The Seal of Baltimore is the official government emblem of the city 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 ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. The current City Seal was adopted for use in 1827, possibly inspired by a famous speech and toast made by sixth President

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

(1767-1848) / erved 1825-1829 on a visit and tour in 1827, in which he dubbed the city with its most well-known nickname of "The Monumental City", with the recent erection of several monuments, including this for 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 ...

and the new

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

column, nearing completion in a wooded park, just north of the booming city.

Image

The seal is in the shape of an

ellipse In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focus (geometry), focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special ty ...

with the image of 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 ...

featured in its center The iconic monument, designed by Frenchman J. Maximilian Godefroy, (1765-c.1838), erected 1815–1822, in the former colonial era Courthouse Square (where the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

had been read to the town populace on July 29, 1776) for the casualties suffered during the recent

when 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 ...

invasion with a land/sea attack in September 1814, 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 land conflict southeast of the city on the Patapsco Neck peninsula with several thousands of the King's Army at 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 the subsequent

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

fleet blockade and bombardment of

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American Coastal defense and fortification, coastal bastion fort, pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, Baltimore, Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War ...

, south of the town, protecting the entrance to the

Patapsco River The Patapsco River ( ) mainstem is a river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howar ...

of Baltimore harbor.

Inscription

Around the inner edge of the ellipse of the City Seal are the words CITY OF BALTIMORE, while under the image of the

is the year "1797", the year in which the city was first incorporated (although the port was designated in 1706, founded as a town 1729, and laid out in 1730, and separated from surrounding

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...

as an independent city in 1851). Color versions of the seal are in black and gold, representative of the colors of the coat of arms of the Calvert family. The then chief member of whom, Cecilius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, (1605-1675), founded the colony

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British colonization of the Americas, British colony in North America from 1634 until 1776, when the province was one of the Thirteen Colonies that joined in supporting the A ...

in 1634, and planned / arranged for its settlement, sending his younger brother

Leonard Calvert Leonard Calvert ( – ) was the first Lord proprietor, proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland. He was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, The 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), the first proprietor of Maryland. His e ...

, (1606-1647), with the first expedition as colonial proprietary governor, carrying forward the original grant and charter made first to his father, George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, (1579-1632), by his friend King Charles I (1600-1649)/ eigned 1625-1649 in 1632, before his untimely early death that year. The

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

monarch who also bestowed on him for his services to the Crown as Secretary of State, the title of nobility for a town in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, also named

Engraving

The Seal was engraved on a metal die and placed in a wood-frame structure in the offices of the Department of Legislative Reference at the historic

Baltimore City Hall Baltimore City Hall is the official seat of government of the City of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland. The City Hall houses the offices of the Mayor and those of the City Council of Baltimore. The building also hosts the city Comptroller, ...

and used to make embossed impressions on official documents also used as an emblem on various city properties / signs / publications and vehicles, was supplemented in the 2010s, under 49th Mayor

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake (born March 17, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 50th Mayor of Baltimore from 2010 to 2016, the second woman to hold that office. She has also served as secretary of the Democratic Nationa ...

by an official City Logo of a round design with the Battle Monument image superimposed on the black and gold/yellow chevrons from two of the four quarters of the Calvert family /Lord Baltimore's shield of his coat-of-arms (also used as the Maryland state flag), as used on the later designed

city flag The list of city flags lists the flags of cities. Most of the city flags are based on the coat of arms or emblems of its city itself, and city flags can be also used by the coat of arms and emblems on its flag. Most of the city flags are flown out ...

. considered one of the most striking, beautiful and attractive municipal or state flags in the nation. This more colorful round City Logo was also circled by the words - "CITY OF BALTIMORE" but with no "1797" date at the bottom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Of Baltimore, Maryland 1827 establishments in Maryland Symbols introduced in 1827 1820s in Baltimore Government of Baltimore

John Quincy Adams

Image

Inscription

Engraving

See also

References