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Maryland Manual, 1977-78
Volume 178, Page 16   View pdf image (33K)
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POET LAUREATE OF MARYLAND —
By Chapter 178, Acts of 1959, the Gover-
nor was authorized to appoint a citizen of
Maryland as Poet Laureate of Maryland.
Under the provisions of this Chapter, the
Governor appointed Vincent Godfrey Burns
(Code 1957, 1971 Repl. Vol., 1976 Supp.,
Art. 41, sec. 77A).
MARYLAND SPORT — By Chapter 134,
Acts of 1962, the age old equestrian sport
of Jousting was proclaimed as the official
sport of the State of Maryland (Code 1957,
1971 Repl. Vol., Art. 41, sec. 79A).
STATE INSECT—The Baltimore Checker-
spot Butterfly (Euphydryas phaeton) was de-
clared to be the official arthropodic emblem
of the State of Maryland by the General
Assembly by Chapter 253, Acts of 1973
(Code 1957, 1971 Repl. Vol., 1975 Supp.,
Art. 41, sec. 77C).

MARYLAND'S NICKNAMES—Although
Maryland's nicknames are not official State
Symbols, the State is known both as the
"Old Line State" and the "Free State."
During the Revolutionary War, Maryland
received its nickname of the "Old Line
State." According to some historians, it was
presumably given by Gen. George Wash-
ington because of the magnificent perform-
ance of the State's regular troops of the line
in several of the more important engage-
ments. In this connection, military writers
have stated that the troops of the Maryland
Line ranked among the finest in the Conti-
nental Army and were "held in admirable
discipline" as distinguished from the militia.
which fought in guerilla fashion. (See: WPA
Writers' Project, Maryland: A Guide to the
Old Line State (New York, 1940). p. 37. )
The nickname of "Free State" is of twen-

tieth century origin. It was invented by'
Hamilton Owens, editor of the Baltimore
Sun. Sometime in 1923, at the height of the
debate over Prohibition, Congressman Wil-
liam D. Upshaw of Georgia, a fierce dry,
denounced Maryland as a traitor to the
Union because it had refused to pass a State
enforcement act. Mr. Owens thereupon
wrote a mock-serious editorial entitled "The
Maryland Free State," arguing that Mary-
land should really secede from the Union
and go (it alone. The irony in this editorial
was somewhat finely spun, and on second
thought Mr. Owens decided not to print it,
but the idea stuck in his mind, and in a
little while he began to use it in other edi-
torials. The nickname caught on quickly.
and the term "Free State" is heard almost
as frequently as "Old Line State." See
Frank R. Kent and others, The Sunpapers
of Baltimore (New York. 1937), p. 309.


 
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Maryland Manual, 1977-78
Volume 178, Page 16   View pdf image (33K)
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