Flag of Nashville, Tennessee

The flag of Nashville, Tennessee consists of the city's seal on a white disc surrounded by a field of blue, with a strip of gold on the fly. According to the resolution adopting the flag, the blue stands for the courage and conviction of the city's leaders throughout history, while the gold denotes the richness of city's land and resources.ref|colors The flag was adopted in December of 1963 when the governments of Nashville and Davidson County merged to form the Metro government. In an official ceremony, it was reigned in as the new flag on August 4 1964 at the Metropolitan Courthouse. The flag is modeled after the Tennessee state flag.

The seal displays a Native American holding a skull standing by a tobacco plant, an eagle, and a badge-shaped shield decorated in a style similar to the American flag. The Native American is believed to represent Oconostota, former leading Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1775 to 1780, ceremonially burying a skull and implements of war, to mark a peace treaty agreed to with General James Robertson. (Source: the Tennessee Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution). It probably depicts the 1772 cession of territory by the Cherokee to the Watauga Association, a settlers' group that had moved across the Appalachian Range from North Carolina.

Though the "de jure" version of the flag included a monochromatic seal, today flags in Nashville are displayed with the seal in full color. Additionally, there is usually a thin white bar separating the outer strip of yellow from the blue field.

Prior to the consolidation, the flag consisted of a blue star on a red background overlapped by two crossing white bars. The blue star was enclosed in golden olive branches located under the letter N, standing for the city name. It had been designed by Harville H. Duncan and adopted by the City Council sometime after 1952.

In a review by the North American Vexillological Association of 150 American city flags, the Nashvillian flag came in 43rd with a rating of 4.85 out of 10. The group cited Nashville's use of its city seal, which they said makes flags difficult to discern from a distance. They also stated that the gold outer stripe would not have much functionality, because flags tend to fray, and the outer edge occasionally needs shaving. Mayor Bill Purcell commented, "Flags are a subjective thing. People in the rest of the country may not appreciate our unique flag. It's a flag that takes some time to get comfortable with. There are not many flags with a skull on it."

References

* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-tn-dv.html Flags of the World's entry on the Nashville flag]
* [http://www.flagwire.com/index.php?doc=28&aid=141 An article from "The Tennessean" mirrored by Flagwire]
* [http://www.nava.org/Flag%20Design/city_survey.htm NAVA's city flag survey.]
* [http://www.nashville.gov/mocy/mayor_photo031.htm Mayor Bill Purcell hands the Metro flag to a school principal.]
* [http://www.tndar.org/~francisnash/metro_flag.htm A page by the Tennessee Daughters of the American Revolution on the Metro Nashville flag]
* Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr. (1990). "Flags of Tennessee". Pelican. ISBN 0-88289-794-2