[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4826-4827]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              MARYLAND DAY

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to celebrate Maryland Day 
and the proud history of my home State. Marylanders across the State 
are taking a moment to reflect on our proud history and contributions 
to the Nation. I wish to spend a few minutes to highlight the 
importance of this State holiday and the activities that are underway.
  On this day 380 years ago, two ships commissioned by Lord Baltimore, 
The Ark and The Dove, carried the first English settlers to land at St. 
Clement's Island in what is now recognized as St. Mary's County. 
Leonard Calvert, a son of Lord Baltimore who eventually served as the 
first Governor of Maryland, led the 150 settlers who came ashore to St. 
Clement's Island after spending more than four months at sea. This 
landing represented the first time European settlers came to Maryland 
and those settlers eventually formed just the third English colony to 
be settled in British North America.
  The origin of Maryland Day began with the Maryland State Board of 
Education placing an emphasis on State and local histories in public 
schools. In 1903, the Maryland State Board of Education officially 
recognized Maryland Day as a tool for students and teachers to increase 
instruction of Maryland history in public schools. The Maryland General 
Assembly, which held its first session in St. Mary's County not long 
after the landing at St. Clement's Island, enacted Maryland Day as an 
official State holiday in 1916. Young learners across our State will 
spend today learning about the significant contributions of Maryland to 
the Nation and important historical figures in Maryland.
  I am proud to say that every region of my home State has played a 
role in shaping our Nation. From the Eastern Shore of Maryland, for 
instance, Harriet Ross Tubman was born into slavery in 1820 in 
Buckstown, MD along the marshes of the Blackwater River in Dorchester 
County. After learning she would be sold to settle her late master's 
debts, Tubman escaped from slavery to Philadelphia, PA, marking the 
first of many expeditions over the course of the next 11 years to and 
from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to lead nearly 70 slaves out of 
slavery. In addition to becoming a famous conductor on the Underground 
Railroad, she held a lifelong commitment to the women's suffrage 
movement and worked as a nurse, cook, spy, and scout for the Union Army 
during the Civil War in Port Royal, SC. She became the first woman to 
lead an armed assault during the Civil War in Combahee Ferry Raid, 
liberating nearly 750 slaves. In her later years, she worked tirelessly 
for the women's suffrage movement, speaking before countless women's 
groups with fellow suffrage movement leaders Susan B. Anthony and Emily 
Howland. When asked if she believed women deserved the right to vote, 
she would reply, ``I suffered enough to believe it.''
  In Western Maryland, Maryland citizens played a key role in the 
military and political struggles of the Civil War. The control of 
Maryland territory was crucial due to the State's proximity to 
Washington, DC, the State's border with Virginia and with other States 
that remained in the Union, and Baltimore's position as a key railroad 
link to the West. In 1862, GEN Robert E. Lee led his Confederate Army 
of Northern Virginia across the Potomac River around Leesburg, VA into 
Maryland, marking his first invasion into the North during the Civil 
War. The Maryland Campaign consisted of a number of battles along 
Maryland's westernmost counties and often pitted Marylanders on 
opposite sides of the fighting. In the single bloodiest day battle in 
American history, the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, MD formed a 
turning point in the Civil War. With savage close range fighting 
lasting over a period of 12 hours, the Union and Confederate forces 
suffered nearly 23,000 total casualties. This battle forced General Lee 
to withdraw his Confederate Army back across the Potomac River into 
Virginia, thus ending the invasion of the North and the last major 
battle that took place on Union soil. The people of Maryland honor 
those who valiantly fought in the Civil War, endured the hardships 
brought on by the conflict, and made the ultimate sacrifice in order to 
form a more perfect Union.
  Perhaps the most recognizable contribution Maryland has provided to 
our Nation is the national anthem. During the War of 1812, British 
troops enacted heavy damage to Washington, DC, setting both the U.S. 
Capitol and the White House ablaze. The British forces then marched 
towards Baltimore. Citizens of Baltimore, including free blacks, 
quickly mobilized to protect their city. Barricades stretching more 
than 1 mile long were constructed to protect the harbor, hulls were 
sunk to impede navigation, and a chain of masts was erected across the 
harbor entrance. When the British fleet approached Baltimore at North 
Point, Marylanders fought the British Army and helped repulse the 
British Navy from Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore. It's 
important to note that American forces during the Battle of North Point 
were volunteer militia, heavily outnumbered by the highly trained 
British infantry, but they managed to delay the British forces long 
enough for 10,000 American reinforcements to arrive, preventing a land 
attack against Baltimore. Following 25 hours of intense British naval 
bombardment at Fort McHenry, the American defenders refused to yield, 
and the British were forced to depart.
  During the bombardment, American lawyer Francis Scott Key, who was 
being held on board an American flag-of-truce vessel in Baltimore 
Harbor, took notice of the American flag still flying atop Fort 
McHenry. Key realized then that the Americans had survived the battle 
and stopped the enemy advance. He was so moved by the sight of the 
American flag flying following the horrific bombardment, he composed a 
poem called the ``The Defense of Fort McHenry,'' which was published in 
the Baltimore Patriot and Advertiser

[[Page 4827]]

newspaper later that year. This poem, and later the song, inspired love 
of country among the American people and not only helped usher in the 
Era of Good Feelings immediately after the war, but became a timeless 
reminder of American resolve. ``The Star Spangled Banner'' officially 
became our national anthem in 1931. The flag that flew over Fort 
McHenry and inspired this anthem is now a national treasure on display 
at the Smithsonian Institution, a very short distance from where we are 
today.
  On this Maryland Day, Marylanders are in the midst of celebrating 
Baltimore's role in the bicentennial anniversary of the War of 1812. 
The Pride of Baltimore II, named in honor of the Baltimore clipper the 
Chasseur, set sail from the Baltimore Inner Harbor to the State capital 
while carrying a replica of the Star Spangled Banner ``that was still 
there'' after the bombardment of Fort McHenry in September 1814. Sewn 
by volunteers of the Maryland Historical Society, this flag will be 
presented to Governor Martin O'Malley and members of the Maryland 
General Assembly at the Annapolis Statehouse.
  I am proud of the legacy of my home State and the efforts Marylanders 
have made and continue to make to remember those who have come before 
us. I thank all of those who participated in Maryland Day ceremonies 
and congratulate the students who learned something new about our great 
State today.

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