Officially adopted in 1904, and resembling some sort of optical illusion, the design for the flag of Maryland was actually taken from the shield in the coat of arms of the family of George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore. The flag embodies both the yellow-and-black arms of his paternal family and the red-and-white cross bottony design of his maternal family, the Crosslands, whose ends are “furnished with knobs or buttons”.
Maryland’s first (pre-Civil War) flag design was originally similar to many other state flags, consisting of the seal of Maryland on a blue background (below). It was flown until the late 1890’s. And despite the fact that Maryland remained in the Union, many residents were known to wear the red-and-white secessionist colors in sympathy with the South.
Traces of Places 