VERMONT STATUTES ANNOTATED, TITLE 1
01 VSA 491. Coat of arms; crest; motto and badge. The coat of arms, crest, motto and badge of the state shall be and are described as follows:
- Coat of arms. -- Green, a landscape occupying half of the shield; on the right and left, in the background, high mountains, blue; the sky, yellow. From near the base and reaching nearly to the top of the shield, arises a pine tree of the natural color and between three erect sheaves, yellow, placed diagonally on the right side and a red cow standing on the left side of the field.
- Motto and badge. -- On a scroll beneath the shield, the motto: Vermont; Freedom and Unity. The Vermonter's badge: two pine branches of natural color, crossed between the shield and scroll.
- Crest. -- A buck's head, of natural color, placed on a scroll, blue and yellow.
01 VSA 495. State flag. The flag of the state shall be blue with the coat of arms of the state thereon.
Joe McMillan, 21 February 2000
The Republic of New Connecticut was proclaimed on 15 January 1777 and was renamed the Republic of Vermont on 4 June 1777. It lasted until 4 March 1791 when Vermont entered the Union. There are references to flags but no descriptions. The seal embodied in the Constitution of 1777 (the design of which is still in use today) was cut in 1779 by Ira Allen (Ethan's brother I believe) and shows a cow, four wheat sheaves, a fleur-di-lis spearhead, a forest of pine trees and a larger pine tree with 14 branches. Obviously they were interested in being the 14th State even during the period of the republic. It has been suggested by some, without any corroborating evidence, that this seal was the basis for the flag of the republic.
Dave Martucci, 15 November 1996
Vermont entered the union as the fourteenth state in 1791, but did not adopt a flag until 1 May 1804, coinciding with the admission of the seventeenth state. This flag was designed to reflect the appropriate Federal flag change that should have occurred, namely seventeen stars and seventeen stripes. That flag also placed the name of the flag along the upper edge. However, the United States flag remained unchanged with fifteen stars and stripes.
Paige Herring, 29 August 1998 |
Vermont (VT) State Flag