Flag of Maryland

What the flag looks like

Quartered: the first and fourth quarters have vertical gold and black stripes with a diagonal band in reversed colors; the second and third quarters show a red and white cross with flared ends, colors reversed on each side.

What it means

It combines the arms of the Calvert family, the Lords Baltimore who founded the colony, with those of the Crossland family of the first Lord Baltimore's mother.

How to remember it

Maryland looks like a medieval shield cut into four, black-and-gold stripes swapping corners with a red-and-white cross; no other state flag looks like it.

Fun facts

• It is the only US state flag based on English heraldry.
• In the Civil War, the black and gold were associated with Unionists and the red and white with Marylanders who sided with the South.

Maryland at a glance

Nickname

The Old Line State

Statehood

1788

Capital

Annapolis

Region

South Atlantic

Population

6.2 million

Area

32,131 km²

Flag adopted

1904