Flag of Alabama

The flag of Alabama was adopted by the Alabama state legislature on February 16, 1895.

Alabama

Adopted	February 16, 1895
Design	Crimson cross of St. Andrew in a field of white
Variant flag of Alabama
Name	Flag of the Governor of Alabama
Design	State flag, with the state military crest and Coat of Arms of Alabama in the lower and upper sections

Origin

It's believed that the crimson saltire of the Flag of Alabama was designed to look like the blue saltire of the Confederate battle flag. The Battle Flag was square-shaped, and Alabama's flag is sometimes shown as a square. The authors of a 1917 article in National Geographic expressed their opinion that because the Alabama flag was based on the Battle Flag, it should be square. In 1987, Don Siegelman issued an opinion in which the Battle Flag derivation is repeated, but concluded that the proper shape is rectangular, as it had been depicted numerous times in official publications and reproductions.

However, the saltire design of the Alabama state flag also looks like several other flags. It is identical to the saltire of St. Patrick, incorporated into the British Union Flag to represent the union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland. This has led to other origins being put forth as possibilities.