FORTISVEX Tennessee State Flag 5x8 Feet Nylon - Made in USA with Brass Grommets

A 5x8 foot flag is a business flag. It goes on a thirty foot flagpole outside a dealership, a bank, a fire station, a church, a school. It is also what a homeowner puts up when the flagpole is tall enough that a 4x6 foot flag looks lost on it.

This is the Tennessee state flag at 5x8 Feet in nylon, made in the United States, finished with brass grommets.

Built to the Tennessee flag specification

The Tennessee flag is set out in Chapter 498 of the Public Acts of 1905, at a proportion of three to five. It is a crimson field with three white stars in a blue circle, and a vertical blue bar bordered by white at the fly.

Designed by Colonel LeRoy Reeves of the Third Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, and adopted 17 April 1905.

We reproduce it to that specification rather than to an approximation of it. If you are going to fly a state’s colors, they should be the state’s colors.

What is on it and what it means

Reeves wrote it down himself. The three stars are the three Grand Divisions, East, Middle and West, bound together by the endless circle, an indissoluble trinity. The blue bar at the fly relieves the sameness of the crimson field.

What most listings get wrong

The three stars do not mean Tennessee was the third state after the original thirteen. Reeves rejected that reading personally, and it is still the most repeated claim about this flag. The bar at the fly is functional, so a limp flag still shows all three colors, not symbolic.

The fly end is where every flag fails

At forty square feet this flag is working hard and it fails in public. A frayed tip on a business flagpole is visible from the road, which is the point of flying it at all.

Lock stitching means each stitch is knotted into the next, so a broken thread stops where it broke. A chain stitch, which is faster and cheaper to sew, unzips along the whole seam from one break. Row count is the other half of it: 4 rows does not mean 4 times the strength, it means 3 backups.

The part that takes all the load

The heading widens to two inches here, heavy duty white and reinforced, with two solid brass grommets and tooth washers. Forty square feet in a gust is a serious pull on a heading, and the extra half inch is not decoration.

Commercial grade nylon

Nylon is the right cloth for most sites. It is light enough to fly in a gentle breeze, it sheds water rather than holding it, and it dries fast, which matters because a flag that stays wet stays heavy and works its seams harder. The ink is UV resistant and field tested. Sun is what takes a flag’s color, slowly and unevenly, and the ink is the part that decides how long it holds.

A design that reproduces cleanly

A circle, three stars and a fly bar. No seal and no lettering, which is why it rates well and costs little.

For what it is worth, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 72 state, provincial and territorial flags in 2001 and rated them from zero to ten. The Tennessee flag placed 14, at 6.98 out of 10.

Will it fit my flagpole?

It suits an in-ground flagpole of twenty five to thirty five feet. This is the standard commercial pairing.

What the condition of it says

Anyone driving past a business sees the flag before they see the building. A faded, frayed flag outside a place of business says something about the business, and it is a different kind of cost from the price of replacing it.

Specifications

• Size: 5x8 Feet
• Area: 40 square feet
• Material: 100 percent nylon
• Fly end: 4 rows of lock stitching
• Heading: heavy duty white, reinforced, 2 inch
• Finish: Brass Grommets
• Ink: UV resistant, field tested
• Made in the United States by FORTISVEX

Which size do I need?

The rule behind both tables below is that a flag’s length should run about a quarter to a third of the flagpole’s height. Where two sizes both fit, the smaller one flies more often and lasts longer, and the larger one reads from further away.

If you know your flagpole height, start here.

• 6 Feet house bracket: 2x3 Feet or 3x5 Feet
• 15 to 20 Feet flagpole: 3x5 Feet or 4x6 Feet
• 20 to 25 Feet flagpole: 4x6 Feet or 5x8 Feet
• 25 to 35 Feet flagpole: 5x8 Feet or 6x10 Feet
• 35 to 45 Feet flagpole: 6x10 Feet or 8x12 Feet
• 45 to 60 Feet flagpole: 8x12 Feet or 10x15 Feet
• 60 to 80 Feet flagpole: 10x15 Feet or 12x18 Feet
• 80 Feet and above: 15x25 Feet and larger, engineered to the flagpole

If you know your flag size, start here.

• 2x3 Feet: 4 to 8 Feet bracket or garden flagpole
• 3x5 Feet: 6 Feet bracket, or 15 to 20 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 4x6 Feet: 18 to 25 Feet in-ground flagpole
• 5x8 Feet: 25 to 35 Feet flagpole
• 6x10 Feet: 30 to 40 Feet flagpole
• 8x12 Feet: 40 to 50 Feet flagpole
• 10x15 Feet: 50 to 60 Feet flagpole
• 12x18 Feet: 60 to 80 Feet flagpole
• 15x25 Feet: 80 Feet and above
• 20x30 Feet, 20x38 Feet, 30x50 Feet, 30x60 Feet and 50x80 Feet are available to order

We carry the full range whether or not every size appears on this website. If the size you need is not listed, we can still supply it.

About the back of the flag

A printed flag reads correctly from the front and reversed from the back. That is normal and it is true of almost every flag flown in the country. A flag that reads correctly from both sides is a double sided flag, built as two flags sewn together with a liner between them, and it costs roughly twice as much and weighs roughly twice as much. Unless the statute for a particular state requires it, single sided is the standard and the right choice.

Flying it with the United States flag

The United States Flag Code, Title 4, Section 7, governs this. No other flag goes above the United States flag, or to its right when on the same level, which is the viewer’s left. On two flagpoles of the same height the United States flag takes the viewer’s left and both flags should be the same size. If the flagpoles differ in height, the United States flag goes on the taller one. On a single flagpole carrying two flags the United States flag goes at the top. The Flag Code is advisory for civilians and carries no penalty, but it is the standard every institution follows.

Buy two and they both last longer

Fly one for a month, then swap. Two flags rotated monthly will outlast three flags flown to destruction, because cloth recovers when it rests and the fly end stops taking the same abuse in the same place. Take it down in severe weather; a flag left up through a real windstorm can take more damage in one night than in six normal months. And watch the fly end rather than the middle, because a few minutes with a needle when the fraying starts buys another season.

For cities, counties, schools and agencies

We supply state flags to municipalities, school districts, fire and police departments, courthouses and state agencies. Tax exempt accounts are handled through the tax exempt page. For quantities, replacement schedules or sizes not listed, use the contact page.

Why buy it from us

We are a small American company and we stock what we sell. Every flag here is made in the United States, printed in UV resistant ink, and finished to the construction described above rather than to a price point. We would rather sell you one flag that lasts than three that do not. Free shipping on orders over twenty five dollars.