State Symbols/13

STATE FLAG. Maryland's flag bears the arms of
the Calvert and Crossland families. Calvert was the
family name of the Lords Baltimore who founded
Maryland, and their colors of gold and black appear
in the first and fourth quarters of the flag. Crossland
was the family of the mother of George Calvert, first
Lord Baltimore. The red and white Crossland col-
ors, with a Greek cross terminating in the foils,
appear in the second and third quarters. This flag
was first flown October 11, 1880, in Baltimore at a
parade marking the 150th anniversary of the found-
ing of Baltimore. It also was flown October 25,
1888, at Gettysburg Battlefield for ceremonies ded-
icating monuments to Maryland regiments of the
Army of the Potomac. Officially; it was adopted as
the State flag in 1904 (Chapter 48, Acts of 1904).
Maryland law requires that if any ornament is af-
fixed to the top of a flagstaff carrying the Maryland
flag, the ornament must be a gold cross bottony
(Chapter 862, Acts of 1945; Code State Govern-
ment Article, secs. 13-201 through 13-204).

STATE FISH. The striped bass or rockfish (Roccus
saxatilis 2) was designated as the official fish of the
State of Maryland in 1965 (Chapter 513, Acts of
1965; Code State Government Article, sec. 13-
304).

STATE SONG. The nine-stanza poem, "Mary-
land, My Maryland, " was written by James Ryder
Randall in 1861. A native of Maryland, Randall was
teaching in Louisiana in the early days of the Civil
War, and he was outraged at the news of Union
troops being marched through Baltimore. The
poem articulated Randall's Confederate sympa-
thies. Set to the traditional tune of "Lauriger
Horatius" ("O, Tannenbaum"), the song achieved
wide popularity in Maryland and throughout the
South. "Maryland, My Maryland" was adopted as
the State song in 1939 (Chapter 451, Acts of 1939;
Code State Government Article, sec. 13-307).