On April 30, 1861, the Virginia Convention meeting in Richmond adopted an ordinance making the obverse of the state seal on a deep blue field the official design for Virginia’s state flag. The vote came less than two weeks after the convention voted for secession, tying the flag’s formal adoption to one of the most consequential political moments ever staged in Richmond.
The design drew on Virginia’s older revolutionary seal, with Virtus standing over Tyranny and the motto Sic Semper Tyrannis. In Richmond, that symbol was repurposed in 1861 for a Confederate state government, showing how public symbols can carry older ideals into new and contested political uses.
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