[EmailPoster]

In a parade with other flags the flag,...

Originally Posted by Rita.Harper

"In a Parade with Other Flags
The flag, when carried in a procession with another flag, or flags, should
be either on the marching right; that is, the flag's own right, or, if there
is a line of other flags, in front of the center of that line. "

What if there is a precession of flags, one after another (i. e.entering a
room) . . . who leads? i.e. USAF Flag, Command Flag, American Flag.

Who goes first?



Rita

In a procession, the United States Flag always enters first.

There is an order for processions that includes foreign, state, and service flags. You can find the one listed by the Air Force at http://www.flagguys.com/etiq.html#precedence . (This is one long page with answers to many questions. If you have trouble with the link and are directed to the top of the page, just search on the page for "flag precedence" - the list is found under the question titled "fascinating question" from the senior AFROTC cadet.)

[american_flag_uk]

this forum has nothing to do with mr bush. its about flags.

[Peter Ansoff]

There's a curious historical point about the precedence among US state flags when they are displayed together. They are usually ranked in one of two ways: alphabetical order, or in the order that the state joined the Union. The US Army regulation that deals with this point says:

"Normally, state flags are displayed in order of admittance of the State to the Union. However, they may also be displayed in alphabetical order using the English alphabet. Territorial flags are displayed after the State flags either in the order they were recognized by the United States or alphabetically."

(Reg. 841-10, 1 Nov 1988)

When using the order-of-admittance option, the original 13 states are always ranked in the order that they ratified the Constitution, with Delaware being first. However, this is not historically correct, because the USA and the 13 states (and the US flag!) all existed before the Constitution did.

Which one really should be first? You can look at it in a couple of different ways. One argument would be that the original 13 all became states at the same instant when the Declaration of Independence was adopted (before that, they were British colonies). However, two or three of them had already, individually, declared independence in one form or another -- does that count? Who knows . . .

Another way to set the precedence among the state flags could be the adoption date of the flags themselves. Interestingly, one could make a case that Hawaii, the newest state, should be first because its flag dates back to 1816. However, the current (adopted 1845) version of the Hawaiian flag differs somewhat from the 1816 version. The second oldest (or first, depending on how you argue it) would be Texas (1839). I believe that South Carolina and Virginia would be third and fourth.

Regards,

Peter Ansoff

[Peter Ansoff]

After thinking about my last post, I realized that California might also be a contender if the state flags are ranked by age. The current California flag was not adopted until the early 20th century, but its design was inspired by the "Bear Flag" of the short-lived California Republic that was raised in 1846. That would put it ahead of South Carolina's flag, which was adopted at the beginning of the Civil War.

Of course, if you allow that reasoning, then to be consistent you have to let Hawaii be number one, so that the first 3 would be Hawaii, Texas, and California, in that order. If you argue that the 1816 Hawaiian flag and the 1846 California flag were not the same as the current flags of those states, first three would be Texas, Hawaii and South Carolina. It's interesting that, either way, the top two were independent nations before they became states. In both cases, the present state flag was formerly a national flag.

Isn't history fun?

Regards,

Peter Ansoff