Memories Below the Mason-Dixon (…Barely)
The tragedy in Charlottesville probably (and hopefully) has a lot of people thinking about their own experiences with Confederate monuments and Civil War history in general. There’s one particular memory of my own upbringing in Maryland, barely south of the Mason-Dixon, that stood out in my mind recently. It was in elementary school, when we were learning about our state symbols. Full disclosure: I probably remember this vividly because I have an unhealthy obsession with state symbols. But that’s for another blog post…
I absolutely loved learning about all of our symbols … the oriole (bird) … blue crab (crustacean) … black-eyed susan (flower) … Chesapeake Bay Retriever (dog). We talked about every single one in detail. Some are just odd, like jousting (our state sport). Where did that come from? Or how about our mildly sexist state motto: “fatti maschii, parole femine”. It’s archaic Italian for “manly deeds, womanly words”, which rubbed my teacher the wrong way (she made no secret of that, though she’d be happy to hear that it’s now translated: “strong deeds, gentle words”).
But there’s one symbol that she glossed over, our state song: “Maryland, My Maryland”. The title has a nice ring to it, and it has a nice tune (exactly the same as “O, Tannenbaum”). But I can’t recall for the life of me whether we actually learned the lyrics. I remember us humming it, that’s all. I think I now know why: the lyrics are horrendous. They date back to the Civil War when Maryland was a border state and held strong Confederate sympathies. It calls President Lincoln a “tyrant”, “despot”, and “vandal”. It also calls Union soldiers “northern scum” and mentions the phrase John Wilkes Booth uttered while assassinating Lincoln: “sic semper tyrannis” (roughly: “death to tyrants”).
Why did my teacher gloss over it? It could’ve been for a few reasons. First off, the song is bloody and violent, so perhaps she thought it was inappropriate for kids on that basis alone. But just maybe she was also embarrassed by how it denigrates a great president and, worse, our US soldiers (yes, I said US soldiers; they were not just “Union” soldiers).
Who knows, I’ll never know the exact answer to that question. But perhaps there’s a lesson here on how we should approach these Confederate monuments. If celebrating something evokes embarrassment in front of children (especially a group of school children of all races and creeds), then it’s probably not worth celebrating.
That was 30 years ago. Have we learned anything since then? We’ll see. For now, in all its glory: “Maryland, My Maryland”…
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 sing 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 amain,
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!
