Maryland

It is usually designated as the southernmost of the Middle States, lying on the Atlantic coast;... The present boundaries of the state are as follows: north by Pennsylvania, east by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean, south and west by Virginia, from which it is divided by the River Potomac. Its form is extremely irregular. Chesapeake Bay, passing through the state from north to south, near its centre, separates it into two sections, which are known respectively as the Eastern Shore and the Western Shore. (Gazetteer of the United States of America, 1854)
Place Unit Type
State or Province
Containing Unit
Date Type
Democrats sweep to victory in the first state elections under the new Maryland constitution. Campaigns/Elections
- Federal troops in Maryland swoop to arrest pro-secession legislators, officials, and newspaper editors Lawmaking/Litigating
Governor Hicks refuses to call the Maryland legislature to hear the Mississippi secession commissioner Lawmaking/Litigating
In Maryland, Unionists triumph in the statewide elections and Augustus Bradford is elected as governor Campaigns/Elections
Maryland holds a Slaveholder's Convention with representatives from almost every county Slavery/Abolition
Maryland Republicans hold their state convention in Baltimore amidst hostile crowds Campaigns/Elections
Maryland votes overwhelmingly for a new constitutional convention. Campaigns/Elections
Maryland's law banning all manumission of slaves comes into effect Slavery/Abolition
President Buchanan rejects Virginia's call for federal forces to police neighboring states Legal/Political
- Roger Taney enters the Maryland legislature Personal
Spy informs Edward Gorsuch about location of his runaway slaves Legal/Political
Stringent Sunday "blue laws" come into effect across the state of Maryland. Lawmaking/Litigating
The Maryland constitutional convention completes its work on a new ruling document for Maryland. Lawmaking/Litigating
The newly formulated Maryland Constitution of 1867 receives an overwhelming endorsement in a popular vote. Campaigns/Elections
Volunteer Generals Butler and Dix end their Civil War military service Battles/Soldiers
Date Title
Carlisle (PA) Herald, "Tumult and Riot," June 9, 1847
Spencer Fullerton Baird, Report of the Curator of the Musuem, July 11, 1848
Carlisle (PA) Herald, "In the Surpreme Court of Penn'a," June 27, 1849
Boston (MA) Herald, “First Arrest under the New Fugitive Slave Bill,” September 30, 1850
Thomas Garrett to James Miller McKim, December 29, 1854
Richmond (VA) Dispatch, "The Underground Railroad," December 6, 1855
Thomas Garrett to William Still, December 26, 1855
John Henry Hill to William Still, August 15, 1856
New York Times, "The American Party," March 3, 1857
New York Herald, "The Decision in the Dred Scott," March 9, 1857
New York Times, “The Ballot-Box and the Bayonet,” October 30, 1857
New York Herald, "Kansas as a Slave State," January 7, 1858
Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, "Lynch Law in Maryland," July 6, 1858
New York Herald, "The Late Meeting of Maryland Slaveholders," July 23, 1858
Thomas Garrett to William Still, August 21, 1858
New York Herald, “The Presidential Question,” January 24, 1859
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, “Another Dred Scott Decision,” June 8, 1859
New York Times, “The Free Negroes of Maryland,” June 13, 1859
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, “New Danger To Douglas,” September 29, 1859
Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, "Bleeding Kansas," October 27, 1859
Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, "The Underground Railroad," November 3, 1859
Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "How Shall Brown Be Punished?," November 7, 1859
New York Herald, “The South and Southern Safety,” December 4, 1859
John W. Jones to William Still, June 6, 1860
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, “An Explanation,” June 28, 1860
Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, “What the South Really Fears,” July 25, 1860
Charlestown (VA) Free Press, "Precipitate A Revolution," August 9, 1860
New York Times, "Politics at the South," August 10, 1860
William T. Sherman to Ellen Sherman, November 23, 1860
Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “The Clouds Lowering,” December 27, 1860
Alexander K. McClure to Abraham Lincoln, January 15, 1861
Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The Border States,” April 16, 1861
Entry by George Templeton Strong, April 17, 1861
Proclamation of the Governor of Maryland, April 18, 1861
New York Times, “The Position of Maryland,” April 20, 1861
William Seward to Thomas Hicks, April 22, 1861
Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Gen. Scott,” April 27, 1861
Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "Neutrality," May 2, 1861
New York Times, “Affairs in Maryland,” May 5, 1861
Savannah (GA) News, “The Civil War in Missouri,” May 17, 1861
New York Times, “The Bitter Fruits,” June 10, 1861
Charles B. Calvert to Abraham Lincoln, July 10, 1861
Ward H. Lamon to Abraham Lincoln, August 23, 1861
Abraham Lincoln to Orville Hickman Browning, September 22, 1861
Gen. John Dix to the U.S. Marshals in Maryland, Instructions on the upcoming State Elections, November 1, 1861
Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Spies and Traitors,” February 15, 1862
Entry by Cornelia Peake McDonald, October 13, 1862
New York Herald, “What is the Rebel Army of Virginia About?,” May 31, 1863
John Wilkes Booth, Diary entry, April 21, 1865, southern Maryland
How to Cite This Page: "Maryland," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/8996.