Maryland Flag Status — Is the Flag at Half-Staff Today?
The current status could not be loaded just now. The national status is on the main flag page.
Who lowers the flag in Maryland
In Maryland, flag status is administered by the Secretary of State rather than the Governor’s press office, and the Secretary of State maintains the official flag-status page. That is unusual and worth knowing: Maryland notices are issued and archived by a constitutional officer whose remit includes ceremonial functions, which is why the record is more consistent than in states where flag orders are press output.
The flag of Maryland
Quartered black-and-gold (the Calvert family arms) and red-and-white (the Crossland family arms) — the only U.S. state flag based directly on English heraldry. The design has been the official flag since 1904.
Maryland on the American flag
Adopted by the Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777 — 'Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.' The circular star arrangement is traditionally credited to Betsy Ross, the Philadelphia upholsterer said to have sewn the first example for General Washington.
Sunrise and sunset in Annapolis
The flag is raised at sunrise and lowered at sunset. Today at the state capital:
How Maryland became a state
Founded in 1634 as a proprietary colony by Cecil Calvert, Maryland was envisioned as a haven for English Catholics and became one of the earliest American experiments in religious tolerance with the Maryland Toleration Act of 1649. It ratified the U.S. Constitution on April 28, 1788 to become the seventh state.
Admitted April 28, 1788 — the 7th state.
Maryland at a glance
Did you know
- Maryland’s state sport is jousting.
- The U.S. Naval Academy is in Annapolis.
- Maryland was originally meant to be “Crescentia” before being named for Queen Henrietta Maria.
- The Chesapeake Bay produces about one-third of the nation’s blue crab harvest.
Born or raised here: Frederick Douglass (abolitionist; Talbot County) · Harriet Tubman (Underground Railroad conductor; Dorchester County) · Thurgood Marshall (Supreme Court justice; Baltimore) · Babe Ruth (baseball player; Baltimore) · Edgar Allan Poe (lived and died in Baltimore) · Francis Scott Key (born in Frederick County)
Maryland in the American Record
Moments from the daily edition that happened in Maryland.
Official source
Orders are announced by the Governor’s office.
Common questions.
Is the flag at half-staff in Maryland today?+
The status above answers that for today. A national half-staff order applies in Maryland as it does everywhere else; the Governor can also lower flags within the state independently.
Who orders flags to half-staff in Maryland?+
In Maryland, flag status is administered by the Secretary of State rather than the Governor’s press office, and the Secretary of State maintains the official flag-status page. That is unusual and worth knowing: Maryland notices are issued and archived by a constitutional officer whose remit includes ceremonial functions, which is why the record is more consistent than in states where flag orders are press output.
Does a county order mean the whole of Maryland lowers its flags?+
No. A county or single-facility order (the State Capitol, for instance) applies only where it says it does. This page shows those separately from the statewide status precisely so the two are never confused — if the status above reads full-staff, Maryland has no statewide order in effect regardless of any local one.
When should the flag be raised and lowered in Maryland?+
The flag flies from sunrise to sunset. Today at the state capital, Annapolis, those times are shown above. On the final day of a half-staff order that runs "until sunset", the flag returns to full height at the local sunset — which is why the West Coast stays lowered a few hours after the East.
Flag status for every state, and the day in American history — one page, every morning.
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