Flag of the U.S. state of Maryland
The
flag of the State of Maryland
is the official flag of the
U.S. state
of
Maryland
and 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
Maryland General Assembly
in 1904.
History
[
edit
]
Lord Baltimore's banner, used by pro-Union Marylanders during the American Civil War.
"Crossland Banner", used by pro-Confederate Marylanders during the American Civil War.
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.
[2]
The state stopped using the colors following
American independence
, but they were reintroduced in 1854.
[2]
The red and white cross
bottony
counterchanged
had gained popularity during the
American Civil War
. Maryland had remained loyal to the
U.S.
despite it being a
slave state
and a large proportion of its citizens supporting the
Confederacy
, the latter being particularly concentrated in the
city of Baltimore
, the
counties
of the southern part of the state, and the
Eastern Shore
of the
Chesapeake Bay
. 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
).
[3]
[2]
The black and gold bend dexter counterchanged of the Barons Baltimore was used in the flags and devices and pinned on the
uniforms
of
Union Army
regiments in the
Army of the Potomac
.
[4]
After the war, Marylanders who had fought on either side of the conflict returned to their state in need of reconciliation.
[2]
The present design, which incorporates both of the coats of arms used by George Calvert, began to appear officially after the Civil War.
[2]
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). It was flown again on October 25, 1888, at the
Gettysburg Battlefield
during ceremonies dedicating monuments to the Maryland regiments of the
Army of the Potomac
by reorganized regiments of the former state militia, now the
Maryland National Guard
.
[5]
The flag was not officially adopted as the state flag until 1904.
[6]
[2]
The present flag is symbolic of the reunion of all the citizens in the state and is represented through the colors of the flag.
[2]
In 2001, a survey conducted by the
North American Vexillological Association
placed Maryland's flag fourth best in design quality out of the 72 flags of the
provinces of Canada
, the
U.S. states
, and the
territories of the United States
. It finished behind the flags of
New Mexico
,
Texas
and
Quebec
respectively.
[7]
Previous designs
[
edit
]
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.
[2]
Pre-1876 the Maryland seal did not include the current Maryland flag on it.
[8]
[9]
These banners were unofficial, and designs varied.
[2]
It is not known the exact specifications of these banners.
Current design
[
edit
]
The banner of arms of the
Barons Baltimore
, the present flag is a quartered field with the arms of
The 1st Baron Baltimore
in the
canton
(1st quarter) and the lower
fly
(4th quarter), with the arms of Alicia Crossland in the upper fly and lower
hoist
(2nd and 3rd quarters).
In the black and gold quarters of the flag is the arms of
The 1st Baron Baltimore
, a former
Secretary of State
, granted as a reward for his storming a fortification during a battle. (The vertical bars approximate the bars of the
palisade
.)
[10]
[11]
The red and white quarter is the coat of arms of the Crossland family, the family of Lord Baltimore's mother from
South Crosland
in
West Yorkshire
,
England
, and consists of a
cross bottony
with the red and white sides of the cross alternating. Since Lord Baltimore's mother was a
heraldic heiress
, he was entitled to use both arms in his
banner of arms
. Upon the death of George, Lord Baltimore, in April 1632, the right to bear the arms and banner passed to his eldest son
Cecil, 2nd Baron Baltimore
, to whom the
Province of Maryland
was granted that same year.
The heraldic
blazon
is:
Quarterly, 1st and 4th, paly of six
Or
and
Sable
, a
bend
counterchanged
(for Calvert); 2nd and 3rd, quarterly
argent
and
gules
, a cross bottony counterchanged (for Crossland).
Color scheme
[
edit
]
Color scheme
|
Gold
|
Black
|
White
|
Red
|
CMYK
|
0-27-100-8
|
0-0-0-100
|
0-0-0-0
|
0-82-68-38
|
HEX
|
#ebac00
|
#000000
|
#ffffff
|
#9e1d32
|
RGB
|
235-172-0
|
0-0-0
|
255-255-255
|
158-29-50
|
Uses
[
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]
The Calvert and Crossland arms and banner, and the Maryland flag itself, have been adapted for use in various ways across the state.
Official
[
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]
- 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
.
- Some Maryland counties and municipalities have arms and/or flags incorporating various elements of the arms, including the
city of Baltimore
, as well as
Calvert
,
Caroline
,
Baltimore
,
Howard
, and
Worcester
counties.
- 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. On Monday, September 26, 2016, Maryland offered 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.
[12]
- The flag of the short-lived
Republic of Maryland
?a state established by the
Maryland State Colonization Society
to "repatriate"
freed slaves
in Africa?also used Calvert's black and yellow.
Education
[
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]
- The school colors of
Calvert School
, an independent school in Baltimore City, are black and gold.
- Goucher College
incorporates the flag in its seal.
- The seal of
Johns Hopkins University
in
Baltimore
features the same design and colors as the Maryland flag. The Johns Hopkins colors are sable and gold, taken from the Calvert coat of arms (though the athletic colors are blue and white, as the school
mascot
is the
blue jay
).
- The shield of
Loyola University Maryland
(formerly Loyola College) utilizes both the Calvert shield in its upper-left quadrant, as well as a stylized red and yellow quadrant, symbolic of the Maryland state flag.
- The school colors of
Towson University
, a member of the
University System of Maryland
, are black and gold, and the university seal incorporates the Calvert and Crossland shield.
- The
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
(UMBC), also in the University System of Maryland, uses all four colors in its main logo.
Sport
[
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]
- An alternate logo of the
Baltimore Ravens
professional football team in the
National Football League
is a
shield
with alternating Calvert and Crossland Banners interlocked with a stylized "B" and "R".
- The
University of Maryland, College Park
athletic teams
have long used the colors of the state flag. All four colors from the flag are currently used, with the primary colors being red and white, with black and gold used as accent colors. The Maryland flag is also displayed on the right shoulder of the football uniforms. At the start of the 2011 football season,
the team
unveiled a new uniform designed by Baltimore-based sportswear company
Under Armour
combining both parts of the flag. Similarly, the men's
lacrosse
team
features designs from the flag on the jersey shoulders.
- Beginning on September 9, 2008, the University of Maryland painted both end zones at
SECU Stadium
with the flag's two patterns.
- The Baltimore
Dragon Boat
Club features the flag motif in its logo.
- Starting with the
2009 season
, the
Baltimore Orioles
major league
baseball
club has added a patch to the left arm of their uniforms that features a round version of the Maryland flag.
- Maryland-based company
Under Armour
released a line of
cleats
in 2017, with the Crossland coat of arms design incorporated into the cleats. Under Armour bags also incorporate the flag in its design starting in late 2015
[
citation needed
]
and is seen at its outlet mall locations.
- Junior Hockey teams
Maryland Black Bears
(NAHL) and Team Maryland (EHL) sport the flag on their team jerseys.
Other
[
edit
]
Legal description
[
edit
]
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 bottony
counterchanged, so that they consist of a quartered field of white and red, charged with a Greek cross that has arms terminating in trefoils and opposite coloring
so that red is on the white quarters and white is on the red quarters, as represented on the escutcheon of the State seal."
The Maryland
Secretary of State publishes a "Protocol for the Maryland State Flag" which, among other things, specifies the colors of the flag:
1.04. The red and yellow colors in the Maryland flag should conform to the following
Pantone Matching System
colors:
- red on coated stock: PMS 201
- red on uncoated stock: PMS 193
- yellow on coated stock: PMS 124
- yellow on uncoated stock: PMS 124
[17]
Flagpole restrictions
[
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]
In 1945, the
Maryland General Assembly
made a gold cross bottony the official ornament for the top of any flagpole carrying the state flag.
[18]
Maryland is the only state in the union that has a specific guideline not only on how to display the flag but also on what ornament should be on top of the flagpole as well. 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
continue to do so (adhering to Maryland General Provisions Code § 7-202 & 7-203 (2016)). In March 2015, the gold cross bottony was put back on top of the flag pole on Government House (Governor's Mansion). All other state government buildings, including
public schools
, obey this guideline, but many private individuals and businesses do not.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
Chapter 48, Acts of 1904, effective March 9, 1904
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Flag History"
.
Maryland Secretary of State (sos.maryland.gov)
. Retrieved
2020-06-25
.
- ^
Beaujon, Andrew (19 August 2015).
"Maryland's Flag Has a Subtle Symbol of Confederate Sympathy"
. Washingtonian
. Retrieved
3 August
2017
.
- ^
Art, Callaham (2012-03-25).
"Art Callaham: The nitty-gritty of Maryland's state flag - schurz-herald-mail"
.
herald-mail.com
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-08-06
. Retrieved
2020-11-10
.
- ^
"Flag, Maryland State"
. Maryland State Archives.
maryland.gov
. 2016-09-20
. Retrieved
2021-09-09
.
- ^
State of Maryland (1904). "Chapter 48".
Acts of 1904
. Maryland: State of Maryland.
effective March 9, 1904
- ^
Kaye, Edward B. "
Good Flag, Bad Flag, and the Great NAVA Flag Survey of 2001
".
Raven: A Journal of Vexillology
.
8
. 2001. p. 11-38. Archived from
the original
on February 23, 2015.
- ^
"Seal, Maryland State"
.
msa.maryland.gov
. Retrieved
2020-11-10
.
- ^
"Chapter 81, Acts of 1854"
. 1854.
- ^
"Maryland (U.S.)"
.
- ^
"Coat of Arms ? Village of New Maryland"
.
- ^
"Maryland"
.
15q.net
. Retrieved
5 June
2015
.
- ^
Meredith Cohn (June 15, 2005). "Southwest paints Boeing 737 with Maryland flag theme".
Baltimore Sun
.
- ^
Southwest Blog entry on Livery Schemes
Archived
2011-07-08 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Picture
- ^
Rachel Siegel (August 11, 2017). "A Maryland man found a hobby making armor. Now he's using the same materials to make a one-of-a-kind state flag".
Washington Post
.
- ^
"The Maryland State Flag"
.
Secretary of State
. Retrieved
3 August
2017
.
- ^
"Flag, Maryland State"
.
msa.maryland.gov
. Retrieved
2022-10-26
.
External links
[
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]