Flag of New Hampshire

What the flag looks like

A blue field with the state seal in the center: a sailing frigate on the stocks in a harbour at sunrise, with a granite boulder in the foreground, surrounded by a yellow laurel wreath set with nine stars.

What it means

The ship is the frigate Raleigh, built at Portsmouth in 1776 for the Continental Navy, and the nine stars mark New Hampshire as the ninth state to ratify the Constitution.

How to remember it

New Hampshire's seal shows a ship being built on dry land, ringed by a yellow wreath with nine stars for the ninth state.

Fun facts

• The flag dates from 1909; the seal on it was redrawn in 1931 to show the frigate Raleigh on the stocks.
• New Hampshire's ratification in 1788, as the ninth state, made the Constitution take effect.

New Hampshire at a glance

Nickname

The Granite State

Statehood

1788

Capital

Concord

Region

New England

Population

1.4 million

Area

24,214 km²

Flag adopted

1931

Flags often confused with New Hampshire

• Vermont: New Hampshire and Vermont are both a central emblem on blue. Vermont's is a shield with a pine tree and a cow under a stag's head; New Hampshire's is a round seal of a ship in a yellow wreath of stars.
• Maine: Maine and New Hampshire are both a central emblem on blue. New Hampshire's is a round seal of a ship on the stocks in a yellow wreath; Maine's is a shield held by a farmer and a seaman, with "MAINE" below.