The burning of the Peggy Stewart with a cargo of tea in the harbor of Annapolis on October 19, 1775, has ever since been celebrated by Marylanders as Peggy Stewart Day. No military operations took place in Maryland during the Revolutionary War, although the "Maryland Line "

FIG. 7.-VIEW OF THE HISTORIC WYE OAK, WYE MILLS, TALBOT COUNTY. fought with valor in many engagements, especially those of Long Island, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford, and Eutaw Springs. In the first of these battles the Maryland troops covered the retreat of General Washington's army, and a monument to their valor has been erected in Prospect Park,

Brooklyn, on which is inscribed, "In honor of Maryland's four hundred who on this Battlefield, August 27, 1776, saved the American Army." In 1776 General Washington was invested by the Continental Congress, then in session in Baltimore, with dictatorial powers as Commander-inChief of the Continental Army. On December 22, 1783, Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the army in the Senate chamber at Annapolis, where the Continental Congress was then in session. Maryland ratified the Constitution of the United States on April 28, 1788, being the last of the 13 colonies to come into the Union. She had refused to accept the articles of confederation until those colonies which had claims to western lands had surrendered them to the

FIG. 8.-FORT FREDERICK, WASHINGTON COUNTY, BUILT IN 1756. WHERE WASHINGTON
FITTED OUT HIS EXPEDITION AGAINST FORT DUQUESNE IN THE FRENCH
AND INDIAN WAR.

general government. In 1790 Maryland ceded to the federal government 60 square miles of territory for the National Capital, which became the District of Columbia in which Washington is situated. Fort McHenry, the construction of which had been started by patriotic citizens for the defence of Baltimore, was already partly completed in 1794 when it passed to the federal government. It was finally completed in 1805.

During the War of 1812 several Maryland towns were pillaged by the British, but Baltimore was saved from plunder by the repulse of the enemy at North Point and Fort McHenry. It was during the bombardment of the latter place that Francis Scott Key, who was held aboard a British vessel in the harbor of Baltimore, wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Maryland was a slave-holding state at the outbreak of the Civil War, and sentiment was divided between the North and the South, but the

decisive measures adopted by the national government made it impossible for the state to secede. Three of the battles of the Civil War were fought on Maryland soil, South Mountain (September 14, 1862), Sharpsburg, or Antietam (September 16-17, 1862), and Monocacy (July 9, 1864). There were also small conflicts at many points, especially along the Potomac.

In the history of the state are many incidents which have since become of national or international importance. The first wheat was shipped to Europe from Baltimore in 1771; the first regular steam packet that crossed the Atlantic direct from the United States sailed from Baltimore in May, 1838; the Morse telegraph line transmitted its first message ("What hath God wrought?") from Baltimore to Washington, April 9, 1844; while in the same city was manufactured the first armor plate for the Monitor in 1862. Baltimore was the first city in America to have a water company (1792), street gaslights (1816), a railroad (1828), an iron building (1851), an electric street railroad (1885), an electric locomotive (1895). The city contains the first official state monument to George Washington (1815), the oldest American lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (1819), and the oldest College of Dental Surgery (1839).

The earliest settlers in Maryland were Englishmen, whose descendants are now scattered all over the state, and comprise the leading element in the population. Many of the early settlers in the country adjacent to Pennsylvania were of German extraction, and their descendants are to-day numerous and influential. Next in importance are the negroes, who comprise nearly one-fifth of the population and who are relatively more prominent in Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties, where they compose about one-half of the population, and least important in the western counties along the Mason and Dixon Line, where there is only one negro, on the average, to 14 whites. In Baltimore, Cecil, and Harford counties, the negroes comprise one-sixth of the population, while in the counties of the eastern and western shores, not previously enumerated, they form about two-fifths of the entire population. During the last 25 years there has been a great increase in the Polish, Hungarian, and Bohemian inhabitants, who have settled chiefly in Baltimore City.

Maryland has always been a religious center. As early as 1631 services were regularly conducted on Kent Island by an ordained minister of the Church of England. The first Presbyterian church in America was established at Snow Hill about 1700, and in 1766 Robert Strawbridge established the first Methodist congregation in America in Carroll, then Frederick, County. Many of the most prominent of the early settlers were Roman Catholics, and the See of Baltimore has held the first position in America since the decree of 1858. There are 59 denominations or sects represented in Maryland, and although many of them are scattered throughout the state they show local variations in strength, which are often closely related to the history, beliefs, and nationalities of the early settlers.

STATE GOVERNMENT.-The present government of the State of Maryland is based on a constitution formulated and ratified in 1867. Earlier constitutions were adopted in 1776, 1851, 1864, and the constitution of 1776 was very much changed in 1837. According to the present constitution the state is divided into 23 counties and Baltimore City, which in turn are subdivided into districts for school and election purposes. There are no units such as townships, but the local affairs of the cities, towns, and villages are carried on by officers in accordance with charters and special acts.

Among the state officials are the Governor, elected for four years, and the Secretary of State, who is appointed by the Governor. The Senate and House of Delegates, which together form the General Assembly or Legislature, consist of 27 Senators, elected for four years, one from each of the 23 counties and the four districts of Baltimore City, and 101 Delegates, elected for two years. Each of the legislative districts of Baltimore is entitled to six Delegates, the number allowed the largest county. The Assembly meets every other year on the first Wednesday in January, and may remain in session only 90 days. At the call of the Governor a special session may be held, which is limited by law to 30 days. The judicial powers of the state are vested in a Court of Appeals composed of eight judges; a Circuit Court with eight chief judges (one for

each judicial district), seven of whom are judges of the Court of Appeals,1 the chief judge of Baltimore City not being a member of that court, and 22 associate judges, eight of the latter with the chief judge above-mentioned constituting the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, the other judicial districts having two associate judges each; and an Orphans' Court with 72 judges. The Appeal and Circuit Court judges are elected for 15 years, the judges of the Orphans' Court for four, the registrars of wills for six, and the sheriffs for two. The Attorney-General of the state and the State's Attorneys are elected for four years. Justices of the peace, constables, coroners, and notaries are appointed by the Governor.

Among other prominent state officials are the Comptroller, who is the financier for the state, and who is elected by the people for two years; and the Treasurer, who is the banker and who is elected by the General Assembly for a two-year term.

The more important state organizations are the Board of Public Works, consisting of the Governor, Comptroller, and Treasurer; Maryland National Guard, State Conservation Commission, Land Office, State Board of Agriculture, State Geological Survey, State Roads Commission, State Board of Forestry, Bureau of Industrial Statistics, Immigration Bureau, Board of Education, Board of Health, Board of State Aid to Charities, Penal Commission, and State Lunacy Commission.

EDUCATION. The educational history of the state dates back to 1696, when Governor Francis Nicholson established the first public school at Annapolis, now St. John's College. The state schools were brought under the general supervision of the State Board of Education in 1864, and are now supported by state and local taxation. A State Superintendent of Schools was provided for by the General Assembly of 1900. The number of public schools in Maryland in 1914 was 2485, of which 1935 were for the whites (Baltimore 95), and 550 for the colored (Baltimore 16). The number of public school teachers was 5996, of which 5056 were white (Baltimore 1589), and 940 colored (Baltimore 268). The number of public school pupils was 245,258, of which 200,783 were whites (Baltimore

1 The eighth judge from Baltimore City does not serve in the Circuit Court.