Official Virginia State Flag 1861 – Present
The Virginia State Flag design was adopted on April 30th, 1861 shortly after seceding from the Union, and then readopted in 1912 and standardized by the 1950 general assembly. The original design 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 features a female figure representing the Roman virtue “Virtis” which meant valor, courage, and excellence in Roman culture. The figure is standing over a fallen king, who is holding a broken chain and whip with his crown on the ground nearby symbolizing the defeat of tyranny and is meant to signify Virginia’s freedom from Great Britain. The sheathed sword and downward-pointing spear, indicate that the battle is already won thus symbolizing 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. The female figure is portrayed bearing one breast as is the traditional depiction of the Amazons of Greek mythology, making the Virginia flag the only US state flag depicting nudity. Although the Virginia state flag design has consisted of the state seal against a blue background since its origin in 1861, there have been multiple variations in the seal’s artwork, for example, the seal on the 1861 flag showed the female figure wearing a metal breastplate, thus covering the breasts and there is no wreath of green and red. In order to achieve uniformity, the 1873 and 1903 state assemblies passed acts describing the seal and 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 essentially returned the design to the original version adopted in 1776. The state flag was standardized in 1950 also returning the depiction of the state seal on the flag to the original 1776 design.
Virginia State Flag Pledge
“I salute the flag of Virginia, with reverence and patriotic devotion to the Mother of States and statesmen, which it represents the Old Dominion, where liberty and independence were born”.
This official salute to the flag of Virginia was adopted in 1954.
Nylon is a durable, lightweight material that will easily fly in a light breeze and features bright, rich colors. The artwork is visible on both sides of the flag and the lettering reads correctly from one side only.
- Quality construction
- Fade-resistant
- Bright colors
- One solid piece of fully printed, 150-denier nylon fabric
- Heavy canvas header with brass grommets
- 4 rows of stitching on the fly end to prevent premature fraying
- Flag size: 3’x5′
