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100% heavyweight 200 denier nylon specially treated to minimize sun and chemical deterioration.
Though Alabama entered the Union in 1819, it wasn't until the state seceded from the
Union in 1861 that Alabamans adopted a flag of their own. At the Secession Convention of January 11, 1861, distressed Alabama citizens decided to withdraw from the Union of the . At the same time, they adopted their own flag. Designed by a group of Montgomery women, the "Secession Convention Flag" became
Alabama 's first official flag. Because Alabama had left the union, the flag was often referred to as the "
Republic of
Alabama flag."
The
Republic of
Alabama flag did not fly long. On February 10, 1861, one month after it was adopted, the flag was damaged in a severe storm and was moved to the Governor's office, never to fly over
Alabama again.
Without a flag of their own, Alabamans rallied under the flags of the Confederate States of . From March 4, 1861 until April, 1865 one of two Confederate National Flags waved over
Alabama soil.
After the war, the flag of the was raised over the state. It flew until 1891 when
Alabama finally decided on a design for a unique state flag.
Four years later, on February 16, 1895, 76 years after being admitted to the
Union , the Alabama Legislature authorized the "crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white" as its official flag in the Acts of Alabama. Reminiscent of the Confederate battle flag, it was designated that the crimson bars were not to be less than six inches broad and were to extend diagonally across the flag. Because Act 383 did not specify a particular format, the flag is sometimes depicted as a square and at other times depicted as a rectangle.
For 113 years the crimson cross has flown proudly over the state of
Alabama .
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