The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-06-23
THE EVENING BANNER
BENNINGTON VERMONT
Wednesday, June %, 1915.
THE VERMONT FLAG
History of the Flag of the Green
Mountain State

The first Vermont flag OF which
there is any record was the Stars and
Stripes. with the addition of The
word Vermont" This was adopted
by act of legislature. in 1903.
Is 1t the fact, then, that Vermont,
during the fourteen years of her ex-
istence as an Independent Common
wealth possessed no distinctive stand
ard of. her own? Did the regiment
organized in compliance with the res
olution adopted by the Continental
Congress on the 23d of June IT'S, rec
commencing the employment in the
Continental army of those called the
Green Mountain Boys, under those
officers as they should choose fight
under no distinctive ensign? The
Colonies, previous to the Declaration
of American Independence used the
English flag with such added en-
blems as they chose. But Vermont
was never a colony of England or of
any other power. The infant com
monwealth asserted its full sovereign
ty of 1777, and maintained the asser-
ton until its admission into the I'M
ion in 1871. The time was one in
which the pomp and ceremony of war
and of civil state was by no means
disregarded. Can 1t be that during
this period that there was no Yer
mont flag.
The answer to this question must
be that If there was such flag, no
record or description of II is extant
No act establishing such flag APP
pears on the early statute books. The
records of the time have been search
ed in vain for any reference to such
O flag. 1t is true that in Volume 80
of the manuscript State Papers pre-
served at Montpelier, is an entry.
among sundry state expenses, of a
payment to Levi Hill, June Sd. 1881
Of CO, 12s. for flag service But
this proves nothing. The flag for
which the service was rendered by
Levi Hill may have been the flag of
the United States. or more probably,
: ing af truce, under which Ethan
~ IA Allen had been conducting
it'snliaiions with the British authori-
.es in Canada, few months prev
"a 10 The exchange of prisoners of
war. !
lis for information in the posses
sion OF any one, relating to Yer
mont flag previous to 1903. have been
repeatedly published in Vermont
newspapers and to no purpose. In
1895 reward of ten dollars was offer
ed in widely circulated journal, for
an "authenic description of the flag
of the Vermont Green Mountain
Boys but the reward was never
called for and up to this time no de-
scription, representation or definite
reference to a Vermont flag has been
found, of earlier date than the Act of
October 81, 1903. This was in the
words and figures following.
at is hereby enacted by the Gen.
eral Assembly of the State of Yer
mont, that from and after the first
day of May, A. d., 1904. the Flag of
this state be Seventeen Stripes alter
nate red and white; that the Union
be Seventeen Stars white on blue
field, with the word Vermont in cap
itals above the said Stripes and
Stars"
This flag, of seventeen stripes and
seventeen stars, was the flag of the
United States at that time Congress,
in 1918, changed the flag to one of
thirteen stripes and twenty stars,
with a provision that a star should be
added to the blue field for every
added state. But the flag of Vermont
appears to have remained one of sew
enteen stars and seventeen stripes
for about twenty years after, tilf Oct
ober 20, 1897, when the legislature
repealed the Act of 1903, and the fol-
lowing took its place:
at is hereby enacted by the Gener-
al Assembly of the State of Vermont,
that from and after the passage of
this act, the flag of this state be
thirteen stripes, alternate red and
white; that the union be one large
star, white in blue field, with the
Coat of Arms of the State of Vermont
therein"
1t is to be noted that while this act
recognized the existence of Yer
mont Coat of Arms, there had been
up to that time no legislation author
izing coat of arms. The coat of
arms in use consisted of an escutch-
con taken from the state seal, design
ed by Ira Allen in 1888, bearing the
pine tree, sheaves of wheat and cow
to which stays head had bee nadded
for the crest, in 1921 by Robert TEN
pie, Secretary Of the Governor and
Council in a design, prepared by him
Tor the commissions issued by Cover
nor Skinner to the officers OF the
State militia.
The state colors carried by the
First regiment which Vermont sent
to the front in the war of the Rebel
lion, bore the state coat of arms on a
white ground. 1t was brought back
to Vermont and is preserved in the
State House at Montpelier. The
State colors subsequently carried
from 1861 to 1865, by
The heroes of the single star,