At its peak, over 20,000 Confederate soldiers occupied Point Lookout at any given time, more than double its intended occupancy. To serve as early warning stations on bluffs overlooking the Potomac, Union troops built a series of blockhouses. [52], Overall, the Official Records of the War Department credits Maryland with 33,995 white enlistments in volunteer regiments of the United States Army and 8,718 African American enlistments in the United States Colored Troops. A follow up guided tour of the blockhouse and outpost campsite can also be arranged. WebWe meet bi-monthly in Frederick, Maryland and have members who live in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, & West Virginia. The federal troops executing Judge Carmichael's arrest beat him unconscious in his courthouse while his court was in session, before dragging him out, initiating a public controversy. But few escaped to tell the tale.[65]. [63], While Major General George B. McClellan's 87,000-man Army of the Potomac was moving to intercept Lee, a Union soldier discovered a mislaid copy of the detailed battle plans of Lee's army, on Sunday 14 September. But the markers, and history, misplace the site. Literate and evocative, the letters convey an authentic perspective of a soldier who experienced one of the bloodiest and most transformative wars in American history. Two said Booth yelled "I have done it!" Author Robert Plumb reads from McClellands letters and narrative excerpts from his book, Your Brother in Arms, which offer a front-line soldiers view of some of the most crucial battles fought during the Civil War from Gettysburg to Petersburg. Frederick County and Washington County, MD | Sep 14, 1862. The lack of substantial and adequate shelter compounded the prisoners' plight on Belle Isle and increased the amount of death and suffering brought on by disease and exposure. WebSeal of Maryland during the war. [34] Indeed, when Lincoln's dismissal of Chief Justice Taney's ruling was criticized in a September 1861 editorial by Baltimore newspaper editor Frank Key Howard (Francis Scott Key's grandson), Howard was himself arrested by order of Lincoln's Secretary of State Seward and held without trial. 3. Was he right, or was he just telling another tall soldiers tale? This program lasts about 45 to 50 minutes, is suitable for adults and young adults, and could be used in classrooms. "[36] Although previous secession votes, in spring 1861, had failed by large margins,[22] there were legitimate concerns that the war-averse Assembly would further impede the federal government's use of Maryland infrastructure to wage war on the South. During the American Civil War (18611865), On September 17, 1861, the first day of the Maryland legislature's new session, fully one third of the members of the Maryland General Assembly were arrested, due to federal concerns that the Assembly "would aid the anticipated rebel invasion and would attempt to take the state out of the Union. "The social and economic impact of the Civil War on Maryland" (PhD dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1963) (ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1963. To serve as early warning stations on bluffs overlooking the Potomac, Union troops built a series of blockhouses. In that time, the number of men packing onto the tiny island grew to more than 30,000 men. Donate Now, Civil War in Montgomery County and the Region. Because of this previous imprisonment, they were weaker and more susceptible to the harsh conditions and communicable diseases that flourished at Florence Stockade. Col. Hoffman forced Confederate prisoners to sleep outside in the open while furnishing them with little to no shelter. WebEmerging Civil War Series. Whether this was due to local sympathy with the Union cause or the generally ragged state of the Confederate army, many of whom had no shoes, is not clear. In the depths of Georgia, they discovered that their hardships were far from over: "As we entered the place, a spectacle met our eyes that almost froze our blood with horrorbefore us were forms that had once been active and erectstalwart men, now nothing but mere walking skeletons, covered with filth and verminMany of our men exclaimed with earnestness, 'Can this be hell?'". Duncan, Richard Ray. Subscribe to the American Battlefield Trust's quarterly email series of curated stories for the curious-minded sort! Obviously many natives of Maryland were doubtless in 1861 citizens of other States, and could not therefore be reckoned among the soldiers furnished by Maryland to the Confederate armies. The sirens whistled. [71], The state capital Annapolis's western suburb of Parole became a camp where prisoners-of-war would await formal exchange in the early years of the war. [40], In another controversial arrest that fall, and in further defiance of Chief Justice Taney's ruling, a sitting U.S. It did not affect Maryland. [18], Responding to pressure, on April 22 Governor Hicks finally announced that the state legislature would meet in a special session in Frederick, a strongly pro-Union town, rather than the state capital of Annapolis. Some narration fills in the material and moves events relentlessly to Civil War. While it emancipated the state's slaves, it did not mean equality for them, in part because the franchise continued to be restricted to white males. Approximately a tenth as many enlisted to "go South" and fight for the Confederacy. WebConfederate prisoners of war who secured their release from prison by enlisting in the Union Army, were recruited: Alton, Illinois (rolls 1320); Camp Douglas, Illinois (rolls 5364); Camp Morton, Illinois (rolls 99103); Point Lookout, Maryland (rolls 111129); and Rock Island, Illinois (rolls 131135.) Elmira Prison, also known as "Hellmira," opened in July of 1864. A great many are terribly afflicted with diarrhea, and scurvy begins to take hold of some. The areas of Southern and Eastern Shore Maryland, especially those on the Chesapeake Bay (which neighbored Virginia), which had prospered on the tobacco trade and slave labor, were generally sympathetic to the South, while the central and western areas of the state, especially Marylanders of German origin,[5] had stronger economic ties to the North and thus were pro-Union. Emancipation did not immediately bring citizenship for former slaves. Lastly, Stuarts army captured and controlled a large Union wagon train laden with supplies, which became a significant impediment to Stuarts expeditious travel onward to Pennsylvania. P ri mary source material documenting the inhumane conditions in Civil War prisoner of war camps abounds. Human error in the form of overcrowding the camps a frequent cause of widespread disease is to blame for many of the deaths at Point Lookout, Alton, and Salisbury. Join Our Email List The presentation shows the work by blacks and white alike to aid and save enslaved people. Howard described these events in his 1863 book Fourteen Months in American Bastiles, where he noted that he was imprisoned in Fort McHenry, the same fort where the Star Spangled Banner had been waving "o'er the land of the free" in his grandfather's song. He never shows in the day time & is cautious who sees him at any time.[56]. Confederate General John McCausland bragged to Ulysses Grant that McCausland had come closer to taking the city than any other Confederate general. [74] The new constitution emancipated the state's slaves (who had not been freed by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation), disenfranchised southern sympathizers, and re-apportioned the General Assembly based upon white inhabitants. $40.00 + $5.80 shipping. This is a common thread among camps over the course of the Civil War. During the American Civil War (18611865), Maryland, a slave state, was one of the border states, straddling the South and North. Disappointingly for the exiles, recruits did not flock to the Confederate banner. Monocacy was a tactical victory for the Confederate States Army but a strategic defeat, as the one-day delay inflicted on the attacking Confederates cost rebel General Jubal Early his chance to capture the Union capital of Washington, D.C. Across the state, some 50,000 citizens signed up for the military, with most joining the United States Army. Governor Thomas H. Hicks, despite his early sympathies for the South, helped prevent the state from seceding. Salisbury University, 1991). Archaeological work is continuing on the only blockhouse now located on county park land at Blockhouse Point. The 1860 Census reported the chief destinations of internal immigrants from Maryland as Ohio and Pennsylvania, followed by Virginia and the District of Columbia. Anxious about the risk of secessionists capturing Washington, D.C., given that the capital was bordered by Virginia, and preparing for war with the South, the federal government requested armed volunteers to suppress "unlawful combinations" in the South. And then theres that Chambersburg thing. His grandson didnt want to talk about it. "[77][78] Some didn't recall hearing Booth shout anything in Latin. [8] Other residents, and a majority of the legislature, wished to remain in the Union, but did not want to be involved in a war against their southern neighbors, and sought to prevent a military response by Lincoln to the South's secession. Around 70,000 soldiers passed through Camp Parole until Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assumed command as General-in-Chief of the Union Army in 1864, and ended the system of prisoner exchanges.[72]. Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields Your Gift Tripled! The earthworks were removed by 1869. [1] Culturally, geographically and economically, Maryland found herself neither one thing nor another, a unique blend of Southern agrarianism and Northern mercantilism. Overcrowding brutalized camp conditions in many ways. Modern estimates place the total deaths close to 1,000 men, however, period assessments varied greatly. The Constitution of 1867 overturned the registry test oath embedded in the 1864 constitution. Civil War veterans did it differently. Florence Stockade operated from September 1864 to February 1865 and 15,000 to 18,000 Union soldiers were processed through the camp. The poet Walt Whitman was driven to comment on the shocking living arrangements at Belle Isle after encountering surviving prisoners, appalled at "the measureless torments of thehelpless young men, with all their humiliations, hunger, cold, filth, despair, hope utterly given out, and the more and more frequent mental imbecility.". The very nomination of Abraham Lincoln, four years ago, spoke plainly war upon Southern rights and institutions And looking upon African Slavery from the same stand-point held by the noble framers of our constitution, I for one, have ever considered it one of the greatest blessings (both for themselves and us,) that God has ever bestowed upon a favored nation I have also studied hard to discover upon what grounds the right of a State to secede has been denied, when our very name, United States, and the Declaration of Independence, both provide for secession.[80]. This is a PowerPoint lecture. [37] The court objected that this disruption of its process was unconstitutional, but noted that it was powerless to enforce its prerogatives. Author Robert Plumb reads from McClellands letters and narrative excerpts from his book, Between 1861 and 1865, some 29 Union regiments from 13 states stationed at Muddy Branch guarded the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Potomac River crossings in the general area between Seneca and Pennyfield Locks. Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Antietam Camp #3. By the time the Civil War ended, more 52,000 prisoners had passed through Point Lookout, with upwards of 4,000 succumbing to various illnesses brought on by overcrowding, bad sanitation, exposure, and soiled water. Murphy v. Porter. Life in a CCC Camp The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (nps.gov) parallels the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., to Antietam. His executive officer was the Marylander George H. Steuart, who would later be known as "Maryland Steuart" to distinguish him from his more famous cavalry colleague J.E.B. [10] Soldiers from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts were transported by rail to Baltimore, where they had to disembark, march through the city, and board another train to continue their journey south to Washington.[11]. [12] Chaos ensued as a giant brawl began between fleeing soldiers, the violent mob, and the Baltimore police who tried to suppress the violence. On the night of June 27, 1863, Confederate General J.E.B. 45-50 minutes. [citation needed], Thousands of Union troops were stationed in Charles County, and the Federal Government established a large, unsheltered prison camp at Point Lookout at Maryland's southern tip in St. Mary's County between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, where thousands of Confederates were kept, often in harsh conditions. Early defeated Union forces under Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace.The battle was part of Early's raid through the [66], Lee's setback at the Battle of Antietam can also be seen as a turning point in that it may have dissuaded the governments of France and Great Britain from recognizing the Confederacy, doubting the South's ability to maintain and win the war.[67]. Randolph McKim, Numerical Strength of the Confederate Army, New York, 1912. In 1865, when the number of prisoners ballooned to its peak, the death rate exceeded 28%. An honor system was set up where each side would take care of housing its own soldiers who had been designated as being on parole, meaning they would not fight in combat unless they were formally exchanged. Camp Washington (3) - A Union U.S. Civil War Camp in New York (1861-1862). His neighbors are so bitter against him that he dare not go home, and he committed himself so decidedly on the 19th April and is known to be so decided a Southerner, that it more than likely he would be thrown into a Fort. In July 1864 the Battle of Monocacy was fought near Frederick, Maryland as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Closed in 1865. The constitution was submitted to the people for ratification on October 13, 1864 and it was narrowly approved by a vote of 30,174 to 29,799 (50.31% to 49.69%) in a vote likely overshadowed by the heavy presence of Union troops in the state and the repression of Confederate sympathizers. Lights went off, black curtains blanketed windows. 56,000 men died in prison camps over the course of the war, accounting for roughly 10% of the war's total death toll and exceeding American combat losses in World War I, Korea, and Vietnam. [41][42] May was eventually released and returned to his seat in Congress in December 1861, and in March 1862 he introduced a bill to Congress requiring the federal government to either indict by grand jury or release all other "political prisoners" still held without habeas. [62] However, McClellan waited about 18 hours before deciding to take advantage of this intelligence and position his forces based on it, thus endangering a golden opportunity to defeat Lee decisively. WebDuring the turbulent weeks following Baltimores civilian clash with federal troops along Indeed, on the whole there appear to have been twice as many black Marylanders serving in the U.S.C.T. Similarly, Robert Beecham, in his memoir, As If It Were Glory, Lanham, Maryland, 1998, p. 166, says of the 23rd U.S.C.T. [45] Its initial term of duty was for twelve months.[48]. My troops are on Federal Hill, which I can hold with the aid of my artillery. The Maryland legislature refused to ratify both the 14th Amendment, which conferred citizenship rights on former slaves, and the 15th Amendment, which gave the vote to African Americans. During the American Civil War (18611865), Maryland, a slave state, was one of the border states, straddling the South and North. The city was in panic. He was in charge of a temporary Army General Hospital in Rockville, treating the wounded after the Battle of Antietam (1862), and also treated the ill soldiers of the 6th Michigan Cavalry Regiment in Rockville (1863) prior to its heroic efforts during the Battle of Gettysburg. They remembered themselves in monuments through their generals. [53] Real and reproduction Civil War-era medical instruments will be shown and used, along with a variety of Civil War-era bullets, Minie balls, grape shot, buck shot, clusters, and other slugs (all inert, safe, and with no gun powder) that created many of the battlefield wounds that the surgeons had to treat. July 21 Union troops occupy Harpers Ferry. A brochure published by the home in the 1890s described it as: a haven of rest to which they may retire and find refuge, and, at the same time, lose none of their self-respect, nor suffer in the estimation of those whose experience in life is more fortunate.[83]. Donations to the Trust are tax deductible to the full extent allowable under the law. In the presidential election of 1860 Lincoln won just 2,294 votes out of a total of 92,421, only 2.5% of the votes cast, coming in at a distant fourth place with Southern Democrat (and later Confederate general) John C. Breckinridge winning the state. Spoiler alert:Washingtondidnt fall. See chart and explanation, p. 550. The singular actions of Clara Barton, Julia Ward Howe, Sarah Josepha Hale, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Harriet Tubman led to their prominence during the war, and launched them into successful public roles following the conflict. It has been estimated that, of the state's 1860 population of 687,000, about 4,000 Marylanders traveled south to fight for the Confederacy. Not every experience behind camp walls was the same, however. In the early months of the camp's existence, the conditions inside Salisbury were quite good, relatively speaking. The nature of the deaths and the reasons for them are a continuing source of controversy. The speaker brings a doctors bag from 1885 containing example medical instruments of the Civil War and the 1800s for show and tell. The Odyssey of a Civil War Soldier Speaker: Robert Plumb. Antietam Camp #3 is part of the Department of the Chesapeake, which includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. The First American President: Setting the Precedent, African Americans During the Revolutionary War, Save 42 Historic Acres at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Phase Three of Gaines Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign, An Unparalleled Preservation Opportunity at Gettysburg Battlefield, For Sale: Three Battlefield Tracts Spanning Three Wars, Preserve 128 Sacred Acres at Antietam and Shepherdstown. After the April 19 rioting, skirmishes continued in Baltimore for the next month. On May 13, 1861 General Benjamin F. Butler entered Baltimore by rail with 1,000 Federal soldiers and, under cover of a thunderstorm, quietly took possession of Federal Hill.