The State Flag
The original dales on the flag were
May 20. 1775. and May 20. I SOI. Il
wasn't inil il 1885 that the latter date
was changed and onr present flag
was adopter!.
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a. i:i»iom»s
In this country wc have a national
flag which stands as the emblem of our
strength and unity as a nation; a living
representation ol our national spirit
and honor. In addition to our national
flag, each of the states in the Union
has a "stale flag" symbolic of its own
individuality and domestic ideals,
which is expressive of some particular
trait, or commemorative of some his¬
torical event, of the people over whom
it floats.
The flags of most of the states, how¬
ever. consist of the coat of arms of
that state upon a suitably colored Held.
It is said that the first state flag of
North Carolina was built on this
model, but so far as wg can learn
from the records, the first legislation
on \ this subject of establishing and
recognizing a state flag was in the
year 1861.
The constitutional convention of
1861, which passed the ordinance of
secession, adopted what ip-termed a
state flag. On May 20, 1861. the day
the secession resolution was adopted.
Col. John I). Whitford. 4 member of
the convention from Craven County,
introduced the billowing ordinance
which was referred to a select com¬
mittee of seven:
"Be it ordained. I hat the flag of
this State shall be a blue field with a
white V thereon, and a star, incircling
which shall Ik* the words Surgit as-
irum. May
21/.
1 77 S'."
Colonel Whitford was made chair¬
man of the committee to which this
ordinance was referred. The com¬
mittee secured the aid and advice of
William Garl Browne, an artist of
Raleigh. Browne prepared and sub¬
mitted a model to this committee, and
this model was adopted by the con¬
vention on June 22, 1861.
It will Ik* observed that the Browne
model, to be hereafter explained, was
vastly different from the one originally
proposed by Colonel Whitford. Here
is the ordinance as it appears in the
ordinances and resolutions passed by
the convention:
An Ordinance in Relation lu a
State Flag
lie il ordained by this Convention,
and il is hereby ordained by the au¬
thority of the same. That the Flag
of North Carolina shall consist of a
red field with a white star in the centre,
and with the inscription, above the
star, in a semi-circular form, of "May
20th, 1775,” and below the star, in
a semi-circular form, of "May 20th,
1861." Thai there shall be two bars of
equal width, and the length of the field
shall be equal to the bar, the width of
the field being equal to both bars:
the first bar shall be blue, and the
second shall be white; and the length
of the flag shall be one-third more
than its width. ( Ratified the 22 d day
of June. 1861.)
The state flag, adopted in 1861, is
said to have been issued to North
Carolina regiments of state troops «lur¬
ing the summer of that year, and was
borne by them throughout the war,
being the only flag, except the national
and Confederate colors, used by the
North Carolina troops during the War
Between the States. This flag existed
until 1885, when the Legislature
adopted a new* model.
The bill, in connection with this
procedure, was introduced by General
Johnstone Jones on February 5, 1885.
and passed its final reading one month
later after little or no debate. This
act reads as follows:
An Act to Establish a Slate Flag
The General Assembly of North Caro¬
lina do enact :
Section I. That the flag of North
Carolina shall consist of a blue union,
containing in the centre thereof a white
star with the letter N. in gilt on the
left and the letter C. in gill on the
right of said star, the circle containing
the same to be one-third the width
of the union.
See. 2. That the fly of the flag
shall consist of two equally propor¬
tioned bars; the upper bar to be red.
the lower bar to be while; that the
length of the bars horizontally shall
be equal to the perpendicular length
of the union, and the total length of
the flag shall be one-third more than
its width.
Sec. 3. That above the star in the
centre of the union there shall be a
gill scroll in semi-circular form, con¬
taining in black letters this inscrip¬
tion: “May 20th, 1775." and that
below the star there shall be a similar
scroll containing in black letters the
inscription: "April 12th. 1776."
Sec. 4. That this act shall lake
effect from and after its ratification.
In the General Assembly read three
times and ratified this 9th day ol
March, A. D. 1885.
As you undoubtedly know, the
date. May 20. 1775, refers to the
Mecklenburg Declaration of Indepen¬
dence. The second dale appearing on
the previous state flag of 1861 was
that «>f May 20, 1861. This date com¬
memorated the secession of the state
from the Union, but as the cause of
secession was defeated, this date no
longer represented anything after the
War. So when a new flag was adopted
in 1885. this date was removed and
another. April 12, 1776, took its place
I his date commemorates the adoption
of the Halifax Resolved a document
that places the Old North State in the
very front rank, both in point of time
and in spirit, among those that
( Continued on page 29)
27
TH
С
BTATC. MARCH 17. 1951
