RICE UNIVERSITY Lincoln's Divided Backyard: Maryland in the Civil War Era by Jessica Ann Cannon A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE Doctor of Philosophy APPROVED, THESIS COMMITTEE: t? • John FfVBoles, Chair, William P. Hobby Prolgssor, History JLacl Ira D. Gruber, Harris Masterson Jr. Professor Emeritus, History Richard J. Stall, Professor, Political Science HOUSTON, TEXAS MAY, 2010 UMI Number: 3421215 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI 3421215 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT Lincoln's Divided Backyard: Maryland in the Civil War Era by Jessica A. Cannon Maryland in the mid-nineteenth century was a state trying to balance its regional ties to both an agrarian culture based on the institution of slavery and an industrializing, urban culture. Caught in between two warring societies, Marylanders themselves were unsure of their identity given the rapid changes of the late antebellum decades. This study argues Maryland's cultural identity shifted from being a "southern" state in 1861 to being a "northern" state by 1865 in the minds of its own citizens as well as in the minds of politicians, soldiers, and civilians from other parts of the nation. This transition was the result of economic, political, and social changes that took place in the state during the late antebellum period, although cultural and ideological recognition of this shift did not occur until the war brought Maryland's dual identities into focus and compelled state citizens to choose a side in the conflict. A minority of citizens contested the state's "northern" identity both during and after the war, but the new cultural identity remained dominant largely because northern industrial, urban, and demographic patterns were already well-established and Union military policies directed most Marylanders' political and economic behavior towards a loyal and northern-looking orientation by the end of the war. Understanding these cultural dynamics in a border state like Maryland helps to clarify our vision of complicated and competing ideologies in mid-nineteenth century America. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding for this project was made possible by several fellowships and grants. I would like to thank the Rice University Department of History for providing five years of fellowship assistance and allowing me to continue teaching several courses in the department over the last year, giving me the time to complete writing my dissertation. I am also grateful for receiving the university's Dunlevie Teaching Fellowship. My research was supported by a departmental grant from the Nolen Fund, as well as through a grant from the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church and the General and Mrs. Matthew B. Ridgeway Research Grant from the United States Army Military History Institute located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Likewise, the Lord Baltimore Fellowship from the Maryland Historical Society, while not a financial award, did provide me with a place to work while I sifted through a substantial portion of their collections. I have met wonderful archivists and staff members all along my research path, many of whom provided invaluable guidance for navigating the countless Civil War letters, diaries, and other materials that have been vital to my work. My gratitude goes out to the staffs at the Maryland Historical Society; the Maryland State Archives and Hall of Records in Annapolis; and specifically to Dick Sommers for his gracious welcome to MHI and for his willingness to share his insights and encyclopedic knowledge of the Civil War and the institute's collections; Mary Mannix at the Frederick County Public Library's Maryland Room for providing research assistance (both during my visits and from afar) and for her interest and support of my project throughout the process; and to Mary Klein at the Episcopal Diocesan Archives in Baltimore, Maryland, who in addition iv to providing pleasant company, also generously allowed me to stay late on several occasions to continue working. Portions of my dissertation were presented to Penn State University's Richards Civil War Era Center annual graduate student conference and to the Houston Area Southern Historians, and I want to thank the participants of each group for their critique and suggestions. Similarly, I would like to thank my fellow graduate students at Rice. Special thanks go to Ann Ziker, Meg and Mark Olsen, Renee Chandler, Ken and Abbie Grubb, Zach Keane, Allison Madar, Catherine Fitzgerald Wyatt, Angela Prattas, Andy Lang, and Drew Bledsoe for their encouragement and for making the graduate experience both intellectually rewarding and pleasant. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to my advisors at Rice. Randal Hall, who moved to Rice from Wake Forest virtually at the same time as I did, provided a familiar face at the start of my journey and has continued to offer professional and editorial advice throughout my graduate career. Lynda Crist has been a wonderful friend and her enthusiasm for my project helped sustain my motivation on several occasions. Ira Gruber and Richard Stoll, as members of my committee, provided excellent feedback and suggestions to propel this project into the next stage. John B. Boles, my committee chair and advisor, has always been generous with his time and provided prompt and insightful feedback. Moreover, his kindness, intellectual inspiration, and professional guidance over the past few years have been crucial in seeing this dissertation through to completion. V I am especially grateful to all my friends and family who have been cheering me along since the beginning of this journey. Thank you to my undergraduate advisors: Michael Powell and Bruce Thompson for encouraging me to think big and Michele Gillespie who has inspired me both through her words and the example of her own scholarship. Rachel Zepeda, Paula Piatt, and Lisa Tate have been a big help here at Rice, and Suzanne Gibbs and Amanda Myers have often offered their historical expertise and suggestions. Several people have helped keep me laughing and have generally enriched my life while in Houston: my church family, particularly Robert and Kathy Moore and Marie Monroe; Bob McGee and Pattie McGill (my Wake cheering section and sanity break); and my baseball crew, especially Buck and Sally Hardy. And lastly I want to thank my parents, Roy and Cindy Cannon, for their love and unwavering encouragement since the beginning. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii List of Tables and Figures vii Introduction 1 Maryland's Antebellum Dual Identity 22 A Border State with Southern Sympathies 72 "Colonel! we're in God's country again!": The Soldier's South becomes North 132 The Civilian Response: From South to North 194 Conclusion 237 Bibliography 271 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1: Periodization of Maryland History in the Civil War Era 16 Figure 2: Maryland in 1860 29 Table 1.1: Wheat Production vs. Tobacco Production by County, 1840 to 1860 37 Table 1.2: Maryland Agricultural Products in 1860 38 Table 1.3: Distribution of Flour Mills and Production Levels by County, 1810 and 1840 41 Table 1.4: White Population by County, 1790-1860 65 Table 1.5: Slave Population by County, 1790-1860 66 Table 1.6: Free Black Population by County, 1790-1860 68 Table 1.7: Total Black Population as a Percentage of Total County Population, 1790-1860 69 Table 2.1: Presidential Election of 1860 93 Table 2.2: Marylanders Arrested and Detained by the State Department.... 114 Figure 3: Union Letterhead 165 Table 4.1: Marylanders Listed as Joining the Confederates In September 1862 210 Table 4.2: Union Units from Maryland 229 Table 4.3: Confederate Units from Maryland 233 Table 5.1: Maryland Population from 1860 to 1880 257 Table 5.2: Foreign-born Residents of Maryland in 1870 and 1880 258 1 Introduction It was a cold winter day in January 1861. Since the November 1860 election, four southern states had seceded from the Union, and just two days before the Star of the West had come under fire in Charleston Harbor as it attempted to re-supply federal troops at Fort Sumter. With political tensions high, a visibly troubled man sat in the executive mansion shuffling through the day's mail when his gaze fell upon a letter from J. M. Lucas, the postmaster of the U.S. House of Representatives. Lucas wrote to his friend: "I am in receipt of daily intelligence from the west, which fully justifies me in stating that the eyes of the great north west is [sic] turned to you with more intenseness than to any any [sic] other man in the country. Prayers are constantly being offered up to Almighty God, even from lips who have but seldom prayed, that He will strengthen, sustain, and confirm you in the high and noble stand you have taken on the side of the Union...." Modern readers might presume that these words were addressed to President Abraham Lincoln, but they were not. The letter continues, "Maryland, is regarded by all Union men as the key that would unlock the floodgates of intes[t]ine warfare, but, your noble stand is doing more to thwart their treasonable designs than all the congressional Committees [sic] in existence." The man reading these words was Thomas Holliday Hicks, governor of Maryland from 1858 to 1862.1 Indeed, as Lucas points out, Maryland was the strategic middle ground during the secession crisis, and the state played a crucial role in determining Lincoln's early wartime policies.