The

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of the

state of Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

is a white

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

shield with three

grapevines ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...

, each bearing three bunches of

purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago ...

on a field of

royal blue Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by clothiers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of whom won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. Brightness The ''Oxford En ...

. The banner below the shield reads "

Qui Transtulit Sustinet The Great Seal of the State of Connecticut has been the coat of arms of the U.S. state of Connecticut since May 1784. It depicts three grapevines and a ribbon below with the Latin language, Latin motto: ''Qui Transtulit Sustinet'' (English: He ...

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 ...

for "He who transplanted sustains", Connecticut's state motto. The flag dimensions are in length and in width.

History

The

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...

approved the flag in 1897 after it was introduced by Governor

Owen Vincent Coffin Owen Vincent Coffin (June 20, 1836 – January 13, 1921) was an American politician and the 56th Governor of Connecticut from 1895 to 1897. Biography Coffin was born in Mansfield, New York. He studied at Cortland Academy and the Charlottesvil ...

in 1895. The design comes from the seal of

Saybrook Colony The Saybrook Colony was an English colony established in late 1635 at the mouth of the Connecticut River in present-day Old Saybrook, Connecticut by John Winthrop, the Younger, son of John Winthrop, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ...

, designed by

George Fenwick Sir George Fenwick (2 February 1847 – 23 September 1929) was a New Zealand newspaper proprietor and editor. He is best known for his time as manager and editor of the '' Otago Daily Times'', during which time he supported the campaign initiate ...

when it was established in 1639. That seal depicted 15 grapevines and a hand in the upper left corner with a scroll reading "Sustinet qui transtulit". When Connecticut Colony bought Saybrook in 1644, the seal transferred to Connecticut Colony. On October 25, 1711, the governor and legislature changed the seal. They reduced the number of grapevines from 15 to three, in order to represent the three oldest settlements (

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, Wethersfield, and

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

) (or possibly the three separate ''settlements'',

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

, and

New Haven Colony The New Haven Colony was a small English colony in North America from 1638 to 1664 primarily in parts of what is now the state of Connecticut, but also with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The history o ...

, which had been absorbed into Connecticut by that time) and rearranged the wording and position of the motto. In 2001, 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 ...

surveyed its members on the designs of the 72

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey ranked the Connecticut flag 50th out of 72.

Flying the flag at half staff

Customarily, the flag of Connecticut is flown at half staff when the Federal flag is, which may be ordered by the President or by the Governor. According to 2007-R-0624, only the

governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connecticu ...

may decide that the state flag should be flown at half staff, though the right is a power of office and not a law. Typically, the state flag is flown at half staff upon the death of a Connecticut resident serving in the armed forces, upon the death of a former governor or serving member of the state legislature, or for an event of great sorrow for Connecticut.

References

External links

History of the Connecticut flag
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Connecticut

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Symbols of Connecticut Flags of Connecticut

1897 establishments in Connecticut

History

Flying the flag at half staff

See also

References

External links