Maryland - The Seventh State (The Beginning)

In the early 1500’s, Giovanni da Verrazzano explored the Maryland region, but Captain John Smith was the first to map the area in 1608.  In 1632, George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) obtained a charter from England’s King Charles I to establish a colony, naming in Maryland in honor of the king’s wife Henrietta Maria.

The first settlers, led by Leonard Calvert, arrived in 1634.  The colony prospered and became a haven for Catholics forced to flee England.  The Calverts were also generous with land grants, which attracted many enterprising farmers.  Tobacco was an important crop in Maryland, where the prevalence of waterways made it easy to transport crops to the coast for shipment abroad.

On April 28, 1788, Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the Constitution.  Maryland saw no major military action during the American Revolution, but its troops were renowned for their bravery elsewhere.

Although Maryland escaped the British is the Revolution, it became a major battleground in the War of 1812.  The Americans’ courageous defense of Fort McHenry in Baltimore inspired Francis Scott Key to write the “Star Spangled Banner” in 1814.

The issue of slavery bitterly divided Maryland in the Civil War.  Officially, the state remained part of the Union, although it actually supplied troops to both sides.  It was the site of the pivotal Battle of Antietam, which stopped General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army from progressing north.  In 1864, Maryland adopted a constitution that outlawed slavery.