An interesting Variant of the Spanish National Flag from the Spanish American War, 1898.
Little is known about the history of this variant of the Spanish flag; it was formerly part of the collection of the M.H. de Young Museum, gifted to the museum by de Young himself. Founded in 1895, the de Young Museum was the first museum of San Francisco. It gained instantaneous success from its inauguration and it has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city since as well as esteemed destination for both residents and visitors to the region.

The de Young Museum housed flags linked with the American attainment of the Philippines after the Spanish American War. It is speculated that this example is a war trophy captured by the U.S army at the Battle of Manila on the Spanish American War, however the accompanying records only identify it as a battle flag.

It is outstanding the fact that it deviates from the official proportions of the Spanish national flag; it has equal stripes instead of the proper (i.e. 1:2:1) ratio. The flag bears the greater arms of Spain used on Spanish fortifications, and it is possible that this variant was from a fort or other similar official building. The coat of arms is appliqued separately on either side. It is supposed to be near the hoist (to make it more visible when the flag is flying) instead of in the center, but it is still recognizably the Spanish national flag.

Spanish National Flag
King Charles III of Spain wanted to alter the national flag of his country because the previous pattern was too similar to flags being flown by other Mediterranean powers. He asked for a selection of designs to choose from; all featured the colors yellow, red, and white. The red-yellow-red stripes with the Coat of arms of Castile and León combined under a royal crown were his choice. This has remained the basic design for the Spanish National flags ever since. Yellow and red were the colors featured in the coats of arms of Castile, Leon, Aragon, and Navarre the principal kingdoms of Spain.

The Roman armies in Spain had used the lion, but as a heraldic symbol for León the earliest confirmed date of use is the early 12th century. Slightly later the castle of Castile came into use for that kingdom. Both of these are called "canting arms" because they make a pun on the name of the territory represented. Originally the lion of Leon was purple and without a crown, but later it was changed to red and given a gold crown to make it seem more dignified.