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US Regional flags

New England
Franco-American flag
French communities in Maine
Cascadia

See also:

United States of America
Acadiana
New England Historical Flags by Dave Martucci

New England

The true flag of New England is a red ensign, with a white canton bearing a green pine tree. It is the third basic variant of the New England Flag of 1686, which was also a red ensign with a white canton bearing the red cross of St. George and green pine tree in the canton of the cross. For further details of the flags of New England, see New England Historical Flags by Dave Martucci.

A commercial flag of New England

Mr.Ebinger is the designer and seller of "The Flag of New England". The Flag of New England, according to his flyer, is blue with the English Cross of St.George in the canton (and a green pine tree in the upper left of that cross) and six five-pointed stars arranged in a circle in the fly. On the flyer is something from "The New England Regional Commission":

"The roots of this representative flag of New England can be traced all the way back to 15th century England. The blue field and red St.George's cross in the design come from the Royal British Navy's (sic) peacetime design, which was first carried ashore to New England soil in 1621. The six white stars, of course, represent the six New England states. And the addition of the green pine tree, a Colonial symbol of New England, made this flag New England's own."

[This flag is illustrated on Dave Martucci's New England Historical Flags site.]

Dipesh Navsaria, 1996-04-02

Franco-Americans

Jan Oskar Engene

A Franco-American flag is used by the French of New England: A big silver star on a blue shield.
Luc Baronian, 1996

This flag is among the flags in a photo Christopher Pinette had from the Parc de l'Amerique fran�aise in Quebec. There is no shield however, only a blue field. I have made a GIF of this flag, using proportions 1:2.
Jan Oskar Engene, 1996-08-15

French Communities in Maine

Dave Martucci

There are two distinct Franco-American communities in Maine - those who live in "The Valley" (the St. John River valley that makes up Maine's northern border with Canada) and those who live in the city of Lewiston and its environs (in Central Maine).

In "The Valley" (which is located in "The County"), some 85-90% of the people are of French descent and French is spoken and heard more frequently than English. These people mainly claim descent from the Acadians and frequently fly the Acadia Flag (French tricolor with a gold star on the blue stripe in the upper hoist). If you go to Frenchville, Madawaska, St. Agathe and other strictly French communities along the border, the Acadia Flag is seen more often than the Maine State Flag.

In the Lewiston area, about 45% of the people are of French descent, originally from Quebec to work in the mills. French is barely heard in this area but there is a strong Franco-American community with festivals and societies dedicated to the preservation of the French culture. The most often seen French flag here is that of the St. John the Baptist Union, a Franco-American organization (except during the Bastille Celebration). It consists of a white flag with a blue cross throughout, upon which are six stars and in each quarter on the white there is, in the 1st and 4th, a blue fleur-de-lis and, in the 2nd and 3rd, a green maple leaf.

This flag was designed by Brother Gerard Brassard, a noted American heraldic artist and author of a book on the heraldry of the Roman Catholic Church in America. The flag first appeared in June 1978 and was carried by Franco-American pilgrims travelling to France. The blue cross on white is an inversion of the traditional flag of France, and it bears six stars representing the six states of New England (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island), where most of the Franco-Americans live. The St. John the Baptist Union has its headquarters in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The origins of Franco-Americans in France and Canada are symbolised by the fleur-de-lis and the maple leaf.

Dave Martucci, 1996-09-08

Cascadia

Cascadia, an area that slops over the Canadian border into British Columbia and beyond in some definitions, has several competing flags.

Jon Radel