Exhibitions

Maryland’s National Treasures has reopened with new artifacts and a new title.

Inventing a Nation: Maryland in the Revolutionary Era

Inventing a Nation: Maryland in the Revolutionary Era, is a collaborative exhibition between the Maryland Historical Society and the Maryland State Archives presenting documents and artifacts from the American Revolutionary War. Iconic life-sized portraits by Charles Willson Peale complement the swords, uniforms and other personal items of America’s Revolutionary heroes. Artifacts belonging to George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, Tench Tilghman, and William Paca are on display.

The Star-Spangled Banner comes home to the Maryland Historical Society and a new gallery!

The Star-Spangled Banner Gallery

The Maryland Historical Society is home to the oldest known surviving manuscript of Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Along with this national icon, the Star-Spangled Banner Gallery showcases paintings and artifacts, which tell the story of the brave Defenders of Baltimore who fought to protect our city and country from the British during the War of 1812. The Gallery also features a changing selection of items from the H. Furlong Baldwin Library’s Star-Spangled Banner sheet music collection.

Currently on view is The Star-Spangled Banner. A Patriotic Song. Published by Carr Music Store in Baltimore in 1814, it is one of the few remaining copies of the 1st edition of the poem set to music we know as our national anthem.

Click here to see more War of 1812 material in the Maryland Historical Society's collections

Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War

The Maryland Historical Society’s (MdHS) Museum opened Maryland’s largest and most comprehensive Civil War exhibit in April 2011. The impact of the war on the people of Maryland is be told in personal terms in “Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War.”  The largest Civil War exhibit in the museum’s 167-year history occupies over 5,000 square feet and tell the story of a tragedy in three acts: the romantic war, the real war and the long reunion.  

Featuring a “Time Tunnel” with 3-D videos which leads visitors back to 1861.  On Saturdays and Sundays the Maryland Historical Society Players will perform short vignettes of major events that took place in Maryland.

Click here to see a complete list and descriptions of all our current exhibits

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