Seal of Baltimore

Last updated

Seal of Baltimore, Maryland
Seal of Baltimore, Maryland.svg
Armiger City of Baltimore
Adopted1827
Torse "CITY OF BALTIMORE - 1797"
Blazon Battle Monument
UseTo represent the city and to authenticate certain edicts and documents.

The Seal of Baltimore is the official government emblem of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The current City Seal was adopted for use in 1827, possibly inspired by a famous speech and toast made by sixth President John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) / [served 1825-1829], on a visit and tour in 1827, in which he dubbed the city with its most well-known nickname of "The Monumental City", with the recent erection of several monuments, including this for the War of 1812 and the new Washington Monument column, nearing completion in a wooded park, just north of the booming city. The seal is in the shape of an ellipse with the image of the Battle Monument featured in its center The iconic monument, designed by Frenchman J. Maximilian Godefroy, (1765-c.1838), erected 1815–1822, in the former colonial era Courthouse Square (where the Declaration of Independence had been read to the town populace on July 29, 1776) for the casualties suffered during the recent War of 1812 when the British invasion with a land/sea attack in September 1814, in the Battle of Baltimore, with the land conflict southeast of the city on the Patapsco Neck peninsula with several thousands of the King's Army at the Battle of North Point and the subsequent Royal Navy fleet blockade and bombardment of Fort McHenry, south of the town, protecting the entrance to the Patapsco River of Baltimore harbor.

Around the inner edge of the ellipse of the City Seal are the words CITY OF BALTIMORE, while under the image of the Battle Monument is the year "1797", the year in which the city was first incorporated (although the port was designated in 1706, founded as a town 1729, and laid out in 1730, and separated from surrounding Baltimore County as an independent city in 1851). Color versions of the seal are in black and gold, representative of the colors of the coat of arms of the Calvert family. The then chief member of whom, Cecilius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, (1605-1675), founded the colony Province of Maryland in 1634, and planned / arranged for its settlement, sending his younger brother Leonard Calvert, (1606-1647), with the first expedition as colonial proprietary governor, carrying forward the original grant and charter made first to his father, George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, (1579-1632), by his friend King Charles I (1600-1649)/[reigned 1625-1649], in 1632, before his untimely early death that year. The English monarch who also bestowed on him for his services to the Crown as Secretary of State, the title of nobility for a town in Ireland, also named Baltimore.

The Seal was engraved on a metal die and placed in a wood-frame structure in the offices of the Department of Legislative Reference at the historic Baltimore City Hall and used to make embossed impressions on official documents also used as an emblem on various city properties / signs / publications and vehicles, was supplemented in the 2010s, under 49th Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake by an official City Logo of a round design with the Battle Monument image superimposed on the black and gold/yellow chevrons from two of the four quarters of the Calvert family /Lord Baltimore's shield of his coat-of-arms (also used as the Maryland state flag), as used on the later designed city flag. considered one of the most striking, beautiful and attractive municipal or state flags in the nation. This more colorful round City Logo was also circled by the words - "CITY OF BALTIMORE" but with no "1797" date at the bottom. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

Crescent Symbol of a lunar phase; symbol of Islam

A crescent shape is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter, or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.

Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore English peer (1605-1675)

Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, was an English nobleman, also often known as Cecilius Calvert, who was the first Proprietor of the Province of Maryland, ninth Proprietary Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland and second of the colony of Province of Avalon to its southeast. His title was "First Lord Proprietary, Earl Palatine of the Provinces of Maryland and Avalon in America". He received the proprietorship after the death of his father, The 1st Baron Baltimore, for whom it had been intended. Cecil, Lord Baltimore, established and managed the Province of Maryland from his home, Kiplin Hall, in North Yorkshire, England. As an English Roman Catholic, he continued the legacy of his father by promoting religious tolerance in the colony.

Fort McHenry United States fort in Baltimore, Maryland

Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy from the Chesapeake Bay on September 13–14, 1814. It was first built in 1798 and was used continuously by the U.S. armed forces through World War I and by the Coast Guard in World War II. It was designated a national park in 1925, and in 1939 was redesignated a "National Monument and Historic Shrine".

Baron Baltimore Noble rank held by the Calvert family (1625–1771)

Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore, County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 and ended in 1771, upon the death of its sixth-generation male heir, aged 40. Holders of the title were usually known as Lord Baltimore for short.

Province of Maryland Former British colony in North America

The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1778, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S. state of Maryland. Its first settlement and capital was St. Mary's City, in the southern end of St. Mary's County, which is a peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay and is also bordered by four tidal rivers.

Flag of Maryland Flag of the U.S. state of Maryland

The flag of the State of Maryland is the 17th-century heraldic banner of arms of Cecil, 2nd Baron Baltimore. It consists of the escutcheon of his father George, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), with the charges and fields from his coat of arms quartered with those of his grandmother, heiress of the Crossland family in the Kingdom of England. The flag was officially adopted by the General Assembly of Maryland in 1904.

Leonard Calvert First governor of Maryland colony (1606-1647)

The Hon. Leonard Calvert was the first proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland. He was the second son of The 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632), the first proprietor of Maryland. His elder brother Cecil (1605–1675), who inherited the colony and the title upon the death of their father George, April 15, 1632, appointed Leonard as governor of the Colony in his absence.

Elihu Emory Jackson American politician (1837-1907)

Elihu Emory Jackson, a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 41st Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1888 to 1892. He was born in 1837 in Delmar, Maryland and died in 1907 in the City of Baltimore, Maryland. He is buried at the Parsons Cemetery in Salisbury, Maryland, the county seat of Wicomico County. He was part owner of Pemberton Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Seal of Maryland Official government emblem of the U.S. state of Maryland

The Great Seal of the State of Maryland is the official government emblem of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its official service is to authenticate acts by the General Assembly of Maryland, but it is also used for display purposes at most state buildings. Although the state seal has been changed in design several times throughout history, the current model represents the reverse side of the original seal.

Defenders Day is a longtime legal holiday on September 12, in the U.S. state of Maryland, in the City of Baltimore and surrounding Baltimore County. It commemorates the successful defense of the city of Baltimore on September 12-13-14, 1814 from an invading British force during the War of 1812, an event which led to the writing of the words of a poem, which when set to music a few days later, became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner", which in 1931 was designated as the national anthem of the United States.

Flag of Baltimore Flag of the city of Baltimore, Maryland, US

The flag of the city of Baltimore features the "Battle Monument", which is also the central motif on the city's seal.

Andrew White (Jesuit) English missionary in America

Andrew White was an English Jesuit missionary who was involved in the founding of the Maryland colony. He was a chronicler of the early colony, and his writings are a primary source on the land, the Native Americans of the area, and the Jesuit mission in North America. For his efforts in converting and educating the native population, he is frequently referred to as the "Apostle of Maryland." He is considered a forefather of Georgetown University, and is memorialized in the name of its White-Gravenor building, a central location of offices and classrooms on the university's campus.

St. Paul Street and Calvert Street are a one-way pair of streets in Downtown Baltimore and areas north. The streets, which are part of Maryland Route 2, are two of Baltimore's best-known streets in the downtown area.

Battle Monument Monument in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

The Battle Monument, located in Battle Monument Square on North Calvert Street between East Fayette and East Lexington Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, commemorates the Battle of Baltimore with the British fleet of the Royal Navy's bombardment of Fort McHenry, the Battle of North Point, southeast of the city in Baltimore County on the Patapsco Neck peninsula, and the stand-off on the eastern siege fortifications along Loudenschlager and Potter's Hills, later called Hampstead Hill, in what is now Patterson Park since 1827, east of town. It honors those who died during the month of September 1814 during the War of 1812. The monument lies in the middle of the street and is between the two Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses that are located on the opposite sides of North Calvert Street. It was sponsored by the City and the "Committee of Vigilance and Safety" led by Mayor Edward Johnson and military commanders: Brig. Gen. John Stricker, Maj. Gen. Samuel Smith and Lt. Col. George Armistead.

Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses United States historic place

The Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses are state judicial facilities located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. They face each other in the 100 block of North Calvert Street, between East Lexington Street on the north and East Fayette Street on the south across from the Battle Monument Square (1815-1822), which held the original site of the first colonial era courthouse for Baltimore County and Town, after moving the Baltimore County seat in 1767 to the burgeoning port town on the Patapsco River established in 1729-1730.

Baltimore County Circuit Courthouses United States historic place

The Baltimore County Courthouses are located in Towson, the county seat. The older, original Baltimore County Courthouse of 1854-1856 houses many of the offices of the County government, including both the executive branch and the legislative branch. The County Courts Building lies to the west, separated by a plaza. Built in 1970-1971, it houses the civil, criminal, family and juvenile divisions of the Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore County, as well as the Baltimore County Sheriff's Office. The latter office protects the Courthouse and its judicial personnel, as well as having countywide law enforcement functions.

Seton Hill, Baltimore United States historic place

Seton Hill Historic District is a historic district in Baltimore, Maryland. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Battle of the Severn

The Battle of the Severn was a skirmish fought on March 25, 1655, on the Severn River at Horn Point, across Spa Creek from Annapolis, Maryland, in what at that time was referred to as the Puritan settlement of "Providence", and what is now the neighborhood of Eastport.

St. Pauls Episcopal Church (Baltimore, Maryland) United States historic place

St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, more commonly called Old St. Paul's Church today, is a historic Episcopal church located at 233 North Charles Street at the southeast corner with East Saratoga Street, in Baltimore, Maryland, near "Cathedral Hill" on the northern edge of the downtown central business district to the south and the Mount Vernon-Belevedere cultural/historic neighborhood to the north. It was founded in 1692 as the parish church for the "Patapsco Parish", one of the "original 30 parishes" of the old Church of England in colonial Maryland.

History of Baltimore

This article describes the history of the Baltimore and its surrounding area in central Maryland since the establishment of settlements by European colonists in 1661.

References

  1. "Seal - Baltimore City, Maryland". Maryland State Archives. Retrieved December 22, 2015.