Statehood: 1819, the 22nd state

Year Flag Adopted: 1895

The Alabama State Flag was authorized by the Alabama Legislature on February 16, 1895, by Act number 383. According to the Acts of Alabama, 1895, the state flag was to be a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white. The bars forming the cross were not to be less than six inches broad and were to extend diagonally across the flag from side to side. The act did not designate a square or a rectangular flag. A 1987 opinion by the Office of Attorney General of Alabama established the flag shape as rectangular. (ref. Alabama State Archives) January 2014.