Tennessee State Flag

The Tennessee state flag is the official civic flag of the state of Tennessee. A crimson field covers most of the flag. Three white stars sit inside a blue circle with a white border at the center.

A blue bar runs vertically along the fly end. A thin white stripe separates the blue bar from the crimson field. The flag measures one and two-thirds times as long as it is wide.

Colonel Le Roy Reeves of Johnson City designed the flag in 1905. He served in the Tennessee National Guard and practiced law. The Tennessee General Assembly officially adopted the flag on April 17, 1905.

The Tennessee state flag meaning reflects the state's geography and unity. The three stars represent the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee. These divisions are East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and West Tennessee, a framework also used in States That Border Tennessee.

The blue circle around the stars symbolizes the unity of these three regions. Reeves bound them together in one indissoluble trinity. The circle connects the divisions despite their geographic and cultural differences and reinforces the Volunteer State nickname.

The crimson field serves as the main background. The blue bar at the end prevents too much crimson when the flag hangs limp. Reeves added the white stripe to create stronger contrast between the crimson and blue, connecting directly with Tennessee's color identity.

Tennessee became a state in 1796 but had no official flag for over a century. During the Civil War in 1861, some Tennesseans proposed a flag design. The proposed design featured the state seal replacing stars on the Confederate national flag. The design was never adopted.

In 1897, Tennessee recognized its first official state flag. The design featured three diagonal sections: in red, white, and blue. The words The Volunteer State appeared in gold letters. The number 16 appeared in blue to mark Tennessee as the sixteenth state. This tricolor flag served from 1897 to 1905 and aligned with civic language later formalized in Tennessee's state motto.

Colonel Le Roy Reeves created a new design while serving in the Third Regiment, Tennessee Infantry. He submitted his design to the state legislature. The Tennessee General Assembly passed and approved the flag on April 17, 1905. Chapter 498 of the Public Acts of 1905 described the exact specifications.

The law specified the crimson field and blue bar dimensions. The blue circle diameter equals half the width of the flag. The blue bar width equals one-eighth of the flag width. The white stripe measures one-fifth the width of the blue bar.

State law dictates the precise arrangement of the three stars. The centers of no two stars can be in a line parallel to either the side or end. The highest star must be the one nearest the upper confined corner. One point of each star approaches the other two around the center without touching.

The Tennessee state flag uses crimson, blue, and white. Crimson forms the main field covering most of the flag. Blue appears on the circle and the vertical bar. White outlines the circle and separates the bar from the field.

The three white stars complete the color scheme. State law describes the main field as crimson rather than red. The exact shades are not specified in the original 1905 law.