 | |
| Use | Civil andstate flag   |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 1909; 116 years ago (1909) Modified January 1, 1932 |
| Design | A state seal wrapped by a goldenlaurel wreath with nine stars on a blue field. |
| Great Seal of the State of New Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Versions | |
.jpg) Historical coat of arms (1876) | |
| Armiger | State of New Hampshire |
Theseal ofNew Hampshire, codified by law in 1931, features thefrigateUSS Raleigh, encircled by a laurel wreath and nine stars. A granite boulder appears in the foreground, while water represents the harbor of Portsmouth.[1] TheU.S. state ofNew Hampshire has held twoseals since it declared its independence fromGreat Britain on January 5, 1776.
Theflag of New Hampshire, adopted in 1909, consists of thestate seal centered on a blue field.[2] It is currently unique among U.S. state flags for including the Stars and Stripes within the seal.
New Hampshire's current constitution took effect in 1784, accompanied by a revised state seal depicting a ship under construction with a rising sun in the background, to reflectPortsmouth's prominence as a shipbuilding center during theAmerican Revolutionary War.
In 1919, Otis G. Hammond, Director of theNew Hampshire Historical Society, prepared a formal history of the state seal and flag at the direction of theGovernor andExecutive Council, wrote a history of the state seal and flag. Here, Hammond detailed how the lack of a specific legal description had allowed considerable variation in seal designs. Over time, successive engravers had introduced additional elements, including various goods on the dock and, in some instances, figures standing beside them.[3]
So, in 1931, during GovernorJohn G. Winant's second term, a committee was appointed to produce a standardized, noncontroversial seal. TheGeneral Court approved the committee's recommendations, and a statute codifying the official design took effect on January 1, 1932[4][5] The law designated the frigateRaleigh, built inKittery, Maine in 1776, as one of the first warships of theContinental Congress as the central element of the seal. It replaced the former Latin inscription with "SEAL OF THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE", specified a diameter of 2 inches in diameter, and declared that only a granite boulder appear in the foreground.[4]
When New Hampshire's First Provincial Congress assembled inExeter on July 1, 1775, it quietly swept aside its royal trappings, including the George III seal previously in use. In preparation of the1776 state constitution, the First Provincial Congress designed a seal measuring 1½ inches in diameter and depicting an upright fish and pine tree on either side of a bundle of five arrows. The fish and pine represented the main trade of the colony and the five arrows represented each of the five counties. The seal bore the inscription:COLONY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE * VIS UNITA FORTIOR. As the colony prepared to draft its1776 constitution, delegates created a new emblem: a 1½-inch seal depicting a fish and a pine tree flanking a bundle of five arrows. These figures represented the colony's main trades, while the arrows represented the five counties. Around them was inscribed the motto: "Vis Unita Fortior" meaning "a united force is stronger". Though never formally proclaimed, the seal appeared on military commissions starting in September 1775 and seems to have been in used until early July 1776. The General Court still prints it today beside the modern seal in copies of the state constitution.
Soon after declaring statehood, New Hampshire adopted its first official state seal on September 12, 1776. Larger at 1¾ inches, it preserved the pine, the fish, and the five arrows but added "Sigill Rei-Pub Neohantoni" to the inscription. Some members of the General Court[who?] still use it, even though no statute currently governs its design.
In 1916, Governor Rolland H. Spaulding of New Hampshire presented the 1st New Hampshire Infantry Regiment, then stationed in Laredo, Texas, with a new flag. The regimental flag consisted of a blue field bearing the state seal of New Hampshire. A representative of the governor was designated to present the colors, with Colonel Healy accepting them at Camp New Hampshire on behalf of the regiment.[6]
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State flag with a 45 star ring, c1896-1907[7].png)
An example of a pre-standardization design is a New Hampshire state flag produced by Lamprell & Marble of Boston between approximately 1896 and 1907. This flag featured a hand-painted state seal surrounded by a ring of 45 hand-sewn stars.[7] In 1908, 1st New Hampshire Infantry replaced their old state flag with a new one. The old state flag was descibed as bearing a field of gold.[9]
New Hampshire is currently the only U.S. state whose flag includes a depiction of the Stars and Stripes.
A 2001 internet poll run by theNorth American Vexillological Association ranked New Hampshire state flag's design as 63rd out of 72 flags ofU.S. states,U.S. territories andprovinces and territories of Canada.[10]
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Tim McGough's proposed flag for New Hampshire (2023).Timothy Josephson, a former member of theNew Hampshire House of Representatives suggested replacing the state seal in the center of the flag with theOld Man of the Mountain in 2018 to memorialize its collapse in 2003, but no official action has been taken on the proposal.[11]
In November 2023, state representativeTim McGough proposed a bill that would have modified the flag to add the motto "Live Free or Die" inTimes New Roman beneath the seal. The bill was rejected in February 2024.[12][13]
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