Great Seal of the United States 13, 1782, the Congress turned to its Secretary [[Charles Thomson]], and provided all material submitted by the first three committees. Thomson was 53 years old, and had been a Latin master at a Philadelphia academy. Thomson took elements from all three previous committees, coming up with a new design which provided the basis for the final seal. Thomson used the eagle—this time specifying an American [[bald eagle]]—as the sole supporter on the shield. The shield had thirteen stripes, this time in a [[Chevron (insignia)|chevron]] pattern, and the eagle's claws held an olive branch and a bundle of thirteen arrows. For
Great Seal of the United States the room from a painting of the [[Seal of New York (state)|arms of New York]] over the Governor's pew. The painting has many similarities to Trenchard's version (or vice versa depending on which came first), including the random placement of stars and details of the eagle. The clouds are in a full circle, though, instead of an arc, and the rays extend beyond them in all directions. The shield has a gold chain border with a badge at the bottom. This is the earliest known full-color version of the seal design, and the artist is unknown. European powers had traditionally