Baltimore History Examiner

The Best Flag in the Union

The symbol of the Free State 

I love our state flag. It truly is the best of all 50 states.  I hung one on my porch this past weekend.  Strangely, they are not easy to find in the Baltimore area unless you want to brave the parking nightmare at the Inner Harbor to purchase one from the Flag Shop.

The Lowes and Home Depot locations I checked do not sell Maryland flags. Thankfully Hampden's trusty old-chool hardware store Falkenhan's had one for me. Our Hon Examiner can tell you more about Falkenhan's.

The Maryland state flag bears the the colors of the coat of arms of the Calvert and Crossland families.  The Calvert family were the Lords of Baltimore, who founded the State. The black and gold design in the first and fourth quarters of the flag are the colors of the Calvert family. The red and white cross bottony, in the second and third quarters, bear the colors of the Crossland family. The Crossland bottony represents the maternal heritage of George Calvert, the first Lord of Baltimore.

 George Calvert

Originally, only the black and gold Calvert colors were used on flags representing the state. Eventually, the Calvert colors were discontinued and various other designs were used. However, in 1854 the state created a new great seal based on the Calvert coat of arms.  The new seal brought a reappearence of banners and flags bearing the black and gold "Maryland colors."

The current design of the flag has its roots in the post Civil War ers. The use of the two distinct color schemes symbolized the reunification and reconciliation of Marylanders who fought against one another.

During the Civil War, when Maryland remained an officiall yet nominally loyal Union state, secessionist minded Marylanders who fought in the Army of Northern Virginia, rallied under the red and white Crossland bottony.  According to the official history:

Following Lincoln's election in 1861, red and white "secession colors" appeared on everything from yarn stockings and cravats to children's clothing. People displaying these red-and-white symbols of resistance to the Union and to Lincoln's policies were vigorously prosecuted by Federal authorities.

During the war, Maryland-born Confederate soldiers used both the red-and-white colors and the cross bottony design from the Crossland quadrants of the Calvert coat of arms as a unique way of identifying their place of birth. Pins in the cross bottony shape were worn on uniforms, and the headquarters flag of the Maryland-born Confederate general Bradley T. Johnson was a red cross bottony on a white field.

After the war, both the Calvert and Crossland color schemes symbolized Maryland, and flags bearing both designs began to appear.  The designer and date of origin of the dual design flag are unknown. The first  use of the design dates back to 1888 when Maryland National Guard troops carried the flag while escorting Maryland Governor Elihu E. Jackson to dedicate a Maryland monument at Gettysburg.  One year later in 1889 the Fifth Regiment, Maryland National Guard adopted the design as its official colors.  The General Assembly adopted the same design as the official state flag in 1904.

I am actually violating state law by flying my Maryland flag. You see I do not have the requisite gold cross bottony on the flagstaff, which is statutorily required.  I can only im

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