Before the adoption of the first national flag, various flags were used during the War of Independence from Spain. Though it was never adopted as an official flag, many historians consider the first Mexican flag to be the Standard of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which was carried by Miguel Hidalgo after the Grito de Dolores on September 16, 1810.[2] The Standard became the initial symbol of the rebel army during the Mexican War of Independence. Various other Standards were used during the war. José María Morelos used a flag with an image of the Virgin to which was added a blue and white insignia with a crowned eagle on a cactus over a three-arched bridge and the letters V.V.M. (Viva la Virgen María – "long live the Virgin Mary").[2] The Revolutionary Army also used a flag featuring the colors white, blue and red in vertical stripes. The first use of the modern colors—green, white and red—was in the flag of the unified Army of the Three Guarantees (pictured above) after independence from Spain was won.[3][dubious – discuss]

While similar to the national flag that is used today, the eagle in these arms is not holding a serpent in his talons and a crown has been affixed to the head of the eagle to signify the Empire. Variants of this flag that appeared in this period also included a naval flag that had the tricolor pattern, but it only contained the eagle with the crown above its head. The military also used a similar square flag, but the eagle was larger than the one on the national flag. The national flag was officially decreed by Agustín de Iturbide in November 1821 and first officially used in July 1822. This flag was no longer used upon the abolishment of the empire.[