The flag or banner of the Tennessee military department shall be of the following design, colors and proportions: an oblong flag or banner, the principal field of the flag or banner to be of the color blue, but the flag or banner ending at its free or outer end in a perpendicular bar of crimson, of uniform width, running from side to side, that is to say, from top to bottom of the flag or banner, and separated from the blue field by a narrow margin or stripe of white of uniform width; the width of the white stripe to be one third (⅓) that of the crimson bar; and the total width of the bar and stripe together to be equal to one sixteenth (⁄) of the width of the flag. In the center of the blue field shall be a distinctive crest. The crest shall be composed of a gold circle. Within the gold circle shall be a blue field with “Tennessee Military Department” in white along the top arch. The year “1796” in white shall be along the bottom arch of the circle. Three (3) white stars, representing the three (3) grand divisions of the state, shall be spaced equally on the sides of the language “1796”. A gold circle lies within the outer ring. The interior of the gold circle shall be white. Centered within the white field shall be a representation of the state of Tennessee, designed in the manner of the Tennessee state flag. A black and white line drawing of the Minuteman, the symbol of the National Guard, shall be centered within the white circle, in the foreground, and shall overlap the inner gold circle at the top and bottom. The distinctive crest shall be proportional to the appropriate size of the flag.