Flag of Texas
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The Flag of Texas is defined by law as follows:
- The state flag consists of a rectangle with a width to length ratio of two to three containing: (1) a blue vertical stripe one-third the entire length of the flag wide, and two equal horizontal stripes, the upper stripe white, the lower red, each two-thirds the entire length of the flag long; and (2) a white, regular five-pointed star in the center of the blue stripe, oriented so that one point faces upward, and of such a size that the diameter of a circle passing through the five points of the star is equal to three-fourths the width of the blue stripe.
The flag is also known as "the Lone Star Flag". This flag was adopted on January 24, 1839 as the final national flag of the Republic of Texas. The Republic also had a naval flag, and the previous national flag (the Bonnie Blue Flag) became an infantry battle standard.
When Texas became the 28th state of the Union on December 29, 1845, its national flag became the state flag. The colors are given the same symbolism in the flag of Texas as when they appear in the Flag of the United States. Blue stands for loyalty, white strength, and red bravery.
The pledge of allegiance to the state flag is:
- "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible."
An urban legend maintains that Texas negotiated a special agreement with the United States on becoming a state under which the Texas flag would be the only state flag to have equal status with the flag of the United States. This is only an urban legend; the Texas flag law requires that the flag of the United States be given precedence over the Lone Star flag in the same way as it is over any other state flag.
Trivia
The flag of Chile, first used in 1817, is similar to the flag of Texas.
External links
- Texas flag law (http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/GV/content/htm/gv.011.00.003100.00.htm)
- Texas Flag Code (http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/flagcode.html)
- Flags of Texas (http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/FF/msf1.html)
- Flags of Texas Independence Movements 1835-1836 (http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/indepenflgs.htm)
| Flags of the U.S. states |
| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming |
| Flags of the inhabited insular areas and the Federal district |
|---|
| American Samoa | Guam | Northern Mariana Islands | Puerto Rico | Virgin Islands | Washington D.C. |
| Unofficial flags of the uninhabited insular areas |
| Johnston Atoll | Midway Atoll | Navassa Island | Palmyra Atoll | Wake Island |