Vermont Flag

The current Vermont state flag shows as so many other states’ flags a coat of arms on a blue background. In case of the Vermont flag the blue in the field of the flag is azure blue. Right below the state seal is a red ribbon displaying the sate name “VERMONT” and also the state’s motto “Freedom and Unity”. The current flag of Vermont was adopted in 1923. A similar design was used as a flag by the Governors of Vermont from 1830 till 1923.

An old civil war infantry flag is displayed in the Vermont State House in the chambers of the Old Supreme Court. Because Vermont’s state flag is so similar in its design to so many other United States state’s flags, some of Vermont's citizens have called to use the flag that was used by the Vermont Republic. The flag used by the Vermont Republic was called Green Mountain Boys battle flag and was used by Vermont from 1760s to 1804. The flag had a green background with a blue union (a square in the upper right corner). The union displayed 13 stars representing the original thirteen states that entered before Vermont into the Union. Vermont was the fourteens state to enter the United States. From 1804 on Vermont adopted another state flag that they thought to be the new United States flag after the number of states in the Union rose to seventeen.

The flag looked very similar to the US flag but had seventeen stripes and on the blue union displayed seventeen stars. The top red stripe had the word “VERMONT” embroidered on it. This design was used as Vermont’s state flag from 1804 to 1837.

Since the US flag did not change they way that Vermont anticipated Vermont’s flag differed from the US design and therefore changed in 1837 again. This time the design reverted back to the 13 stripe flag that the US used but instead of stars on the dark blue union, only one star with Vermont’s coat of arms was used. The star on the flag has been used with five or eight points while the eight-point version was more common. Also sometimes varying is the center. Some of the Vermont flags showed the coat of arms and some showed the Great Seal of Vermont. Because of it being often times confused with the United States flag in 1923 Vermont adopted the Governors flag as official flag of Vermont.