Confederate Maryland
          The state of Maryland occupied a crucial position during the War Between the States and though sometimes overlooked, it was hotly contested and played a major role in the course of the conflict. When the southern states began to secede and the crisis over states rights and secession reached a boiling point, many wondered which way Maryland would go. The general assumption pointed in a southern direction. Maryland was, after all, a southern state and also one where slavery was legal. In fact, it was the northern border of Maryland which marked the famous Mason-Dixon Line separating the northern and southern states. After the notorious abolitionist John Brown attempted to incite a slave revolt by seizing an arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (which was crushed by US Marines under Colonel Robert E. Lee) many Maryland men began to form militia companies and it was no secret that their sympathies were with their sister states of the south. There was clearly some division among the populace between Union and Confederate loyalty, but in the presidential election which brought Abraham Lincoln to the Whitehouse and prompted the secession of the first seven Confederate States, Lincoln did very poorly in Maryland.
         Obviously, Maryland was of critical importance for the United States as soon as secession began. If Maryland were to secede, Washington DC would be totally engulfed within Confederate territory. Violence spread quickly, starting when troops from Massachusetts were attacked by southern sympathizers. This sparked the famous Baltimore Riot, the first bloodshed of the war, in which Union soldiers and pro-Confederate civilians clashed in the streets. These events would also ultimately inspire the writing of what became the Maryland state anthem. Terrified that Maryland would secede, President Lincoln called in more troops to occupy Baltimore and arrested the mayor and many other local authorities and politicians who had southern sympathies. Of course this tyrannical action was a total violation of the rights and liberties Americans are supposed to have, but Lincoln was not the sort to let that stop him. With the capitol occupied and more northern troops pouring in it was clear Maryland was remaining in the Union whether she liked it or not.
         This meant that anyone with enough zeal to wish to fight for the Confederacy would have to go south to Virginia to do so, and many did, forming the famous "Maryland Line" as part of the Army of Northern Virginia. In all, about 25,000 Marylanders fought for the Confederacy in one infantry regiment and one battalion, one of the famous zouave units in the southern army, two cavalry battalions and four battalions of artillery. The south also gained some of her best commanders from the state of Maryland, the most famous being Rose O'Neal Greenhow, the lovely spy whose information contributed to the Confederate victory at First Manassas; Admiral Franklin Buchanan, who commanded the CSS Virginia at the battle of Hampton Roads; Captain Raphael Semmes of the legendary commerce raider CSS Alabama and the fiery General Isaac R. Trimble who lost a leg in Pickett's doomed charge at the battle of Gettysburg.
          The War Between the States came home to Maryland in 1862 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee decided to follow up his victory at Second Manassas by marching north. He hoped to attract more Maryland troops to join him and though he did not gain the recruits he hoped for he did receive a welcome from some. Some patriotic Maryland ladies made him a new uniform coat which the humble Lee declared was too fine to wear in the field and put away for special occasions. This campaign began to unravel when the Union army accidentally stumbled across a copy of the entire Confederate battle plan. The federal army moved in to attack Lee along the Antietam Creek near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. The result was the bloodiest single day in American history on September 17, 1862. Total casualties for the two armies amounted to roughly 22,719 and though Lee had held his ground and repelled all Union attacks, his position was untenable and he withdrew back to Virginia.
          Antietam was one of the most significant battles of the war. President Lincoln used it as an opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in which he tried to claim the war to be a moral crusade against slavery which made the major European powers, particularly Great Britain and France, reluctant to grant the Confederacy official recognition. Actually, however, the proclamation to free slaves applied only to areas under Confederate control, where it naturally could not be enforced, and not the slave states still within the Union. As an example, the famous proclamation did not free a single slave in the state of Maryland.
         Other raids and partisan activities took place in Maryland, but major operations did not return to the state until 1864 when Confederate General Jubal A. Early led a makeshift army through the Shenandoah Valley, around into Maryland to threaten Washington DC and draw off Union troops threatening General Lee around Richmond and Petersburg. Near Frederick, Maryland, at the battle of Monocacy Junction on July 9, 1864 General Early defeated Union troops under the scheming Lew Wallace. Early moved on to attack the defenses of Washington DC from the Maryland side, striking at Fort Stevens, though he did not have anywhere near the strength he would have needed to actually storm the capitol. Early moved on and after a destructive foray into southern Pennsylvania he turned south again and his cavalry clashed with Union horsemen at the battle of Folck's Mill in Allegany County, Maryland in his efforts to disrupt the vital B&O Railroad.
         Although these battles marked the last time that Union and Confederate armies would meet in formal engagements in Maryland, the Maryland troops in the Army of Northern Virginia continued to prove themselves to be soldiers of the best quality. They fought with incredible determination, especially considering they hailed from a state that was occupied by Union forces throughout the war and never formally was able to join the Confederate States. The world truly got to see what Maryland was made of during the long and nightmarish siege of Petersburg, Virginia. This was a vital position which had to be held to keep Richmond, the Confederate capitol, alive and Lee faced US General Grant there in month after month of grueling siege warfare. It was a state of slow death for the Confederates. Prospects of victory were gone, even survival looked slim, and the troops were poorly equipped, many barefoot and struggling on starvation rations. The resolve of even the toughest soldiers began to snap and many deserted, but not the troops from Maryland. In fact, their number of desertions were so low they were often given front line duty to prevent others from deserting. Because of this admirable record, many have proudly called the Maryland troops the most loyal of the Confederacy. They continued on until the bitter end in April, 1865.
         Unlike most Confederate troops, those returning home to Maryland had a somewhat brighter future to look forward to. Maryland had not seen the utter devastation suffered by states like Virginia, Georgia or South Carolina and since Maryland had never actually left the Union, Maryland was not subject to the traumas of Reconstruction and was never placed under military rule after the war. Perhaps the only bitter pill Maryland had to swallow was the fact that the actor John Wilkes Boothe who had assassinated President Lincoln was a native Marylander. However, Marylanders had plenty of other southern patriots they could rightly look to with appreciation and admiration.
         Franklin Buchanan, commander of the first American armored warship in 1862 and commander of the largest ironclad of the war at the battle of Mobile Bay, was wounded in both engagements, taken prisoner, exchanged and died in Maryland in 1874. Rose O'Neal Greenhow, the captivating socialite and Confederate spy, was arrested but continued her activities even from behind bars. Released and sent south, Confederate President Davis made her an envoy to Europe where she met the Queen of Great Britain and the Emperor of France. In 1864, while trying to run the blockade to return home her ship was sunk by a Union warship and she died at sea, weighted down by the money she intended to bring to the Confederate Treasury. Major General Isaac Ridgeway Trimble had to be left behind after the battle of Gettysburg because of the seriousness of his wound and the danger of infection. Because of his intricate knowledge of northern railroads the authorities refused to exchange him. He was paroled after Lee surrendered and returned to Maryland to continue his railroad work, finally dying in Baltimore in 1867. Captain Raphael Semmes, who gained international fame as Captain of the CSS Alabama, was promoted to Rear Admiral and given command of the James River Squadron defending the waterways of Richmond. When the city was evacuated he transferred to the army as a brigadier general and was surrendered with the command of General Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina. Imprisoned by the north, no charges could be brought against him so he was eventually released and moved to Mobile, Alabama where he worked as a lawyer until his death in 1877 from eating bad shrimp.
         These are only some of the most famous of the many Marylanders who gave their all for the Confederate States and the cause of southern independence. Although political tyranny forced Maryland to remain in the Union, her sons and daughters contributed mightily to the southern war effort and left a legacy that all Marylanders can be proud of. As much as with the famous "orphans" of Kentucky, the states of the Confederacy owe a debt of gratitude to the soldiers and civilians of Maryland who truly earned their title of the most loyal of them all.
To all you Maryland Confederates, this Texan salutes you!
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1