The Civil War left lasting legacies throughout the country that persist to this day. One of the more interesting ones is the state song of Maryland, "Maryland My Maryland." The song was originally penned in 1861 by James Ryder Randall as a poem and sung to the tune of "O Tannenbaum". The song is laced with references to famous Marylanders, references to the Mexican-American war and directly mentions President Lincoln.
I
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland! My Maryland
II
Hark to an exiled son's appeal,
Maryland!
My mother State! to thee I kneel,
Maryland!
For life and death, for woe and weal,
Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel,
Maryland! My Maryland!
III
Thou wilt not cower in the dust,
Maryland!
Thy beaming sword shall never rust,
Maryland!
Remember Carroll's sacred trust,
Remember Howard's warlike thrust,-
And all thy slumberers with the just,
Maryland! My Maryland!
IV
Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day,
Maryland!
Come with thy panoplied array,
Maryland!
With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
With Watson's blood at Monterey,
With fearless Lowe and dashing May,
Maryland! My Maryland!
V
Come! for thy shield is bright and strong,
Maryland!
Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong,
Maryland!
Come to thine own anointed throng,
Stalking with Liberty along,
And chaunt thy dauntless slogan song,
Maryland! My Maryland!
VI
Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain,
Maryland!
Virginia should not call in vain,
Maryland!
She meets her sisters on the plain-
"Sic semper!" 'tis the proud refrain
That baffles minions back again,
Maryland!
Arise in majesty again,
Maryland! My Maryland!
VII
I see the blush upon thy cheek,
Maryland!
For thou wast ever bravely meek,
Maryland!
But lo! there surges forth a shriek,
From hill to hill, from creek to creek-
Potomac calls to Chesapeake,
Maryland! My Maryland!
VIII
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll,
Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,
Maryland!
Better the fire upon thee roll, Better the blade, the shot, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the soul,
Maryland! My Maryland!
IX
I hear the distant thunder-hum,
Maryland!
The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum,
Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-
Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!
She breathes! she burns! she'll come! she'll come!
Maryland! My Maryland!
The phrase "avenge the patriotic gore that flecked streets of Baltimore" is a direct reference to the riots that occurred in Baltimore as Union soldiers passed through to get to the war front. Baltimore was pro-confederacy, and Maryland as a whole was on the fence in the decision as to where its loyalties laid. The poem was written to stir anti-union sentiment and steer the state toward the Confederacy. In the song President Lincoln is called a tyrant, despot and vandal while the Union is clearly called "northern scum". The song, first published in the New Orleans Sunday Delta on April 26, 1861, quickly became a hit in the south and throughout Maryland. It was played in 1862 as Confederate troops marched across the border from Virginia into Maryland.
Despite the best efforts of the song and those of many pro-confederate supporters, Maryland remained in the Union. But in 1939, as enacted by Chapter 451, Acts of 1939; Code State Government Article, sec. 13-307, Maryland My Maryland became the state song of Maryland and remains so to this day. The pro-Confederacy leanings of the song have brought it into question in the past. Currently 2009 Maryland House Bill 1241 calls for changing the state song to another song with the same title that speaks to Maryland's beauty
-Professor Walter
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