The state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

has held two

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

since it declared its independence from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

on January 5, 1776. While both seals have been retained, most people are only familiar with the Great Seal due to its

corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

use.

Great Seal

New Hampshire's state seal depicts the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

and is surrounded by a laurel wreath with nine stars. The ''Raleigh'' is one of the first 13 warships sponsored by the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

for a new American navy, built in 1776, at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

. The seal is surrounded by a laurel wreath. The wreath is an ancient symbol of fame, honor, and victory. The nine stars within the wreath show that New Hampshire was the ninth state to join the Union. The water stands for the harbor of Portsmouth, and in the yellow-colored spit of land is granite, a strong igneous rock, representing both New Hampshire's rugged landscape and the sturdy character of her people. In 1784, when the present state constitution became effective, the legislature revised the seal to depict a ship on stocks, with a rising sun in the background, to reflect

having become a major shipbuilding center during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Over the years, various items for shipment were also shown on the frontal dock in the seal. In 1919, New Hampshire Historical Society Director Otis G. Hammond, on the order of the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and

Executive Council of New Hampshire The Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire (commonly known as the Governor's Council) is the executive body of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Executive Council advises the Governor on all matters and provides a check on the govern ...

, wrote a history of the state seal and flag. Hammond described how because the law governing the design of the seal was not very specific, when the dies wore down and had to be redesigned, the artists and sketchers had injected surprising details into the seal, such as rum barrels on the dock, sometimes including people standing beside them. In 1931, after Governor John G. Winant began his second term, he named a committee to produce a seal devoid of controversy. The General Court approved the committee's recommendations, later enacting a law codifying the official design of the state seal. The changes came into effect on January 1, 1932New Hampshire Laws 1931 and Special Session 1930: ''New Hampshire Public Acts and Joint Resolutions of the Legislature of 1931 and Special Session of 1930'', published by the Secretary of State (The Clarke Press, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1931) p. 44. Shankle, Georg Earlie: ''State Names, Flags, Seals, Songs, Birds, Flowers and other Symbols''. The H.W. Wilson Comp. New York, 1951

State Seal law of 1931

The 1931 State Seal law placed the frigate ''Raleigh'' as the centerpiece of the new seal. The ''Raleigh'' was built in

in 1776, as one of the first 13 warships sponsored by the

for a new American

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

. The law declared the seal to be 2 inches in diameter bearing the new inscription, ''SEAL • OF • THE • STATE • OF • NEW HAMPSHIRE,'' replacing the Latin phrase ''Sigillum Reipublicae Neo Hantoniensis.'' The law also declared that only a granite boulder could be shown in the foreground.

Flag

The

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of the state of New Hampshire consists of the state seal centered on a blue background. A 2001 internet poll run by the North American Vexillological Association ranked New Hampshire state flag's design as 63rd out of 72 flags of U.S. states and U.S. territories), and

provinces and territories of Canada Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three pr ...

. One elected official suggested replacing the state seal in the center of the flag with the

Old Man of the Mountain The Old Man of the Mountain, also called the Great Stone Face and the Profile, was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States, that appeared to be the jagged profile of a human face when ...

, to memorialize its collapse in 2003, but no official action has been taken on the proposal.WMUR: "State rep proposes changing New Hampshire state flag" 18 January 2018
/ref>

Alternate seal

First independent seal

On July 1, 1774, the First

Provincial Congress The Provincial Congresses were extra-legal legislative bodies established in ten of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution. Some were referred to as congresses while others used different terms for a similar type body. These bodies ...

met for the first time in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, and subsequently they discarded every "Royal," including the previous "George the III" seal. In preparation of the 1776 state constitution, the First Provincial Congress designed a seal measuring 1½ inches in diameter and depicting an upright fish and pine tree on either side of a bundle of five arrows. The fish and pine represented the main trade of the colony and the five arrows represented each of the five counties. The seal bore the inscription: ''COLONY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE * VIS UNITA FORTIOR''. The Latin motto ''vis unita fortior'' means "A united force (is) stronger." The motto was meant to unify the counties and was never officially proclaimed, but was used during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

until 1784. While no official document prescribing the seal has been located, the first record of the seal is found on commissions issued to military officers by the Provincial Congress dated September 1, 1775. The last known use of the seal was on an act of the General Assembly on July 5, 1776. This seal continues to be published by the New Hampshire General Court on along with the modern seal, on the cover of copies of the State Constitution.

First state seal, 1776

It is believed that the die used to affix the seal was designed during the summer of 1776. The first state seal was officially prescribed in an act passed September 12, 1776, two days after the resolution of statehood. The seal is still used by some members of the General Court, though there is no current statute governing its design or use. The size of the seal was increased to 1¾ inches, and comprised a pine tree and an upright fish, on each side of a bundle of five arrows. The design reflected the state's then two major economic resources, and the arrows symbolized the strength of unity among the then five counties. The seal bears the inscription (in Latin): ''SIGILL : REI - PUB : NEOHANTONI : * VIS UNITA FORTIOR*''.

References

External links

New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (RSA) 3:9 State Seal

* Anderson, Leon. History. Manual for the General Court 1981.

New Hampshire State Flag NH updated 1931
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Of New Hampshire Symbols of New Hampshire