The first official flag of North Carolina was adopted a month after the state seceded from the union in 1861. The design of the flag is credited to Raleigh artist, William G. Browne.
The flag has had two other versions since, with a redesign introduced in 1885 by then state Adjutant General, Johnston Jones.
The current version of the flag was adopted in 1991.
The North Carolina flag features a blue union the full width of the flag and one-third the length. The remaining area is a horizontal bicolor of red and white.
Within the blue union is a white five-pointed star flanked by the letters ‘N’ and ‘C’ in gold.
They are encircled by two scrolls inscribed with two dates: “May 20th, 1775” above and “April 12th, 1776” below.
North Carolina
the alleged Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence (disputed by historians)
Note: Historians do agree that on May 31st, 1775 Mecklenburg County adopted the Mecklenburg Resolves, a set of anti-British resolutions, more than a year before the U.S. Declaration would be signed.
the date North Carolina authorized its delegates to vote for declaring independence to the Continental Congress
Note: The resolutions were written and they became known as the Halifax Resolves.
The North Carolina flag uses the same red, white, and blue as the U.S. national flag.
The flag’s length should be half more than its width (a proportion of 2:3).
The length of the blue union should be the same as the widths of the horizontal red and white stripes.
Designed by William G. Browne. “May 20th 1861” is the date North Carolina seceded to join the Confederacy.
Blue and red stripes are swapped and the letters ‘N’ and ‘C’ are added. “May 20th 1861” is replaced with “April 12th 1776” and both dates get golden scrolls underneath.
The current flag of North Carolina. It is widened to a 2:3 proportion instead of 3:4.