Virginia Flags

The Virginia State Flag design was adopted on April 30th, 1861 shortly after seceding from the Union, and consisted of the obverse of the Virginia state seal in the center of a blue field. The Virginia state seal was designed and adopted in July of 1776 and was based on Roman and Greek mythology. The design is of a female figure representing the Roman virtue “Virtis” which meant valor, courage, and excellence in Roman culture. The figure is standing over the prostrate figure of a king, who is holding a broken chain and whip. His crown is on the ground nearby representing the death of tyranny. The sheathed sword and downward-pointing spear, indicate a figure of peace. “Sic Semper Tyrannis” which translates to thus always to tyrants is the motto that appears towards the bottom, while “Virginia” appears near the top of the seal which is outlined with a circular wreath of green leaves and Red Virginia Creepers. In 1930, a committee was established to prepare an accurate description of the state seal. The design that was set forth by the committee is still in use today and effectively returned the design to the original version from 1776. The flag was standardized in 1950 which also returned the depiction of the state seal on the flag to the original 1776 version.