Maryland Unveils Monument to Black Revolutionary Patriots
A bronze and granite memorial honoring roughly 150 Black Marylanders who fought in the Revolutionary War now stands on the State House grounds.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in African-American
Maryland unveiled a monument on November 1, 2026, honoring roughly 150 Black Marylanders who fought against the British in the Revolutionary War. The memorial, titled "Black Patriots, The Pursuit of Transcendent Liberty," sits on the southeast lawn of the Maryland State House and replaces a statue of Roger Brooke Taney removed in 2017.
Why it matters
The monument was created to commemorate Black Revolutionary War patriots who were nearly erased from history. Its placement on the State House lawn, where the Taney statue once stood, marks a shift in which figures the state chooses to publicly honor.
Roughly 150 Black Marylanders are commemorated, compared with more than 5,000 Black soldiers who served across the 13 colonies, while the Board of Public Works approved more than $400,000 and sculptor Branly Cadet was paid nearly $312,000. The extraction does not say how many of the Marylanders were identified by name or whether additional honorees may be added.
The players
Branly Cadet
Cadet is the sculptor who created the monument after being selected through a nationwide search, and he was paid nearly $312,000 for the project.
Steven X. Lee
Lee is credited with first proposing the monument, which was later approved and funded by state officials.
Roger Brooke Taney
Taney was the Chief Justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision, and his statue on the State House grounds was removed in 2017.
The details
Sculptor Branly Cadet was selected through a nationwide search two years before the unveiling, and the monument honors Black women who served as cooks, nurses, seamstresses, and washerwomen. The ceremony was held on November 1, 2026, the 162nd anniversary of Maryland's abolition of slavery, rather than the July date officials had initially hoped to tie to the nation's 250th anniversary.
Timeline
1777: Thomas Carney enlisted in Maryland's 5th Regiment.
1851: The state constitution was amended to prohibit laws ending slavery.
1857: Roger Brooke Taney wrote the Dred Scott decision.
2017: The Taney statue was removed from the State House grounds.
November 1, 2026: The monument was unveiled at the Maryland State House.
Culture Shift
The monument's replacement of the 2017 Taney statue at the Maryland State House marks a reversal in which historical figures the state places on public display. The shift reflects a broader reconsideration of Revolutionary-era history that now centers Black patriots previously absent from state commemorations.
Maryland residents visiting the State House can now see a public memorial to Black Revolutionary War service on its southeast lawn. The monument offers a physical location for learning about soldiers, cooks, nurses, and washerwomen whose service was previously overlooked in state commemorations.
The takeaway
Public monuments reflect which histories a state chooses to make visible, and this unveiling shows how commemorative sites can be reshaped over time. Readers interested in Revolutionary War history can use the State House grounds as a starting point for learning about Black service members of that era.
Further reading
Explore more on African-American history and commemoration across the state.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Maryland Matters.
