Connecticut State Flag

Adopted on May 29, 1895; Official 1897

Inspired by a memorial from the Anna Warner Bailey Chapter of the daughters of the American Revolution, Governor O. Vincent Coffin, on May 29, 1895, introduced to the General Assembly the first proposal for the adoption of Connecticut State Flag. On that same day the Assembly passed a resolution appointing a special committee to prepare a designation of the flag already generally accepted as the official flag of the state.

The Connecticut State Flag

Connecticut Flag of 1895

The Connecticut General Assembly approved the flag in 1897 after it was introduced by Governor Owen Vincent Coffin in 1895.

The design comes from the seal of Saybrook Colony when it was established in 1639. That seal depicted 15 grapevines and a hand in the upper left corner with a scroll reading "Sustinet qui transtulit". When Connecticut Colony bought Saybrook in 1644, the seal transferred to Connecticut Colony. On October 25, 1711, the governor and legislature changed the seal. They reduced the number of grapevines from 15 to three, in order to represent the three oldest settlements (Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford) (or possibly the three separate settlements, Connecticut Colony, Saybrook Colony, and New Haven Colony, which had been absorbed into Connecticut by that time) and rearranged the wording and position of the motto.

The General Assembly of 1897 provided an official description of the flag setting the dimensions at five feet, six inches in length and four feet, four inches in width, of azure blue silk, with the armorial bearings in argent white silk with the design in natural colors and border of the shield embroidered in gold and silver. Below the shield there is a white streamer, cleft at each end, bordered in gold and browns, the streamer bearing in dark blue the motto "Qui Transtulit Sustinet."

In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey found the Connecticut flag to be ranked in the bottom 25, ranked 50th out of the 72.

Description from Connecticut General Assembly of 1897:

It wasn't until 1897, however, that the specifications were made official. The adopted law read as follows:

"The following-described flag is the official flag of the State. The dimensions of the flag shall be five feet and six inches in length; four feet and four inches in width. The flag shall be of azure blue silk, charged with a shield of rococo design of argent white silk, having embroidered in the center three grape vines, supported and bearing fruit in natural colors. The bordure to the shield shall be embroidered in two colors, gold and silver. Below the shield shall be a white streamer, cleft at each end, bordered by gold and browns in fine lines, and upon the streamer shall be embroidered in dark blue letters the motto "QUI TRANSTULIT SUSTINET"; the whole design being the arms of the state."

Connecticut Flag Law

General Statutes of Connecticut, Title 1, Chapter 33

TITLE 3. STATE ELECTIVE OFFICERS.
CHAPTER 33. SECRETARY.
Sec. 3-107. State flag. The following-described flag is the official flag of the state. The dimensions of the flag shall be five feet and six inches in length, four feet and four inches in width. The flag shall be azure blue, charged with an argent white shield of rococo design, having in the center three grape vines, supported and bearing fruit in natural colors. The bordure to the shield shall be in two colors, gold on the interior and silver on the exterior, adorned with natural-colored clusters of white oak leaves (Quercus alba) bearing acorns. Below the shield shall be a white streamer, cleft at each end, bordered by a band of gold within fine brown lines, and upon the streamer in dark blue block letters shall be the motto "QUI TRANSTULIT SUSTINET"; the whole design being the arms of the state.

(1949 Rev., S. 3581; P.A. 90-156, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 90-156 amended description of the state flag.