Florida

flag of Florida
The Sunshine State
Admitted March 3, 1845

Florida has flown many flags. Besides its handful of state flags, it’s seen the flags of Spain, France, Britain, the Confederacy, and the United States.

An early version of the flag featured the state seal on a field of white. The red saltire was introduced in the 1890’s and approved in 1900. Florida Governor Francis P. Fleming suggested that without it, the flag too closely resembled one of surrender.

Because the saltire was adopted amidst the rise of Jim Crow laws, many historians believe it is a reference to the Confederate battle flag.

When the seal was changed and standardized in 1985, the flag also followed suit and this new version was officially adopted May 21, 1985.

Composition

The Florida state flag features a field of white charged with a red saltire.

At the center, the state seal is placed.

In the 2001 North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) flag survey of United States and Canada flags, the flag of Florida was ranked 34th out of 72.

flag of Florida

Iconography

  • x-shape

    saltire

    the martyrdom of St. Andrew, crucified on an X-shaped cross

    Note: As mentioned earlier, many historians believe it is a reference to the Confederate battle flag.

  • Seminole woman with flowers

    Seminole woman

    the Seminole people of Florida

  • palmetto tree

    sabal palmetto

    state tree, regional flora

  • ship with sails

    ship

    coastal travel and commerce

Coat of Arms

The seal of Florida was established in 1868. It was similar to today’s version, but in 1985 some revisions took place.

The cocoa tree was changed to the palmetto, the Native American woman’s headress was removed to reflect Seminole history more accurately, and the mountains were removed to better show the flat land of Florida.

the Florida coat of arms

Colors

The Florida flag prominently features white and red, with supporting colors within the seal.

Florida statute does not provide Cable or Pantone values for the colors of the flag.The hex values here are approximations.
White
#ffffff
Red
#a80534
Gold
#ffb900
Green
#015941
Brown
#7d4802
Tan
#cf7419
Blue
#007cc2

Construction

Florida statute doesn’t specify a proportion for the flag beyond conforming to “standard commercial sizes.” It is usually produced with a proportion of 2:3.

It is required that the seal be 1/2 the width of the hoist and the red bars be 1/5 the hoist.

construction sheet for the flag of Florida

Previous iterations

  • horizontal stripes of blue, orange, red, white, and green; in the canton is the U.S. flag and within the orange stripe is a banner inscribed “Let us alone”

    1845

    Although never officially adopted, the Moseley flag flew at Governor William D. Moseley’s inauguration in 1845.

  • a triband of red and white with a hoist-side vertical stripe of blue charged with a seal

    1861-1865

    Adopted by Governor Madison S. Perry when Florida seceded from the Union in 1861.

  • a field of white charged with an early version of the state seal

    1868–1900

    Adopted during the Reconstruction at the same time as the Florida state seal.

  • the previous flag but with a red saltire added behind the seal

    1900–1985

    The red saltire is added by Governor Francis P. Fleming.

  • current Florida flag

    1985–Present

    The seal and flag undergo revisions. The current flag of Florida.

Sources