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On May
20, 1861, the day that the secession resolution
was adopted by the state of North Carolina, an
ordinance to adopt a state flag was presented by
Colonel John D. Whitford. A committee of seven
was formed with Colonel Whitford appointed
chairman. The original ordinance stated that
"...the flag of this State shall be a blue field
with a white V thereon, and a star, encirling
which shall be the words, "Sirgit astrum, May
20, 1775." The
design intended by this original description for
the flag was never to be. Colonel Whitford and
his committee consulted an artist from Raleigh,
William Jarl Browne, for advice. Mr. Browne
prepared a model for a state flag and submitted
it to the committee for approval. The "Browne"
flag was not at all like that described in the
original proposal but was, nevertheless,
approved by the North Carolina Convention on
June 22, 1861.
The
design provided by William Jarl Browne and
adopted by the Convention was described as
having a red field with two bars making up the
fly; the top one blue and the bottom bar white.
Centered on the red field was a white five
pointed star. Above the star, in a semi-circular
mold, was the date May 20, 1775 representing the
much questioned "Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence." Below the star was the date, May
20, 1861 representing the date of North
Carolina's secession from the union.
This
flag was carried by the North Carolina
Regiments, along with the Confederate colors,
throughout the Civil War.
After the
war, North Carolina like other secession states,
adopted a revised design for their state flag.
In March of 1865, a bill introduced by General
Johnstone Jones, was passed and the design of
the North Carolina State Flag change for the
last time. The flag's field was changed from red
to blue. The top bar of the fly was changed from
blue to red. The gilt letters "N" and "C" were
placed on either side of the white star and gilt
scrolls were added above and below the star. The
scroll above still displays the date of the
"Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence" but
the date displayed in black letters on the lower
scroll displays April 12, 1776, the date of the
"Hallifax Resolves" instead of May 20, 1861, the
date of secession.
If you
want more information on the State Flags of the
United States, you might want to check
How Proudly They Wave: Flags of the Fifty States by Rita D. Haban. This book is
geared toward kids... and for adults like me who
want to know about the history and design
significance of the flags of all fifty states
but can't find this information in an expensive
encyclopedia. |
Official State Flag of North Carolina
