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Deltaville in Middlesex County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Flagpole and Flag Etiquette

 
 
Flagpole and Flag Etiquette Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, August 17, 2016
1. Flagpole and Flag Etiquette Marker
Inscription.
A gaff-rigged flagpole
The flagpole you see before you is a gaff-rigged with a yardarm or crosstree. The pole is 40 feet tall and 8 inches in diameter at its base. It sits in a 12 inch by 48 inch steel flagpole ground sleeve buried approximately 2 feet in the ground and surrounded with about 3,000 pounds of concrete to a level 2 feet above the ground. This base is concealed by a 14-foot circular raised platform capped by a paved surface with a compass rose inlay. The point of the compass rose directly opposite you faces approximately north.

The proper way to fly the flag
Many people are confused about the proper way to fly the American flag from a gaff-rigged pole. While there is no law specifying how the US flag should be flown on a gaff-rigged pole, long standing tradition dictates that the national ensign (US flag) should be flown from the gaff and other flags (state, county, or organizational) should be flown at the masthead and on the yardarm.

The rationale for this long-standing practice is that when the US ensign is flown from a gaff-rigged pole, a flag flown at the top of the mast is not considered above the ensign because it is not being flown directly above the ensign on the same halyard. The US ensign should be flown from the highest point of honor, and over time, that has
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become the peak of the gaff.
 
Erected by Flagpole donated by Susan and William Chaney.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Patriots & Patriotism.
 
Location. 37° 33.109′ N, 76° 19.442′ W. Marker is in Deltaville, Virginia, in Middlesex County. Marker can be reached from Jackson Creek Road (Virginia Route 660) 0.1 miles south of Bucks View Lane (Virginia Route 683), on the left when traveling south. This marker is in front of the Deltaville Maritime Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 247 Jackson Creek Road, Deltaville VA 23043, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Compass Rose (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Boarding Cutter (within shouting distance of this marker); Ruark Sculpture Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); Oyster Tongs (within shouting distance of this marker); Pette Spansell Clark (1908-2000) (within shouting distance of this marker); Boarding Cutter (within shouting distance of this marker); Fish Story (within shouting distance of this marker); Marine Railway (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Deltaville.
 
Flagpole gaff rigged with a yardarm image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Don Morfe, August 17, 2016
2. Flagpole gaff rigged with a yardarm
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 30, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2016, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 467 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on August 25, 2016, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024