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Kentucky (U.S.)

Commonwealth of Kentucky

Last modified: 2014-12-12 by rick wyatt
Keywords: kentucky | united states | finial | bird: cardinal |
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[Flag of Kentucky] image by Clay Moss, 2 February 2009

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In 1795, two stars were added, representing Kentucky and Vermont, bringing the total number of stars on the U.S. flag to 15. There were thirteen stripes representing the thirteen original colonies.

Significant dates

The flag was in use since 1918, but it was not very well defined in law. The flag was definitized in 1963.
Nick Artimovich, 31 July 1996

Finial

Kentucky specifies a cardinal bird as the finial for its state flag.
Nick Artimovich, 3 May 1996

Legal Description

From my private archives (laws of Kentucky):

2.030 State flag.
  1. The official state flag of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall be of navy blue silk, nylon, wool or cotton bunting, or some other suitable material, with the seal of the Commonwealth encircled by a wreath, the lower half of which shall be goldenrod in bloom and the upper half the words "Commonwealth of Kentucky," embroidered, printed, painted or stamped on the center thereof. The dimensions of the flag may vary, but the length shall be one and nine-tenths (1 9/10) times the width and the diameter of the seal and encirclement shall be approximately two-thirds (2/3) the width of the flag.
  2. The approved official drawings of the state flag shall be permanently retained in the files of the office of the Secretary of State. All state flags for official use of the Commonwealth shall conform as to color and design with these official drawings.
  3. The emblem at the head of a flagstaff used to display the flag of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall be the Kentucky cardinal in an alert but restful pose, cast in bronze, brass or other suitable material.
  4. The flying of the state flag at all state buildings and installations including public school buildings, National Guard armories, state parks and other such buildings is considered proper and is encouraged.
History: Amended 1962 Ky. Acts ch. 114, secs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. -- Recodified 1942
Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 4618m.

Phil Nelson, 22 January 1999

State Military Crest

image by Joe McMillan, 21 April 2000

The state military crest, which is the crest used in the coats of arms of units of the National Guard, as granted by the precursor organizations of what is now the Army Institute of Heraldry. The official Institute of Heraldry blazon is "Within a garland of trumpet vine clasped hands clothed at the wrists all proper."
Joe McMillan, 21 April 2000

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