e Insignia of State
Mr. l aur.Mic.' lolls iihouf the origin of our
stole flog, «real seal and also I he legislation
which brought about the adoption of a state
flower anil slate bird.
IN the United States, every com¬
monwealth possesses its own
state Hag. which exhibit an infi¬
nite variety in arrangement and
colors, so that few people of one
state know anything concerning
the flags of other states, and com¬
paratively few people can describe
their own state flag offhand.
It is a singular fact that our state
had no state banner until 1861. and
that the first flag was adopted by
the Constitutional Convention
which adopted the Ordinance of
Secession. The flag as then adopted
consisted of a red field with a white
star in the centre, with the inscrip¬
tion above the star in semi-circu¬
lar form of "May 20th. 1775." and
below the star, in semi-circular
form, of "May 20th. 1861." There
were two bars of equal width, and
the length of the field was equal to
the bar. the width of the field be¬
ing equal to both bars; the first bar
to be of blue, the second of white,
and the length of the flag to be one-
third more than its width. Of
course the first date referred to was
that of the Mecklenburg Declara¬
tion of Independence; the second
that of the adoption of the Ordi¬
nance of Secession. This was the
flag issued to Carolina regiments
during the Civil War and was the
only flag, except the Confederate
colors, used by our troops during
that era. This flag continued in
existence, without change, until
1885. when the General Assembly
adopted a new state flag.
The Act of 1885
The act of 1885 provided that the
flag should consist of a blue union,
containing in the centre a white
star with the letter N. in gilt on the
left and the letter C. in gilt on the
right of the star, the circle contain¬
ing this to be one-third the width
of the union. The flag was to con¬
sist of two equally proportioned
bars; the upper bar to be red. the
lower white; the length of the bars
horizontally to be equal to the per¬
pendicular length of the union, and
the total length of the flag to be
one-third more than its width. It
was further provided that above
the star in the centre of the union
By IK. C. LAWRENCE
there should be a gill scroll in semi¬
circular form containing in black
letters the inscription "May 20th,
1775" and that below the star there
should be a similar scroll contain¬
ing the black letters "April 12th,
1776."
The latter date perpetuates the
adoption of the "Halifax Resolves,"
a document that places Carolina in
the very front rank among those
that demanded unconditional free¬
dom and absolute independence
from any foreign power — a docu¬
ment which stands out as one of the
great landmarks in the annals of
Carolina history.
Since 1885 there has been no
change in our flag, and the only
legislation in reference thereto was
the act of 1907 which required that
the flag should be floated from all
State institutions, public buildings
and courthouses.
Now what about the Great Seal
of the State of North Carolina?
During the Colonial period four
different seals were used; and since
the Colony became a State the seal
has undergone four more changes.
Limitations of space docs not per¬
mit us to go into the different seals
used during the Colonial period,
but as early ns December 22. 1776,
an ordinance was passed by the
Provincial Congress at Halifax ap¬
pointing William Hooper, Joseph
Hewes and Thomas Burke as com¬
missioners to procure a great seal
for the State, the ordinance fur¬
ther providing that the Governor
should use his "private seal at
arms" until the Great Seal was
procured. It is of interest to note
that Hooper and Hewes both be¬
came signers of the Declaration of
Independence, while Burke became
Governor of the State.
Description of Seal
In April, 1778, a bill was intro¬
duced. which became a law, pro¬
viding that William Tisdale be au¬
thorized to engrave a Great Seal
of State under the direction of the
Governor. Under this act a seal
was procured which was used until
1794. It was three inches in di¬
ameter and one-fourth inch thick
and may be described thus: On one
side was the figure of Liberty, hold¬
ing in her right hand the pole with
cap and in the left hand with arm
extended a large scroll on which
appeared in large letters the word
"Constitution." Under the figure
appeared the words In legibus
salus. Around the circumference
were the words "Great Seal of the
State of North Carolina." On the
other side of the shield was the
figure of a woman Plenty. The
right arm was folded and in Her
right hand inclining forward was a
distaff; in the left hand, with arm
extended was an ear of corn. In
the distance under a tree a cow
browsed. Under these figures was
the word "Independence” —
MDCCLXXVI. Around the circum¬
ference appeared the words "O,
Fortunatos. Niminum. Sua. Si,
Bona. Norint. Colonos." which may
be freely translated "How fortu¬
nate are the Colonists who know
their own good."
In 1792 the legislature passed an
( Continued on page 18)
THE STATE. APRIL 13. 1946
