the battle at Charleston on June 28, 1776.

Like many other Southern States, South Carolina flew a different flag after it seceded from the Union during the civil war era. South Carolina’s Sovereignty/Secession Flag was actually flown in several parts of the Union during the Civil War to demonstrate support for the South. The Sovereignty/Secession Flag features a red background with a blue cross. Inside the blue cross are white stars. In the left corner of the flag, the crescent and the palm tree are featured next to each other.

The meaning of the crescent is debatable. South Carolina soldiers may have worn a crescent on their caps during the revolution. The crescent is also thought to be symbolic of a “second son,” one who came to the United States in search of a more prosperous life.

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Flag of North Carolina

November 24, 2010

The flag of the State of North Carolina was adopted in 1885. North Carolina was the 12th state to join the United States of America: it gained statehood in 1789.  The flag is rectangular and uses the same colors as the flag of the United States—red, white, and blue—but also includes a golden color to highlight its lettering.

The left side of the flag, closest to the hoist, is blue with a white star in the center. The letter “N” appears to the left of the star, and the letter “C” appears to the right. The date May 20, 1775 appears on golden ribbon above the star, and the date April 12, 1776 appears on another golden ribbon below the star.  To the right of the blue portion of the flag are two equally divided horizontal fields: the top field is red and the bottom is white.

The two dates on the North Carolina flag are important dates in the United States’ battle for independence and are also dates that recognize North Carolina as an important state in the revolutionary movement.  May 20, 1775 recognizes the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, which was the first declaration of independence made in the Thirteen Colonies. The citizens of Mecklenburg County signed the declaration on May 20, 1775 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

April 12, 1776 commemorates the Halifax Resolves, which was adopted by the Fourth Provincial Congress of the Province of North Carolina. Like the Mecklenburg Declaration, the Halifax Resolves was named for the town where the document was discussed. The Halifax Resolves motivated North Carolina’s leaders, including Joseph Hewes, William Hooper, and John Penn, to join the other United States colonies and declare independence from Britain.

When North Carolina seceded from the Union on May 20, 1861—just six years after the flag’s adoption—the date of the Halifax Resolves was replaced with North Carolina’s secession date. The blue field on the left was changed to red and included a larger star and the red field on the right side of the flag was changed to blue. The official North Carolina flag was restored after the Civil War.

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Flag of Mississippi

September 9, 2010

The Flag of Mississippi was officially adopted in 1894 following the state’s appointment of a committee to design an appropriate state flag. The flag features a square version of the Confederate Battle Flag in the upper left corner, a red background that includes a blue southern cross and thirteen white stars inside the cross.  The rest of the flag consists of three large horizontal stripes, one each in blue, white, and red.  Mississippi is the only state in the Union that still incorporates the Confederate flag into their state flag.

The meaning of the colors and stars on the Mississippi state flag are not difficult to interpret.  The thirteen stars in the Confederate flag symbolize the thirteen original colonies of the United States.  The red, white, and blue colors are also in accordance with the official colors of the United States.  The use of the Confederate flag in the Mississippi state flag is controversial, however.  Those who support the Confederate flag argue that it is a symbol of southern heritage that is distinctively unique from the Northern traditions.  To others, due to its use in the Civil War, by Neo-Nazis, and the Ku Klux Klan, the Confederate flag is viewed as racist and anti-Union.  For these reasons, most Southern states, schools, and universities that at one time included the Confederate flag in their own state flags or that flew the Confederate flag no longer follow this tradition.

In 1993, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi regarding the Confederate flag’s inclusion in the state’s flag.  After reviewing the case, the Mississippi Supreme Court overruled the NAACP, and in 2000, Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove made the current state flag official.  Although controversy continued to brew over the flag’s use, in 2001, Mississippi residents voted to keep the Confederate flag on their state flag.

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Posted by emilyrex

Flag of Louisiana

September 3, 2010

The flag of the State of Louisiana was originally adopted in 1912 and revised in 2006. This rectangular flag features a blue background with a “pelican in her piety” in the center: a mother pelican feeding three baby pelicans in their nest.  The mother pelican has three small drops of blood on her chest and is using the blood to feed her children.  This symbol is also used on the Louisiana state seal.  The state motto is included on a white ribbon below the pelican of piety and reads: “Union, Justice, and Confidence.”

The drops of blood on the pelican of piety on the Louisiana state flag might seem disturbing, and it is not surprising that their inclusion on the flag was inconsistent throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  It wasn’t until an eighth grade student at Vanderbilt Catholic High School in Houma, Louisiana brought the issue to the attention of the Louisiana State Legislature that it became a requirement that all versions of the Louisiana seal and flag include the three drops of blood on the pelican’s breast.

The pelican of piety has been a Christian symbol of charity since the Middle Ages.  Medieval Europeans thought that pelicans were particularly caring for their babies. Because of the way the pelican presses its bill into its chest when feeding, it was thought that a pelican mother would injure herself to feed her young her own blood in the absence of available food.  Other legends about pelicans hold that the pelican mother kills its young, only to resurrect the babies with her own blood, symbolic of the Passion of the Christ. Both versions of the pelican mother support self-sacrifice and generosity in the Christian faith.  In addition to its use on the Louisiana state flag and seal, the pelican image is featured in Great Britain on the emblems of the Corpus Christi College in both Cambridge and Oxford.

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