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Bladensburg, Maryland (U.S.)

Prince George's County

image located by Jan Mertens, 30 March 2009

Description of the flag

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Description of the Flag

One of “edwinart”’s offers on eBay (aka eBay Store “Edwin’s Stuff”) last year concerned a bicentennial flag of Bladensburg, Maryland: no. 200257090509 ended on 30 Sep 2008.

A local initiative, no doubt inspired by the nationwide 1776-1976 commemoration campaign, it is a special case: hung up at the top and fringed on the bottom. Seller’s comments: “Roughly 24(with fringe) x 42 in/inches / Silk-like or Satin material with Printed image. Sleeve is at the top instead of side, so would be hung with a horizontal pole. Has a fair amount of staining.”

White field, sleeve at the top and yellow fringe at the bottom, a large red circular rim bearing white characters “BLADENSBURG MARYLAND” (top), “1776 / BICENTENNIAL / 1976” (extended lower side) and four white disks bearing blue five-pointed stars separating the name or word, respectively, from the years. Enclosed by the rim is a thin sky blue circle in front of which appears a coat of arms held at the top by an eagle emerging from behind the shield: the eagle is sky blue except for the left wing –extending beyond the circle - which ends in eight red and white stripes with a (difficult to determine) number of blue stars on the white stripes; moreover the eagle holds a blue arrow, placed diagonally and tip upwards towards the hoist, in its beak and left talon. Also extending beyond the circle, its lower left part this time, is the shield divided quarterly (and described non-heraldically), upper left: a blue locomotive, front towards the hoist, on a sky blue field; upper right: white, a white shield bearing four red chevrons the upper one of which is formed like a crown of three points; lower left: white, two blue pistols, muzzles up, crossed; lower right: sky blue, a monument in the form of a cross placed on two steps.

The locomotive recalls that the town was on the first US railway line: http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=8221. The arms probably refer to Thomas Bladen, the 18C Maryland governor after which the town was named: http://www.oglefamilyofmarylandandalliedfamilies.com/WM.%20BLADEN%20CREST%20ON%20TOMBSTONE.JPG. The pistols symbolize, I suppose, the battle between British and Americans (1814); lastly, the cross is the local WWI monument, the Memorial or Peace Cross: http://www.bladensburg.com/html/historical_places_9.html.

As you can see, the town presently uses a simplified variant of above arms within a cartouche: http://www.bladensburg.com/assets/images/seal.gif.
Jan Mertens, 30 March 2009