MARYLAND'S NICKNAMES. Although Mary-
land's nicknames are not official State symbols,
the State is known as both the Old Line State
and the Free State.

According to some historians. Gen. George
Washington bestowed the appellation "Old Line
State" because Maryland's regular line troops
served admirably in many Revolutionary War en-
gagements. The troops of the Maryland Line
ranked among the finest in the Continental
Army.

The nickname "Free State" is of twentieth-cen-
tury origin. It was created by Hamilton Owens,

editor of the Baltimore Sun. In 1923, Congress-
man William D. Upshaw of Georgia, a firm sup-
porter of Prohibition, denounced Maryland as a
traitor to the Union because it had refused to
pass a State enforcement act. Mr. Owens there-
upon wrote a mock-serious editorial entitled "The
Maryland Free State," arguing that Maryland
should secede from the Union. The irony in the
editorial was subtle, and on second thought Mr.
Owens decided not to print it. The idea stuck in
his mind, however, and he later used it in other
editorials. The nickname caught on quickly, and
today the term "Free State" is heard almost as
frequently as "Old Line State."