Mosaic Pieces
Welcome to the complete Maryland Mosaic.
The Mosaic is not presented chronologically but presents a randomized selection of Mosaic Pieces to spark your interest in a particular event or person. If you would like to have a more ordered chronological overview, use the six fixed time period options on the right of the screen to get a more immediate picture of an historical period. You can also explore by county or by category. Our predefined categories, tags, counties and chronological brackets will help you see links between the Pieces.
The collection has over 140 firsts, including events, people, places, objects, documents or buildings that are unique to Maryland and to the nation. The Mosaic is part of Maryland’s contribution to the U.S. 250th anniversary in 2026. It covers the period from 1776 to the present. You will find at least one Piece for every county and Baltimore City, making this a statewide project.
The Battle of Baltimore saves the young country; Francis Scott Key writes “Star Spangled Banner”
Ft. McHenry endures bombardment and saves Baltimore from being burned. The “Star Spangled Banner” is written on September 14, 1814
The Annapolis Convention of 1786 paves the way toward a new strong U.S. Constitution.
The 1786 Annapolis Convention is a key prelude to the 1787 US Constitution Convention.
Sophie Kerr Literary Prize created
Popular early 20th century author Sophie Kerr creates the largest U.S. literary prize for an undergraduate at Washington College in 1965.
Smallwood’s Battalion saves Washington’s Army. It later becomes the Maryland Line.
Smallwood’s Maryland Battalion, Washington’s most important troops (the Maryland Line), saves his army at the Battle of Brooklyn in August, 1776. The Army is integrated.
Sgt. Maj. Christian Fleetwood, 4th U.S.C.T. is nominated as the first Black commissioned officer
Sgt. Major Christian Fleetwood, Civil War hero, almost becomes the first Black commissioned officer in the US Army in 1865. Every white commissioned officer in the 4th US Colored Troops recommends him but the Secretary or War declines.
Savage Iron Works shows industrial growth
The Maryland and New York Iron and Coal Company is incorporated in 1837. Within three years, two blast furnaces, a puddling furnace and a rolling mill make the Mount Savage Iron Works the largest in the US. It makes the rails for the B&O railroad.
Rural Free Delivery begins
Carroll County inaugurates Rural Free Delivery of the mail. Four letter carriers and their horses begin free daily delivery from Westminster in 1896.
Rembrandt Peale builds the first museum
Rembrandt Peale opens the first purpose-built museum in the US in August, 1814. As a fine arts gallery, it is short-lived, becoming city hall, a school for “colored” children, city water offices and now Baltimore’s Community Museum.
Reaper developed on Carroll County Farm
Jacob R. Thomas, a Carroll County farmer, assembles a wheat reaping machine in 1811 and tries it out locally. It doesn’t cut well, but the first experiment with a mechanical reaper ushers in the age of agricultural machinery.
Ratification Day in Annapolis ends the Revolutionary War
Ratification Day marks the end of the Revolutionary War as the Treaty of Paris is ratified in 1784 in Annapolis, making the State House the first capitol of US.
Rachel Carson publishes “Silent Spring”
Rachel Carson publishes a controversial environmental book in 1962 that leads to the banning of DDT and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Queen family and others, enslaved, repeatedly sue for freedom
Many successful freedom lawsuit cases are filed by enslaved individuals on Jesuit-owned plantations in Southern Maryland between 1791 and 1864. Photo shows Southern Maryland enslaved family members at a funeral.
Printer Mary Katherine Goddard is first to print Declaration with all the signers names
Baltimore printer Mary Katherine Goddard is first to publish the entire Declaration in 1777 with names of all signers. She adds her own name at the bottom.
President Madison flees invading British Army, spends night in Brookeville
Pres. James Madison flees the British army. He spends night of August 26, 1814 in Brookeville with strongbox containing entire US treasury. The small Quaker Community of Brookeville is first to be the US Capital for a day.
Pratt Street Riots are first bloodshed of the Civil War
Baltimore secessionist rioters attack Massachusetts infantry passing through the city on the way to Washington in 1861, marking the first bloodshed of the Civil War.
Poole and Hunt Foundry becomes an industrial hub
The Poole and Hunt Foundry and Machine Works, opened in 1854, makes construction in the US Capitol possible, specifically the dome and the House and Senate wings. Poole and Hunt becomes an industrial hub with 700 employees on the Jones Falls after the Civil War.
