Baltimore and The Nineteenth of April, 1861 Part 6

The Governor also wrote to the President, advising him to order elsewhere the troops then off Annapolis, and to send no more through Maryland, and added the surprising suggestion that Lord Lyons, the British Minister, be requested to act as mediator between the contending parties of the country.

The troops, however, were landed without opposition. The railway from Annapolis leading to the Washington road had, in some places, been torn up, but it was promptly repaired by the soldiers, and by the 25th an un.o.bstructed route was opened through Annapolis to Washington.

Horace Greeley, in his book called "The American Conflict," denounces with characteristic vehemence and severity of language the proceedings of the city authorities. He scouts "the demands" of the Mayor and his a.s.sociates, whom he designates as "Messrs. Brown & Co." He insists that practically on the morning of the 20th of April Maryland was a member of the Southern Confederacy, and that her Governor spoke and acted the bidding of a cabal of the ablest and most envenomed traitors.

It is true that the city then, and for days afterwards, was in an anomalous condition, which may be best described as one of "armed neutrality"; but it is not true that in any sense it was, on the 20th of April, or at any other time, a member of the Southern Confederacy.

On the contrary, while many, especially among the young and reckless, were doing their utmost to place it in that position, regardless of consequences, and would, if they could, have forced the hands of the city authorities, it was their conduct which prevented such a catastrophe. Temporizing and delay were necessary. As soon as pa.s.sions had time to cool, a strong reaction set in and the people rapidly divided into two parties--one on the side of the North, and the other on the side of the South; but whatever might be their personal or political sympathies, it was clear to all who had not lost their reason that Maryland, which lay open from the North by both land and sea, would be kept in the Union for the sake of the national capital, even if it required the united power of the nation to accomplish the object. The telegraph wires on the lines leading to the North had been cut, and for some days the city was without regular telegraphic connection. For a longer time the mails were interrupted and travel was stopped. The buoys in the harbor were temporarily removed. The business interests of the city of course suffered under these interruptions, and would be paralyzed if such isolation were to continue, and the merchants soon began to demand that the channels of trade should be reopened to the north and east.

The immediate duty of the city authorities was to keep the peace and protect the city, and, without going into details or discussing the conduct of individuals, I shall leave others to speak of the manner in which it was performed.

Colonel Scharf, in his "History of Maryland," Volume III, p. 415, sums up the matter as follows: "In such a period of intense excitement, many foolish and unnecessary acts were undoubtedly done by persons in the employment of the city, as well as by private individuals, but it is undoubtedly true that the Mayor and board of police commissioners were inflexibly determined to resist all attempts to force the city into secession or into acts of hostility to the Federal Government, and that they successfully accomplished their purpose. If they had been otherwise disposed, they could easily have effected their object."

CHAPTER VI.

SESSION OF THE GENERAL a.s.sEMBLY. -- REPORT OF THE BOARD OF POLICE. -- SUPPRESSION OF THE FLAGS. -- ON THE 5th OF MAY, GENERAL BUTLER TAKES POSITION SEVEN MILES FROM BALTIMORE. -- ON THE 13TH OF MAY, HE ENTERS BALTIMORE AND FORTIFIES FEDERAL HILL.

-- THE GENERAL a.s.sEMBLY WILL TAKE NO STEPS TOWARDS SECESSION. -- MANY YOUNG MEN JOIN THE ARMY OF THE CONFEDERACY.

On the 22d of April, Governor Hicks convened the General a.s.sembly of the State, to meet in special session at Annapolis on the 26th, to deliberate and consider of the condition of the State, and to take such measures as in their wisdom they might deem fit to maintain peace and order and security within its limits.

On the 24th of April, "in consequence of the extraordinary state of affairs," Governor Hicks changed the meeting of the a.s.sembly to Frederick. The candidates for the House of Delegates for the city of Baltimore, who had been returned as elected to the General a.s.sembly in 1859, had been refused their seats, as previously stated, and a new election in the city had therefore become necessary to fill the vacancy.

A special election for that purpose was accordingly held in the city on the 24th instant. Only a States Rights ticket was presented, for which nine thousand two hundred and forty-four votes were cast. The candidates elected were: John C. Brune, Ross Winans, Henry M.

Warfield, J. Hanson Thomas, T. Parkin Scott, H. M. Morfit, S. Teackle Wallis, Charles H. Pitts, William G. Harrison and Lawrence Sangston, well-known and respected citizens, and the majority of them nominated because of their known conservatism and declared opposition to violent measures.

This General a.s.sembly, which contained men of unusual weight and force of character, will ever remain memorable in Maryland for the courage and ability with which it maintained the const.i.tutional rights of the State.

On the 3d of May, the board of police made a report of its proceedings to the Legislature of the State, signed by Charles Howard, President.

After speaking of the disabling of the railroads, it concludes as follows:

"The absolute necessity of the measures thus determined upon by the Governor, Mayor and Police Board, is fully ill.u.s.trated by the fact that early on Sunday morning reliable information reached the city of the presence of a large body of Pennsylvania troops, amounting to about twenty-four hundred men, who had reached Ashland, near c.o.c.keysville, by the way of the Northern Central Railroad, and was stopped in their progress towards Baltimore by the partial destruction of the Ashland bridge. Every intelligent citizen at all acquainted with the state of feeling then existing, must be satisfied that if these troops had attempted to march through the city, an immense loss of life would have ensued in the conflict which would necessarily have taken place. The bitter feelings already engendered would have been intensely increased by such a conflict; all attempts at conciliation would have been vain, and terrible destruction would have been the consequence, if, as is certain, other bodies of troops had insisted on forcing their way through the city.

"The tone of the whole Northern press and the ma.s.s of the population was violent in the extreme. Incursions upon our city were daily threatened, not only by troops in the service of the Federal Government, but by the vilest and most reckless desperadoes, acting independently, and, as they threatened, in despite of the Government, backed by well-known influential citizens, and sworn to the commission of all kinds of excesses.

In short, every possible effort was made to alarm this community.

In this condition of things the Board felt it to be their solemn duty to continue the organization which had already been commenced, for the purpose of a.s.suring the people of Baltimore that no effort would be spared to protect all within its borders, to the extent of their ability. All the means employed were devoted to this end, and with no view of producing a collision with the General Government, which the Board were particularly anxious to avoid, and an arrangement was happily effected by the Mayor with the General Government that no troops should be pa.s.sed through the city. As an evidence of the determination of the Board to prevent such collision, a sufficient guard was sent in the neighborhood of Fort McHenry several nights to arrest all parties who might be engaged in a threatened attack upon it, and a steam-tug was employed, properly manned, to prevent any hostile demonstration upon the receiving-ship _Alleghany_, lying at anchor in the harbor, of all which the United States officers in command were duly notified.

"Property of various descriptions belonging to the Government and individuals was taken possession of by the police force with a view to its security. The best care has been taken of it. Every effort has been made to discover the rightful owners, and a portion of it has already been forwarded to order. Arrangements have been made with the Government agents satisfactory to them for the portion belonging to it, and the balance is held subject to the order of its owners.

"Amidst all the excitement and confusion which has since prevailed, the Board take great pleasure in stating that the good order and peace of the city have been preserved to an extraordinary degree. Indeed, to judge from the accounts given by the press of other cities of what has been the state of things in their own communities, Baltimore, during the whole of the past week and up to this date, will compare favorably, as to the protection which persons and property have enjoyed, with any other large city in the United States."

Much has been said in regard to the suppression of the national flag in Baltimore during the disturbances, and it is proper that the facts should here be stated.

General Robinson, in his description of the occurrences which took place after the 19th of April, says that meetings were held under the flag of the State of Maryland, at which the speeches were inflammatory secession harangues, and that the national flag disappeared, and no man dared to display it. Whether or not this statement exactly represents the condition of things, it at least approximates it, and on the 26th of April, an order was issued by the board of police reciting that the peace of the city was likely to be disturbed by the display of various flags, and directing that no flag of any description should be raised or carried through the streets. On April 29th, the city council pa.s.sed an ordinance, signed by the Mayor, authorizing him, when in his opinion the peace of the city required it, to prohibit by proclamation for a limited period, to be designated by him, the public display of all flags or banners in the city of Baltimore, except on buildings or vessels occupied or employed by the Government of the United States. On the same day I, in pursuance of the ordinance, issued a proclamation prohibiting the display of flags for thirty days, with the exception stated in the ordinance, and on the 10th of May, when I was satisfied that all danger was over, I issued a proclamation removing the prohibition. The only violation of the order which came under my notice during the period of suppression was on the part of a military company which had the Maryland flag flying at its headquarters, on Lexington street near the City Hall. On my directing this flag to be taken down, the request was at once complied with.

General Robinson says that "the first demonstration of returning loyalty was on the 28th day of April, when a sailing vessel came down the river crowded with men, and covered from stem to stern with national flags. She sailed past the fort, cheered and saluted our flag, which was dipped in return, after which she returned to the city." He then adds: "The tide had turned. Union men avowed themselves, the stars and stripes were again unfurled, and order was restored. Although after this time arrests were made of persons conspicuous for disloyalty, the return to reason was almost as sudden as the outbreak of rebellion. The railroads were repaired, trains ran regularly, and troops poured into Washington without hindrance or opposition of any sort. Thousands of men volunteered for the Union Army. Four regiments of Maryland troops afterwards served with me, and const.i.tuted the Third Brigade of my division. They fought gallantly the battles of the Union, and no braver soldiers ever marched under the flag."

The tide indeed soon turned, but not quite so rapidly as this statement seems to indicate. On the 5th of May, General Butler, with two regiments and a battery of artillery, came from Washington and took possession of the Relay House on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the junction of the Washington branch, about seven miles from Baltimore, and fortified the position. One of his first proceedings was highly characteristic. He issued a special order declaring that he had found well-authenticated evidence that one of his soldiers had "been poisoned by means of strychnine administered in the food brought into the camp," and he warned the people of Maryland that he could "put an agent, with a word, into every household armed with this terrible weapon." This statement sent a thrill of horror through the North, and the accompanying threat of course excited the indignation and disgust of our people. The case was carefully examined by the city physician, and it turned out that the man had an ordinary attack of cholera morbus, the consequence of imprudent diet and camp life, but the General never thought proper to correct the slander.

On the evening of the 11th of May, General Butler being then at Annapolis, I received a note from Edward G. Parker, his aide-de-camp, stating that he had received intimations from many sources that an attack by the Baltimore roughs was intended that night; that these rumors had been confirmed by a gentleman from Baltimore, who gave his name and residence; that the attack would be made by more than a thousand men, every one sworn to kill a man; that they were coming in wagons, on horses and on foot, and that a considerable force from the west, probably the Point of Rocks in Maryland, was also expected, and I was requested to guard every avenue from the city, so as to prevent the Baltimore rioters from leaving town.

Out of respect to the source from which the application came, I immediately sent for the marshal of police, and requested him to throw out bodies of his men so as to guard every avenue leading to the Relay House. No enemy, however, appeared. The threatened attack proved to be merely a groundless alarm, as I knew from the beginning it was.

On the night of the 13th of May, when the city was as peaceful as it is to-day, General Butler, in the midst of a thunderstorm of unusual violence, entered Baltimore and took possession of Federal Hill, which overlooks the harbor and commands the city, and which he immediately proceeded to fortify. There was n.o.body to oppose him, and n.o.body thought of doing so; but, for this exploit, which he regarded as the capture of Baltimore, he was made a Major-General. He immediately issued a proclamation, as if he were in a conquered city subject to military law.

Meantime, on the 26th of April, the General a.s.sembly of the State had met at Frederick. "As soon as the General a.s.sembly met" (Scharf's History of Maryland, Vol. III, p. 444), "the Hon. James M. Mason, formerly United States Senator from Virginia, waited on it as commissioner from that State, authorized to negotiate a treaty of alliance offensive and defensive with Maryland on her behalf." This proposition met with no acceptance. On the 27th, the Senate, by a unanimous vote, issued an address for the purpose of allaying the apprehensions of the people, declaring that it had no const.i.tutional authority to take any action leading to secession, and on the next day the House of Delegates, by a vote of 53 to 12, made a similar declaration. Early in May, the General a.s.sembly, by a vote in the House of 43 to 12, and in the Senate of 11 to 3, pa.s.sed a series of resolutions proclaiming its position in the existing crisis.

The resolutions protested against the war as unjust and unconst.i.tutional, and announced a determination to take no part in its prosecution. They expressed a desire for the immediate recognition of the Confederate States; and while they protested against the military occupation of the State, and the arbitrary restrictions and illegalities with which it was attended, they called on all good citizens to abstain from violent and unlawful interference with the troops, and patiently and peacefully to leave to time and reason the ultimate and certain re-establishment and vindication of the right; and they declared it to be at that time inexpedient to call a Sovereign Convention of the State, or to take any measures for the immediate organization or arming of the militia.

After it became plain that no movement would be made towards secession, a large number of young men, including not a few of the flower of the State, and representing largely the more wealthy and prominent families, escaped across the border and entered the ranks of the Confederacy. The number has been estimated at as many as twenty thousand, but this, perhaps, is too large a figure, and there are no means of ascertaining the truth. The muster-rolls have perished with the Confederacy. The great body of those who sympathized with the South had no disposition to take arms against the Union so long as Maryland remained a member of it. This was subsequently proved by their failure to enlist in the Southern armies on the different occasions in 1862, 1863 and 1864 when they crossed the Potomac and transferred the seat of war to Maryland and Pennsylvania, under the command twice of General Lee and once of General Early.

The first of these campaigns ended in the b.l.o.o.d.y battle of Antietam.

The Maryland men, as a tribute to their good conduct, were placed at the head of the army, and crossed the river with enthusiasm, the band playing and the soldiers singing "My Maryland." Great was their disappointment that the recruits did not even suffice to fill the gaps in their shattered ranks.

CHAPTER VII.

CHIEF JUSTICE TANEY AND THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS. -- A UNION CONVENTION. -- CONSEQUENCE OF THE SUSPENSION OF THE WRIT. -- INCIDENTS OF THE WAR. -- THE WOMEN IN THE WAR.

The suspension of the writ of _habeas corpus_, by order of the President, without the sanction of an Act of Congress, which had not then been given, was one of the memorable events of the war.

On the 4th of May, 1861, Judge Giles, of the United States District Court of Maryland, issued a writ of _habeas corpus_ to Major Morris, then in command of Fort McHenry, to discharge a soldier who was under age. Major Morris refused to obey the writ.

On the 14th of May the General a.s.sembly adjourned, and Mr. Ross Winans, of Baltimore, a member of the House of Delegates, while returning to his home, was arrested by General Butler on a charge of high treason. He was conveyed to Annapolis, and subsequently to Fort McHenry, and was soon afterwards released.

A case of the highest importance next followed. On the 25th of May, Mr. John Merryman, of Baltimore County, was arrested by order of General Keim, of Pennsylvania, and confined in Fort McHenry. The next day (Sunday, May 26th) his counsel, Messrs. George M. Gill and George H. Williams, presented a pet.i.tion for the writ of _habeas corpus_ to Chief Justice Taney, who issued the writ immediately, directed to General Cadwallader, then in command in Maryland, ordering him to produce the body of Merryman in court on the following day (Monday, May 27th). On that day Colonel Lee, his aide-de-camp, came into court with a letter from General Cadwallader, directed to the Chief Justice, stating that Mr. Merryman had been arrested on charges of high treason, and that he (the General) was authorized by the President of the United States in such cases to suspend the writ of _habeas corpus_ for the public safety. Judge Taney asked Colonel Lee if he had brought with him the body of John Merryman. Colonel Lee replied that he had no instructions except to deliver the letter.

_Chief Justice._--The commanding officer, then, declines to obey the writ?

_Colonel Lee._--After making that communication my duty is ended, and I have no further power (rising and retiring).

_Chief Justice._--The Court orders an attachment to issue against George Cadwallader for disobedience to the high writ of the Court, returnable at twelve o'clock to-morrow.

The order was accordingly issued as directed.

A startling issue was thus presented. The venerable Chief Justice had come from Washington to Baltimore for the purpose of issuing a writ of _habeas corpus_, and the President had thereupon authorized the commander of the fort to hold the prisoner and disregard the writ.

A more important occasion could hardly have occurred. Where did the President of the United States acquire such a power? Was it true that a citizen held his liberty subject to the arbitrary will of any man?

In what part of the Const.i.tution could such a power be found? Why had it never been discovered before? What precedent existed for such an act?

Judge Taney was greatly venerated in Baltimore, where he had formerly lived. The case created a profound sensation.

On the next morning the Chief Justice, leaning on the arm of his grandson, walked slowly through the crowd which had gathered in front of the court-house, and the crowd silently and with lifted hats opened the way for him to pa.s.s.