The cross of St. Andrew referred to in the law is a diagonal cross, known in vexillology as a saltire.
On January 11, 1861, the Alabama Secession Convention passed a resolution designating an official flag. Designed by several women from Montgomery, final touches were made by Francis Corra of that city. One side of the flag displayed the Goddess of Liberty holding an unsheathed sword in her right hand; in her left she held a small blue flag with one gold star. Above the gold star appears the text “Alabama” in all capital letters. In an arch above this figure were the words “Independent Now and Forever”.
The reverse side of the flag had a cotton plant with a coiled rattlesnake. The text “Noli Me Tangere”, (“Touch Me Not” in Latin), was placed below the cotton plant.
This flag was flown until February 10, 1861, when it was removed to the Governor’s Office after it was damaged by severe weather. It was never flown again.
Alabama’s current flag was adopted in 1895. The legislation was introduced by Representative John W. A. Sanford Jr. Sanford’s father, John W. A. Sanford, had commanded the 60th Alabama Infantry Regiment during the U.S. Civil War and he modeled his design on the battle flag used by that regiment. The design of that regimental flag was a white saltire over a blue field with a circle of white stars surrounding the crossing.
The saltire of Alabama’s flag most closely resembles the saltire of the flag of Florida, which has its heritage in the Spanish Cross of Burgundy.
Southern Alabama was originally part of Spanish Florida and subsequently West Florida.
Origins of the State Nickname:
Alabama has not designated an official nickname, but it has been called “The Yellowhammer State” since the Civil War, when a company of Alabama soldiers wore uniforms trimmed with yellow cloth and were nicknamed “Yellowhammers.” “Yellowhammer” is the common name for the northern flicker, because of the bright yellow feathers that flash beneath this bird’s wings and tail woodpecker, which is also the state bird of Alabama.
It is open to debate whether the origins of the state nickname rest in the Civil War uniforms or in the plumage of the official state bird.