I have two questions for you.
Do you know what vexilology is? It is the study of flags.
Do you know what vexilology is? It is the study of flags.
Do you know the origin of your state or local government flag?
I was watching the 9/4/16 Sunday morning program and saw the story about the graphics chosen for state and local municipal flags. It intrigued me to study my own Mecklenburg county flag from Charlotte, North Carolina.
What does the Charlotte flag symbols represent?
We actually have two flags, both with very interesting histories. First, there is the flag below:
Image credit: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-nc-mb.html
This flag bears a seal designed by Harvey H. Boyd and according to the website, Flags of the World (on the Internet since 1993), was adopted in 1964. The County of Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was signed in 1775 which is shown on the eagle perched at the top of the 4-compartment seal in the flag. The seal shows an inkwell, quill pen, hornet's nest and paper. At the bottom of the seal there are two types of branches to represent the past and current times of Charlotte.
In addition to the "seal" flag that I've seen on government buildings in my hometown of Charlotte, I also learned that the hornet's nest is pretty important. The flag below depicts the city of Charlotte as the Hornet's Nest.
Image credit: http://civilwartalk.com/threads/charlotte-hornets%E2%80%A6-historical-%E2%80%A6-whats-in-the-name.93343/
See the two hornet's nests in the middle of the seal of the city of Charlotte flag? Nice, huh. The hornet's nest is one of the city's nicknames. According to the House of Flags Museum (http://www.houseofflags.org/flaghistory.asp),
Charlotte was named the "hornet's nest of rebellion" after its citizens
put up a tough fight against British General Cornwallis' troops in 1780 during
the American Revolutionary War.
Charlotte's basketball team is also named the Hornets. The team was first named the Hornets in 1988, then they moved to New Orleans in 2002. In 2004, Charlotte got a new team named the Bobcats but it was decided to take the name of Hornets again after the New Orleans team was renamed the Pelicans which is the state bird of Louisiana.
Charlotte's basketball team is also named the Hornets. The team was first named the Hornets in 1988, then they moved to New Orleans in 2002. In 2004, Charlotte got a new team named the Bobcats but it was decided to take the name of Hornets again after the New Orleans team was renamed the Pelicans which is the state bird of Louisiana.
How to find information about your state and local government flags?
The easiest place to find information about your state, city and local county flags is to visit http://www.USA.gov. Here you'll find a list of websites by states. Most of the websites will give you information about the history, culture, geography, etc. about the state and its municipalities.
References
Flags of the World, http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/.
Local Governments. USA.gov. Retrieved 9/6/16 from https://www.usa.gov/local-governments.
Martin, J. (2006). Mecklenburg County (1762). North Carolina History Project.
Retrieved 9/6/16 from http://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/mecklenburg-county-1762/
Vocci, R. (2006). Mecklenburg County. NCPedia. Retrieved 9/6/16 from http://ncpedia.org/geography/mecklenburg.
