Connecticut

flag of Connecticut
The Constitution State
Admitted January 9, 1788

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.

Composition

The Connecticut flag features a field of azure charged with the state coat of arms, centered.

flag of Connecticut

Iconography

  • a single grapevine

    grapevine

    transplantation, settlement

  • a group of three grapevines

    grapevines

    three settlements of Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford

  • five oak tree leaves with round berries

    oak leaves & acorns

    local flora

  • Latin motto on a ribbon banner

    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.”

the Connecticut coat of arms

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.

construction sheet for the flag of Connecticut

Sources