{"id":3280,"date":"2016-06-02T08:15:56","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T12:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=3280"},"modified":"2016-05-31T11:21:11","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T15:21:11","slug":"tennessees-flags-are-filled-with-oddities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/tennessees-flags-are-filled-with-oddities\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee\u2019s flags are filled with oddities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tennessee's<\/a>
Tennessee’s state flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a state, Tennessee has an unusual flag. As a city, Nashville has a complicated flag. As a college, Austin Peay sports a gonfalon.<\/p>\n

When Tennessee entered the United States 220 years ago, it chose red, white and blue for its state flag<\/a>. But the hues were arranged in a unique way. The red portion occupies most of the banner; the white is only a thin vertical stripe; and blue makes up a thicker strip at the far edge.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>
In 1938, a man poses on a horse with the Tennessee state flag as background. (Tennessee State Library and Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the center of the red segment lies a blue circle containing three stars to represent geographic portions of the state: East, Middle and West. It took a while for the state to settle on the current flag, which wasn\u2019t adopted until 1905.<\/p>\n

More recently, two pledges of allegiance to the state banner were written. According to the state\u2019s website, \u201cthe first official salute was written by Lucy Steele Harrison and adopted\u2026in 1981: \u2018Three white stars on a field of blue\/God keep them strong and ever true.\/It is with pride and love that we\/salute the Flag of Tennessee<\/a>.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Flag<\/a>
Flag of Nashville<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The second poem, chosen six years later, was penned by Miss John Bostick: \u201cFlag of Tennessee, I salute thee.\/To thee I pledge my allegiance with\/my affection, my service and my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennessee\u2019s capital of Nashville has a municipal flag<\/a> design that imitates the state banner: a circle in the middle and a strip on the fly end. But the banner\u2019s colors are blue, yellow and white.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>
Austin Peay’s gonfalon and seal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the center of the city flag lies Nashville\u2019s seal, which includes an odd image: an Indian holding a skull. According to the city\u2019s website, \u201cthe history and meaning [of that design] is not known\u2026.The Native American Indian was identified as the famous Cherokee leader Chief Oconostota.\u201d Other images on the busy flag include an eagle and tobacco.<\/p>\n

Austin Peay State College in Clarksville, Tennessee, has an odd name and an odd college flag<\/a>. In fact, \u201cflag\u201d isn\u2019t the best word for the institution\u2019s vertical gonfalon. As the college explains on its website, \u201cGonfalons are banners [that] symbolize the different academic areas within the university.\u00a0The colors on the background\u2026correspond with the disciplines associated with each college or school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>
Austin Peay next to an American flag<\/a> in 1925<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Red is the official color of Austin Peay. The gonfalon of the university\u2019s division of science and mathematics holds symbols that rest on \u201ca background of gold, yellow, and sage green stripes representing the\u2026colors of the college\u2019s major degrees.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Austin Peay himself, he was a governor of Tennessee and most famous for signing into law the anti-evolution bill that led to the Scopes \u201cmonkey trial\u201d in 1925.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a state, Tennessee has an unusual flag. As a city, Nashville has a complicated flag. As a college, Austin Peay sports a gonfalon. When Tennessee entered the United States 220 years ago, it chose red, white and blue for its state flag. But the hues were arranged in a unique way. The red portion… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,218,355,354],"class_list":["post-3280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-american-flag","tag-state-flag","tag-tennessee","tag-tennessee-state-flag"],"yoast_head":"\nTennessee\u2019s flags are filled with oddities - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/tennessees-flags-are-filled-with-oddities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tennessee\u2019s flags are filled with oddities - Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a state, Tennessee has an unusual flag. 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