Flag of Maryland

State: Maryland

Proportions: 2:3, 3:5 or 5:8

Maryland Flag Description:
The flag of Maryland is sectioned into four quarters. The top left and bottom right are the same and the top right and bottom left quarters are also the same as each other. The flag features the arms of two English families, the Calvert family and the Crossland family. The black and gold arms represent the Calverts and the red and white arms represent the Crosslands.

Maryland Flag Meaning:
George Calvert was the first Lord Baltimore and he was granted the black and gold coat of arms, incorporating the colors of his paternal family. The red and white arms are of the Crosslands, his maternal family in 1622. The Calverts founded Maryland as a British colony in 1634. The state was named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, King of Britain and Ireland.

Maryland Flag History:
The flag was adopted on Mar. 9, 1904. Maryland is the seventh state of the union, gaining statehood on Apr. 28, 1788. It is one of the original 13 colonies that united to form the union of the United States. A gold and black flag was used by the colony, until the American Revolutionary War. During the American Civil War, Maryland remained with the Union (North) however, many citizens sympathized with the Confederacy (south).

These sympathizers supported the south by wearing red and white emblems. Maryland soldiers fighting with the south also wore the emblems to identify their state of origin.

By the end of the war both sets of colors (black and gold, red and white), had become associated with Maryland. In 1880, a flag containing both sets of colors was first flown.

Interesting Maryland Facts: Maryland's state nickname is the Old Line State.