Maryland's Coat Of Arms: A Flag's History

The Maryland flag is rich in symbolism and history. The flag's design is based on British heraldry, with a quartered field featuring the coats of arms of the Crossland and Calvert families. The red and white quarters represent the Crossland family, the heiress of which was the mother of George Calvert, the 1st Baron Baltimore. The black and gold quarters represent the Calverts, with the pattern said to resemble the crenellations of a palisade. The flag was officially adopted in 1904 and is symbolic of the reunion of all citizens in the state, representing both those who supported the Union and those who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

The Maryland flag's design

The Maryland flag is one of the most distinctive state flags in the US. The flag is a quartered field, with the first and fourth quarters featuring six alternating gold and black vertical bars with a diagonal band where the colours are reversed. The second and third quarters are quartered white and red, with a cross bottony or trefoil cross where the colours are counterchanged. This design combines the coat of arms of the Calverts, the founding family of Maryland, and the Crosslands, the family of Lord Baltimore's mother.

The gold and black colours of the Calverts were awarded to an ancestor, supposedly for storming a fortification during a battle. The pattern of the bars is said to represent the crenellations of a palisade. The Crossland coat of arms features a red and white cross, with the colours alternating. The Crossland family were heraldic heirs, and so Lord Baltimore was entitled to use both banners in his coat of arms.

The Maryland flag was officially adopted in 1904, although it first appeared in 1880, following the American Civil War. During the war, Maryland was a border state with split loyalties. While the state remained in the Union, many Marylanders supported the Confederacy and adopted the red and white Crossland colours as their own. After the war, the two banners were combined to symbolise the reunification of the state.

The Maryland flag is the only state flag to be based on British heraldry, and it is also one of the oldest in the country. The flag's intricate design and unique history are a source of pride for the state's residents. The flag's colours and design are used across Maryland, from sports teams to universities and businesses.

The coat of arms of the Crossland family

The Crossland coat of arms is combined with the Calvert coat of arms (gold and black) in the flag of the U.S. state of Maryland, which was officially adopted in 1904. The flag's design symbolises the reunion of all citizens in the state following the American Civil War, in which Maryland, a slave state, remained loyal to the Union despite a large proportion of its citizens supporting the Confederacy. The Crossland banner, with its red and white "secession colours", was adopted by Marylanders who fought for the Confederacy, while those who fought for the Union used the Calvert banner.

The Crossland coat of arms came to be included in the Maryland flag through George Calvert, First Lord Baltimore, whose mother was from the Crossland family. According to heraldic tradition, a daughter could "quarter" her family's blazon with that of her husband if she had no surviving male siblings. Alicia Crossland, who married Leonard Calvert, is said to have done this, although it is questionable whether she was being honest as she did have brothers. Nevertheless, the quartered blazon of the Calvert and Crossland families became the flag and emblem of the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland.

It is important to note that coats of arms, or blazons, were not static but changed from one generation to the next. Therefore, there is no single specific coat of arms for the Crossland family, or indeed for any family.

The coat of arms of the Calverts

The Calverts were a prominent family in English and colonial American history, and their coat of arms has a long and interesting history. The gold and black colours in the coat of arms were awarded to a distant ancestor of the Calverts, supposedly for his valour in storming a fortification during a battle. The pattern of these colours is said to represent the crenellations of a palisade.

The red and white quarters of the coat of arms represent the Crossland family, the family of Lord Baltimore's mother, Alicia Crossland, from South Crosland in West Yorkshire, England. As an heiress, she was entitled to a coat of arms, and her son, George Calvert, was entitled to use both banners. The Crossland coat of arms features a cross bottony or trefoil cross with alternating red and white sides.

The Maryland flag's symbolism

The Maryland flag is symbolic of the state's rich history and is the only state flag to be based on British heraldry. The flag's origins can be traced back to the coat of arms of Cecil Calvert, the Second Baron Baltimore, who was granted the colony of Maryland by King Charles I. The flag's design combines the coat of arms of Cecil's mother's family, the Crosslands, with that of his father's family, the Calverts.

The gold and black colours of the Calvert coat of arms were awarded to an ancestor for their valour in storming a fortification during a battle. The pattern of vertical bars and a diagonal line is said to represent the crenellations of a palisade. The red and white Crossland coat of arms, on the other hand, features a cross bottony or trefoil cross with alternating colours in each quadrant. The Crossland family was entitled to a coat of arms as Alicia Crossland, Cecil Calvert's mother, was an heiress.

During the American Civil War, Maryland's official stance was to remain in the Union. However, the state had split loyalties, with a significant proportion of its citizens supporting the Confederacy. Marylanders who fought for the Confederacy, adopted the red and white colours of the Crossland banner as a symbol of their support for the South. This was in contrast to the yellow and black colours of the Calvert banner, which were associated with the Union.

After the Civil War, the state of Maryland needed a symbol of unity and reconciliation. As a result, the two banners were combined to create the current Maryland flag, which was officially adopted in 1904. The flag's design, with its bold colours and distinctive pattern, has been ranked as one of the best state flag designs in the United States.

The Maryland flag's history

The Maryland flag, with its bold and distinctive colours, has an interesting history. The flag is the official banner of arms of the 2nd Baron Baltimore, who founded the Maryland Colony in the 17th century. The flag consists of the arms of his father, the 1st Baron Baltimore, and those of his grandmother, heiress of the Crossland family, quartered together. The black and gold of the 1st Baron Baltimore's arms were the only colours associated with Maryland during the colonial period. However, the state stopped using these colours after American Independence, and a variety of unofficial banners were used to represent the state until the current flag was officially adopted in 1904.

The current design, which combines the coats of arms of both the Calvert and Crossland families, began to appear after the Civil War. During the war, Maryland, though a slave state, remained loyal to the Union, but many of its citizens supported the Confederacy. The yellow and black of the Calvert family's arms were associated with the Union, while those Marylanders who sympathised with the Confederacy adopted the red and white of the Crossland arms. After the war, the new flag design was a symbol of reconciliation between the two sides.

The flag in its current form was first flown in Baltimore in 1880, at a parade marking the 150th anniversary of the city's founding. It was flown again in 1888 at the Gettysburg Battlefield during ceremonies dedicating monuments to the Maryland regiments of the Army of the Potomac.

The flag was ranked fourth best in design quality out of the flags of the provinces of Canada, the U.S. states, and U.S. territories, in a 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association.

The Calvert and Crossland coats of arms have been adapted for use by various organisations across Maryland, including universities, sports teams, and municipalities. The flag is also featured on Maryland's standard issue license plates and driver's licenses.

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