The Texas Flag: History & Meaning
Learn about the history of the Texas state flag, which used to be the flag of the independent Republic of Texas. Each part of the Lone Star Flag represents something about Texas. The Flag Code of Texas describes how the flag must be treated.
The Lone Star State and the Lone Star Flag
Texas is known as the ‘Lone Star State’ – but did you know that the nickname comes from the Texas flag? The iconic Lone Star Flag is a symbol of Texas pride, but it wasn’t actually the first flag of Texas. In this lesson, we’ll go over the history of the Lone Star Flag and the other flags that have represented Texas over the years.
The History of the Texas Flag
Before it was part of the USA, Texas was ruled first by Spain, then by France, and then by Mexico. As a Spanish possession between 1519 and 1685, Texas officially used the Spanish flag. The Spanish flag has red stripes along the top and bottom edge, with a thicker yellow stripe in the middle. On the left-hand side is the arms of Castile and Leon.
From 1684 to 1690, Texas flew the flag of the Kingdom of France, which featured gold fleurs-de-lys on a white background. Between 1690 and 1821, Texas reverted to Spanish possession and the Spanish flag. Then in 1821, Texas became part of Mexico and flew the Mexican flag until 1836, when the Republic of Texas declared its independence.
In December of 1836, the Congress of the Republic of Texas approved the National Standard of Texas. This flag was simple but striking: it featured a yellow star in the middle of a dark blue background.
That was the flag of Texas until 1839. In January 1939, the Texas Congress approved a new flag, with the same colors as the US flag but a different design. On the new flag, there’s a bar of dark blue running along the left-hand side, with one white star in the middle. On the rest of the flag, the top half is white and the lower half is red. Because it has only one star, this flag is known as the Lone Star Flag.
The Lone Star Flag was the flag of the Republic of Texas until Texas became a US state in 1845. At that point, the United States flag officially became the national flag of Texas, but the state kept the Lone Star Flag as a state flag. The Texas state flag is the only US state flag that used to be the flag of a separate sovereign nation.
During the Civil War, Texas joined the Confederate States of America. Between 1861 and 1865, the national flag of Texas was the Confederate flag rather than the United States flag. The Confederate flag looks like the US flag, but instead of 13 red and white stripes, it has only 3 (two red, one white) and instead of 50 stars it only has 7, one for each of the 7 states in the Confederacy.
Six Flags Over Texas
In honor of all the flags that have represented Texas at different points, the theme park Six Flags Over Texas is actually named after all six countries that have ruled this territory. In the original park, there were six sections, one for each of the countries: the United States, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, France, Mexico, and Spain.
The six flags. Clockwise from the center: the United States, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, France, Mexico, and Spain.
Six flags
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