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Arrest of the Maryland Legislature, 1861
Introduction
In early 1861, Maryland was walking a tightrope between the Union and the
Confederacy. In addition to being physically between the two sides, Maryland
depended equally on the North and the South for its economy. Although Maryland
had always leaned toward the south culturally, sympathies in the state were as
much pro-Union as they were pro-Confederate. Reflecting that division and the
feeling of many Marylanders that they just wanted to be left alone, the state
government would not declare for either side.
For the Federal Government, however, there was no question about which side
Maryland had to take. If she seceded, Washington D.C. would be surrounded by
hostile states, effectively cut off from the rest of the Union. The situation
came to a head on April 19, 1861, when the soldiers of the 6th Massachusetts
Volunteers, moving through Baltimore on the way to Washington, were attacked by
a pro-Southern mob. When the mob started shooting at the regiment, the soldiers
returned fire, and when the smoke had cleared, four soldiers and twelve
civilians had been killed.
To avoid further riots, it was decided to send troops through the Naval
Academy at Annapolis. To ensure the safety of the troops and the loyalty of the
state government, the Federal Government sent General Benjamin F. Butler to
Annapolis to secure the city on April 22. That same day, Governor
Thomas Holliday Hicks decided to call a special session of the General
Assembly to discuss the crisis. At that time, the General Assembly met
biannually, but popular outcry was so strong that the governor felt it necessary
to call together the Assembly during an off year. However, he probably felt that
anti-Union sentiment would run high in a city that had just been occupied by
Northern troops, so Governor Hicks decided to convene the Legislature in
Frederick, Maryland, a strongly pro-Union city.
The General Assembly first met in the Frederick County Courthouse on April
26. However, it was quickly found that the courthouse was too small, and so, on
the second day, the Assembly moved to Kemp
Hall the meeting hall belonging to the German Reformed Church. On April 30,
the weekly Frederick Herald reported: "The Legislature seems comfortable
and well provided for in their new halls in the German Reformed Building. The
Senate occupies the Red Men's Hall, third story -- the House, the hall in the
second story. These halls have been tastefully and appropriately fitted up for
their purposes."
The main topic of discussion in those tastefully appointed halls was, of
course, the question of whether or not to secede from the Union. As the General
Assembly met throughout the long summer, a bill and a resolution were introduced
calling for secession. Both failed because the legislators said that they did
not have the authority to secede from the Union. Even many of the pro-Southern
delegates and senators did not support the bills. At the same time, however, the
legislators refused to reopen rail links to the Northern States, for fear the
they would be used for military purposes and also by pro-Union agitators bent on
revenge for the Baltimore riots. One of the few things the General Assembly did
agree upon was a resolution sent to President Lincoln protesting the Union
occupation of Maryland. It seems that the General Assembly was primarily
interested in preserving Maryland's neutrality, for they neither wanted to
secede from the Union, nor to allow Union troops to cross its territory in order
to attack the Confederacy.
On August 7, the General Assembly adjourned, intending to meet again on
September 17. However, on that day Federal troops and Baltimore police officers
arrived in Frederick with orders to arrest the pro-Confederate members of the
General Assembly. Thus, the special session in Frederick ended, as did
Frederick's summer as the state capital, as Maryland found itself inexorably
drawn further and further into the heart of the bloodiest war in American
history.
SOURCE: Taken from Maryland State Archives, "The General Assembly
Moves to Frederick, 1861"
National History Standards
Materials compiled in this document can be used by educators to fulfill the
following National
History Standards for Grades 5-12:
Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
STANDARD 2: The course and character of the Civil War and its
effects on the American people.
Standard 2A: The student understands how the resources of the
Union and Confederacy affected the course of the war.
5-12: Identify the turning points of the war and evaluate
how political, military, and diplomatic leadership affected the outcome of the
conflict. [Assess the importance of the individual in history]
Standard 2B: The student understands the social
experience of the war on the battlefield and homefront.
5-12: Compare the human and material costs of the
war in the North and South and assess the degree to which the war reunited the
nation. [Examine historical perspectives]
Primary Resources
DESCRIPTION: Arrest
and Detention of Certain Members of the Maryland Legislature
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: [1861]
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 667-675.
DESCRIPTION: Letter, Abraham
Lincoln to Winfield Scott
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: April 25, 1861
REPRODUCTIONS: How
to Order Reproductions
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: The
Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. Series 1.
General Correspondence. 1833-1916.
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
Winfield Scott to [Brig. Gen. B. F. Butler]
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: April 26, 1861
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 675-675
DESCRIPTION: Resolutions
of the General Assembly of Maryland in relation to the arrest and
imprisonment of Ross Winans, edq., & c.
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: July 1861
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 587-588.
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
Simon Cameron to Maj. Gen. N. P. Banks
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 11, 1861
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 678-679
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
Frederick Schley, Editor of the Examiner to W. H. Seward
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 12, 1861
NOTES: " There are twenty-two senators, of whom twelve is
the requisite majority to enact a law. Of the present senators eight
are loyal and reliable, leaving fourteen in whom I have no faith and I
speak the sentiment of many."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 679-680.
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
John A. Dix to Simon Cameron (Arrests made in Baltimore)
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 13, 1861
REPRODUCTIONS: How
to Order Reproductions
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: The
Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. Series 1.
General Correspondence. 1833-1916.
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
W. G. Snethen to W. H. Seward
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 15, 1861
NOTES: "I thank you in the name of every truly loyal man
in Baltimore an din my own poor name for your arrest of the traitors
whom you have sent to Fortress Monroe.... I hope General Banks will
take care that the Legislature shall not sit at all.... The arrest of
W. Wilkins Glenn, the proprietor of the Exchange, has given intense
satisfaction. Beale Richardson and his writing editor Joice, of the
Republican, are very violent ...."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 595.
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
N. P. Banks to Lieutentant-Colonel Ruger
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 16, 1861
NOTES: "It is not impossible that the members or a portion
of them may be deterred from meeting there on account of certain
arrests recently made in Baltimore. It is also quite possible that on
the first day of meeting the attendance may be small. Of the facts as
to this matter I shall see that you are well informed as they
transpire. It becomes necessary that any meeting of this Legislature
at any place or time shall be prevented."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 681
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
R. Morris Copeland to Major General Banks
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 18, 1861
NOTES: "I have just telegraphed to General Dix that we
have seized seven members of the house of a very bitter character, and
four officers, clerks, & c. who are intensely bitter and are said
to have been very forward and to have kept some of the weaker men up
to the work. Several arrests were made of violent or resisting persons
whom I shall let go after the others are gone. I shall send four men
at least to General Dix, at Baltimore, who are very bad men...."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 682-683
DESCRIPTION: Oath
of fidelity taken by members of the Maryland Legislature after arrest
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 18, 1861
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 683
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
Arthur Rich to William H. Seward
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 19, 1861
NOTES: "Allow me to congratulate you upon the Government
manifesting its strong arm in giving the quietus to our so-called
Legislature. It has had the salutary influence in many respects and
has soothed down the temper of the disunionists prodigiously."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 684
DESCRIPTION: Letter
George W. Howard, Jr. to Simon Cameron
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 25, 1861
NOTES: "As the treasonable documents of the Legislature of
Maryland were seized I think that the journals of all the sessions
should be seized also...."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 691
DESCRIPTION: Letter
N. P. Banks to Col. R. B. Marcy
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 20, 1861
NOTES: "I have the honor to report ... that all the members of
the Maryland Legislature assembled at Frederick City on the 17th
instant known or suspected to be disloyal in their relations to the
Government have been arrested."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 684-685
DESCRIPTION: Letter
John A. Dix to W. H. Seward.
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 20, 1861
NOTES: "I have arrested and put on board the Baltimore E.
G. Kilbourn, a dangerous successionist, president of the house of
delegates. There are two of the arrested persons whose release would I
am confident promote the Union cause, and since the Legislature is
effectually broken up the Government cannot be injured and may
vindicate its justice by its clemency in these cases."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union
and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1. (Washington, DC.
Government Printing Office, 1894): 685
DESCRIPTION: Letter
Thomas H. Hicks, [Governor of Maryland] to Maj. Gen. N. P. Banks
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 20, 1861
NOTES: "We see the good fruit already produced by these arrests.
We can no longer mince matters with these desperate people."
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and
Pension Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the
Union and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1.
(Washington, DC. Government Printing Office, 1894): 685
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
Allan Pinkerton to William H. Seward
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 23, 1861
NOTES: Describes some of the arrests, including arrests of newspaper
editors.
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and
Pension Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the
Union and Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 1.
(Washington, DC. Government Printing Office, 1894): 688
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
J. M. Coale to Abraham Lincoln (Requests release of imprisoned
members of the Maryland legislature)
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: November 12, 1861
REPRODUCTIONS: How
to Order Reproductions
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: The
Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. Series 1.
General Correspondence. 1833-1916.
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
DESCRIPTION: Letter,
John A. Dix to William H. Seward
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: February 17, 1862
NOTES: Includes report of political prisoners taken, released, and
remaining since March 4, 1861, at Fort McHenry, Md.
SOURCE: United States. War Dept., United States. Record and Pension
Office., United States. War Records Office., et al. The
war of the rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and
Confederate armies. Series 2 - Volume 2. (Washington, DC. Government
Printing Office, 1897): 226-228
DESCRIPTION: Session
Laws, Maryland General Assembly, Special Session
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: April - December 1861
SOURCE: Archives of Maryland Online
REPOSITORY: Maryland State Archives
DESCRIPTION: Photograph,
Kemp Hall, Frederick
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: c. 1870
SOURCE: Fredericktown Bank Collection, MSA SC 4702-1-8
REPOSITORY: Maryland State Archives
See also:
Secondary Resources
Brugger, Robert. "Suspended between Memory and Hope (1816-1865)."
In Maryland: A Middle Temperament. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University Press in association with the Maryland Historical Society, 1988.
Brugger, Robert. "A House Divided (1850-1865)." In Maryland:
A Middle Temperament. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press in
association with the Maryland Historical Society, 1988.
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Credits
Teaching
American History in Maryland is a collaborative partnership of the Maryland State Archives and the Center for History Education (CHE), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), and the following sponsoring school systems: Anne Arundel County Public Schools, the Baltimore City Public School System, and Baltimore County Public Schools.
Other program partners include the Martha Ross Center for Oral History, Maryland Historical Society, State Library Resource Center/Enoch Pratt Free Library, with assistance from the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress. The program is funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
This document packet was researched and developed by Nancy Bramucci.
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