The first Pennsylvania State Flag to display the Pennsylvania
Coat of Arms was authorized by the General Assembly in 1799. The Pennsylvania state Coat
of Arms was embroidered on a blue field on both sides of the Pennsylvania State flag.
The Pennsylvania state Coat of Arms, containing the emblems of the official Pennsylvania
state seal, was that of Provincial Pennsylvania's Penn family.
It first appeared on paper money issued by the state of Pennsylvania in 1777 and two
years later was adopted for display on the Pennsylvania state flag. During the Civil
War, many Pennsylvania regiments carried a modified version of the Stars and Stripes.
Substituted for the field of stars on Old Glory was the Pennsylvania Coat of Arms. In
June of 1907, an act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly standardized the design of the
Pennsylvania State flag and required that the field of blue be the same color as the
blue of the Flag of the United States.
