NEW HAMPSHIRE, FLAG OF

U.S. state flag consisting of a dark blue field (background) with the state seal in the centre. The seal of New Hampshire was adopted in 1784 following the Revolutionary War. On December 28, 1792, a regulation was adopted by the legislature that required regiments in the state militia to carry the national flag and regimental colours displaying the state seal. More than a century passed, however, before the adoption of a state flag for general purposes. The 1909 flag law provided for a blue background bearing the state seal in the centre, framed by a wreath of laurel with nine stars interspersed, signifying the rank of New Hampshire as the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The seal, which was slightly altered in 1931, features the frigate Raleigh being built at Portsmouth. Although the ship was built in 1776, the seal shows it flying flags that were not adopted until 1777. Whitney Smith