• Year First Flown: 1912
• Designed By: Official Commission
• Design: A blue flag with a simplified version of the Louisiana State Seal placed in the center. The seal consists of the state bird, an eastern brown pelican, that is perched on top of a nest of three of her babies. Under the nest is a ribbon with the state motto: Union, Justice, and Confidence.
• Meaning: The mother pelican is drawn to look like she is tearing at the flesh of her breast with her beak. It was believed that when a mother pelican could not find enough food for her babies, she would feed them her own flesh rather than watch them starve to death. This image represents the importance of self-sacrifice to the state of Louisiana

The state of Louisiana was admitted to the union and became the 18th U.S. state in 1812. For years the state would not have an official flag of its own, until the state seceded from the union in 1861. Louisiana declared itself a "sovereign nation" and created a flag of its own that it flew for the next two months before it joined the Confederate States of America. The flag resembled the American Flag, but instead had red, white, AND blue stripes, a red canton, and one yellow star. After the Civil War came to an end and Louisiana was reinstated as a U.S. state, the Louisiana State Legislature decided they needed to adopt a new official flag. So, on July 1st, 1912 the state of Louisiana officially adopted a new flag that was derived from an old 1800 design. The flag displayed the state's bird, the Eastern Brown Pelican, from the state's seal. The mother pelican is illustrated in the act of tearing her own breast apart in order to feed her three babies and keep them from starving. Under the nest of birds is a banner with the Louisiana state motto, "UNION, JUSTICE & CONFIDENCE."