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Charles County, Maryland (U.S.)

image by Blas Delgado Ortiz, 31 October 2005

Description of the flag
County seal
Sheriff's Office

- indicates flag is known.
- indicates it is reported that there is no known flag.

Municipal flags in Charles County:

Indian Head
La Plata
Port Tobacco Village

See also:

Description of the flag

Charles County is one of the three counties that constitute southern Maryland (the others being Calvert and St. Mary's Counties). It is located southeast of Washington DC and adjacent to Prince George's County between the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers. The northern end of the county is mostly a bedroom community for commuters in the metropolitan area, the central and southern portions are generally rural. The town of Indian Head is home to one of the bases of the Naval Surface Weapons Center. Bryantown in Charles County was the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was convicted as a co-conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln after having set the broken ankle of John Wilkes Booth.
Phil Nelson, 10 April 2002

I can confirm the basic font for the county name as being a Roman (serif) style. It appeared to me that the coat of arms was on a dark blue circle, rather than oval (darker than in the image above), and that the border of the flag was black. Also, I think the coat of arms was a little smaller than shown. I can't be sure of any of this, as I saw the flags flapping in a light breeze while driving by at 85-100 km/h.
Joe McMillan, 30 June 2003

I had a chance to drop by the Charles County Health Department twice today in optimum conditions where the flag flies outside along Rt. 301. The coat of arms is on a dark blue oval, perhaps B+. However there was some very interesting optical effects that can make the coat of arms appear circular as it waves.
Phil Nelson, 1 August 2003

I work at the archives at the College of Southern Maryland, and I am looking for more information on its creation. After talking to a volunteer, it was her (Ruby Dyson) and Mary Keech Edelen that had first designed the flag we see today around bicentennial (around 1976?). The outline of the flag is black (originally a fringe, now a solid border).
Bonnie White, 18 December 2008

County seal

image located by Paul Bassinson, 8 July 2018

Image obtained from msa.maryland.gov
Paul Bassinson, 8 July 2018

Sheriff's Office

image located by Valentin Poposki, 18 June 2008

The Charles county Sheriff's Office has its own flag. You can see the flag and read the description and meaning here: www.ccso.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=60.
"The official flag of the Charles County Sheriff's Office was unveiled May 15, 1998 and is a universal symbol that represents all members of our Agency. The thin blue line on the flag is known worldwide in law enforcement. It denotes the final barrier which stands between our citizens and chaos. The only time this line is disrupted is when an officer has fallen or is injured in the course of executing his duty. At the end of duty, when this breach appears, our youngest and finest step up to fill in the line and help maintain order and serve our citizens. The center star is an adaptation of the existing sheriff's police badge and the agency shoulder patch. The words "Sheriff's Police" have been replaced with "Sheriff's Office" to represent all police, corrections and civilian employees of which the Sheriff's Office is comprised. The seven point star was adopted in 1991 as the official badge of the Charles County Sheriff's Office. The seven points denote Maryland as the seventh state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. Within each point of the star is a cluster of tobacco leaves. The tobacco crop was the chief economic mainstay of our county on colonial times. There are three tobacco leaves in each of the clusters to symbolize Charles County as the third county to be formed in that part of our state which now comprises Southern Maryland.

Since the Sheriff is a state official, the center of the badge contains the Maryland Coat of Arms. The entire seal is encompassed by a rope signifying the County's historic dependency upon its bountiful waterways. The color black was selected for the lettering to contrast with the gold tone of the badge to mirror the official colors of the Third Lord Baltimore, in whose honor Charles County was named and established on May 10, 1658. The royal blue field was chose because it is the traditional color that represents law enforcement. It is also a color commonly shared by the Charles County flag, the Maryland state seal and the United States flag. The scroll beneath the star depicts the year the Charles County Sheriff's Office was founded, again echoing the colors of our badge and those of the Third Lord Baltimore, Charles Calvert.

Valentin Poposki, 18 June 2008