Flag and seal of New Hampshire

Seal history

New Hampshire's current constitution took effect in 1784, accompanied by a revised state seal depicting a ship under construction with a rising sun in the background, to reflect Portsmouth's prominence as a shipbuilding center during the American Revolutionary War.

In 1919, Otis G. Hammond, Director of the New Hampshire Historical Society, prepared a formal history of the state seal and flag at the direction of the Governor and Executive Council, wrote a history of the state seal and flag. Here, Hammond detailed how the lack of a specific legal description had allowed considerable variation in seal designs. Over time, successive engravers had introduced additional elements, including various goods on the dock and, in some instances, figures standing beside them.

So, in 1931, during Governor John G. Winant's second term, a committee was appointed to produce a standardized, noncontroversial seal. The General Court approved the committee's recommendations, and a statute codifying the official design took effect on January 1, 1932 The law designated the frigate Raleigh, built in Kittery, Maine in 1776, as one of the first warships of the Continental Congress as the central element of the seal. It replaced the former Latin inscription with "SEAL OF THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE", specified a diameter of 2 inches in diameter, and declared that only a granite boulder appear in the foreground.

The law requires the scene to include:

• a straight horizon line of the sea across the field,
• a rising sun visible above the horizon for about one-third of its diameter,
• the ship shown broadside on the stocks, bow higher than the stern,
• masts, tops, shrouds, and stays in place,
• the 1777 U.S. flag on the stern staff, and pennants flying from jury masts,
• the foreground divided into land and water by a double diagonal line,
• no detail anywhere on the water, and only a single granite boulder on the land, and
• the inscription "SEAL • OF • THE • STATE • OF • NEW HAMPSHIRE", encircling the design and separated by round periods, with *"1776" flanked by two stars at the bottom.

The Colony and First State Seals

When New Hampshire's First Provincial Congress assembled in Exeter on July 1, 1775, it quietly swept aside its royal trappings, including the George III seal previously in use. In preparation of the 1776 state constitution, the First Provincial Congress designed a seal measuring 1½ inches in diameter and depicting an upright fish and pine tree on either side of a bundle of five arrows. The fish and pine represented the main trade of the colony and the five arrows represented each of the five counties. The seal bore the inscription: COLONY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE * VIS UNITA FORTIOR. As the colony prepared to draft its 1776 constitution, delegates created a new emblem: a 1½-inch seal depicting a fish and a pine tree flanking a bundle of five arrows. These figures represented the colony's main trades, while the arrows represented the five counties. Around them was inscribed the motto: "Vis Unita Fortior" meaning "a united force is stronger". Though never formally proclaimed, the seal appeared on military commissions starting in September 1775 and seems to have been in used until early July 1776. The General Court still prints it today beside the modern seal in copies of the state constitution.

Soon after declaring statehood, New Hampshire adopted its first official state seal on September 12, 1776. Larger at 1¾ inches, it preserved the pine, the fish, and the five arrows but added "Sigill Rei-Pub Neohantoni" to the inscription. Some members of the General Court still use it, even though no statute currently governs its design.

Flag statute

The 2024 New Hampshire Revised Statutes, Title I, Chapter 3, § 3:2 defines the state flag as follows:

Flag history

Pre-official flags

In 1908, 1st New Hampshire Infantry replaced their old state flag with a new one. The old state flag was described as bearing a field of gold.

An example of a pre-standardization design is a New Hampshire state flag produced by Lamprell & Marble of Boston between approximately 1896 and 1907. This flag featured a hand-painted state seal surrounded by a ring of 45 hand-sewn stars.

Current flag (1909-present)

New Hampshire is currently the only U.S. state whose flag includes a depiction of the Stars and Stripes. It was design by Helen Seavey, she based the flag off the ones carried by the National Guard and a earlier design by Mr. Frisbees.

A 2001 internet poll run by the North American Vexillological Association ranked New Hampshire state flag's design as 63rd out of 72 flags of U.S. states, U.S. territories and provinces and territories of Canada.

Flag proposals

Timothy Josephson, a former member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives suggested replacing the state seal in the center of the flag with the Old Man of the Mountain in 2018 to memorialize its collapse in 2003, but no official action has been taken on the proposal.

In November 2023, state representative Tim McGough proposed a bill that would have modified the flag to add the motto "Live Free or Die" in Times New Roman beneath the seal. The bill was rejected in February 2024.

References

References

1. (2012-01-03). "New Hampshire State Flag NH updated 1931". Flag-Works over America.
2. NH.gov. "State Flag, New Hampshire Almanac".
3. Zieber, Eugene: ''Heraldry in sea''. Published by the Department of Heraldry of the Bailey, Banks and Biddle Company. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1895.
4. New Hampshire Laws 1931 and Special Session 1930: ''New Hampshire Public Acts and Joint Resolutions of the Legislature of 1931 and Special Session of 1930'', published by the Secretary of State (The Clarke Press, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1931) p. 44. Shankle, Georg Earlie: ''State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and other Symbols''. The H.W. Wilson Comp. New York, 1951
5. (1931). "Laws of the State of New Hampshire - Passed January Session, 1931 - Legislature convened January 7, adjourned May 7". Granite State Press.
6. "New Hampshire Revised Statutes § 3:9 (2024) — State Seal".
7. "New Hampshire Revised Statutes § 3:2 (2024) — State Flag".
8. [https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn90062374/1908-06-17/ed-1/?sp=1&q=state+flag&r=0.026,0.827,0.302,0.127,0 New Hampshire farmer and weekly union, June 17, 1908]
9. "Image 10 of Laredo weekly times (Laredo, Tex.), September 24, 1916".
10. "EXCEPTIONAL NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE FLAG WITH A HAND-PAINTED SEAL, SURROUNDED BY 45 HAND-SEWN STARS, MADE BY LAMPRELL & MARBLE, BOSTON, CA 1896-1907".
11. [https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn90062374/1911-02-08/ed-1/?sp=5&q=state+flag&r=0.786,0.713,0.174,0.073,0 New Hampshire farmer and weekly union, February 8, 1911]
12. [https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn91066782/1909-02-19/ed-1/?sp=2&q=banner+seal+state&r=0.252,0.449,0.639,0.268,0 The Barre daily times, February 19, 1909, p.2]
13. "2001 State/Provincial Flag Survey Summary". North American Vexillological Association.
14. [https://www.wmur.com/article/state-rep-proposes-changing-new-hampshire-state-flag/15384974# WMUR: "State rep proposes changing New Hampshire state flag" 18 January 2018]
15. Todd Bookman. (26 December 2023). "Wave Free or Die: Should this be the new state flag?". New Hampshire Public Radio.
16. "NH HB1016 - 2024 - Regular Session". LegiScan.
17. [https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn90062374/1909-01-20/ed-1/?sp=2&q=state+flag New Hampshire farmer and weekly union, January 20, 1909]