The Missouri Assembly

Land and Soil Jurisdiction

About

Our Founding Council

Charles Andre’, Daniel Auxier, Marilyn Auxier, Karen Foote, Dan Jeffre, Darren Jungworth, Adrienne Kimmons, Jennifer Kroo, Patty Miller, Julie Patterson

The Tree Flag (or the Appeal to Heaven Flag) was one of the flags used during the American Revolution. The flag, which featured a pine tree with the motto “An Appeal to Heaven,” or less frequently “An Appeal to God”, was originally used by a squadron of six frigates that were commissioned under George Washingtons authority as the Commander and Chief of the Continental Army 1775.

The design of the “an appeal to heaven flag” came from General Washington’s secretary, Colonel Joseph Reed. In a letter dated October 21, 1775, Reed suggested a “flag with a white ground and a tree in the middle, the motto AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN” be used for the ships Washington commissioned.

The following summer, on July 26, 1776, the Massachusetts General Court established the flag of the state navy with a resolution that stated in part: “…that the Colours be a white Flag, with a green Pine Tree, and an Inscription, ‘Appeal to Heaven’.”

The First U.S. Civil Flag 1799

In the early days of our nation, horizontal stripes became the accepted practice for use over military posts, and vertical stripes were used over civilian establishments. The use of the Civilian Flag also spread to Merchants and Common citizens to symbolize their Constitutional rights.

The Civil Flag had red and white vertical stripes with blue stars on a white background. By the Law of the Flag, the vertical striped design denoted Roman Civil jurisdiction within Federal territories rather than Military jurisdiction under Admiralty law. The practice of using the Customs Flag as a Civil Flag became encoded law in 1874 when Treasury Secretary William. A. Richardson required all customhouses to display the Civil Flag.

The National flag of Missouri has been modified officially once since 1861. The current version is the longest-used and has been in use since March 22, 1913; 110 years ago. The red and white stripes represent valor and purity, respectively. The blue stripe represents the permanency, vigilance, and justice of the state. The three colors also highlight the French influence on the state in its early years. Our state moto is, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”.