The flag of the state of Maryland is the 17th-century heraldic

banner of arms A banner of arms is a type of heraldic flag which has the same image as a coat of arms, ''i.e.'' the shield of a full heraldic achievement, rendered in a square or rectangular shape of the flag. The term is derived from the terminology of hera ...

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 The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...

( state legislature) in 1904.

History

Coat of Arms of Cecil Calvert, Baron Baltimore

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 The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, but they were reintroduced in 1854. The red and white cross bottony counterchanged had gained popularity during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Maryland had remained loyal to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

despite a large proportion of the citizenry's support for the Confederacy, especially in the central

city of Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, the

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of the southern part of the state, and the Eastern Shore of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

. Those Marylanders who supported the Confederacy, many of whom fought in the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...

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 (

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...

s). The black and gold bend dexter counterchanged of the Barons Baltimore was used in the flags and devices and pinned on the

uniforms A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

regiments in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

. After the war, Marylanders who had fought on either side of the conflict returned to their state in need of reconciliation. The present design, which incorporates both of the coats of arms used by George Calvert, began to appear officially after the Civil War. The flag in its present form was first flown in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, 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 The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot ...

during ceremonies dedicating monuments to the Maryland regiments of the

by reorganized regiments of the former state militia, now the

Maryland National Guard The Maryland Military Department (MMD) is a department of the State of Maryland directed by the adjutant general of Maryland. The Maryland Military Department consists of the: *State Operations section, which manages fiscal and administrative du ...

. The flag was not officially adopted as the state flag until 1904. The present flag is symbolic of the reunion of all the citizens in the state and is represented through the colors of the flag. In 2001, a survey conducted by the

North American Vexillological Association The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the scientific and scholarly study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith (1940–2016), and others. It ...

placed Maryland's flag fourth best in design quality out of the 72 flags of the provinces of Canada, the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s, and the

territories of the United States Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sove ...

. It finished behind the flags of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

respectively.

Previous designs

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. It is worth noting that pre-1876 the Maryland seal did not include the current Maryland flag on it. These banners were unofficial, and designs varied. It is not known the exact specifications of these banners.

Current design

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.) The red and white quarter is the coat of arms of the Crossland family, the family of Lord Baltimore's mother from

South Crosland South Crosland is a village in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It was originally a chapelry in the civil parish of Almondbury, and became a separate civil parish in 1866. It became an urban district in 1894 und ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 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 In English heraldry a heraldic heiress is a daughter of a deceased man who was entitled to a coat of arms (an armiger) and who carries forward the right to those arms for the benefit of her future male descendants. This carrying forward only applie ...

, he was entitled to use both arms in his

. 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 In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

is: ''Quarterly, 1st and 4th, paly of six Or and Sable, a bend counterchanged (for Calvert); 2nd and 3rd, quarterly

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

and gules, a cross bottony counterchanged (for Crossland).

Color scheme

Uses

The Calvert and Crossland arms and banner, and the Maryland flag itself, have been adapted for use in various ways across the state.

Official

*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

, as well as Calvert, Caroline,

, Howard, and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

counties. *From 1986 to 2010, Maryland's standard issue

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificatio ...

s 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 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, 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. *The flag of the short-lived

Republic of Maryland The Republic of Maryland (also known variously as the Independent State of Maryland, Maryland-in-Africa, and Maryland in Liberia) was a country in West Africa that existed from 1834 to 1857, when it was merged into what is now Liberia. The area ...

—a state established by the

Maryland State Colonization Society The Maryland State Colonization Society was the Maryland branch of the American Colonization Society, an organization founded in 1816 with the purpose of returning free African Americans to what many Southerners considered greater freedom in Af ...

to "repatriate" freed slaves in Africa—also used Calvert's black and yellow.

Education

*The school colors of

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

, a member of the

University System of Maryland The University System of Maryland (USM) is a public higher education system in the U.S. state of Maryland. The system is composed of the eleven campuses at College Park, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Princess Anne, Towson, Salisbury, Bowie, Fr ...

, are black and gold, and the university seal incorporates the Calvert and Crossland shield. *The

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

(UMBC), also in the University System of Maryland, uses all four colors in its main logo. * The shield of

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in th ...

(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 seal of

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

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 A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

is the blue jay). *

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

incorporates the flag in its seal. *The school colors of

Calvert School Calvert School, founded in 1897, is an independent, non-sectarian, co-educational lower and middle school located in Baltimore, Maryland. Calvert School is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) as well as the Ass ...

, an independent school in Baltimore City, are black and gold.

Sport

* The secondary logo of the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

professional football team in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

is a shield with alternating Calvert and Crossland Banners interlocked with a stylized "B" and "R". * The

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

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 Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European head ...

combining both parts of the flag. Similarly, the men's

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

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 SECU Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. It is the home of Maryland Terrapins football and men's lacrosse teams, which compete in the Big Ten Conference. The facility was ...

with the flag's two patterns. *The Baltimore

Dragon Boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family ...

Club features the flag motif in its logo. *Starting with the 2009 season, the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

major league

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

club has added a patch to the left arm of their uniforms that features a round version of the Maryland flag. *Maryland-based company

released a line of

cleats Cleat may refer to: * Cleat (nautical), a fitting on ships, boats, and docks to which ropes are tied * Cleat, Orkney, a place in Scotland * Cleat (shoe), a type or part of a shoe * ''Cleats'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Bill Hinds * Grouser ...

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 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

* Southwest Airlines painted a

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

737-700 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boeing ...

in a Maryland state flag theme in 2005, dubbed ''Maryland One'' in recognition of the airline's hub in Baltimore. * The world's only full size

chain mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

scale mail Scale armour (or scale mail) is an early form of armour consisting of many individual small armour scales (plates) of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows.U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

veteran from Cecil County. It is , consisting of over 22,000 individual

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

scales, over 45,000 rings, and weighs close to . File:Villar Jonathan.jpg, Baltimore Orioles jersey File:All Women Lifeguard Tournament 2013 (9423120107).jpg, State flag bikini bottom File:Maryland Terrapins logo.svg, University of Maryland athletics logo File:Governor Visits University of Maryland Football Team (36525960500).jpg, End zone at Cole Field House at the University of Maryland File:Maryland Terps soccer jersey sleeve design (6190333417) (cropped).jpg, Maryland Terrapins soccer jersey with flag design on sleeve File:Governor Larry Hogan with Maryland state flag mask 2020-10-30 (cropped).jpg, Governor Larry Hogan wearing a flag mask during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

File:Maryland flag at Baltimore Ravens game 2019-11-17.jpg, Flag waving during a Baltimore Ravens game File:Frederick Keys - State Flag.jpg, Key sculpture in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

File:Anthony McFarland Jr.jpg, Maryland Terrapins football helmet File:Pride Of Baltimore Maryland Day (32842885294).jpg, Governor Larry Hogan (right) and former Baltimore mayor

Catherine Pugh Catherine Elizabeth Pugh (born March 10, 1950) is an American former politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 51st mayor of Baltimore from 2016 to 2019, when she resigned amid a scandal that eventually led to criminal char ...

(2nd from left) wearing state flag apparel File:Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines) Maryland.jpg, Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 File:Baltimore light rail train with state flag design 2006-07-23.jpg, Baltimore light rail train

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 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

Flagpole restrictions

In 1945, the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...

made a gold cross bottony the official ornament for the top of any flagpole carrying the state flag. 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 Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

(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.

References

External links

History of the Maryland FlagProtocol for using the Maryland Flag
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Maryland Symbols of Maryland

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

1904 establishments in Maryland sv:Maryland#Flaggan