Maryland State Flag History Today

By Barbara White


Maryland is the ninth smallest state by size in the US but has played a key role in the country’s history. Named after Henrietta Maria of France, it was initially known as the Province of Maryland and has come a long way in development due to both its seaside and agricultural industries.

One of the original 13 colonies, Maryland lies at the center of the Eastern Seaboard, amid the great commercial and population complex that stretches from Maine to Virginia. Its small size belies the great diversity of its landscapes and ways of life that they foster, from the low-lying and water-oriented Eastern Shore and Chesapeake Bay area, through the metropolitan Baltimore, its largest city, to the forested Appalachian foothills and mountains of its western reaches.

The flag was adopted on Mar. 9, 1904. Maryland is the seventh state of the union, gaining statehood on Apr. 28, 1788. It is one of the original 13 colonies that united to form the union of the United States. A gold and black flag was used by the colony, until the American Revolutionary War. During the American Civil War, Maryland remained with the Union (North) however, many citizens sympathized with the Confederacy (south).

These people expressed their sympathies for the Confederacy by putting on a garb of white and red emblems. The soldiers of Maryland, who fought against the south, similarly dressed in their own emblems that marked their original state. When the war ended, all the colors of red, white, gold and black were connected with Maryland.

The flag of Maryland is sectioned into four quarters. The top left and bottom right are the same and the top right and bottom left quarters are also the same as each other. The flag features the arms of two English families, the Calvert family, and the Crossland family. The black and gold arms represent the Calverts and the red and white arms represent the Crosslands. George Calvert was the first Lord Baltimore and he was granted the black and gold coat of arms, incorporating the colors of his paternal family. The red and white arms are of the Crosslands, his maternal family in 1622. The Calvert founded Maryland as a British colony in 1634. The state was named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, King of Britain and Ireland.

There is a barrage of cheap and inferior Maryland flags being imported and sold, that do not comply with the flag statute. This is bad for a number of reasons. Imported flags are cheaply made and more importantly, the designs, materials, colors, and methods of printing do not compare well with the better quality, longer-lasting, and correctly designed flags made by American manufacturers. The Flag Company Inc specialized in flag designs offered a special edition of decals and flags to memorize the history of Maryland flag for the future.




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