Welcome to my site about the Civil War in Maryland. I am a historian and author who has long studied and written on this subject–see My Books and About the Author pages. I hope that this site and my writings will enhance your appreciation of the conflict and the many ways it affected Maryland, one of four slave states on the border that remained in the Union.

Slavery was the cause of that war, though that is not necessarily why men fought–some did so for the restoration of the American nation, and some did so for the principle of “states’ rights.” Others fought because they believed doing so offered great adventure, or because their friends were enlisting. 

Still others fought because they were conscripted, or because they were at loose ends and needed work. These motivations applied to Marylanders, too, both Union and Confederate, whose absences from home placed significant burdens on their families and communities. Women managed shops and farms and sheltered their children from the fighting. Some families followed the army. Clergymen navigated sectional divisions in their congregations. Men not in the service and women who were detained on suspicion of disloyalty or spying had to make quick decisions to avoid prison. Children’s schooling was disrupted. Enslaved Marylanders fled, heading north or to the sanctuary of Union army camps. In 1863, some would join the U.S. Bureau of Colored Troops and fight in the Union Army.

Click to learn more about Maryland’s Civil War Story