Virginia State Flag
Official Flag Adoption: March 28, 1912
The state flag of Virginia was designed in 1861, when Virginia seceded from the Union during the Civil War. Although the flag was officially re-adopted in 1912. The flag features the obverse (the side bearing the principal design) of the state seal on a blue background.
Virginia’s Flag’s Design
The state seal on the flag was created by the work of a committee chaired by George Mason, who was the principal author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the US Constitution. Taking its theme from ancient Roman mythology, the seal emphasizes the importance of civic virtue.
The Latin motto ” Sic Semper Tyrannis” (Thus Always to Tyrants) is written at the bottom of the seal. The two figures are acting out the meaning of the motto. Both are dressed as warriors. The woman, Virtue, represents Virginia. The man holding a scourge (a whip) and chain shows that he is a tyrant (the tyrant symbolizes Britain). His fallen crown is nearby. The seal is surrounded by Red Virginia creepers and green leaves.
Pledge of Allegiance to Virginia’s Flag
“I salute the flag of Virginia, with reverence and patriotic devotion to the ‘Mother of States and Statesmen,’ which it represents–the ‘Old Dominion,’ where liberty and independence were born.”