Maryland - To Secede or Not

The question for Maryland was whether to secede. Virginia had already seceded on April 17, and Pennsylvania was obviously pro-Union, so Maryland was stuck in the middle. Ideally, they would liked to have remained neutral, but that was not to be. The federal government saw the prospect of the capital of Washington being surrounded if Maryland went south, and took action to occupy Annapolis and secure Baltimore. Lincoln declared martial law, and on the 27th of April suspends habeus corpus. This allows his army to detain Marylanders loyal to the South without indictment or arraignment.

Today we attended a debate in Frederick that discussed the question of whether to secede or not. Governor Hicks, a slaveowner himself, argues the point that the Union must be preserved. Mr. Wallace, who is later detained that fall and held for over a year without charges, argues that the state must break away, in this our new revolution. The legislature actually met here that spring of 1861 in the attempt to remove themselves from the heated emotions of the day in other parts of the state.

Maryland had many slaveowners, even in Frederick County, and was the home of Justice Taney who had ruled on the infamous Dred Scott decision in the Supreme Court. Attached are some pictures and short videos from today's events.

Point Lookout

Went to a lecture last night sponsored by the Frederick County Civil War Roundtable. It was held at the Civil War Medicine Museum in downtown Frederick, and the topic was the prison camp at Point Lookout, MD. If you've never been to the museum, it's pretty cool. Check it out at www.civilwarmed.org/. Anyway, the talk was about the camp, which included not only a POW camp for Confederates, but also a hospital for Union soldiers. I never knew this, but it was the biggest Northern POW camp of the war. At it's peak, over 19,000 prisoners were there. Over 4,000 men died in a little over two years.

The speaker was a member of a Sons of Confederate Veterans group that has established a memorial to the dead with flags from states of those who served. There was discussion about how this camp compared to others, including Andersonville, the infamous Union POW camp in Georgia. In his opinion, Andersonville was as bad as it was because of the circumstances in the South at that time. The blockade prevented medicine from getting through, food riots were breaking out among the civilian population, and there were no supplies. Contrast this with the much better supplied North, and the prisoners were treated in a similar fashion. One does have to wonder if there was not some measure of retribution on Secretary of War Stanton's part. I'll have to do some more reading on the subject before I render my opinion.

Another camp talked about was the one at Elmira New York. The death rate there was the highest anywhere - 25 percent. Disease was rampant in these camps. Anyway, I'll be going down to Point Lookout over the summer. They have apparently reconstructed one of the original forts, and I'll checkmout the memorial. Due to erosion, a huge chunk of what was there 150 years ago is gone now. Pictures to follow later.

Baltimore continued

I neglected to mention yesterday that the Massachusetts troops lost four of their own, in addition to the civilian deaths. Most of us remember the prominent role that Ft McHenry played in the War of 1812 ( I hope no one needed the Star Spangled Banner hint). What you might not know is that the fort served as a prison during the war, and the mayor and police commissioner were two of it's guests. Apparently they also turned some of the guns on the city just to remind them. There is a museum there that covers not only the War of 1812, but also Civil War topics. That will be a future visit when tornadoes are not approaching as they were the other day I was there. To see what the fort has to offer, check out the website at http:// www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm.

Not to give the impression that the entire population of Baltimore were secessionists. There were quite a few Union supporters as well, leading to tension that was unique not just to Baltimore, but also many parts of Maryland. Those who have followed the controversy regarding the state song know what I mean about different perspectives. I did read a couple of interesting things in a Baltimore publication about the war - that Maryland refused to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment until a century after it's passage in 1870. (right to vote regardless of race) And how about this one. "At the Maryland Historical Society, Union and Confederate veterans donated memorabilia that was kept in two separate "rooms" until 1994, showing just how long the state remained a house divided." (Visit Baltimore - The Official Guide Winter-Spring 2010-11).

top picture is in front of the Baltimore Civil War Museum. Former President Street station.
bottom picture is on the Civil War trails network.

Baltimore

Well, as some of you know, no one was killed in the bombardment of Ft. Sumter on the 12th. The events in Baltimore then became the catalyst for the first casualties of the war. Lincoln had called for volunteers, and Northern troops had started pouring into Maryland from the north. Baltimore was the sight of a major rail hub, and therefore a destination for many of these troops. The city had many residents that were fervently Southern leaning. Remember, at this time the legislature was still debating whether to secede or not. Maryland's place as a border state between North and South led to many divided loyalties within the state. This is illustrated in my own family's story, but more on that later in the war.

On April 19th, (tomorrow), a mob attacked one of the train cars carrying soldiers through the city. In those days, they had to move the trains through part of the city hooked to horses. In the ensuing melee, a dozen civilians were killed. The southern papers played up the massacre angle, while the northern papers used this as further proof of Southern radicalism in the state.

I visited the President Street station, where it all started. This is now the Baltimore Civil War museum. (Didn't know there was one until now. ) Lot of info about prominent citizens of Baltimore who were detained as disloyal, and the story about how the Union Army basically occupied the city for the balance of the war. Just next to the Inner Harbor, a few blocks from the corner of Pratt and President streets.

Oh yeah, Virginia seceded yesterday. No chance now to hang on to Robert E Lee for the Union Army. He was offered command of it, but resigned to follow his state in case you didn't know.

(Hoped to have some pics, maybe on next one)

My journey begins

This idea came to me a couple of weeks ago after finishing a book on Lincoln and thinking about the anniversary of the start of the war fast approaching. The "Journey" will be my attempt to visit as many of the battlefields, prisons and events as I can over the next fours years, as close to the actual anniversary as I can. This will take me back to areas familiar to me as a child thanks to my late father - Gettysburg, Antietam, Harper's Ferry, Manassas. It will also take me to parts of the country I have never visited - Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and others. I have always had a deep interest in this conflict that happened to a great extent in my backyard, but spent many years away from it due to life. Those of you who know me are aware that I am rarely without a camera, so there will be pictures to go with my thoughts.

My first stop was yesterday in Baltimore, MD on the anniversary of the Pratt St riots. I'll write more about in the next couple of days with a couple of pics. Ft Sumter will be coming up - couldn't get that one in order.

So, my journey has begun. Feel free to follow along and hopefully learn a few things with me.