Baltimore barricades itself against the Confederate advance

 In response to the Confederate advances in Maryland and Pennsylvania, the city council of Baltimore appropriated $100,000 for the construction of barricades around the city.  On the morning of June 20, 1863, police in the city impressed and organized able-bodied African-American men and marched them out in gangs of forty to begin the work. Later that night, others were forcibly recruited, including some white men, to replace them and the work of a makeshift system of barricades was completed the next day.  (By John Osborne)