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Connecticut (U.S.)

image by Mario Fabretto, 24 February 1998

Description
Connecticut State Coat of Arms
State Military Crest

Municipal flags:

See also:

One of the original 13 colonies, Connecticut is represented by a star and a stripe on the 13 star U.S. flags.

Description

The General Assembly of 1897 provided an official description of the flag:

Dimensions: 5' 6'' in length, 4'4'' in width
Colors: azure blue silk with the armorial bearing in argent white silk with the design in natural colors and border of the shield embroidered in gold and silver. Below the shield there is white streamer, cleft at each end, bordered in gold and browns. The motto on the streamer is in dark blue.

Dov Gutterman, 11 October 1998

Connecticut State Coat of Arms

image by Joe McMillan, 19 February 2004

The Connecticut coat of arms is defined by § 3-105 of Connecticut General Statutes as follows: "A shield of rococo design of white field, having in the center three grape vines, supported and bearing fruit. The vine located in the center of the shield and the vine located on the right side of the shield shall ascend in a counterclockwise manner. The vine located on the left side of the shield shall ascend in a clockwise manner. The bordure to the shield shall consist of two bands bordered by fine lines adorned with clusters of white oak leaves (Quercus alba) bearing acorns. Below the shield shall be a white streamer, cleft at each end, bordered with two fine lines, and upon the streamer shall be in block letters the motto 'QUI TRANSTULIT SUSTINET.'"

The seal of the old Saybrook Colony in what is now Connecticut, introduced in 1639, depicted 15 grapevines, with a hand issuing from clouds in the upper left corner holding a scroll inscribed "Sustinet qui transtulit (He who transplanted sustains)." This seal was transferred to the Connecticut Colony when it purchased the land and fort of the Saybrook settlement in 1644 and used de facto by the colony's General Court (legislature). On October 9, 1662, coincident with the promulgation of Connecticut's royal charter, the seal was formally adopted by the general assembly as the seal of the colony. It was used until 1687, when James II's despotic royal governor Edmund Andros abolished self-government throughout New England; the original seal disappeared during this period. The charter of Connecticut was restored in 1689. On October 25, 1711, the governor and council (upper house of the General Assembly) directed the purchase of a new seal, which was essentially that in use today. The grapevines were reduced to three--perhaps to represent the three original colonies of New Haven, Saybrook, and Connecticut (Hartford). The motto scroll was moved to the bottom of the oval seal and the words rearranged to read "Qui transtulit sustinet." The only change to the seal of Connecticut since then was made in May 1784, after independence, changing inscription on the rim from SIGILLUM COLONIAE CONNECTICUTENSIS to SIGILLUM REIPUBLICAE CONNECTICUTENSIS (Seal of the State of Connecticut).

From an early period, the three grapevines were used on a shield as the arms of Connecticut, appearing in that form on state military colors among other places. The current official depiction of the arms on a rococo shield was in use by 1880; it was officially adopted by the General Assembly on March 24, 1931.
Joe McMillan, 19 February 2004

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 "A grapevine supported and fructed proper."
Joe McMillan, 21 April 2000