by an eagle bearing in its beak a streamer 

 carrying the legend, "United We Stand, Di- 

 vided We Fall." It is said that the original 

 intention of the seal was to represent two 

 friends in hunter's garb, their right hands 

 clasped, their left resting on each other's shoul- 

 ders, their feet on the verge of a precipice, 

 which gave significance to the legend. But the 

 engravers for the State have uniformly dressed 

 the figures more to suit their ideals, with vary- 

 ing heraldic effect. The escutcheon is sup- 

 ported by four United States flags, a drum, 

 and a cannon. 



316. Tennessee. — This unique flag was 

 adopted in 1905. It consists of a fly one and 

 two-thirds times as long as it is wide. At the 

 outer or free end is a blue bar separated from 

 the red field by a thin white stripe. Superim- 

 posed upon the red field is a circular disk of 

 blue separated from the field by a thin circle 

 of white, its width the same as the width of 

 the white stripe separating the blue bar from 

 the red field. Upon the blue of the circular 

 disk are arranged three five-pointed stars of 

 white, distributed at equal intervals around a 

 point which is the center of the blue field. 

 Tennessee was the third State to join the 

 Union (after the original thirteen), a fact 

 which the three stars recall. 



317. Ohio has the only pennant-shaped flag 

 among all the States. The law making it the 

 official ensign of the "Buckeye State" was 

 adopted in 1902. The outer quarter of the 

 field is swallow-tailed, the field itself consist- 

 ing of five stripes — three red and two white — 

 red at the bottom and top. At the staff end of 

 the field is a triangular blue canton with the 

 base resting on the staff and the apex reaching 

 half way across the field. On this canton is a 

 large circular "O" in white, inside of which is 

 a red disk. Seventeen stars, representing all 

 of the States at the time of Ohio's entrance 

 into the Union, appear grouped around the 

 circular "O." All of these stars are five- 

 pointed. 



318. Louisiana. — Those who contend that 

 the Stars and Stripes were used unofficially 

 long before they were adopted by the Conti- 

 nental Congress, on June 14, 1777, can point to 

 the history of the Louisiana State flag as show- 

 ing that banners are often used unofficially 

 long before being officially adopted. It is said 

 that this flag is a hundred years old, having 

 become the unofficial flag of Louisiana about 

 the time of the War of 1812, yet it was not 

 legally adopted until July 1, 1912. The meas- 

 ure making it the flag of the State is simply a 

 statute of ratification, and sets forth that it 

 shall consist of a solid blue field with the coat- 

 of-arms of the State, a pelican feeding its 

 young, the ribbon beneath, also in white, con- 

 taining in blue the motto of the State, "Union, 

 Justice, Confidence." The law provides that 

 the flag shall be displayed on the State House 

 whenever the General Assembly is in session 

 and on public buildings throughout the State 

 on all regular holidays and whenever other- 

 wise decreed by the Governor or the General 

 Assembly. 



319. iNDiANA.-^-Although the legislature of 

 the State of Indiana declared in 1901 that its 

 official banner should be no other than the 



American flag itself, it reconsidered this action 

 in 1917 and adopted a State emblem. The field 

 of the flag is blue; its dimensions are five feet 

 six inches fly by four feet four inches on the 

 staff, and upon the field is centered a flaming 

 torch in gold, or buff, with nineteen stars. 

 Thirteen stars are circled around the torch, 

 representing the original thirteen States. In- 

 side this circle is a half circle of five stars 

 below the torch, representing the five States 

 admitted to the Union prior to Indiana. The 

 outer circle of stars is so arranged that one of 

 them appears directly in the middle at the top 

 of the circle. The word "Indiana" is placed 

 in a half circle over a large star, typifying the 

 State, which is situated just above the flame of 

 the torch. Rays from the torch radiate to the 

 three stars of the outer circle. This banner is 

 to be carried in addition to the American flag 

 by the militia forces of Indiana and in all pub- 

 lic functions in which the State officially ap- 

 pears. 



320. Mississippi is one of the States that 

 have had more than one flag. The old flag 

 was white with a blue canton with a single 

 white star thereon. On the body of the white 

 was a green tree. The flag was fringed with 

 red and the pike was surmounted by a toma- 

 hawk. After the Civil War the State adopted 

 a new flag. This consists of a blue, white, and 

 red field, the red at the bottom, with a red 

 canton reaching down to the red stripe of the 

 field. A St. Andrew's cross with thirteen stars 

 is imposed upon the canton. The tomahawk 

 of the old flagstaff is replaced on the new pike 

 by a regulation spear head. 



321. Illinois' State flag was authorized in 

 the year 1915. The law provides that the re- 

 production of the emblem on the great seal of 

 Illinois be permitted when reproduced in black 

 or in natural colors on a white background for 

 use as a State banner. The seal of the State 

 of Illinois was adopted in 1819, the year after 

 the State was. admitted to the Union. In the 

 center is an American eagle perched on an 

 American shield; back of the shield and help- 

 ing to support it is an olive branch. In its 

 beak the eagle holds a scroll containing the 

 motto, "State Sovereignty — National Union." 



322. Alabama's colors were adopted by the 

 act of February 16, 1895, which provides that 

 the flag of the State shall be a crimson cross 

 of St. Andrew upon 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. The flag 

 shall be hoisted on the dome of the capitol 

 when the two houses of the legislature are in 

 session, and shall be used by the State on all 

 occasions when it may be necessary or con- 

 sistent to display a flag, except when in the 

 opinion of the Governor the national flag 

 should be displayed. It is said that the pur- 

 pose of the legislature in enacting the State 

 flag law was to preserve in permanent form 

 some of the more distinctive features of the 

 Confederate battle' flag, especially the St. 

 Andrew's cross (see 375). This being true, 

 the Alabama flag should be square in all its 

 lines and measurements and conform to the 

 well-known battle flag of the Confederacy. 



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