Dickinson College alumnus and wealthy slaveholder Richard Bennett Carmichael was a judge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland who had been scrupulous in applying state laws to cases brought before him that he considered violations of civil liberties. Since this meant that he was freeing mostly southern sympathizers, Federal officials took notice and on this day arrested Judge Carmichael in his courtroom and, after a struggle that left him unconscious, imprisoned him for almost six months without trial. He returned to the courtroom but resigned in 1864. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Frank Moore, ed., The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, Etc. (New York: G.P. Putnam, 1863), V: 17-18.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Lawmaking/Litigating
