Looking at the flags of the major states and territories of Australia, you notice that one stands out: the flag of Northern Territory. The first flag shown here is that of Australia itself and the rest of the states are very similar. They have the British Jack in the canton and the field is blue. What happened when it came time to design the flag for the Northern Territory? Did they not get the memo? Well, their flag was designed as recently as 1978. The rest of the states were independent British colonies and had their own flag as such. Northern Territory never was a colony and never had their own flag. This problem was solved when the public was asked for designs. Ideas submitted were incorporated in Robert Ingpen's final design. Click on the flags above (including the Northern Territory's unique design) to learn more about each flag. It is important to note that several other territories and islands that are a part of Australia do have different flags. These include the Australian Capital Territory (where the capital Canberra is located), Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island.
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One of the most interesting flags from the Revolutionary War is the flag made in Huntington, NY. Huntington is in Suffolk County on Long Island. The history of the flag and how it came to be made is a history of the time: from loyal subjects of the crown to rebels and patriots. The pdf below is a very good description of how the flag came to be. Of note is the style of the word "LIBERTY". I believe that the simple block style in this description is more accurate than what some companies are selling on their commercial versions. Those flags have the word "LIBERTY" in a very stylized form similar to "Times New Roman" and in italics. Unless those early people had a printer and MS Word, I doubt they would have gone through all the trouble of making such and intricate rendition of the word. More than likely, simple block lettering would have been cut out of white cloth and sewn on the red flag. Could the lettering have been painted? Then the words might have been fancy. No, I don't believe so and this is why - look at how the flag evolved. The original flag was a simple British Red Ensign. Then "LIBERTY" and "GEORGE III" was added to each side. When news of the Declaration of Independence reached Huntington, they removed the British canton and the "GEORGE III" from the flag. If the words had been painted they could not have removed the letters! They could have painted over the words with some red paint but evidence states that the cloth from the words and the canton was later burned. So, it makes more sense that the words were sewn on and therefore more than likely they sewed on simple block letters. Have you ever tired to cut out Times New Roman letters in italics? Not easy! But, if you disagree, feel free to put your comments below. I always like to hear from others on historical flags. In addition to CRW Flags (see link here), you can purchase flags from the Huntington Historical Society. I purchased a 2' x 3 ' flag from them and it is made very well. Also, the flag reads "LIBERTY" on only one side (flag is double sided), which is more historic than silk screening "LIBERTY" directly through the flag. Here is the link to purchase their flags. On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress established the American Flag. It was a simple resolution made after declaring that the Marine Committee has control over war ships in the Delaware River and before declaring that Captain John Roach (commander of the RANGER) "is a person of doubtful character". The flag resolution was very vague: "Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." This vagueness is what led to so many variations of U.S. Flags until Congress finally declared the official arrangements of stars and stripes in 1912. We will bring up some of these arrangements and some famous flags later on. For now, here is what the page from the Journal of the Continental Congress looked like for that day.
![]() On June 14, 1775, the American Army was organized and founded during the Revolution. However, the Army did not get its own flag until 1956 - the last of the 5 services! It was only after they needed a flag during joint services ceremonies. Individual Army organizations and units had flags for years but not the service as a whole. The picture of the flag you see here is the first flag made for the Army and dedicated at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. The flag is still in Philadelphia in the Military Museum as part of Independence NHP. Here is some good information about the flag. I'll post later on about the symbol on the Army flag and how there is a "violation" of the US Flag Code on their flag - its an interesting explanation!! Here is the actual resolution from June 14th. Here is some information and history of some of the flags flying in Old Town, San Diego. It is a good description of flags that flew or were seen in the Southern California area.
![]() Today on Memorial Day, we honor those who have given their lives so that we may live in peace and safety. Memorial Day is also a unique day in flag display. The National Flag is flown at half-mast (or half-staff) until 1200 noon and then raised to full staff. This is the only day that this is done. When half-masting the flag, the flag is first raised to full-staff, paused, and then lowered to about half way up the pole. Some traditions has the flag at about 1/3 down the pole or an "invisible flag of death" lower down the pole. The flag is usually not flown at half-mast on a ship underway and if flown on a flag pole with a cross bar, the lower part of the blue canton is even with the cross bar. At 1200 noon, the flag is then raised back to full-staff. Remember that when raising the flag, it is done briskly (but with respect) and when lowering, is done slowly. We posted a link to NTP 13 on our links page. This manual is published by the U.S. Navy to govern the display of all flags and pennants on naval ships and units. It is also used by the Coast Guard. Flag procedures are simply guidelines - not laws. The Flag Code is simply a code of respect for flying or displaying the U.S. Flag. There is nothing "illegal" about improper displaying the flag. We also posted a link to the Flag Code as well. Here is the regulation for half-masting the national ensign if the pole has a crosstree: NTP-13(B), page 8-1, section 801, b, 2 (2) Polemast with Crosstree - Flown at peak of pole. When at half-mast, the bottom of union portion shall be even with crosstree. If displayed with foreign ensign(s), the U.S. national ensign shall be displayed from the outermost halyard on right hand crosstree. ![]() May 22nd is National Maritime Day - the day we honor the American Merchant Marine. The day was established by Congress in 1933. The 22nd was picked as it was the day the U.S. merchant ship "Savannah" sailed from the U.S. to England. This was the first time a steamship crossed the Atlantic Ocean. (By the way, the first nuclear powered cargo-passenger merchant ship was also named the "Savannah".) In 1994 the Maritime Administration introduced this flag to honor the sailors who have defended the United States since the founding of our country. ![]() Today we honor St. George - patron saint of England. England's flag (seen here) is called The Cross of St. George and is a simple flag with a long history. While the origin of the flag is often disputed, it can be traced back to at least 1277 but really did not gain national status until the 16th century. It is said that the symbol of a red cross on white is from the Crusades and represented England. Interestingly, the Pope gave that symbol to the French and gave the English a white cross on a red field. In 1188, they switched their symbols and the English started using the red cross on white. The symbol eventually became a flag. The flag was used until 1606 when it was merged with Scotland's flag to form the first Union Flag. However, the Cross of St. George was still used extensively at sea and as such would have been the first English flag flown in what would later be the United States. Although the current version of the Union Flag represents the combined kingdoms of England, Scotland, and (Northern) Ireland, the Cross of St. George still represents England. It is still a valid flag and is still seen flying over the UK. Just don't fly this flag at sea - that right belongs to the Royal Navy only. We purchased a great version of this flag from this site. They were hand stitched in the UK using a thick polyester weave (not the same material as those really cheep polyester flags). We were very pleased with these flags. ![]() The history of the United Kingdom's flags is very interesting and can take up a significant study. Here we are only going to talk about the British Blue Ensign. In 1652, Admiral Blake reorganized the Royal Navy into three squadrons: Red, White, and Blue (the original rank order). The rank order was later changed (how it is today) to White, Blue, Red. Up until 1864, the Blue Ensign was flown by the Blue Squadron of the Royal Navy. Each squadron flew a different flag to identify which one they belonged to and each squadron had their own admirals. So, the Admiral of the White outranked an Admiral of the Red. In 1864, it all changed. The White Ensign was to be used only - and by all - Royal Navy vessels. The Blue Ensign was reserved for Royal Navy Auxiliary/Reserve vessels and civil ships. The Red Ensign was to be used by merchant ships. The Blue Ensign was also granted, via a warrant, to a merchant ship in which the master (captain) was a member of the Royal Naval Reserve and a certain percentage (has changed through history) of the crew were also in the reserves. It was a mark of distinction, an honor, as it is today. In the case of the RMS TITANIC, Captain Smith was a commodore in the RNR and all the other deck officers (except 3rd Officer Pitman) were members of the RNR. So, the TITANIC was permitted to fly the British Blue Ensign and this was the flag flying when she left port for the last time. See these sites for more information: British Ensign History, British Ensigns, Blue Ensign, and Blue Ensign Regulations. We are now selling a small (12" x 18") version of this flag in our store. ![]() The Italian flag is another flag based on the French tricolor. First used in 1796 (only 6 years after the French adopted theirs), this flag was used in northern Italy after Napoleon annexed the area. Red and white come from the flag of Milan and the green from the uniforms of an early guard force. Italy did not become a united country until 1861 under the reign of King Victor Emmanuel II. It took until 1870 before Rome was annexed and became the capital. Since King Emmanuel was of the House of Savoy, those arms was placed in the white field until 1946 when Italy became a republic and the arms were dropped. Very similar to the Mexican Flag, which was used as far back as 1821, the differences are lighter shades of colors, different proportions, and most noticeable, the lack of any seal or device on the white when used as the national flag. At sea, things get complicated as a seal is placed on the white stripe of the Italian flag, thus making it hard to distinguish a Mexican ship from an Italian. However, considering the two countries are quite a distance apart, I'm sure this does not happen too often. |
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