New Hampshire's current constitution took effect in 1784, accompanied by a revised state seal depicting a ship under construction with a rising sun in the background, to reflect
Portsmouth's prominence as a shipbuilding center during the
American Revolutionary War. In 1919, Otis G. Hammond, Director of the
New Hampshire Historical Society, prepared a formal history of the state seal and flag at the direction of the
Governor and
Executive Council, wrote a history of the state seal and flag. Here, Hammond detailed how the lack of a specific legal description had allowed considerable variation in seal designs. Over time, successive engravers had introduced additional elements, including various goods on the dock and, in some instances, figures standing beside them. So, in 1931, during Governor
John G. Winant's second term, a committee was appointed to produce a standardized, noncontroversial seal. The
General Court approved the committee's recommendations, and a statute codifying the official design took effect on January 1, 1932 The law designated the frigate
Raleigh, built in
Kittery, Maine in 1776, as one of the first warships of the
Continental Congress as the central element of the seal. It replaced the former Latin inscription with "
SEAL OF THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE", specified a diameter of 2 inches in diameter, and declared that only a granite boulder appear in the foreground. • a straight horizon line of the sea across the field, • a rising sun visible above the horizon for about one-third of its diameter, • the ship shown broadside on the stocks, bow higher than the stern, • masts, tops, shrouds, and stays in place, • the 1777 U.S. flag on the stern staff, and pennants flying from jury masts, • the foreground divided into land and water by a double diagonal line, • no detail anywhere on the water, and only a single granite boulder on the land, and • the inscription "SEAL • OF • THE • STATE • OF • NEW HAMPSHIRE", encircling the design and separated by round periods, with *"1776" flanked by two stars at the bottom.
The Colony and First State Seals When New Hampshire's First Provincial Congress assembled in
Exeter on July 1, 1775, it quietly swept aside its royal trappings, including the George III seal previously in use. In preparation of the
1776 state constitution, the First Provincial Congress designed a seal measuring 1½ inches in diameter and depicting an upright fish and pine tree on either side of a bundle of five arrows. The fish and pine represented the main trade of the colony and the five arrows represented each of the five counties. The seal bore the inscription:
COLONY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE * VIS UNITA FORTIOR. As the colony prepared to draft its
1776 constitution, delegates created a new emblem: a 1½-inch seal depicting a fish and a pine tree flanking a bundle of five arrows. These figures represented the colony's main trades, while the arrows represented the five counties. Around them was inscribed the motto: "
Vis Unita Fortior" meaning "a united force is stronger". Though never formally proclaimed, the seal appeared on military commissions starting in September 1775 and seems to have been in used until early July 1776. The General Court still prints it today beside the modern seal in copies of the state constitution. Soon after declaring statehood, New Hampshire adopted its first official state seal on September 12, 1776. Larger at 1¾ inches, it preserved the pine, the fish, and the five arrows but added "Sigill Rei-Pub Neohantoni" to the inscription. Some members of the General Court still use it, even though no statute currently governs its design. ==Flag statute==