The Earliest Surviving New Hampshire State Flag
Color of the First Battalion, Second New Hampshire Militia Regiment, circa 1785

This rare, surviving fragment of a circa 1785 militia color (approximately 27" x 22", within an attractive, oval conservation mount and frame) consists of an off-white, silk ground on which a central device is painted in oils. The device consists of the 1784 seal of New Hampshire in its earliest configuration, encircled by laurel garland and surmounted by a single, five-point star in gold. Below it is a similar, but smaller oval of deep blue in horizontal configuration, on which is painted in gold letters: 1st BATTN/ N-H/ 2D REGT. The original white silken color was probably about six feet “hoist” by six feet “fly,” following standard proportions of American colors during the late 18th century. On 12 December 1785, the uniform regulations for the New Hampshire militia were approved by Captain-General John Sullivan. All infantry regiments were to wear white uniforms with distinctive facing colors by brigade. General Cilley's brigade, which included the Second Regiment, was from the coastal region of New Hampshire and was prescribed facings of “deep blue.” Custom had long dictated that the ground for a battalion color was typically the color of the regimental uniform and the device the color of its facings, and this is reflected in the white ground and blue device on this color. Despite the long tradition of employing the state seal as the central device beginning with the 1785 battalion standards of New Hampshire militia regiments, it would not be until 1909 that a state flag would be officially adopted, it being the state seal on a blue field.

Exhibiting at the Mid-Week in Manchester Antiques Show, 11-12 August 2010