By 1816, Kamehameha the Great had united the islands under one ruler and commissioned the Hawaiian Flag.
There are conflicting reports on who actually designed it but its symbolism is clear. The design of Hawaii’s flag was a compromise between the flags of England and America. The Union Jack was used to show the king’s friendship with England. The stripes were said to represent the red, white and blue of the American flag. There are eight horizontal stripes that represent the eight main islands of Hawaii. It was a good way of showing a combination of Hawaii’s growing bond and loyalty with England and the United States.

Georgia State Flag

The current design consists of three horizontal bars of equal width, two red separated by a white bar in the center. In the upper left corner is a square blue canton the width of two bars. In the center of the canton is a circle of 13 white stars, symbolizing Georgia and the other 12 original states that formed the United States of America. Within the circle of stars is Georgia’s coat of arms (the central design on the state seal) immediately above the words “In God We Trust” — both in gold.

Semaphore towers used large blades/paddles to convey messages. These messages were decoded based on the fixed positions of these arms and could transmit signals up to 150 miles in two minutes using multiple towers.

The semaphore tower/semaphore line design was first thought up by Robert Hooke in 1684 and submitted to the Royal Society. The system was not implemented though due to military concerns. However, this did lead to Claude Chappe developing the first visual telegraph in 1792 - eventually covering much of France via 556 stations. In France, this was the primary source of communication for military and national applications, until it became more widely used in the 1850′s. Designs varied between using shudders open and closed to holes being open and closed, but Chappe’s design became the most widely used semaphore design.

Chappe’s design used large towers that had a single crossbar with large pivoting “arms” at the ends and were spaced as far as part as the eye could see. The crossbar could be used in 4 different positions while the arms could be in 7 different positions each, for a combination of 196 (4x7x7) characters. These 196 characters could be combined to create a multitude of messages and phrases. Some have estimated that there were as many as 9,999 different “codes” created.

Many other takes of semaphores became created, including the naval signaling code flags which are still used today. These flags could be used in combination to become different words and messages and thus not have to spell out each word since messages were usually needed to be displayed quickly. This system however proved to be slow during battle since these flags were hoisted to the top of the ship for display.

Even Napoleon used one design to communicate to his army strategies and locations of his enemies. These semaphore stations were so successful that the French government rejected Samual Morse‘s first proposals of the electrical telegraph, citing that its design was flawed by wires being able to be cut easily.

These visual messaging systems eventually led to semaphore flags. These flags were used in the same way that the arms were used on the semaphore towers – different fixed positions mean different messages. Semaphore flags were primarily used for naval applications to communicate message between boats. It proved to be a very useful tactic during battles, most famously the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars.

Today these flags have become smaller and are usually mounted to small dowels or poles to allow them to be seen easier. Maritime use flags are red and yellow (or the OSCAR) flag and while in land use, the flags are blue and white (or the PAPA) flag. Even though they are not in use much anymore, they still serve for some boats and ships.

So why did we get rid of them?

Well, there were two critical downfalls of all the systems:

1. They had no secrecy. Everyone within visual distances could see the message and therefore react to it. This proved to be one of the design’s most fatal wartime attributes.
2. They were practically invisible at night time and during heavy fog and rain.

Both of these reasons lead to the electrical telegraph and Morse Code, both “invented” by Samuel F.B. Morse.

So, the next thing you know, we went to electrical telegraphs, pony express, telephone, radio, television, computers, fax machines, satellite televisions, cellular phones and the internet. What is next to come in communication? I for one can not even begin to imagine all of the amazing devices we will see in the future. The one thing I do know is that ultimately semaphore flags and towers inspired all designs since. To see how basic letters are signaled with semaphore flags, please check out this video:

During the Vietnam War, Mary Hoff, a wife of a Missing In Action soldier and member of the National League of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, decided that there was a great need for a symbol to honor the approximately 1,350 POWs and approximately 1,200 MIA soldiers who had been injured yet whose bodies had not been recovered. She contacted the Annin Flag company, the United States’ largest flag company, who in return contacted Newton “Newt” Heisley, an artist in the National League of Families to help with the design.

Newton Heisley

Newton Heisley was a former pilot in WWII and father of Jeffrey Heisly, a Marine soldier who eventually went, fought, and returned home from Vietnam. At the time of design, Jeffrey had just returned home from Basic Training before his departure for Vietnam and had been suffering from a case of hepatitis, emaciating his body and face. At the sight of his son, Newton imagined what the POWs overseas must look like. Jeffrey became the silhouette for Newton’s design. He then added a watch tower and barbed wire to the background which were characteristics of the many prisoner camps during Vietnam.

For the slogan “You Are Not Forgotten”, Newton remembered the feeling he had as he was flying a mission over the Southeast Pacific during World War II and thought that he could end up being “taken prisoner and being… forgotten”. He designed the slogan to let soldiers know that despite their circumstances, they were not forgotten and the National League of Families would dedicate their mission to the rescue and return of these heroes.

Newton had originally drawn the design out with pencil only and was going to add in color later, presumably a deep purple, but by the time he could get back to add it in, Annin had already begun printing and distributing the white and black designed flags. The black and white logo stuck and became the official design of the National League of Families.

The POW MIA flag has intentionally never been copyrighted due to Newt’s belief that it is everyone’s flag. It was designed to give thanks to the many men and women we may never see, many we may never be able to give thanks to, many we will forever be grateful for. It acts as a symbol of hope for soldiers, a symbol of dedication for civilians, and a symbol of duty for our government.

On September 16th, 1988 on POW/MIA Recognition Day, the flag was proudly flown over the White House for the first time ever. Later on March 9th, 1989, the same flag was raised on the Capitol’s Rotunda and is still the only flag every flown in the Rotunda.

Today, give thanks for the many Prisoners of War and soldiers of whose fate are unknown. Hope that their families heal and that time eases the pain. Be proud to be an American and don’t ever look at the POW/MIA flag without saying thank you for these sacrifices. From everyone at Carrot-Top Industries, we give thanks and salute all of our soldiers, POWs, MIAs, and families of these brave men and women.

Gadsden Flag

Lately on the news I have been seeing people lining up at town halls, mayor offices, and government buildings rallying for their causes. One thing I have noticed at most of these rallies is a weird looking yellow flag with a rattlesnake…what I have found out to be the Gadsden flag. I decided to do a little investigation into the history of this flag so we can all understand the exact meaning. Hope you guys (and girls) enjoy!

So what is the significance of the rattlesnake? The US colonies were first depicted as a rattlesnake in a political cartoon in 1774 by…Benjamin Franklin. In his cartoon, the US colonies were depicted as an 8 sectioned snake with the saying: “Join, or Die”, referring to the “disunited state” of the colonies. This was designed to inspire unity in the defense against France but was later used in defense from the British.

Christopher Gadsden

This is where Christopher Gadsden comes in. Now Christopher Gadsden was a true man’s man. He was a founder and leader of the Sons of Liberty and a delegate on the First Continental Congress before leaving to become a colonel in the Continental Army. Between Gadsden and the Continental Congress, they chose Esek Hopkins as their commander-in-chief of the US Navy. Believing in the importance of Navy commanders to have their own “distinct personal standard”, Gadsden created what is now called the Gadsden Flag or sometimes the Hopkins Flag. The flag was presented in Charleston, South Carolina, where it is still proudly flown today, among many other places.

Since the creation, it was altered to become two other separate important flags in US history…the Culpeper Flag and the First Navy Jack Flag. The Culpeper Flag, which was used during the American Revolution by the Culpeper County, VA minutemen. This flag however was white instead of yellow and bore an added slogan “Liberty or Death”. Also, it is correctly spelled Culpeper, not Culpepper.

First Navy Jack Flag

Also, the First Navy Jack Flag has adopted the Rattlesnake design and was first distributed as fleet signals by Hopkins. This flag features 13 red and white alternating stripes with an uncoiled rattlesnake with “Dont Tread On Me” on the 12th stripe. These stripes represent the first 13 colonies and was probably first introduced as a US Navy flag following the 1777 adoption of the First Stars and Stripes Law. This law said that the flags of the United States consist of 13 red and white alternating stripes symbolize the 13 colonies. The First Navy Jack has been flown on the oldest serving ship in the Navy, with the last as the USS Kitty Hawk. Then, in May 31, 2002 the Secretary of Navy ordered all Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack during the War on Terrorism.

The Gadsden Flag started as a military flag to inspire unity, to inspire change, and to inspire freedom amongst all Americans. Now, after 235 years, it still serves as a symbol to stand up for the things we believe in and stand firm to our positions. Be true to yourself, your country, and your beliefs and don’t let anyone tread on you!

I watched as the second plane hit…

That day became a haze. We were running around trying to figure out what was going on. Many of my friends left school to be with their families.

One thing I will never forget is seeing images of Manhattan that afternoon and it was covered in a huge cloud of dust and debris.

That day, 2,752 individuals lost their lives, including 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and civilians from 70 different countries. We eventually found out 19 terrorists had hijacked 4 commercial airliners. 2 of these hit the World Trade Center towers, 1 hit the Pentagon and 1 was brought down by the passengers in Shanksville, PA. This plane was suspected to be heading for the Capitol building or the White House.

At the time, I never thought anything good would come of the attacks…I was wrong. I remember watching the Chicago Cubs/New York Yankees game when Phyllis Arnold sang the National Anthem. To see the support that was displayed made me realize that things were going to get better. It was going to take a long long time, but it WAS going to get better.

So here we are…10 years later. The US has seen many changes in the last 10 years, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our spirit to continue onward. We have become a stronger and much more united country. People rushed to help out; giving time, money and support to the many families and friends that lost loved ones that day. We have begun our international war against terrorism and freed countries and countless people from the oppressive rule of unjust leaders. We have recently caught Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist behind the attacks of 9/11 and we are once again a worldwide beacon of freedom and hope.

September 11 Memorial Flag

We at Carrot-Top Industries want to help out as much as possible. That is why we are introducing multiple 9/11 commemorative flags, including our exlclusive Carrot-Top Memorial flags. These are available in both standard and customizable options. The customizable flag allows your company, city, family, fire department, police department or rescue squad to show your support and remembrance to all of our fallen heroes, friends and families who have given the sacrifices of time, freedom and lives since that fateful Tuesday morning.

We wanted to do more than just make a Memorial flag. We wanted to put our money where our mission is…so, we are proud to announce that we have teamed up with the Fisher House Foundation. Proceeds from the sales of our 9/11 Memorial Flags will go directly towards this wonderful charity. The Fisher House Foundation donates and builds “comfort homes” for soldiers and their families and they currently have at least one Fisher House at every major military medical center! These homes allow the family of service men and women to stay with their loved ones during times of unexpected illnesses, disease, injury etc. free of charge. Each year, they house approximately 11,000 families and have made available 3 million days of lodging since their start in 1990. If you would like to donate separately, please visit the site here.

Ground Zero Memorial

If you are in New York this September, try and visit the 9/11 Memorial. This memorial sits directly where the twin towers sat before. Designed in 2003, the Memorials will be dedicated to the many men and women lost that day. The main feature of the design are two large waterfalls and reflecting pools. The reflecting pools are surrounded by bronze parapets with the names of the heroes that day inscribed upon them. To learn more about the Memorial, please visit 911Memorial.org. If you are unable to attend the dedication on this upcoming Patriot Day, we ask that you fly your flags at half-staff and give thanks to the men and women who allow us to live in the best country in the world.

If you are looking for a new American, Military, Support Our Troops or September 11th Memorial flags, please visit www.carrot-top.com.

The Bonnie Blue flag was originally created as the flag of the Republic of West Florida. In 1810, settlers in the Spanish territory of West Florida revolted against the Spanish government. At the time, West Florida was made up of 4 states which are now: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. They declared West Florida to be an independent republic and raised the Bonnie Blue flag over the Spanish Fort of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When Mississippi seceded from the Union in 1861, the Bonnie Blue flag was flown over the capital building. Mississippi did eventually create their own flag which included the Bonnie Blue design in the top left section and a magnolia tree in the center and it became the Magnolia flag. The flag was eventually accompanied with a song: The Bonnie Blue song. The flag becamme the unofficial flag of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War and the Bonnie Blue song was a favorite marching song amongst the soldiers. The chorus are:

“Hurrah! Hurrah!For Southern Rights, Hurrah!Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue FlagThat bears a Single Star!”

Bonnie Blue Flag

Design
The Bonnie Blue flag is made up of a single white star on a blue background (similar to but not to be confused with the Somalia flag). The flag inspired many common flags throughout the history of America, including the Burnet flag (first flag of the Republic of Texas), State flag of Texas, the Magnolia flag as well as some military flags.

Bonnie Blue Today
Today the Bonnie Blue is still flown in many parts of Louisiana and Florida. It is featured on Interstate 12 which is commonly known as the Republic of West Florida Parkway. The Bonnie Blue song has been in the recent movies: Gods and Generals as well as Sahara. I hope this helps give you a little better understanding of this rare but sometimes seen flag. If you would like to see some other historical flags, please check out Carrot-Top.com!