The New Hampshire state flag features the state seal with nine stars and bay leaves on a dark blue background, representing the state’s support for the US after gaining independence. The seal depicts the USS Raleigh, built in New Hampshire, and was standardized in 1909. It was voted one of the ten worst flags in North America by the NAVA.
The history of the New Hampshire state flag depicts the state’s strong support for the United States of America after the nation gained independence from Great Britain in 1781. The flag features the New Hampshire state seal, surrounded by a ring of nine stars interspersed with bay leaves on a dark blue background. The New Hampshire state legislature adopted its official flag in 1909. Before that, New Hampshire did not have an official state flag, instead flying the flags of the state’s various regiments.
The New Hampshire state flag reflects many other state symbols reminiscent of the American Revolutionary War from Great Britain. Nine stars represent New Hampshire as the ninth state to join the new United States of America on June 21, 1788. The New Hampshire state seal, resting in the center of the flag’s deep blue background, depicts the historic battleship USS Raleigh, built at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1776. USS Raleigh was one of the first thirteen war frigates commissioned by the Continental Congress. This warship is also renowned as the first ship to carry the American flag in naval battle.
Originally, the New Hampshire state seal illustrated a pine tree with an upright fish flanked by bundles of arrows. The First Provincial Congress created the seal in 1775 to reflect New Hampshire’s natural resources among the colonies. The new New Hampshire legislature changed the seal in 1784 to represent a ship before sunrise, but did not officially adopt the seal as a state standard. Artists have liberally crafted the seal over the years, much to the chagrin of state legislators, adding sailors to the ship or its dock, and even laden with barrels of rum. In 1909, the New Hampshire assembly standardized the state seal and revised it in 1931 for the final image depicted today.
The New Hampshire state flag was voted by members of the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) as one of the ten worst flags in North America. Despised as a type of “seal on a sheet,” the New Hampshire flag isn’t as distinctive and clearly intelligible as the bold and colorful flags of other states, such as the state flags of Texas, Arizona, and Alaska. The New Hampshire state flag is also notable for being the only state flag to represent another state. Inside the state seal, USS Raleigh rests at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, originally in Massachusetts but now located in Maine.
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