- Item # 021788
- 3 feet by 5 feet
- For outdoor use
- Made of 100% heavyweight, 200-denier nylon
- Flies in even slightest breeze
- Made in America
This Wisconsin flag is both aniline-dyed for bold, fast colors and treated to resist fading. What’s more, it is fast-drying and finished with a white header and brass grommets. Most important our flags are made in the USA by the Eder Flag Company in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. When you purchase flags from the Wisconsin Veterans Museum store, you help us to continue to tell the stories of Wisconsin veterans.
In addition to our state flag, we carry the US flag, along with the POW MIA flag and those for the five service branches: US Army, US Marine Corps, US Navy, US Air Force, and US Coast Guard.
History of the Wisconsin Flag
The first Wisconsin state flag was adopted in 1863. When it was created, the state flag was the fourth official state symbol adopted, after an official seal, official coat of arms, and state motto. (The dairy cow would not become the official state domestic animal until 1971)
Two years into the Civil War, the state had not adopted an official flag. When Wisconsin soldiers in the field requested replacements for their regimental colors, which had been battered and worn after many battles, the state legislature saw this as a good time to finally create a standardized state flag. Indeed, the design ended up looking similar to the regimental colors that the units had been carrying.
Then in 1913, a year before the beginning of ‘The Great War,’ the Wisconsin flag was modified for the first time. It would be modified again in 1979, when “WISCONSIN” was added above the state coat of arms, and “1848” below it, the year Wisconsin became a state.
Originally, in 1863 the flag was to be a “dark blue silk.” The most recent State Statues call for the the flag’s field to be “of royal blue cloth.” In the flag’s center is the State’s Coat of Arms (created in 1848, modified in 1851, codified into final form in 1881). Below “WISCONSIN, “FORWARD,” the state motto since 1851 is inscribed on a scroll. And below that, a badger forms the state crest atop of the state coat of arms.
The Symbolism of the Wisconsin Coat of Arms
On the shield itself are a plough, for agriculture; a pick and shovel, for mining; an arm and hammer, for manufacturing, and an anchor, to represent navigation. In the center is a red, white, and blue shield from the United States coat of arms. Above is written “E PLURISBUS UNUM,” (out of many, one) our national motto.
Flanking the shield are a yeoman, (a miner) and a sailor, representing labor on land and on water, respectively.
And finally, below the shield are a horn of plenty, and a pyramid of 13 (for the original 13 states) lead ingots. These, represent to represent Wisconsin’s agricultural and mineral abundance.