What do the symbols mean on the Maryland flag?
The flag, with its distinctive (some might say eyeball-searing) bold colors, incorporates both the yellow-and-black colors of the state’s founding Calvert family and the “cross bottany” that symbolized the Crossland family on George Calvert’s matrilineal side. That design became imbued with new meaning as the United States began to splinter in the 19th century, as the website for Maryland’s secretary of state explains:
How did Maryland get its flag?
“When the General Assembly in 1904 adopted a banner of this design as the state flag, a link was forged between modern-day Maryland and the very earliest chapter of the proprietorship of the Calvert family.”
Does Maryland flag have Confederate ties?
VERIFY: Yes, Maryland's state flag has a Confederate symbol The flag of the Old Line State has drawn controversy for its Civil War ties. Author: wusa9.com
What is the status of the Maryland flag?
Flag Status Alert: United States Flag and Maryland Flag Are at Half-Staff As a sign of respect for the service and sacrifice of the victims of the attack at the United States Capitol on Friday, April 2, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden ordered the United States Flag lowered to half-staff effective immediately and returned to full-staff at sunset ...
What is the Maryland flag?
The flag of the State of Maryland is the 17th-century heraldic banner of arms of Cecil, 2nd Baron Baltimore. It consists of the escutcheon (heraldic shield) of his father George, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), with the charges and fields from his coat of arms quartered with those of his grandmother, heiress of the Crossland family in ...
What flag was used to represent Maryland?
Post-independence and the discontinuation of the Calvert flag, many banners were used to represent Maryland. By the civil war, the most common design representing all of Maryland consisted of the seal of Maryland on a blue background.
What flag did the Marylanders wear?
Those Marylanders who supported the Confederacy, many of whom fought in the Army of Northern Virginia of Robert E. Lee, adopted the Crossland banner (seen as "secession colors") and often used a metal bottony cross pinned to their gray uniforms or caps ( kepis ).
When did Maryland license plates change?
From 1986 to 2010, Maryland's standard issue license plates were white with black lettering and a central seal with the flag's unique design. The 1986 plates are still valid and widely seen after being temporarily replaced by a design commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812, which had its Chesapeake Campaign in the state. Starting Monday, September 26, 2016, Maryland will offer the option to replace the commemorative War of 1812 license plates with plates featuring a flowing Maryland flag beneath tag number. Maryland driver's licenses also use the pattern of the state flag.
When was the Maryland flag adopted?
The flag was not officially adopted as the state flag until 1904.
When will Maryland replace the War of 1812 license plates?
Starting Monday, September 26, 2016, Maryland will offer the option to replace the commemorative War of 1812 license plates with plates featuring a flowing Maryland flag beneath tag number. Maryland driver's licenses also use the pattern of the state flag.
When was the first flag flown in Baltimore?
The flag in its present form was first flown in Baltimore, on October 11, 1880, at a parade marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of Baltimore (1729–1730).
What is the Maryland flag?
Maryland State Flag. Maryland's flag bears the arms of the Calvert and Crossland families. Calvert was the family name of the Lords Baltimore who founded Maryland, and their colors of gold and black appear in the first and fourth quarters of the flag.
When was the Maryland flag adopted?
Officially, it was adopted as the State flag in 1904 (Chapter 48, Acts of 1904, effective March 9, 1904). Maryland law requires that if any ornament is affixed to the top of a flagstaff carrying the Maryland flag, the ornament must be a gold cross bottony (Chapter 862, Acts of 1945; Code General Provisions Article, secs. 7-201 through 7-203).
When was the first crossland flag flown?
The red and white Crossland colors, with a cross bottony, appear in the second and third quarters. This flag first was flown October 11, 1880, in Baltimore at a parade marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of Baltimore. It also was flown October 25, 1888, at Gettysburg Battlefield for ceremonies dedicating monuments to Maryland regiments ...
What does the Maryland flag represent?
The four alternating quadrants came to symbolize unity and reconciliation in the post-war years.
When was the Maryland flag adopted?
The design was officially adopted as the state flag in 1904. This post was written by Maggie Pelta-Pauls, a Waxter Intern with Preservation Maryland. A graduate of The College of William and Mary, Maggie is primed to research and write about Maryland history – especially culinary history.
What is the state flag of Baltimore?
Flag of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. Flag of Baltimore County, Maryland. Earlier iterations of the Maryland state flag included those with Calvert colors, which were discontinued after the Revolution and replaced by various unofficial banners, the most common of which was the state seal set on a blue background.
Why did the Confederate soldiers use the Crossland colors?
When the Civil War broke out and martial law was declared in Maryland, Confederate sympathizers and soldiers adopted the Crossland colors and bottony cross as a way to signify their home state while simultaneously distinguishing themselves from Unionist Marylanders, who used the Calvert colors.
How many quadrants are there on the Maryland flag?
Here’s the story of how the flag came to be. For those unfamiliar with the Maryland state flag, it features four alternating quadrants; the first and fourth display the black and gold bars and diagonal inverted stripe ...
Why did the Maryland flag have four quadrants?
The four alternating quadrants came to symbolize unity and reconciliation in the post-war years.
Who designed the Maryland flag?
HISTORY OF THE MARYLAND FLAG. The design of the Maryland state flag is steeped in Maryland history. It was George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, and his family, who were the colonial proprietors of Maryland.
What is the Maryland flag?
The Maryland flag has been described as the perfect state flag, bold colors, interesting patterns, and correct heraldry, a flag that fairly shouts "Maryland". The design of the flag comes from the shield in the coat of arms of the Calvert family, the colonial proprietors of Maryland. George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, adopted a coat of arms that included a shield with alternating quadrants featuring the yellow and black colors of his paternal family and the red and white colors of his maternal family, the Cro sslands. When the General Assembly in 1904 adopted a banner of this design as the state flag, a link was forged between modern-day Maryland and the very earliest chapter of the proprietorship of the Calvert family.
Why is the Maryland flag a state flag?
The flag excels as a state banner because it commemorates the vision of the founders while it reminds us of the struggle to preserve the Union. It is a unique symbol of challenges met and loyalties restored, a flag of unity and reconciliation for all the state's citizens.
What colors did the Confederate soldiers wear?
During the war, Maryland-born Confederate soldiers used both the red and white colors and the cross botonee design from the Crossland quadrants of the Calvert coat of arms as a unique way of identifying their place of birth. Pins in the cross botonee shape were worn on uniforms, and the headquarters flag of the Maryland-born Confederate general ...
What did the 5th Regiment represent?
True to its heritage, the original Fifth Regiment consisted primarily of Maryland-born former Confederate officers and soldiers. The new regimental color adopted in 1889, combining the traditional yellow and black "Maryland colors" with the red and white "secession colors" in the form of a botonee cross, must have seemed especially appropriate to members of the Fifth. The colors symbolically represented what had happened to the Fifth Regiment itself in the quarter century since the Civil War. Originally denounced as a "Rebel Brigade", the Fifth had by the 1870s become Maryland's premier military organization, attracting Union veterans as well as former Confederates. From its inception, the Fifth Regiment had demonstrated through its prominent participation in public events and with its summer encampments in the north that former Confederates could be good soldiers and loyal citizens of the state and the nation.
Why are the red and white crossland arms so popular?
Probably because the yellow and black "Maryland colors" were popularly identified with a state which, reluctantly or not, remained in the Union, Marylanders who sympathized with the South adopted the red and white of the Crossland arms as their colors.
What was the first organization to adopt the Maryland flag?
A year later, in October 1889, the Fifth Regiment, Maryland National Guard, adopted a flag in this form as its regimental color. The Fifth Regiment thereby became the first organization to adopt officially what is today the Maryland flag. The adoption of this new flag by the Fifth Regiment helped popularize the design.
When was the Maryland flag adopted?
When the General Assembly in 1904 adopted a banner of this design as the state flag, a link was forged between modern-day Maryland and the very earliest chapter of the proprietorship of the Calvert family. Despite the antiquity of its design, the Maryland flag is of post-Civil War origin. Throughout the colonial period, ...
What is the Maryland state flag?
The Maryland state flag was officially adopted in 1904 and is symbolic of the “reunion of all the citizens in the state and represented through the colors of the flag.”.
When was Maryland established?
The Maryland flag contains the family crest of the Calvert and Crossland families. Maryland was founded as an English colony in 1634 by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore.
Overview
The flag of the state of Maryland is the 17th-century heraldic banner of arms of Cecil, 2nd Baron Baltimore. It consists of the arms of his father George, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), quartered with those of his grandmother, heiress of the Crossland family. The flag was officially adopted by the General Assembly of Maryland (state legislature) in 1904.
History
The Maryland colony was founded by The 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605–1675), which was granted to him as the son and heir of The 1st Baron Baltimore by King Charles I, hence the use of his banner of arms as the flag. During the colonial period, only the gold (yellow) and black Calvert arms were associated with Maryland. The state stopped using the colors following American independence, …
Uses
The Calvert and Crossland arms and banner, and the Maryland flag itself, have been adapted for use in various ways across the state.
• The gold and black Calvert coat of arms and red and white Crossland coat of arms are featured in the seal of the town of Ferryland, Newfoundland, the present-day site of Calvert's Colony of Avalon.
Legal description
Section 7-202 of the General Provisions Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland provides: "(a) The State flag is divided into quarters. (b) The first and fourth quarters are a paly of six pieces, or (gold) and sable (black), and a bend dexter (right diagonal band) counterchanged so that they consist of six alternating gold and black vertical bars with a diagonal band on which the colors are reversed. (c) The second and third quarters are quartered argent (white) and gules (red), a cross …
Flagpole restrictions
Maryland is the only state in the union that has a specific guideline not only on how to display the flag but on what the flagpole should look like as well. In 1945, the Maryland General Assembly made a gold cross bottony the official ornament for the top of any flagpole carrying the state flag. Sometime before October 10, 2007, Government House (the Governor's Mansion) in Annapolis ceased to display the cross bottony at the top of the flag pole, but the flags at the State House co…
See also
• State of Maryland
• List of Maryland state symbols
• Great Seal of the State of Maryland
• Flag of Montgomery County, Maryland
External links
• History of the Maryland Flag
• Protocol for using the Maryland Flag
• Information from Flags Of The World
• Information from Maryland State Archives
06/14/2017 by Waxter Intern
History of The Maryland Flag
- The design of the Maryland state flag is steeped in Maryland history. It was George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, and his family, who were the colonial proprietors of Maryland. His mother, Alicia Crossland, was an heiress to the Crossland line, meaning that Calvert was free to use her coat of arms as well. Earlier iterations of the Maryland state flag included those with Calvert colors, whi…
The Design Was Officially Adopted as The State Flag in 1904.
- This post was written by Maggie Pelta-Pauls, a Waxter Intern with Preservation Maryland. A graduate of The College of William and Mary, Maggie is primed to research and write about Maryland history – especially culinary history. Learn more about Maggie and our The Waxter Memorial Internship program here: presmd.org/waxter.