North Carolina, flag of

▪ Flag History

      U.S. state flag consisting of a horizontal red stripe over a white stripe and, at the hoist, a vertical blue stripe incorporating a white star, the initials of the state (“NC”), and two ribbons.

      There is an unsubstantiated reference to a North Carolina flag of the Revolutionary War (American Revolution) era (1775–83). It supposedly was white with a hornet's nest and the inscription “May 20, 1775,” the date on which citizens in the town of Mecklenburg are said to have proclaimed their independence from Great Britain.

      Prior to the Civil War (American Civil War) (1861–65) militia troops from North Carolina carried blue flags with the state seal. When the first official North Carolina flag was adopted on June 22, 1861, however, its colours and stripes were based on the Stars and Bars, and it displayed the date of North Carolina's secession from the Union (May 20, 1861). Various Confederate regimental flags were subsequently based on that design. The present North Carolina flag, established on March 9, 1885, is similar to its Civil War-era predecessor; it was designed by General Johnstone Jones, who served in the Confederate army. On one of the ribbons in the current flag is emblazoned “May 20th, 1775.” The other ribbon has the inscription “April 12th, 1776,” referring to the Halifax Resolves, wherein the Provincial Congress authorized North Carolina delegates to approve the Declaration of Independence of the United States.

Whitney Smith

 

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