The red and white cross bottony counterchanged had gained popularity during the American Civil War. Maryland had remained loyal to the U.S. despite a large proportion of the citizenry's support for the Confederacy, especially in the central city of Baltimore, the counties of the southern part of the state, and the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Those Marylanders who supported the Confederacy, many of whom fought in the Army of Northern Virginia of Robert E. Lee, adopted the Crossland banner (seen as "secession colors") and often used a metal bottony cross pinned to their gray uniforms or caps (kepis). The black and gold bend dexter counterchanged of the Barons Baltimore was used in the flags and devices and pinned on the uniforms of Union Army regiments in the Army of the Potomac. After the war, Marylanders who had fought on either side of the conflict returned to their state in need of reconciliation.