Texana Thursday: The Reverse Seal of Texas

The reserve Texas state seal can be seen at the Capitol in Austin (Creative Commons license attribution, photo courtesy Chris Lawrence)

Most people know the Texas state seal, which originated as the Republic of Texas seal. It has a lone star with an olive branch, representing peace, and an oak branch, representing strength.
But not everyone knows about the reverse side of the Texas state seal.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas proposed the reverse seal design, which was approved in 1961. It’s a pity that more people don’t look at it.

The reverse seal has images of the six flags that flew over Texas—Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic (now state of) Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States. It also features the lone star, and olive and oak branches similar to the front side of the seal.

The reverse seal has three symbols familiar to Texans. The first symbol is the Alamo. Below it, on the left, is the cannon from the Battle of Gonzales (perhaps better known as the “Come and Take It” Cannon). To the right of the cannon symbol is Vince’s Bridge, the destruction of which during the Battle of San Jacinto played a key role in Texas winning its independence from Mexico. (Texan Erastus  “Deaf” Smith led the efforts to destroy the bridge.)

A “Remember the Alamo” banner sits above the icons, and a “Texas One and Indivisible“ banner sits below the icons.

The three icons were eventually placed on a shield. Governor Ann Richards signed the changes into law in 1991.

The icon is most notably displayed in an underground rotunda in the Capitol extension.