Composition
The Connecticut flag features a field of azure charged with the state coat of arms, centered.
Connecticut
More than 100 years after statehood, Governor O. William Coffin established a committee to standardize a state flag.
An unofficial design had been used prior, inspired by a memorial by the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and featuring the Connecticut coat of arms.
The flag was officially adopted September 9, 1897.
Iconography
grapevine
transplantation, settlement
grapevines
three settlements of Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford
oak leaves & acorns
local flora
motto
“He Who Transplanted Still Sustains”
Coat of Arms
While featured on the flag long before, the state coat of arms wasn’t officially adopted until 1931. It was based on the seal for Saybrook Colony, which featured 15 grapevines and the motto “Sustinet qui transtulit.”
Colors
Connecticut statute mentions the colors of its flag, including “neutral colors” for the grapevines, but it does not provide specific color values.
In a 1956 agreement, the Office of the Secretary of State and the State Purchasing Division developed a uniform color standard for the manufacture of Connecticut state flags, as specified here.
The hex values here are approximations.Values corresponding to imagery:Azure: field, lettering
White: shield and streamer backgrounds
Gold: inner shield border, acorns, streamer border
Silver: outer shield border
Brown: grape plant and post
Green: leaves and grape “islands”
Purple: grapes
Azure
#0c2d83
Cable No. 70086 Yale Blue
White
#ffffff
Cable No. 70001 White
Gold
#ffd312
Cable No. 70057 Old Gold
Silver
#c4c4c4
Cable No. 70151 Silver
Brown
#961e1d
Cable No. 70093 Sandalwood
Green
#129612
Cable No. 70167 Primitive Green
Purple
#b400b4
Cable No. 70212 Parma Violet
Construction
Connecticut statute specifies the dimensions of the flag in feet and inches. It should have a hoist of 4 feet, 4 inches and a fly of 5 feet, 6 inches.
This is a proportion of 26:33, but the flag is often produced with more common proportions of 2:3 and 3:5.
It does not specify the dimensions for the coat of arms.
Sources
- Howe, Randy. Flags of the Fifty States: Their Colorful Histories and Significance. Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press, 2002. Print.
- Mitchell, Henry. The State Arms of the Union. Boston: L. Prang & Co, 1876.
- Connecticut General Statutes. Title 3 - State Elective Officers. Chapter 33 - Secretary. Section 3-107 - State flag.
- Sladek, Barbara. Records & Legislative Services Coordinator, Office of the Secretary of the State, personal communication, August 1, 2019.
- The State of Connecticut
- Connecticut State Contract #18PSX0115
- Encyclopedia Britannica
- State Symbols USA
- Flag of Connecticut - Wikipedia