Remarkably, ten very different flags flew over Louisiana before the legislature officially adopted a state flag in 1912. Prior to the territory being purchased in 1803 by the United States from France, Louisiana proudly flew the banner of Spain, France, and Great Britain among others. Louisiana even flew a flag as an independent nation for two months after seceding from the Union in 1861. On an azure background a pelican, the state bird, feeds her three young with drops of blood gouged from her own breast, affectionately referred to as a “pelican in her piety.†Below the pelicans is Louisiana’s state motto, “Union, Justice & Confidence.†|
