The Lone Star Flag | |
Use | Civil and state flag |
---|---|
Proportion | 2:3 |
Adopted | |
Design | One-third of the hoist is blue containing a single centered white star. The remaining field is divided horizontally into a white and red bar. |
Designed by | Unknown [2] |
The Lone Star Flag [lower-alpha 1] is the official flag of the U.S. state of Texas. The flag, flown at homes and businesses statewide, is highly popular among Texans and is treated with a great degree of reverence and esteem within Texas. Along with the flag of Hawaii, it is one of two state flags to have previously served as a national flag of an independent country. [3] In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the Texas flag second, behind New Mexico. [4]
The state flag is officially described by law as:
a rectangle that: (1) has a width to length ratio of two to three; and (2) contains: (A) one blue vertical stripe that has a width equal to one-third the length of the flag; (B) two equal horizontal stripes, the upper stripe white, the lower stripe red, each having a length equal to two-thirds the length of the flag; and (C) one white, regular five-pointed star: (i) located in the center of the blue stripe; (ii) oriented so that one point faces upward; and (iii) sized so that the diameter of a circle passing through the five points of the star is equal to three-fourths the width of the blue stripe. [5]
Legislation authorizing the flag was introduced in the Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 28, 1838, by Senator William H. Wharton. [1] The flag was adopted on January 25, 1839, as the national flag of the Republic of Texas. [1] "Accompanying the original Act ... is a drawing by Peter Krag of the national flag and seal ... although in the original President Lamar's approval and signature are at the top and upside down[.]" [6] When Texas became the 28th U.S. state on December 29, 1845, the national flag became the state flag. From 1879 until 1933, there was no official state flag, although the Lone Star Flag remained the de facto state flag; in adopting the Revised Civil Statutes of 1879, [7] the Legislature repealed all statutes not expressly continued in force; since the statutes pertaining to the flag were not among those renewed, Texas was formally flagless until the passage of the 1933 flag law. [1]
The actual designer of the flag is unknown. [1] Some claim that Charles B. Stewart of Montgomery, Texas, is either the designer of the flag or drew the image used by the Third Congress when enacting the legislation adopting the flag. [2] [8] However, Stewart's drawing "looks suspiciously like a tracing of the Peter Krag art, including the upside down signature of President Lamar". [6]
The exact shades of red, white, and blue to be used in the flag are specified by Texas statute [5] which are:
Color | Cable color | Pantone [9] | Web color [10] | RGB Values |
---|---|---|---|---|
Red | 70180 | 193 C | #BF0D3E | (191,13,62) |
White | 70000 | Safe | #FFFFFF | (255,255,255) |
Dark Blue | 70075 | 281 C | #00205B | (0,32,91) |
The Texas Flag Code assigns the following symbolism to the colors of the Texas flag: blue stands for loyalty, white for purity, and red for bravery. [5] The code also states that the single (lone) star "represents ALL of Texas and stands for our unity as one for God, State, and Country".
The idea of the single red stripe and single white stripe actually dates back to the short-lived Republic of Fredonia, a small state near modern Nacogdoches which seceded from Mexico in 1826 before being forcibly re-integrated. The new state was formed through an alliance between local Anglo settlers and Native American tribes and the Fredonian flag used a white and red stripe to symbolize the two ethnic/racial groups from which the state was formed. [11] Though this rebellion ultimately failed it served as an inspiration to the later Texas Revolution.
The idea of the "lone star" is, in fact, an older symbol predating the flag which was used to symbolize Texans' solidarity in declaring independence from Mexico. [12] A similar lone star was on the "Burnet Flag", which resembled the flag of the short-lived Republic of West Florida. [13] The "Lone Star" is still seen today as a symbol of Texas' independent spirit, and gave rise to the state's official nickname "The Lone Star State".
The pledge of allegiance to the state flag is as follows:
Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible. [14]
The pledge was instituted by the Texas Legislature in 1933. The pledge originally referred to the "Texas flag of 1836" (which was the Burnet Flag, and not the Lone Star Flag then in use). In 1965, the error was corrected by deleting the words "of 1836" because the current flag was not officially adopted by the Texas government until 1839. In 2007, the phrase "one state under God" was added. [14] The addition of "under God" has been challenged in court, though an injunction was denied. [15] As of 2001 (amended 2017), [5] the pledge is recited standing at attention with one's right hand over one's heart. A person in uniform instead renders a military salute. The Texas Pledge is always recited after reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag every morning in the majority of schools across the state.
The flag is required by law to be displayed on or near the main administration building of each state institution during each state or national holiday, and on any special occasion of historical significance, [5] permanently above both doors of the Texas State Capitol, alone at the north door, and under the U.S. flag at the south door, with the exception being if the flags are at half mast or if the POW/MIA flag is being flown with the U.S. flag; in which event the Texas flag shall only fly at the North Door. [16] State law also requires that the state flag be flown at or near any International Port of Entry. [17] When displayed vertically, the blue stripe should be at top and, from the perspective of an observer, the white stripe should be to the left of the red stripe. [18]
During revolutionary eras of Texas history, during the Spanish Texas period, Mexican Texas period, and the times of the Texas Revolution, a great number and variety of flags appeared.
The Lone Star and Stripes/Ensign of the First Texas Navy/War Ensign flag was widely used by both Texan land and naval forces. This flag was simply the United States flag with a Lone star in the canton. This flag echoes an earlier design, carried by the forces of James Long in failed 1819 and 1821 attempts to separate Texas from Spanish control. This earlier flag was exactly the same, save for the canton having a red background rather than blue. There is evidence that the Lone Star and Stripes was used at the battles of Goliad, the Alamo, and San Jacinto, and the first Congress of the Republic of Texas as convened under it in 1836. Although interim President David Burnet issued a decree making the Lone Star and Stripes the first official flag of the Republic of Texas, it never became the legal national flag. It did remain the naval flag of Texas until annexation, and was noted for being "beneficial to our [Texan] Navy and Merchantmen" due to its resemblance to the U.S. flag. Despite its unofficial status, the flag remained well known inside the region and internationally as the symbol of Texas. The official blue and gold "Burnet Flag", on the other hand, was little known by Texans, and no contemporary illustrations of it have been discovered except for on the first series 2 dollar note of the Texas Dollar. An 1837 chart of national flags printed in Philadelphia showed the Lone Star and Stripes as the national flag of Texas, and Texas Senator Oliver Jones, who led the 1839 committee which approved the Lone Star Flag, was unaware that the Lone Star and Stripes was not the current official flag. [24] Later, prior to the American Civil War, this flag was carried by Floridian militiamen in Pensacola during the seizure of U.S. property in that city.[ citation needed ]
The "Come and Take It Flag" was created by the people of Gonzales, featuring the phrase, a black five pointed star, and the image of the town cannon Mexican forces had demanded they turn over. In March 1831, Juan Gomez, a lieutenant in the Mexican Army, granted a small cannon to the colony of San Antonio. It was then transported to Gonzales, Texas and later was the object of Texas pride. At the minor skirmish known as the Battle of Gonzales, a small group of Texans successfully resisted the Mexican forces who had orders to seize their cannon. As a symbol of defiance, the Texans had fashioned a flag containing the phrase along with a black star and an image of the cannon which they had received six years earlier from Mexican officials.
The so-called "Alamo Flag" or "1824 flag" was created by replacing the Eagle in the center of the Mexican tricolor with the year "1824", referencing the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, in support of which Texas was fighting. This was the first flag approved for use by rebel forces by a Texan legislative body. In 1835, the Texan provisional government approved the use of this flag for privateers preying on Mexican commerce. It has often been said that the 1824 flag was flown by Texan forces at the Battle of the Alamo. However, this was never alleged until 1860, long after the battle had occurred. Modern writers have pointed out that the presence of the 1824 flag at the time and place of the battle is highly unlikely. A similar flag was flown at least briefly by Texan Tejano forces, featuring two black, six pointed stars in place of the date. It is likely that the actual "Alamo flag" referred to by accounts of the time was the Lone Star and Stripes, which had been depicted in use at earlier battles such as Goliad, and was widely referred to as the "Texian flag". [25]
The Dodson Tricolor or Dodson flag was designed and sewn by a Mrs. Sarah Dodson during the Revolution. It resembled the flag of Revolutionary France, but with longer proportions and the Texan Lone Star in the canton. Stephen F. Austin was initially so alarmed by the obvious symbolism that he requested the flag not be used, but it nevertheless flew over Texan forces in Cibolo Creek, and may have been the first Texan flag raised over San Antonio. The flag was one of two that flew over the small cabin in which Texas delegates ratified their declaration of independence.
The Burnet Flag was adopted by the Texan Congress on December 10, 1836. The name refers David G. Burnet, who was provisional president of the Republic of Texas when the flag was adopted. [1] It consisted of an azure background with a large golden star, inspired by the 1810 "Bonnie Blue Flag" of the Republic of West Florida. [26] Variants of the Burnet Flag with a white star, virtually identical to the Bonnie Blue Flag, were also common. Other variants featured the star (of either color) upside down, and/or ringed with the word TEXAS, with each letter filling one of the gaps of the star.
In early 1861, between the secession of Texas from the U.S. and its accession to the Confederacy, Texas flew an unofficial, variant flag of Texas with fifteen stars, representing the fifteen slave states. No drawings exist of the flag; there are only imprecise descriptions. The flag may have been based on the state flag or the Bonnie Blue Flag. [27]
Various flags used by Texan soldiers during the American Civil War.
A centennial flag was created for the Texas Centennial Exposition of 1936, a world fair located in Dallas to mark the 100th anniversary of Texas independence. [31]
To mark the Texas Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of Texas's independence in 1986, a flag was created bearing the Texas Sesquicentennial logo.[ citation needed ]
It is an urban legend that the Texas flag is the only state flag that is allowed to fly at the same height as the U.S. flag. [32] However, the legend is false. [33] [34] Neither the Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas to the United States nor the Ordinance of Annexation [35] contains any provisions regarding flags. According to the United States Flag Code, any state flag can be flown at the same height as the U.S. flag, but the U.S. flag should be on its right (the viewer's left). Consistent with the U.S. Flag Code, the Texas Flag Code specifies that the state flag should either be flown below the U.S. flag if on the same pole or at the same height as the U.S. flag if on separate poles. [5]
The Texas governor currently uses a flag consisting of the state coat of arms (a lone star encircled by live oak and olive branches) on a light blue circle, all on a dark blue field with a white star in each corner. The flag has been in use since the late 1960s or early 1970s. The design has never been formally adopted by executive order or legislation. Legislation was introduced to the Texas Legislature in 2007 [36] and 2009 [37] to adopt the 1839 pilot flag/civil ensign of the Republic of Texas as the official flag of the governor of Texas. While the 2007 bill died in committee, the 2009 bill was passed by the House but died in a Senate committee due to the flag's similarity to the flag of Russia.[ citation needed ]
Amendments to the Texas Flag Code, signed into law in 1993, authorize the governor to adopt a governor's flag, but this executive authority has not been exercised. [38]
Many flags used by municipalities, counties, and other entities in Texas use the same basic scheme as the Texas flag.
Texas's flag is similar to the flag of Chile, first used in 1817. However, the Chilean flag has a blue canton with a white star rather than the entire left side being blue, with the red bottom stripe beginning below the canton. One author suggests that both the Chilean flag and the Texas flag were designed to look like the flag of the United States from afar while at sea. [39]
The flag of Texas is also similar to the flag of North Carolina, modified in 1991. The North Carolina flag has the entire one-third of blue on the hoist like Texas's flag, except that it contains a rather small white star with the gold letter "N" in gilt on the left and the gold letter "C" in gilt on the right of said star. The upper gold ribbon contains in black letters this inscription "May 20th 1775", and the lower gold ribbon contains in black letters the inscription: "April 12th 1776". The remaining of the flag is divided horizontally into an upper red bar and a lower white bar rather than an upper white bar and a lower red bar.
The Republic of Texas, or simply Texas, was a breakaway state in North America. It existed for just under 10 years, from March 2, 1836 to February 19, 1846. It shared borders with Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, and the United States of America.
The Texas Revolution was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos against the centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although the uprising was part of a larger one, the Mexican Federalist War, that included other provinces opposed to the regime of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. The Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag". Only the province of Texas succeeded in breaking with Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas. It was eventually annexed by the United States.
Martín Perfecto de Cos was a Mexican Army general and politician during the mid-19th century. Born in Veracruz, the son of an attorney, he became an army cadet at the age of 20, a Lieutenant in 1821, and a Brigadier General in 1833.
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican army in a fight that lasted just 18 minutes. A detailed, first-hand account of the battle was written by General Houston from the headquarters of the Texan Army in San Jacinto on April 25, 1836. Numerous secondary analyses and interpretations have followed.
The "Bonnie Blue flag" was a banner associated at various times with the Republic of Texas, the short-lived Republic of West Florida, and the Confederate States of America at the start of the American Civil War in 1861. It consists of a single, five-pointed white star on a blue field. Its first use being as early as 1810, it is considered the first lone star flag in U.S. history.
The Bear Flag is the official flag of the U.S. state of California. The precursor of the flag was first flown during the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt and was also known as the Bear Flag. A predecessor, called the Lone Star Flag, was used in an 1836 independence movement; the red star element from that flag appears in the Bear Flag of today.
The flags of the U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia exhibit a variety of regional influences and local histories, as well as different styles and design principles. Modern U.S. state flags date from the turn of the 20th century, when states considered distinctive symbols for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Most U.S. state flags were designed and adopted between 1893 and World War I.
The Convention of 1836 was the meeting of elected delegates in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas in March 1836. The Texas Revolution had begun five months previously, and the interim government, known as the Consultation, had wavered over whether to declare independence from Mexico or pledge to uphold the repudiated Mexican Constitution of 1824. Unlike those of previous Texas councils, delegates to the Convention of 1836 were younger, more recent arrivals to Texas, and more adamant on the question of independence. As delegates prepared to convene, Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a large army into Texas to quell the revolt; the vanguard of this army arrived at San Antonio de Bexar on February 23.
James Pinckney Henderson was an American and Republic of Texas lawyer, politician, and soldier, and the first governor of the State of Texas.
Thomas Jefferson Rusk was an early political and military leader of the Republic of Texas, serving as its first Secretary of War as well as a general at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was later a US politician and served as a Senator from Texas from 1846 until his suicide. He served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1857.
The San Jacinto Monument is a 567.31-foot-high (172.92-meter) column located on the Houston Ship Channel in unincorporated Harris County, Texas, about 16 miles due east of downtown Houston. The Art Deco monument is topped with a 220-ton star that commemorates the site of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. The monument, constructed between 1936 and 1939 and dedicated on April 21, 1939, is the world's tallest masonry column and is part of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site. By comparison, the Washington Monument is 554.612 feet (169.046 m) tall, which is the tallest stone monument in the world. The column is an octagonal shaft topped with a 34-foot (10 m) Lone Star – the symbol of Texas. Visitors can take an elevator to the monument's observation deck for a view of Houston and the San Jacinto battlefield.
"Six flags over Texas" is the slogan used to describe the six sovereign countries that have had control over some or all of the current territory of the U.S. state of Texas: Spain, France (1685–1690), Mexico (1821–1836), the Republic of Texas (1836–1845), the United States, and the Confederate States (1861–1865).
The Seal of the State of Texas was adopted through the 1845 Texas Constitution, and was based on the seal of the Republic of Texas, which dates from January 25, 1839.
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World, commonly referred to as the Victory or Death letter, is an open letter written on February 24, 1836, by William B. Travis, commander of the Texian forces at the Battle of the Alamo, to settlers in Mexican Texas. The letter is renowned as a "declaration of defiance" and a "masterpiece of American patriotism", and forms part of the history education of Texas schoolchildren.
This is a timeline of the Republic of Texas, spanning the time from the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836, up to the transfer of power to the State of Texas on February 19, 1846.
The Texian Army, also known as the Revolutionary Army and Army of the People, was the land warfare branch of the Texian armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It spontaneously formed from the Texian Militia in October 1835 following the Battle of Gonzales. Along with the Texian Navy, it helped the Republic of Texas win independence from the Centralist Republic of Mexico on May 14, 1836 at the Treaties of Velasco. Although the Texas Army was officially established by the Consultation of the Republic of Texas on November 13, 1835, it did not replace the Texian Army until after the Battle of San Jacinto.
Philip Dimmitt (1801–1841) was an officer in the Texian Army during the Texas Revolution. Born in Kentucky, Dimmitt moved to Texas in 1823 and soon operated a series of trading posts. After learning that Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos was en route to Texas in 1835 to quell the unrest, Dimmitt proposed that the general be kidnapped on his arrival at Copano. The plan was shelved when fighting broke out at Gonzales, but by early October, 1835, it had been resuscitated by a group of volunteers at Matamoros. Not knowing that Cos had already departed for San Antonio de Bexar, this group decided to corner Cos at Presidio La Bahia in Goliad. Dimmitt joined them en route, and participated in the battle of Goliad.
Salvador Flores served as a volunteer in the Texan Army in 1835–1836. He was instrumental in organizing and commanding Texian volunteers in support of the Texas Revolution. He participated in many battles and would rise through the ranks to reach Captain status during the fight for Texas independence from Mexico. Salvador continued to provide protection for the ranches and settlers of Texas throughout the Republic years.
The Texian Militia was the militia forces of Texian colonists in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas from 1823 to 1835 and the inaugurate force of the Texas Military. It was established by Stephen F. Austin on August 5, 1823 for defense of the Old Three Hundred colonists against the Karankawa, Comanche, and Cherokee tribes; among others. Its most notable unit, the Texas Rangers, remained in continuous service of Texas Military Forces until 1935.
The Dodson tri-color (tricolor, tricolour, or tricolore) flag, more commonly the Dodson flag, or Dodson's flag, is a flag originally created by Mrs. Sarah Dodson for Captain Andrew Robinson's Harrisburg Company (of Texas Volunteers) in the Texas Revolution, where her husband, Archelaus Dodson, was enlisted. Constructed in 1835, the Dodson flag served as a symbol of the company in the midst of the revolution, having been flown on their march from the former, Harrisburg, Texas, to Gonzales, and later, possibly with a different company, over Cibolo Creek. Assuming command soon after, Stephen F. Austin repurposed the flag, later flying in San Antonio for the December portion of the Siege of San Antonio de Béxar (Siege of San Antonio). In 1836, the Dodson flag, among two others, flew over the Alamo Mission for the Battle of the Alamo. Furthermore, in 1836, Dodson's flag was allegedly commissioned over the meeting hall at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where the Convention of 1836 met, later leading to the creation of the Texas Declaration of Independence. If this theory is true, it may have been the flag proposed by politician, Lorenzo de Zavala, for the Texas national flag.
Por otra parte, se ha aducido el separatismo del noreste por el hecho de que entre sus filas se portara una bandera que, dividida en una franja vertical y tres horizontales, representaba a los tres estados orientales, pues en la vertical también incluía tres estrellas. El color de la franja vertical era azul, y el de las horizontales eran plateado (o blanco), rojo y negro. Mariano Arista supo de la existencia de esta bandera por los informes que le rindió un espía, quien adernás la dibuío en un anexo, y así lo remitió Arista al ministro de Guerra a principios de septiembre de 1840[On the other hand, the separatism of the northeast has been adduced due to the fact that a flag was carried among its ranks that, divided into a vertical stripe and three horizontal ones, represented the three eastern states, since the vertical one also included three stars. The color of the vertical stripe was blue, and that of the horizontal ones were silver (or white), red and black. Mariano Arista found out about the existence of this flag from reports given to him by a spy, who also drew it in an appendix, and Arista sent it to the Minister of War at the beginning of September 1840.]