The flag of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

features the "

Battle Monument The Battle Monument, located in Battle Monument Square on North Calvert Street between East Fayette and East Lexington Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, commemorates the Battle of Baltimore, with the British fleet of the Royal Navy's bombar ...

", which is also the central motif on the city's seal. The monument was constructed in the former colonial era Courthouse Square along North Calvert Street, between East Lexington Street to the north and East Fayette Street to the south, after the second Baltimore City and County Courthouse was constructed on a site farther west across Calvert Street in 1805. Commemorating the soldiers and officers that fell in the defense of the city against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

land and sea attack in the

Battle of Baltimore The Battle of Baltimore took place between British and American forces on September 12–15, 1814 during the War of 1812. Defending American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, by British fo ...

with the

Battle of North Point The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major-General Robert Ross. Although the Americans were driven from the field, they were able to do so in g ...

and subsequent Bombardment of Fort McHenry on September 12-13-14th, 1814, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The memorial was begun with a cornerstone laying one year after the attack on September 12, 1815, (later observed annually as

Defenders Day Defenders Day may refer to one of several public holidays: * Defenders Day (Maryland) * Defenders Day (Ukraine) * Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan) * Defender of the Motherland Day (Uzbekistan) * Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia) S ...

, a city/county/state legal holiday) and completed in 1822, seven years later. The design was by French emigre architect

Maximilian Godefroy J. Maximilian M. Godefroy (1765 – 7 April 1848) was a French-American architect. Godefroy was born in France and educated as a geographical/civil engineer. During the French Revolution he fought briefly on the Royalist side. Later, as an ant ...

and five years later was placed as the central figure with the city incorporation date of 1797 underneath on the city's newly designed oval

official seal A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with ...

in 1827. In the 20th century, the monument was also placed over the black and gold colors design from the Calvert family quarters from the shield of the Great Seal of the State of Maryland, in the city flag now flown along with the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and Maryland state flags at all public buildings and many private sites. The field is in the

Calvert family Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore, County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 and ended in 1771, upon the death of its sixth-generation male heir, aged 40. Holders of the title were usually known as Lord Baltimo ...

colors of black and yellow / gold (sometimes orange) and design, which also appear in the first and fourth quarters of the Maryland state flag taken from the shield of the Calvert-Crossland families coats-of-arms. The flag is

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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

ed (described in

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

) terms as follows: Paly of six Or and sable, a bend counterchanged, on an inescutcheon Sable, within an orle of the first, a representation of Baltimore's Battle Monument Argent. Two other designs were submitted for consideration; both included the Battle Monument and the Calvert arms. Respondents to a 2004 survey sponsored by the

North American Vexillological Association The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith, and others. Its membership of 1,100+ comprises flag s ...

rated the Baltimore city flag 7.46 on a 10-point scale, making it the 18th best American city flag in the 150 flag survey of American cities.

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Flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

Flags of Maryland History of Baltimore Flags introduced in 1915 Tricolor flags {{Maryland-stub

See also

References

External links