Always Double-Check Your Assumptions

It may not always pay to double-check yourself when researching or writing about heraldry, but there are many, many times when it does, and so it's something that you, and I, should make a habit.

I had this forcibly brought to my attention the other day, when I was finishing up the research on a presentation I've been preparing on the history and usage of the arms of the United States.  As a part of that presentation, I give examples of some of the individual states of the union which incorporate the arms of the U.S., or some variation of them, in their own official insignia.

One of those examples was the State of Mississippi.

Mississippi has used the same seal since before it became a state way back in late 1817.  The seal has been used from 1798 when it was a territory.  (It was bigger back then; the Territory of Mississippi also include what is now the State of Alabama, another entity which incorporates the arms of the U.S. into its own arms.)  It used this seal from that time until January 31, 2014 (just earlier this year) ...

... at which time it added the words "In God We Trust" to the legend on the seal.

I had been looking at both versions of the state seal and trying to figure out the reasons for the fact that the shield only has eleven stripes while the arms of the United States has thirteen (for the original thirteen colonies), and has eleven stars on the chief, while the arms of the U.S. has a plain blue chief (with no stars).  And not knowing at the time the dates of usage of the seal, I was speculating that it may have been a reference to the short-lived Confederate States of America, of which Mississippi was one.

But the date for the use of the seal, beginning in 1798, was well before the 1861 establishment of the Confederacy.  So I was left with an unsupported assumption, one that seemed to be incorrect.  Doing from more research, just to see if I could find out why eleven stripes and eleven stars, I ran across a photograph of the original seal matrix for the Territory of "Missisippi" (the name is missing an "s").  I've reversed the image here so it appears as a positive:

As you can see, the arms here are actually those of the United States which had been adopted in 1782, heraldically hatched with thirteen white and red stripes and a plain blue chief, and with the eagle supporter holding an olive branch in its dexter talon and thirteen arrows in its sinister one, with the motto scroll in its beak with the words E Pluribus Unum, and the crest of stars in a blue sky surrounded by clouds and a glory (the sunshine-like "rays").

Well, then, when did the state start using only eleven stripes and add the stars to the chief?  I don't know yet.  I'll have to do some more research into the matter.  And it may turn out that my original assumption - that the number eleven has to do with the Confederate States of America - might have been correct, and that all this research will just lead me full circle back to confirm that.  If it does, great.  If it doesn't, and there's a different reason for the number of stripes, that's great, too.

But at least I will know for certain, instead of making an unfounded assumption.  One that could have been wrong by some seventy years.

A Goodbye to Heraldry at Vicksburg, Mississippi

Finally, on my way back to the highway to get home (maybe next time I'll be able to go through the Confederate lines looking for heraldry), I passed through the gate of the National Cemetery at Vicksburg, Mississippi, with its three different renditions of the arms of the United States.  Cast in iron, and then gilded. What a great display of national heraldry! (Even if not every rendition is an accurate depiction of Paly of thirteen argent and gules, a chief azure.)

Some Heraldry-like Items in Vicksburg, Mississippi

Not all of the “heraldry” I saw during my brief hour in Vicksburg was very heraldic. Here we have a rendition of the seal of the State of Indiana.

It’s not even a terribly good landscape, and is certainly not good heraldry. Here’s a drawn version of it in color that might be easier to make out (and which also makes that galloping bison a lot less prominent).

A similar quasi-heraldic item that I ran across in Vicksburg was the seal of the State of Ohio.

It's another landscape, and is also not good heraldry. Below is a color rendition for comparison.

More Heraldry in Vicksburg, Mississippi

While at Vicksburg National Military Park, I also ran across the arms of the State of Wisconsin, here from a large monument to the troops from that state who participated in the siege of Vicksburg in 1863.

With a flagpole next to it with a color version of the arms.

And here’s another version which I found on the web, that may be easier to make out.

Heraldry in Vicksburg, Mississippi

Driving back home to Dallas, Texas from High Point, North Carolina, Interstate Highway 20 goes right through Vicksburg, Mississippi. Whenever I get to go through Vicksburg, I always try to stop for a while and visit the Vicksburg National Military Park and the adjacent National Cemetery.

This time, though, I was also a “man on a mission.” In addition to all the Civil War history there, I was looking to see what coats of arms I might find. Now, I didn’t have a lot of time – the drive from North Carolina to Texas takes two days, this was early on the second day, and I was heading for home and wanted to arrive at a decent time. But I took an hour to see what I could see, and I did come across the following.

The coat of arms of the State of Missouri were found on a number of monuments as I drove through the park.

And here’s a color version from the web that may be easier to make out.  (Though I think I prefer the bear supporters from the monument.)