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Maryland in the American Civil War | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · A Border State Divided —
Maryland in the American Civil War.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
Maryland, a slave state, sat between the North and South during the American Civil War. The 1860 Federal Census showed nearly as many free blacks (83,942) as slaves (87,189). This demographic reality created deep internal divisions across the region. Southern and Eastern Shore counties prospered on tobacco trade and slave labor. These areas generally sympathized with the Confederacy. Central and western regions had stronger economic ties to the North. German-origin residents in these areas often supported the Union cause. In the presidential election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln won just 2,294 votes out of 92,421 cast. He finished fourth place behind John C. Breckinridge. Seven counties gave Lincoln not a single vote. Maryland businessmen feared losing trade if war broke out. They worried about a Union Navy blockade of Baltimore's port. Many citizens wanted to stay in the Union but avoid fighting their southern neighbors.
Baltimore Riot And Martial Law
The first bloodshed of the Civil War occurred in Maryland on the 19th of April 1861. A mob of Marylanders attacked soldiers from Massachusetts who were marching through Baltimore. Some threw cobblestones and bricks at the troops while shouting insults. Four soldiers and twelve civilians died in the riot. Governor Thomas Hicks and Mayor George William Brown ordered railroad bridges destroyed to stop further Union troop movements. General Benjamin F. Butler entered Baltimore by rail on the 13th of May 1861. He brought 1,000 Federal soldiers under cover of a thunderstorm. Butler fortified Federal Hill and trained his guns upon the city. He declared martial law ostensibly to prevent secession. By late summer 1861, Union troops garrisoned throughout the state. Arrests of Confederate sympathizers followed quickly. Baltimore Mayor Brown and the entire Board of Police were imprisoned without charges at Fort McHenry. John Merryman was held without trial for ten days before Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled his arrest unconstitutional. President Lincoln ignored the ruling entirely. Nine newspapers shut down in Maryland during this period. A dozen newspaper owners and editors like Frank Key Howard were imprisoned without charges.
Confederate Exodus And Union Enlistment
About 4,000 Marylanders traveled south to fight for the Confederacy despite their home state remaining in the Union. Six companies formed at Harpers Ferry into the Maryland Battalion. Arnold Elzey commanded the 1st Maryland Regiment officially formed the 16th of June 1861. George H. Steuart served as executive officer. The regiment joined two additional companies in Winchester on June 25. Estimates vary widely about total Confederate enlistments from Maryland. Some contemporary reports suggest numbers between 3,500 and just under 4,700 men. Others claimed figures around 20,000 based on oral statements by General Cooper. Most volunteers hailed from southern and eastern counties. Northern and western Maryland furnished more volunteers for Union armies. Captain Bradley T. Johnson refused joining a Virginia Regiment insisting Maryland should be represented independently. The 1st Maryland Infantry fought fellow Marylanders of the Union 1st Maryland Regiment at Front Royal on the 23rd of May 1862. This remains the only time two regiments with identical designations from the same state engaged each other. Major William Goldsborough captured his own brother Charles during that battle. Overall, official records credit Maryland with 33,995 white enlistments in volunteer regiments plus 8,718 African American enlistments in United States Colored Troops.
Antietam Campaign Significance
The Battle of Antietam occurred the 17th of September 1862 near Sharpsburg, Maryland. It became the single bloodiest day in American military history. Union forces suffered 12,401 casualties including 2,108 dead. Confederate losses totaled 10,318 with 1,546 killed. More Americans died fighting on this date than any other day in national history. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia entered Maryland after winning Second Bull Run. A Union soldier discovered mislaid battle plans on Sunday September 14. These documents showed Lee had divided his army into smaller groups. General George B. McClellan waited about eighteen hours before acting on this intelligence. The armies met near Antietam Creek resulting in heavy losses for both sides. Although tactically inconclusive, the battle forced Lee to end his invasion of the North. President Lincoln used this strategic victory to issue the Emancipation Proclamation effective the 1st of January 1863. The proclamation did not affect Maryland since it remained part of the Union. Lee's setback may have dissuaded France and Great Britain from recognizing the Confederacy.
Point Lookout Prison Conditions
Thousands of Confederate soldiers were held at Point Lookout prison camp between 1863 and 1865. Located in St. Mary's County near Chesapeake Bay, the facility housed prisoners in tents without shelter. Of approximately 50,000 Southern soldiers detained there, nearly 4,000 died. This represented an eight percent death rate among those imprisoned. The mortality rate was less than half that of soldiers still fighting in field conditions. Harsh living conditions sparked debate over whether Washington implemented deliberate vindictive policies. Camp Parole in Annapolis served as another holding area where around 70,000 soldiers passed through until Ulysses S Grant assumed command in 1864. Grant ended the prisoner exchange system entirely. The harshness of conditions at Point Lookout remains a subject of historical discussion regarding federal policy intentions toward captured rebels.
1864 Constitutional Convention
A constitutional convention met at Annapolis in April 1864 to rewrite Maryland's fundamental law. Article 24 outlawed slavery within state borders. The new constitution replaced the document adopted in 1851. It included highly restrictive oaths designed to reduce influence from southern sympathizers. These measures prevented such individuals from holding public office. The constitution disenfranchised former slaveholders and reapportioned the General Assembly based on white inhabitants only. Voters approved the measure narrowly on the 13th of October 1864 by margins of 30,174 to 29,799. Those voting at usual polling places opposed it 29,536 to 27,541. Ratification succeeded once votes from Union army soldiers were counted. They supported ratification overwhelmingly with 2,633 yes versus 263 no votes. The constitution took effect the 1st of November 1864 making Maryland the first Union slave state to abolish slavery during the war. Emancipation did not immediately bring citizenship for former slaves since franchise remained restricted to white males. The legislature refused ratifying both Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments granting citizenship rights and voting power to African Americans.
Lincoln Assassination Aftermath
John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre the 14th of April 1865. He shouted Sic semper tyrannis after shooting the president before galloping away on horseback into Southern Maryland. Sympathetic residents sheltered him there. Smugglers helped transport him across the Potomac River into Virginia one week later. Booth wrote letters explaining his actions claiming he sought revenge for the South. Some witnesses heard him say The South is avenged while others recalled Revenge for the South or I have done it. Most Marylanders fought for the Union yet memorials honoring Confederate causes appeared afterward. Baltimore featured monuments to Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson until removed the 16th of August 2017. A home for retired Confederate soldiers opened in Pikesville in 1888 closing only in 1932. Democrats rebranded themselves Democratic Conservative Party distancing from radical elements. Republicans called themselves Union party during postwar political realignments. The legacy of heavy-handed wartime measures included arresting one third of the Maryland General Assembly. These controversial actions were ruled unconstitutional by Justice Roger Taney. Lyrics of former state song Maryland My Maryland referred to Lincoln as despot vandal and tyrant.
What was the demographic composition of Maryland during the American Civil War?
The 1860 Federal Census showed nearly as many free blacks (83,942) as slaves (87,189). This demographic reality created deep internal divisions across the region. Southern and Eastern Shore counties prospered on tobacco trade and slave labor while Central and western regions had stronger economic ties to the North.
When did the first bloodshed of the Civil War occur in Maryland?
The first bloodshed of the Civil War occurred in Maryland on the 19th of April 1861. A mob of Marylanders attacked soldiers from Massachusetts who were marching through Baltimore. Four soldiers and twelve civilians died in the riot.
How many Marylanders fought for the Confederacy despite their home state remaining in the Union?
About 4,000 Marylanders traveled south to fight for the Confederacy despite their home state remaining in the Union. Official records credit Maryland with 33,995 white enlistments in volunteer regiments plus 8,718 African American enlistments in United States Colored Troops. Estimates vary widely about total Confederate enlistments from Maryland ranging between 3,500 and just under 4,700 men.
What happened during the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg Maryland?
The Battle of Antietam occurred the 17th of September 1862 near Sharpsburg, Maryland. It became the single bloodiest day in American military history with Union forces suffering 12,401 casualties including 2,108 dead. President Lincoln used this strategic victory to issue the Emancipation Proclamation effective the 1st of January 1863.
Where were thousands of Confederate soldiers held at Point Lookout prison camp between 1863 and 1865?
Thousands of Confederate soldiers were held at Point Lookout prison camp located in St. Mary's County near Chesapeake Bay between 1863 and 1865. Of approximately 50,000 Southern soldiers detained there nearly 4,000 died representing an eight percent death rate among those imprisoned. Camp Parole in Annapolis served as another holding area where around 70,000 soldiers passed through until Ulysses S Grant assumed command in 1864.
When did Maryland abolish slavery during the Civil War?
A constitutional convention met at Annapolis in April 1864 to rewrite Maryland's fundamental law and Article 24 outlawed slavery within state borders. Voters approved the measure narrowly on the 13th of October 1864 by margins of 30,174 to 29,799. The constitution took effect the 1st of November 1864 making Maryland the first Union slave state to abolish slavery during the war.