President Lincoln met with Maryland congressmen and a delegation of fifty slaveholders from Prince George's County, Maryland. Half the population there were slaves and the owners were in Washington to complain about the non-enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, particularly by the military authorities. Eight hundred slaves had already escaped from the county. Commenting on a thorny issue, Lincoln expressed his confidence in General James Wadsworth but assured the delegation that he would examine the issue and see justice done. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Our Special Washington Dispatches... ," New York Times, May 20, 1862, p. 1.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Lawmaking/Litigating
