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 ''saltatori ...

. 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

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 ...

, 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 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, 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'' 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 498,7 ...

later that year.

Governor's flag

The flag of the governor of Alabama 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.

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" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Symbols of Alabama

Flags of Alabama

1895 establishments in Alabama