Vermont State Flag
What is the picture on the Vermont State Flag?
The Vermont state flag has a blue background with the coat of arms(a design on a shield with symbols to represent a family or group) in the center. This has been the official design of the flag since 1923. Before then, soldiers in the Civil War used this design for some of their flags.
The coat of arms has many symbols that represent Vermont. It has mountains and a red cow. There are trees, including a pine tree in the middle. Three sheaves(bundles or stalks or pieces of grain like wheat or corn) of grain stand on a green field. There is a deer head on top of the shield. On the bottom are the words of Vermont’s state motto Freedom and Unity. Along the sides are two pine tree branches. The coat of arms has some of the same symbols that are on the Vermont state seal.
Thinking About History
Historians ask questions to think deeply about history.
Which symbols on the coat of arms can you find in Vermont today? Does the coat of arms represent Vermont now?
Should the coat of arms have a black and white cow instead of a red cow? Should it have hay bales instead of sheaves of grain? Why or why not?
Learn More
Follow the links below to explore related topics.
Learn more about the Vermont State Seal
Compare the flag with another version of the Vermont coat of arms painted on a skylight.
Copy and paste this citation to show where you did your research.
Vermont Historical Society. "Vermont State Flag." Vermont History Explorer. Accessed December 21, 2024. https://vermonthistoryexplorer.org/vermont-state-flag-and-coat-of-arms