Maryland Flags - State Flags

The flag of Maryland consists of the heraldic banners of the family of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore. It is the only state flag in the United States to be based on British heraldry, though Washington, D.C.'s is as well. It was officially adopted by Maryland in 1904.

Design

The black and gold design on the flag is that of the Calvert family. It was given to Calvert as a result of storming a fortification in battle (the vertical bars approximate the bars of the palisade). The red and white design is that of the Crossland family, the family of Calvert's mother, and features a cross bottony. George Calvert adopted a coat of arms that included a shield with alternating quadrants featuring both the colors of his paternal family (in the 1st and 4th quarters) and of his maternal family (in the 2nd and 3rd quarters).

History

The Maryland colony was founded by Cecil Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, hence the use of his family's coat of arms in the flag. Initially, only the gold and black design was associated with Maryland. The red and white Crossland design gained popularity during the American Civil War, in which Maryland remained with the Union despite popular support for the Confederacy. Those Marylanders who supported secession (many of whom fought in the Army of Northern Virginia) were reluctant to use (and to fight under) the banner that was associated with a state which, grudgingly or not, remained with the Union; they adopted the Crossland banner, which had the benefit of being red and white (seen as "secession colors").

Sterling Silver Charm of Maryland

After the war, Marylanders who had fought on both sides of the conflict returned to their state in need of reconciliation. The present design, which incorporated both symbols, began appearing. At first, the Crossland coat of arms was put in the upper-left corner, but was changed to the Union's Calvert coat because of their victory. It was flown October 11, 1880, in Baltimore, Maryland at a parade marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of Baltimore. It also was flown October 25, 1888, at the Gettysburg Battlefield for ceremonies dedicating monuments to Maryland regiments of the Army of the Potomac. Officially, it was adopted as the State flag in 1904 (Chapter 48, Acts of 1904, effective March 9, 1904). In 1945, the legislature made a gold cross bottony the official ornament for a flagstaff carrying the Maryland flag.

Legal description

Section 13–202 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland provides:

(a) The State flag is quartered.
(b) The 1st and 4th quarters are paly of 6 pieces, or and sable, a bend dexter counterchanged. Thus, the 1st and 4th quarters consist of 6 vertical bars alternately gold and black with a diagonal band on which the colors are reversed.
(c) The 2nd and 3rd, quarterly, are argent and gules, a cross bottony countersigned. Thus, the 2nd and 3rd quarters are a quartered field of red and white, charged with a Greek cross, its arms terminating in trefoils, with the coloring transported, red being on the white ground and white on the red, and all being as represented upon the escutcheon of the State seal.

Some time prior to October 10, 2007, Government House (the governor's mansion) in Annapolis has ceased to display the cross bottony at the top of the flag pole. The flags at the State House continue adhere to Maryland Code Section 13-202.

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 Marking 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

Maryland is the only state in the union that has a specific guideline on not only how to display the flag but what the flagpole should look like as well. From the "Protocol for Maryland's Flag" (link below):

Only a gold cross bottony may be used as an ornament on the top of a flagstaff that carries the Maryland flag (State Government Article, §13-203). In Maryland, all public schools and government buildings obey this guideline; many private individuals and businesses do not.

Cultural impacts

The unique layout Maryland's state flag differentiates itself from many of the other states flag. As such, the Calvert banners and the flag itself have been co-opted in other ways across the state, including:

Many local municipality flags also utilize the Calvert banners, including the City of Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Howard County.

The colors of the athletic teams of the University of Maryland College Park. Prior to the 1960s, the Maryland Terrapins primarily used only black and gold, but started using red and white as well. All four colors are now used with the primary color being red, with white, gold, and black as accent colors. The entire Maryland flag is displayed on the right shoulder of the football team's jersey. The end zones of Byrd Stadium are often decorated in a Maryland flag motif, and the state flag is often run on the field during Terrapins home football games.
The seal of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore features the same design and colors as the Maryland flag. The Johns Hopkins school colors are sable and gold, taken from the Calvert banner (though the athletic colors are blue and white, as the school mascot is the Blue Jay).

The secondary logo of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League was a shield with alternating Calvert Banners interlocked with a stylized "B" and "R".

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