1. Maryland was one of the original 13 colonies to declare independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. The state’s delegates played an important role in the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence, which laid out the reasons for the separation.

2. The city of Annapolis, Maryland’s capital, hosted a Revolutionary War victory parade on July 4, 1783, to celebrate the end of the conflict. The parade included a 13-gun salute and a speech by General George Washington.

3. The American flag we know today was designed by Maryland native Mary Pickersgill in 1813. She sewed the massive flag, which measured 30 by 42 feet, at her home in Baltimore. It was flown over Fort McHenry during a battle in the War of 1812 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

4. Frederick Douglass, a prominent African American abolitionist and orator, gave a speech in Rochester, New York on July 5, 1852, that is now known as “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.” In it, he questioned the hypocrisy of celebrating Independence Day while slavery persisted in the United States.

5. On July 4, 2006, Maryland officially adopted a state song, “Maryland, My Maryland.” The song, originally written as a poem in 1861 during the Civil War, became controversial for its Confederate sympathies. In 2021, the state legislature voted to replace it with a new state song that celebrates Maryland’s diversity and landmarks.