The 1956 flag: The Georgia state flag was changed Feb. 13, 1956, incorporating a Confederate battle emblem into the design, as a response to the Supreme Court rulings on desegregating schools.

Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, right, and Cecil Alexander, left, the designer of the new Georgia state flag, pose with the banner in the governors office at the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2001.

1879. In 1879, the General Assembly adopted the state's first official flag. It had a vertical blue bar down the entire left side with three horizontal bars -- red, white and red -- on the right side.