Flag of Massachusetts

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	3:5
Adopted	March 21, 1971 (1971-03-21)
Variant flag of Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Name	Flag of the governor of Massachusetts
Design	State flag in the form of a pennant

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts' flag in the United States has been represented by official but limited-purpose flags since 1776, though until 1908 it had no state flag per se to represent its government. A variant of the white flag with blue seal was carried by each of the Massachusetts volunteer regiments during the Civil War alongside the National Colors. An exception were the two "Irish regiments" (the 9th and 28th Volunteers), each of which was permitted to carry an alternative green flag with a harp symbol. The state currently has three official flags: a state flag, a "naval and maritime flag" (despite it no longer having its own navy), and a governor's flag.

Naval and maritime flag

Naval and maritime flag of Massachusetts

In April 1776, the Massachusetts Navy adopted, as its flag (naval ensign), a white field charged with a green pine tree and the motto "An Appeal to Heaven." In 1971 the motto was removed, and the flag was designated "the naval and maritime flag of the Commonwealth".^[1]

Massachusetts is one of only two states with its own naval ensign — the other is Maine, which was part of Massachusetts until 1820.

See also

• Flags of the Governors of the U.S. States
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  • Symbols of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
    • Coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
    • Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

References

External links

• Massachusetts (U.S.) at Flags of the World
• Massachusetts Naval Ensign (U.S.) at Flags of the World

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Boston (capital)
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Regions	The Berkshires Blackstone Valley Cape Ann Cape Cod Central Massachusetts Greater Boston The Islands Merrimack Valley MetroWest Montachusett-North County North Shore Pioneer Valley Quabbin-Swift River Valley South Coast South County South Shore Southeastern Massachusetts Western Massachusetts
Counties	Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin Hampden Hampshire Middlesex Nantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester
Cities	Agawam Amesbury Attleboro Barnstable Beverly Boston Braintree Bridgewater Brockton Cambridge Chelsea Chicopee East Longmeadow Easthampton Everett Fall River Fitchburg Franklin Gardner Gloucester Greenfield Haverhill Holyoke Lawrence Leominster Lowell Lynn Malden Marlborough Medford Melrose Methuen New Bedford Newburyport Newton North Adams Northampton Palmer Peabody Pittsfield Quincy Randolph Revere Salem Somerville Southbridge Springfield Taunton Waltham Watertown Westfield West Springfield Weymouth Winthrop Woburn Worcester Note: Municipalities not listed have a town meeting form of government (see all municipalities)