The flag of the state of New Jersey includes the coat of arms of the state on a buff-colored background.[1] According to the minutes of the New Jersey General Assembly for March 11, 1896, the date in which the Assembly officially approved the flag as the state emblem, the buff color is due indirectly to George Washington, who had ordered on October 2, 1779, that the uniform coats of the New Jersey Continental Line be dark (Jersey) blue, with buff facings. Buff-colored facings had until then been reserved only for his own uniform and those of other Continental generals and their aides. Then, on February 28, 1780, the Continental War Officers in Philadelphia directed that the uniform coat facings of all regiments were to be the same as the background color of the regiments' state flag.[2]
In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey ranked the flag of New Jersey barely out of the worst 25 flags, placing it as the 26-worst flag out of all 72, giving it a rank of 46 out of the 72.
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In a 1965 law, the specific color shades of Jersey blue and buff were defined by the state. Using the Cable color system developed by The Color Association of the United States, Jersey blue was defined as Cable No. 70087; buff was defined as Cable No. 65015.[3]
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