It is not known today who made the first Georgia state flag, when it was made, what it looked like, or who authorized its creation.

The banner Probably originated in one of the numerous militia units that existed in antebellum Georgia.  A provision was added to Georgia's code in 1861 that required the governor to supply regimental flags to Georgia militia units that were assigned to fight outside the state.

These regimental flags were to depict the "arms of the State" and the name of the regiment, but the code gave no instructions about what colors to use on the arms or the flag's background. In heraldry, "arms" refers to a coat of arms, which is the prominent design--usually shown on a shield--located at the center of an armorial bearing or seal.

Arms usually appear on seals, but they are not synonymous with seals. Based on the best available evidence, the flag above is a reconstruction of the pre-1879 Georgia state flag as it would have likely appeared using the coat of arms from the 1799 state seal.