The Department of the Army Seal and the Department of the Army Emblem are, respectively, the official seal

Seal (device)

A seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...

 and emblem

Emblem

An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...

 of the Headquarters, U.S. Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 (formerly, of the War Department

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

). The "War Office Seal" was created in 1778 and the Emblem was developed out of the seal and approved in 1974.

History

The Army Seal was used originally during the American Revolution to authenticate documents. It displayed the designation "War Office," which was synonymous with Headquarters of the Army, and the Roman date MDCCLXXVIII (1778) the first time it was used. It remained unchanged until 1974, when the War Office banner was replaced with "Department of the Army" and the date was changed to
1775, the year in which the Army was established. The seal embodies the Army's ideals of loyalty, vigilance, perseverance, truth, courage, zeal, fortitude, remembrance, determination, constancy, achievement, dignity, and honor. The changes were legislated by the National Security Act of 1947

National Security Act of 1947

The National Security Act of 1947 was signed by United States President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1947, and realigned and reorganized the U.S. Armed Forces, foreign policy, and Intelligence Community apparatus in the aftermath of World War II...

, and authorized by Section 3011, Title 10, United States Code

Title 10 of the United States Code

Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code.It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense...

.

Prior to the establishment of the "Department of the Army Emblem," there was no official display item to identify the Army. The Seal had traditionally been used to authenticate documents only and was not authorized for public display. In recognizing the need to provide a display item, the Secretary of the Army

United States Secretary of the Army

The Secretary of the Army is a civilian official within the Department of Defense of the United States of America with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and...

 approved the emblem design as the official emblem to represent the Army on January 29th, 1974.

Description

The Army Institute of Heraldry

United States Army Institute of Heraldry

The United States Army Institute of Heraldry furnishes heraldic services to the Armed Forces and other United States government organizations, including the Executive Office of the President...

 describes the War Office Seal as follows:

In the center is a Roman cuirass

Cuirass

A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material, which covers the front of the torso...

 below a vertical unsheathed sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

, point up, the pommel resting on the neck opening of the cuirass and a Phrygian cap

Phrygian cap

The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia. In the western provinces of the Roman Empire it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty, perhaps through a confusion with the pileus,...

 supported on the sword point, all between on the left an espontoon and on the right a musket

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

 with fixed bayonet

Bayonet

A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...

 crossed in saltire

Saltire

A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....

 behind the cuirass and passing under the sword guard. To the left of the cuirass and esponton is a national color of the Revolutionary War period

Betsy Ross flag

The Betsy Ross flag is an early design of the flag of the United States, popularly attributed to Betsy Ross, using the common motifs of alternating red-and-white striped field with five-pointed stars in a blue canton. The flag was designed during the American Revolution and features 13 stars to...

  with cords and tassels, on a flagstaff with spearhead, above a cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

 barrel, the muzzle end slanting upward behind the cuirass, in front of the drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

, with two drumsticks and the fly end of the flag draped over the drumhead; below, but partly in front of the cannon barrel, is a pile of three cannon balls. To the right of the cuirass and musket is a flag of unidentified designs, with cords and tassels, on a flagstaff with spearhead, similarly arranged above a mortar

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

 on a carriage, the mortar facing inward and in front of the lower portion of the color and obscuring the lower part of it; below the mortar are two bomb shells

Shell (projectile)

A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...

 placed side by side. Centered above the Phrygian cap is a rattlesnake

Rattlesnake

Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...

 holding in its mouth a scroll inscribed "This We'll Defend." Centered below the cuirass are the Roman numerals "MDCCLXXVIII."

The Institute also describes the differences between the Seal and the Emblem:

The Department of the Army Emblem is derived from the Seal of the Department of the Army and differs from the Seal in several respects:

a. The Emblem is displayed in color while the Seal is not.

b. The Emblem includes the inscription "Department of the Army" instead of the Seal inscription "War Office".

c. On the Emblem, the American flag is on its own right (observers left) to reflect the current custom for display of flags. The flag of the United States Army

Flag of the United States Army

The Flag of the United States Army displays a blue replica of the official seal of the Department of the Army set on a white field. Beneath the seal is a broad scarlet scroll bearing the inscription in white letters, United States Army...

pattern has been added in place of the opposing flag displayed on the seal.

d. The Roman numerals "MDCCLXXVIII" which indicate the date the Seal was adopted, were replaced with the date "1775" to reflect the date the U.S. Army was established.

Symbolism

The central element of the seal and emblem, the Roman cuirass, is a symbol of strength and defense. The sword, esponton (a type of half-pike formerly used by subordinate officers), musket, bayonet, cannon, cannon balls, mortar, and mortar bombs are representative of Army implements. The drum and drumsticks are symbols of public notification of the Army's purpose and intent to serve the Nation and its people. The Phrygian cap (often called the Cap of Liberty) supported on the point of an unsheathed sword and the motto "This We'll Defend" on a scroll held by the rattlesnake is a symbol depicted on some American colonial flags and signifies the Army's constant readiness to defend and preserve the United States.
The symbolism for the elements of the Emblem is the same as for the Seal with the deviations and additions noted under “Description” above: The colors of the design elements are those traditionally associated with the ideals of the United States and of the U.S. Army. The flags are depicted in their approved colors. Blue is symbolic of loyalty, vigilance, perseverance, and truth. Red denotes courage, zeal, and fortitude. White alludes to deeds worthy of remembrance. Black is indicative of determination and constancy. Gold represents achievement, dignity, and honor.

Current usage

This "War Office Seal” continues to be used to this day when legal certification is necessary to authenticate as "official" documents and records of the Department of the Army.

Reproduction of the Emblem is authorized in publications and other printed matter of an official or quasi-official nature in U.S. Army approved films and in official U.S. Army motion pictures or television programs. The design may not be modified in any manner. It may be reproduced in its proper colors, through the use of a one-color line process, or as a line drawing. The use of the Emblem for any other purposes, including its incorporation in other items for commercial sale, will be only as authorized by the Institute of Heraldry.