“The Madness of Disunion”: The Baltimore Conventions of 1860 (summer 1997): After failing to nominate a candidate in Charleston, SC, in April 1860, Northern and Southern Democrats reconvene in Baltimore; each nominate their own candidates (Douglas for the North; Breckenridge for the South). The Constitutional Union Party also holds its convention in Baltimore, nominating John Bell. Click here to read about the colorful political machinations as precursors to one of the nation’s most significant presidential elections.
Maryland’s Presidential Election of 1860 (fall 2014). Though Maryland is a slave state (one of four that remains loyal to the Union), and though Lincoln receives a mere 2.5% of the vote, the combined vote totals of the three Unionist candidates (Bell, Douglas and Lincoln) reveal that a majority of Marylanders’ ballots are cast for the Union. Click here to read about the politics and pageantry of this crucial election.
“Whose Cause Shall We Embrace?” Maryland and the Fort Sumter Crisis (spring 2000): Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, is the focal point of growing tension between Washington and South Carolina in the winter and early spring of 1861. While many Marylanders support the government’s posture on the fort, others travel south to join the Confederacy; Baltimore firms fill orders from South Carolinians for weapons. Click here to read about Lincoln’s clever strategy for Fort Sumter, the Maryland men there, and the April 13 surrender of the beleaguered federal garrison after a 34-hour bombardment–the official beginning of the Civil War.
“The Whirlwind Now Gathering”: Baltimore’s Pratt Street Riot and the End of Maryland Secession. A Baltimore mob clashes with Massachusetts militia as they pass through Baltimore en route to Washington on April 19, 1861, resulting in the first fatalities of the Civil War. Click here to read eye-witness accounts of the clash and its aftermath, the Baltimore mayor’s emergency meeting with Lincoln, how troops got to Washington via another route, and why a Maryland secession even at this early stage appears unlikely.
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