The States Of Modern: Maryland
As a young girl of ten, I was told the romantic story of Black-eyed Susan (The Maryland State Flower). While I’ve long forgotten the details, I’ve always remembered to dramatic, romantic essence of the tale. My Maryland research brought it back to me… (All hail the internet!)
In the 1700s, a poet named John Gay wrote a ballad about a young lass named Black-eyed Susan boards a ship in the harbor to find her lover, Sweet William. After she finds him in a glorious reunion, she is told she must leave the ship for it must sail away. The ballad dramatizes the bittersweet parting of Black-eyed Susan and Sweet William and became a popular legend of love in English literature.
BLACK-EYED SUSAN: A Ballad by John Gay (1685–1732)
ALL in the Downs the fleet was moor’d,
The streamers waving in the wind,
When black-eyed Susan came aboard;
‘O! where shall I my true-love find?
Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true
If my sweet William sails among the crew.’
William, who high upon the yard
Rock’d with the billow to and fro,
Soon as her well-known voice he heard
He sigh’d, and cast his eyes below:
The cord slides swiftly through his glowing hands,
And quick as lightning on the deck he stands.
So the sweet lark, high poised in air,
Shuts close his pinions to his breast
If chance his mate’s shrill call he hear,
And drops at once into her nest:—
The noblest captain in the British fleet
Might envy William’s lip those kisses sweet.
‘O Susan, Susan, lovely dear,
My vows shall ever true remain;
Let me kiss off that falling tear;
We only part to meet again.
Change as ye list, ye winds; my heart shall be
The faithful compass that still points to thee.
‘Believe not what the landmen say
Who tempt with doubts thy constant mind:
They’ll tell thee, sailors, when away,
In every port a mistress find:
Yes, yes, believe them when they tell thee so,
For Thou art present wheresoe’er I go.
‘If to fair India’s coast we sail,
Thy eyes are seen in diamonds bright,
Thy breath is Afric’s spicy gale,
Thy skin is ivory so white.
Thus every beauteous object that I view
Wakes in my soul some charm of lovely Sue.
‘Though battle call me from thy arms
Let not my pretty Susan mourn;
Though cannons roar, yet safe from harms
William shall to his Dear return.
Love turns aside the balls that round me fly,
Lest precious tears should drop from Susan’s eye:
The boatswain gave the dreadful word,
The sails their swelling bosom spread,
No longer must she stay aboard;
They kiss’d, she sigh’d, he hung his head.
Her lessening boat unwilling rows to land;
‘Adieu!’ she cries; and waved her lily hand.
The ballad does not reveal what became of these lovers….
But…
When the English colonists came to America and saw the beautiful golden flowers with dark conical centers they called the flowers Black-Eyed Susans. The name Sweet William has also been given to another flower and some gardeners often plant them next to each other so they’ll always be together and they bloom beautifully at exactly the same time. So perhaps that is the appropriate ending to the ballad.
Now onto our Maryland block which is taken from the state flag which has another whole story…
The black and gold design on the flag is the coat of arms from the Calvert line. It was granted to George Calvert as a reward for his storming a fortification during a battle (the vertical bars approximate the bars of the palisade).
The red and white design (which is the basis of our block) is the coat of arms of the Crossland line, the family of Lord Baltimore’s mother, and features a cross bottony with the red and white sides of the cross alternating. Since George Calvert’s mother was an heiress, he was entitled to use both coats of arms in his banner. It is one of only four U.S. state flags that does not contain the color blue (the other three being Alabama, California, and New Mexico).
The Maryland colony was founded by Cecilius Calvert, second baron and Lord Baltimore, (1605-1675), which was granted to him as George’s son and heir by King Charles I, hence the use of his family’s coat of arms in the flag. At first, only the gold and black Calvert arms were associated with Maryland, being reintroduced in 1854. The red and white colored arms of the Crossland family, which belonged to the family of Calvert’s (Lord Baltimore’s) paternal grandmother, gained popularity during the American Civil War, when Maryland remained with the Union despite a large proportion of the citizenry’s support for the Confederacy. Those Marylanders who supported the Confederacy, adopted the Crossland banner and often used a metal bottony cross pinned to their gray uniforms or caps. The black and gold (yellow) colors with the chevron design of the Calvert family were used in the flags and uniform pins of the Union Army regiments in the northern Army of the Potomac.
After the war, Marylanders who had fought on either side of the conflict returned to their state in need of reconciliation. The present flag design, which incorporates both of the coats of arms used by George Calvert, began appearing.
I choose the Crossland section because of the colors, red and white. We aren’t using black in this quilt so that eliminated both the Black-eyed Susan and the Calvert coat of arms. I may have to design another whole quilt based on that Black-Eyed Susan!
Maryland State Facts…
Capitol: Annapolis
Admission To Statehood April 28, 1788 (7th State)
Flag: The Maryland flag contains the family crest of the Calvert and Crossland families. Maryland was founded as an English colony in 1634 by Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore. The black and Gold designs belong to the Calvert family. The red and white design belongs to the Crossland family.
Bird: Baltimore Oriole
Flower: Black-Eyed Susan
Largest Cities: Balimore, Frederick and Rockville
Here is the pattern PDF….
The States Of Modern Maryland
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Did you see?
The Triangle Sherbet quilt is so much fun to put together. I made mine all in flannel, but this quilt would be wonderful in any grouping… How about starting with a group of Hoffman Batik fat quarters! Yum! It’s easy so it’s great for a beginner and also a quick go-to quilt for the more advanced quilter. The pattern is just 99 Cents!
The Very Quick Quilt (V.Q.Q.) is perhaps the easiest block quilt you can make… Just a square! Shown here in Nearly Christmas prints, imagine it in Kaffe Fassett or 30s prints. Starting with a group of coordinated squares, the V.Q.Q. makes up into a stylish statement… And in multiple sizes. Only 99 Cents!
The HourGlass quilt is made up of scrappy reds with black and white accents. Or maybe you’d like it in Lime Greens… Sunflower Yellows or Bright Blues! Using a slick HourGlass trick and lots of scraps, you’ll soon have a fabulous quilt. Just 99 Cents!
Here again is the pattern PDF….
The States Of Modern Maryland
