Flag of Prince George's County, Maryland

Prince George's County
Names Prince Georgian flag, P.G. County flag
Use Other
Proportion 3:5[1]
Adopted 1963 (1963)
Design A three-foot by five-foot white field, with a four-inch red cross atop it. In the canton is a Prince George's County seal.

The current flag of Prince George's County, Maryland, was adopted in 1963, replacing one that had been in use since 1696.[2] It is a 3 parts tall by 5 parts wide white field with a red St. George's cross atop it, with the county seal in the canton.[1] Though official regulation states that the flag use the former county seal that was used from 1958 to 1971,[1] in practice most flags that are manufactured and used by the county government itself use the current county seal, which was introduced in 1971.[3]

History

The Prince George's County flag with the 1958-specification county seal, as specified by the county code.[1] Actually-manufactured flags that follow the county code's definition are quite rare and most ones instead use the 1971-introduced seal.[3]
The Prince George's County flag from 1696 to 1963.

The flag's origins date back to 1696, when Prince George's County was first created and under English rule.[4] The flag was used by horsemen and colonial foot soldiers and consisted of a red St. George's Cross on a white field. The red cross of St. George was a symbol of Christian martyrdom since its first use during the Crusades.

Modifications

In 1963, the Prince George's County seal, the current one at the time then designed in November 1958, was added into the flag's canton to distinguish it from other flags.[5]

Design

The flag is a three-by-five white field with a red cross centered atop it, with the county seal in the canton.

Specification

The flag as defined by the Prince George's County code is stipulated to utilize the 1958-specification county seal,[1] which was replaced in 1971. However, most flags actually manufactured and used by the county government itself do not follow the county code's definition and rather utilize the current county seal, introduced in 1971.[3] The differences between the 1958 seal and the 1971 one are that the former lacks an apostrophe in "George's" and uses a letter "V" instead of a letter "U".[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sec. 1-106. County flag; contents.". Code of Prince George's County. Maryland: Prince George's County. October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016. The official County flag shall be a three (3) feet by five (5) feet flag of white, divided in equal quadrants by four (4) inch stripes of red and containing in its upper left quadrant the official seal of the County as adopted by the Board of Commissioners on November 25, 1958. (Ord. and Res. 1967, Sec. 1-6)
  2. ↑ "FLAGS: LET THEM WAVE HIGH AND PROUD". Prince George's County Celebrates 300 years of history, 1696-1996. Maryland: Prince George's County Historical Society. 1996.
  3. 1 2 3 Baltimore Science Fiction Society (2016). "Example of a Prince George's County flag as commonly manufactured and used by the county itself. Note the post-1971 seal in the canton instead of the 1958-specification one mandated by the county code.". BSFS. Maryland: Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  4. ↑ Historical Papers of the Society of Colonial Wars. District of Columbia: General Society of Colonial Wars. p. 17.
  5. ↑ "Fascinating Facts". History & Heritage. Maryland.
  6. ↑ Marck, John T. "The Great Seal of Prince George's County". Prince George's County Seal and History. Maryland, The Seventh State.
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