The Island on Our State Flag? Maine Claims It’s Theirs.

Even before New Hampshire adopted the frigate USS Raleigh on its state seal — a ship built on Badger’s Island in the Piscataqua — it was understood that the harbor and surrounding islands belonged to New Hampshire. Since New Hampshire was a colony, Portsmouth Harbor was not some vaguely shared zone; it was the state’s economic engine and maritime gateway. Colonial maps, militia records, and early state documents consistently placed the islands, including Seavey’s Island (now home to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard), within New Hampshire’s jurisdiction. For nearly three centuries, this fact was uncontested.

The shift came not through history, but through a late-1970s Supreme Court case. During a heated clash over lobster-fishing rights. Maine insisted that the state line cut directly “through the middle of the river,” while New Hampshire argued — as it always had — that the boundary extended to the Maine shoreline. The dispute landed before the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1977 issued a consent decree establishing the border as the “middle of the main channel of navigation.” That ruling drew a specific line through the channel, carefully following navigational contours — not a vague midpoint of the entire harbor.

But Maine, almost immediately, treated the ruling as if it granted them the middle of the harbor itself, rather than the “middle of the main channel of navigation,” claiming islands and waters the decree never gave Maine. Instead of following the court-prescribed channel line, Maine applied a broad interpretation that placed strategic islands — including Seavey’s Island — under its jurisdiction. New Hampshire contends that this interpretation is legally unsupported and historically inaccurate. Former Governor Jeanne Shaheen even rediscovered colonial-era maps while in England on a trade mission, which showed the harbor as entirely New Hampshire’s, prompting the state to revisit the dispute.

Why does this matter now? Because the islands in question are not quaint maritime relics — they’re home to one of the most important naval facilities on the Atlantic coast. As the United States Navy pivots toward its “Blue Arctic” strategy — preparing for an increasingly navigable, strategically competitive Arctic — the role of Atlantic naval infrastructure becomes more critical. And sitting right at the gateway to the North Atlantic, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is, functionally, the northernmost major U.S. Atlantic naval installation. While there are small Coast Guard stations that reach farther north, Portsmouth is the northernmost major Navy shipyard and submarine overhaul base on the East Coast. It is also the most strategically positioned for rapid deployment into the North Atlantic and Arctic approaches.

That means billions in federal investment, thousands of skilled jobs, and long-term economic impact — all currently allocated to Maine. The shipyard generates an economic impact exceeding $1.5 billion annually. That includes a massive workforce, contractors, supply-chain businesses, high-paying technical jobs, engineering hubs, and secondary economic activity like lodging, restaurants, transportation, logistics, construction, and professional services. Although many of the workers live in New Hampshire, the tax base, branding, and political leverage tilt toward Maine because, less than 50 years ago, New Hampshire failed to assert its centuries-old claim to the islands.

New Hampshire should regain its rightful jurisdiction, and the economic benefits would be transformative. The state could directly capture corporate tax revenue from contractors, assert influence over infrastructure planning, shape local economic-development strategy, and position the region as a maritime-technology corridor aligned with future Arctic operations. The Navy’s Arctic blueprint anticipates increased traffic, forward presence, and expanded operational tempo as the Arctic continues to open. Ship repair, maintenance capability, and submarine readiness will all become more crucial. There is no better-positioned installation on the East Coast than Portsmouth to support that mission.

A New Hampshire–recognized naval base would also strengthen the state’s leverage with federal agencies, allowing New Hampshire to advocate for expanded training facilities, local workforce development programs, maritime research partnerships with state universities, and broader integration into the emerging Arctic-focused naval economy. With Arctic routes opening, deterrence missions expanding, and great-power competition intensifying, the Navy will invest heavily in northern maritime infrastructure. The “Live Free or Die” State should reclaim our historic island, and receive the benefits due our great state!

Our state flag carries a ship built on our river for a reason. It symbolizes the central role New Hampshire played in America’s early naval strength. Losing jurisdiction over the harbor islands was not a historical inevitability; it was a political misinterpretation that we have every right — and every incentive — to challenge. The economic future of our seacoast, the strategic future of the nation’s Arctic posture, and the historical integrity of our own state identity all point to the same conclusion: it’s time for New Hampshire to reclaim what has always been ours.

Alex Madden is a NH business owner who resides in Derry, NH and former US Army Special Operations Officer.