The current flag of Alabama (the second in
Alabama state history) was adopted by Act 383 of the
Alabama state legislature
The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serv ...
on February 16, 1895:
The cross of St. Andrew referred to in the law is a diagonal cross, known in
vexillology
Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...
as a
saltire
A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltator ...
. Because the bars must be at least wide, small representations of the Alabama flag do not meet the legal definition. In 2001, a survey conducted by the
North American Vexillological Association
The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the scientific and scholarly study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith (1940–2016), and others. It ...
(NAVA) ranked Alabama's state flag 29th in design quality of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state and U.S. territorial flags ranked. There are sources that believe the saltire was intended to memorialize the Confederacy, but no legislative records indicate the inspiration for the flag.
History
1861 flag
On January 11, 1861, the Alabama Secession Convention passed a resolution designating an official flag. Designed by several women from
Montgomery, final touches were made by Francis Corra of that city.
One side of the flag displayed the
Goddess of Liberty holding an unsheathed sword in her right hand; in her left she held a small blue flag with one gold star. Above the gold star appears the text "Alabama" in all capital letters. In an arch above this figure were the words "Independent Now and Forever".
The reverse side of the flag had a cotton plant with a coiled rattlesnake. The text
"Noli Me Tangere", ("Touch Me Not" in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
), was placed below the cotton plant.
This flag was flown until February 10, 1861, when it was removed to the Governor's Office after it was damaged by severe weather. It was never flown again.
Current flag
![North Virginia Third Bunting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/North_Virginia_Third_Bunting.svg)
Alabama's current flag was adopted in 1895. The legislation introduced by Representative John W. A. Sanford Jr. stipulates: "The flag of the state of Alabama shall be a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white. The bars forming the cross shall be not less than six inches broad, and must extend diagonally across the flag from side to side." St. Andrew's cross represents the cross on which
St. Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
was crucified.
The legislation that created the state flag did not specify that the flag was to be square but defined the width of the bars of the cross.
In 1987, the office of Alabama Attorney General Don Siegelman stated in a letter that the proper shape of the state flag is rectangular, as it had been depicted numerous times in official publications and reproductions.
Despite this, the flag is still often depicted as being square, even in official publications of the U.S. federal government.
The saltire of Alabama's flag most closely resembles the saltire of the
flag of Florida
The Flag of Florida is the state flag of Florida, United States. It consists of a red saltire on a white background, with the state seal superimposed on the center. The flag's current design has been in use since May 21, 1985, after the design o ...
, which was derived from the Spanish
Cross of Burgundy
The Cross of Burgundy (french: Croix de Bourgogne; es, Cruz de Borgoña/Aspa de Borgoña; german: Burgunderkreuz; it, Croce di Borgogna; ca, Creu de Borgonya; nl, Bourgondisch kruis) is a saw-toothed ( raguly) form of the Cross of Saint Andr ...
.
Southern Alabama was originally part of
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...
and subsequently
West Florida
West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...
.
Alabama adopted its flag design in 1895, five years earlier than Florida did.
Theories on origin
No documentation in the legislative records indicates the flag was intended to commemorate the Confederacy.
In 1900, the ''
Montgomery Advertiser
The ''Montgomery Advertiser'' is a daily newspaper and news website located in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1829.
History
The newspaper began publication in 1829 as ''The Planter's Gazette.'' Its first editor was Moseley Baker. It ...
'' reported the flag was "a memory and a suggestion of the Confederate battle flag". In 1906, the ''
Birmingham Age-Herald
The ''Birmingham Post-Herald'' was a daily newspaper in Birmingham, Alabama, with roots dating back to 1850, before the founding of Birmingham. The final edition was published on September 23, 2005. In its last full year, its average daily circu ...
'' published a piece that stated the Alabama state flag "has no history woven into it".
Within a few decades after the flag was adopted, several sources said that the design was drawn from the battle flag.
Thomas M. Owen
Thomas McAdory Owen (November 19, 1866 – March 25, 1920) was an American lawyer, archivist, historian, and founder of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, serving as its first director. Owen was the author of a large and noted ...
, the first director of the
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the official repository of archival records for the U.S. state of Alabama. Under the direction of Thomas M. Owen its founder, the agency received state funding by an act of the Alabama Legisla ...
, wrote in 1915 that the flag bill's sponsor and the rest of the legislature had intended to "preserve, in permanent form, some of the more distinctive features of the Confederate battle flag". The authors of a 1917 article in ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' expressed their opinion that the Alabama flag was based on the Confederate Battle Flag. In 1924, Bell Allen Ross, a member of the
Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...
, said that John W.A. Sanford Jr. modeled his design of the Alabama flag on the battle flag used by his father,
John W. A. Sanford commanding the
Hilliard's Legion
Hilliard's Legion or Hilliard's Alabama Legion was a Confederate unit which fought in the American Civil War. Unlike most Civil War formations, it was a combined arms force, with infantry, cavalry and artillery components.
History
On April 24, 1 ...
regiment.
Sanford's design was meant to preserve some of the distinctive features of the Confederate battle flag, particularly the Saint Andrews Cross. Alabama Attorney General Don Siegelman's letter in 1987 also referenced that the flag was modeled after Sandford's
60th Alabama Infantry Regiment
The 60th Alabama Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was formed on November 25, 1863 at Charleston, Tennessee by consolidating four companies of the 1st Battalion an ...
battle flag.
Some commentators have interpreted the red saltire as a commemoration of Alabama's contributions to the Confederacy, since the flag was adopted during a period of promotion of the "
Lost Cause
The Lost Cause of the Confederacy (or simply Lost Cause) is an American pseudohistorical negationist mythology that claims the cause of the Confederate States during the American Civil War was just, heroic, and not centered on slavery. Firs ...
" of the culture of the antebellum South.
Other former Confederate slave states, beginning with
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, and followed by
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, had also adopted new state flags around the same time that they
disenfranchised African Americans and passed laws establishing Jim Crow segregation.
But other contemporary commentators, such as Steve Murray, Director of the Alabama Department of History and Archives, believe the origins of the flag are unclear.
According to Murray, the flag's connections to the battle flag are thin and based on suppositions.
Murray said, "I would conclude that if they were wanting to evoke the Confederate battle flag, they would have been more explicit about doing it either in the design which could have more closely resembled the Confederate flag."
Murray also noted that Alabama may have wanted to approve a new state flag to prepare for an exposition in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
later that year.
Governor's flag
The flag of the
governor of Alabama
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
is a variant of the state flag. In the top saltire, the flag displays the state coat of arms. The bottom saltire contains the state military crest, which consists of a cotton plant with full bursting boll.
See also
*
Flag of Jersey
The flag of Jersey is composed of a red saltire on a white field. In the upper quadrant the badge of Jersey surmounted by a yellow "Plantagenet crown". The flag was adopted by the States of Jersey on 12 June 1979, proclaimed by Queen Elizab ...
*
Seal of Alabama
*
Saint Patrick's Saltire
Saint Patrick's Saltire or Saint Patrick's Cross is a red saltire (X-shaped cross) on a white field. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned "''argent, a saltire gules''". The Saint Patrick's Flag (''Bratach Naomh Pádraig'') is a flag compos ...
*
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
*
List of Alabama state symbols
This is a list of state symbols of Alabama. The items on the list have been officially sanctioned by the Alabama Legislature. Alabama has a total of 41 official state emblems. The oldest of which is the Alabama State Bible, from 1853; the most r ...
References
External links
Alabama State Flag at the Alabama Department of Archives & History
written account of the flag in 1987 by Don Siegelman, Alabama Attorney General
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Alabama
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
Symbols of Alabama
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
Flags of Alabama
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
1895 establishments in Alabama