Florida Flags Prior to 1845 (U.S.)

Last modified: 2002-09-28 by rick wyatt
Keywords: florida | united states | macgregor | patriots | muskogee |
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• Gregor MacGregor Flag (1817)
• Patriots Flag (1812)
• Republic of West Florida (1810)
• State of Muskogee Flag (1799-1803)

See also:

• Florida
• Florida Flags (1845-1900)
• Florida Flags dhr.dos.state.fl.us/symbols/flags.html
• United States of America
• States of the United States

by Dov Gutterman, 12 October 1998

An expedition into the Spanish territory led by MacGregor. The group occupied Amelia Island on June 20,1817. Four months later they were forced to leave.
Dov Gutterman, 12 October 1998

by Dov Gutterman, 12 October 1998

On March 13, 1812 a group of 70 Georgians and nine Floridians crossed St. Marys River to Amelia island and established the "Territory of East Florida". President Madison refused to acknowledge their claim and the movement failed. The motto on the flag is :"Salus populi lex suprema" (the safety of the people , the supreme law)
Dov Gutterman, 12 October 1998

by Rick Wyatt, 6 September 1998

The. C.S.A. had no official flag for the first 24 days. The first flag widely used in the Confederacy was the Bonnie Blue, which was displayed throughout the war. It was the flag of the short-lived Republic of West Florida. This area extending from the panhandle of Florida to the Mississippi River was included in the Louisiana Colony of France in 1682. When Louisiana was ceded to Spain in 1762, West Florida went to Great Britain. There was a world war in the late 1700's. During that war, Spain took West Florida from Great Britain in 1769. The British also lost many other North American Colonies during that world war. In 1800, Louisiana was returned to France. Spain claimed that the sale did not include West Florida. In 1803, France sold the Louisiana Territory to the U.S. West Florida had many British settlers, but was ruled by Spain. They rebelled in 1810 and established a republic a blue flag with a single white star. It was absorbed by the U.S. a short time thereafter and became part of the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The tradition of a free republic continued and when these states withdrew from the United States, they used variations of this Bonnie Blue Flag.
William M. Grimes-Wyatt, 29 April 1996

The flag was used by the Free and Independent State of West Florida from Sep. 23 to Dec. 6, 1810.
Dov Gutterman, 12 October 1998

by Dov Gutterman, 12 October 1998

Designed by William Augustus Bowels after a congress of Creeks and Seminoles elected him as director general of the State of Muskogee. Bowels was captured by the Spanish in 1803 and died shortly later in Havana Prison.
Dov Gutterman, 12 October 1998