Spring 2014 MARYLAND Ma ry la In this issue . nd Historical Magazine Hi st “Wirt—or Wart?”: John Neal’s Feud with Baltimore’s Literary Elite or ic by Peter Molin al Ma “She Spurns the Northern Scum”: Maryland’s Civil War Loyalty in gazine Mass Culture and Memory by David K. Graham Circling the Square: The City Park and the Changing Image of Annapolis by Michael P. Parker The Rhetoric and Reality of English Law in Colonial Maryland—Part II, 1689–1732 by Jeffrey K. Sawyer Research Notes & Maryland Miscellany The First University of Maryland: The Fight for and Formation of Higher Education in Maryland’s Early Federal Period by Joseph C. Rosalski Vo l. 109, No . 1, Sp ri ng 2014 The Journal of the Maryland Historical Society Friends of the Press of the Maryland Historical Society The Publications Committee continues its stalwart support of Maryland Historical Society books with the funding of two titles during this season of com- memorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War and the bicentennial of the War of 1812. Ross J. Kelbaugh, Maryland’s Civil War Pho- tographs: The Sesquicentennial Collection, is a vast photographic record of the people, places, and events surrounding the war. It is also the largest collection of original Maryland-related Civil War photographs ever published. Donald R. Hickey’s 187 Things You Should Know About the War of 1812 is a concise and informative introduction to the often complex issues surrounding that conflict, presented in an engaging question-and- answer format. These books are numbers five and six of the Friends of the Press titles, continuing the society’s mission to bring forth the best new Maryland history. We invite you to become a supporter, to follow the path first laid out with the society’s founding in 1844. Help us fill in the unknown pages of Maryland’s past for future generations. Become, quite literally, an im- portant part of Maryland history. If you would like to make a tax-deductible gift to the Friends of the Press, please direct your gift to Development, Maryland His- torical Society, 201 W. Monument Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201. For additional information on MdHS publications, contact Patricia Dockman Anderson, Editor, 410-685-3750 x317, or [email protected]. Maryland Historical Society Founded 1844 Officers Thomas A. Collier, Chairman James W. Constable, Secretary Richard C. Tilghman Jr., Vice Chairman Louise Lake Hayman, Vice President Burton K. Kummerow, President M. Willis Macgill, Vice President Cecil E. Flamer, Treasurer Lynn Springer Roberts, Vice President Board of Trustees Thomas C. Barbuti Brian W. Hammock Immediate Past Chairman Robert G. Bolton Louis G. Hecht Robert R. Neall H. Clay Braswell Jr. Frederick M. Hudson Chairpersons Emeriti Francis J. Carey III George S. Malouf Jr. Jack S. Griswold Robert M. Cheston Jr. Jayne H. Plank Barbara P. Katz Virginia Clagett Brien Poffenberger Stanard T. Klinefelter W. Talbot Daley George S. Rich Henry Hodges Stansbury Russell C. Dashiell Jr. Jacqueline Smelkinson Sandra R. Flax Ex-Officio Trustees The Hon. John P. Sarbanes The Hon. David R. Craig The Hon. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Representative: William B. Gilmore II The Hon. Kevin Kamenetz, Representative: Richard Parsons John Siemon, Maryland Genealogical Society Chandler B. Denison, Young Defenders Representative The Maryland Historical Magazine Patricia Dockman Anderson, Editor Matthew Hetrick, Associate Editor Christopher T. George, Donna B. Shear, James Singewald, Joe Tropea, Editorial Associates Editorial Board Charles W. Mitchell, Chair Jean H. Baker; Robert J. Brugger; Deborah Cardin; Lois Green Carr; Suzanne E. Chapelle; Marilyn Davis; Toby L. Ditz; Jack G. Goellner; Elizabeth Gray; H. Thomas Howell; Norvell E. Miller III; Charles W. Mitchell; Edward C. Papenfuse; Lawrence Peskin; Jean B. Russo; James F. Schneider; David S. Thaler ISSN 0025-4258 © 2014 by the Maryland Historical Society. Published quarterly as a benefit of membership in the Maryland Historical Society, spring, summer, fall, and winter. Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts and/or America: History and Life. Periodicals postage paid at Baltimore, Maryland, and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send address changes to the Maryland Historical Society, 201 West Monument Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. Printed by The Sheridan Press, Hanover, Pennsylvania 17331. MARYLAND Historical Magazine VOLUME 109, NO. 1 (Spring 2014) CONTENTS “Wirt—or Wart?”: John Neal’s Feud with Baltimore’s Literary Elite .......................................7 PETER MOLIN “She Spurns the Northern Scum”: Maryland’s Civil War Loyalty in Mass Culture and Memory...........................................................................................................35 DAVID K. GRAHAM Circling the Square: The City Park and the Changing Image of Annapolis .......................... 51 MICHAEL P. PARKER The Rhetoric and Reality of English Law in Colonial Maryland— Part II, 1689–1732...........................................................................................................................81 JEFFREY K. SAWYER Research Notes & Maryland Miscellany ................................................................................... 96 The First University of Maryland: The Fight for and Formation of Higher Education in Maryland’s Early Federal Period, by Joseph C. Rosalski Book Reviews................................................................................................................................111 Smith and Willis, Maryland Politics and Government: Democratic Dominance, by Robert Chiles Rice, Tales from a Revolution: Bacon’s Rebellion and the Transformation of Early America, by Jeffrey K. Sawyer Tonsetic, Special Operations During the American Revolution, by Michael P. Gabriel McDonald, Light and Liberty: Thomas Jefferson and the Power of Knowledge, by F. Evan Nooe Daughan, The Shining Sea: David Porter and the Epic Voyage of the U.S.S. Essex during the War of 1812, by David MacDonald Rediker, The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom, by Beverly Tomek Hochfelder, The Telegraph in America, 1832–1920, by James Risk Baker, Prigg v. Pennsylvania: Slavery, the Supreme Court, and the Ambivalent Constitution, by Thomas H. Sheeler Blackett, Making Freedom: The Underground Railroad and the Politics of Slavery, by Raven J. Crowder Editor’s Notebook “War, war, war! If either of you boys says ‘war’ just once more . .” —Scarlett O’Hara to the Tarleton Twins, in Gone with the Wind This spring as we enter the fourth year of the Civil War sesquicentennial and year three of the War of 1812 bicentennial, the nation is justly celebrating the cour- age that held the young republic together in the nineteenth century. Across the na- tion and here in Maryland, the historical coMMunity is presenting rich and varied offerings crafted to engage a curious public with informative exhibitions, living history dramas, parades, reenactments, books, magazines, and official souvenirs such as Fort McHenry coMMemorative quarters and a Maryland license plate. The Maryland Historical Society’s contribution to the celebration will be long-lasting. Drawing upon the society’s rich collections and its experts, internal and external, we have installed two major exhibitions and published three new books. We have also published two special issues of this magazine and at least one Civil War or War of 1812 article in each number since 2011. This is an exciting and rewarding time, but one that also calls for a look back. The magazine is now in its 109th year of uninterrupted publication, a total of 433 issues to date. Over the course of nearly eleven decades, editors in this chair have pondered how best to coMMemorate nation-changing events such as the War of 1812 and the Civil War. All have presented a diverse yet familiar pallet of offerings, among them military and civilian stories, transcriptions of letters and diaries, and reinterpretations of past works. Without exception is the unwritten acknowledg- ment that although there are celebratory moments in these histories, anniversaries of wars should not be occasions for merriment. They are times to reflect upon the origins of conflicts, and to remember those who fearlessly (and sometimes fearfully) defended their country and beliefs. Ultimately, the historical imperative to honor the thousands of Americans who gave their lives in the War of 1812 and Civil War undergirds the stories presented on these pages. There are days when many of us, our members, and supporters ask if these wars are taking too much of our time and resources. The answer, of course, is no. The society’s mission is preserving and interpreting the best of what is new in Maryland history and the offerings extend far beyond the wars. This year’s publications include a history of Southern Maryland Indians, the story of Cecil County slave catcher Timothy McCreary, and a biographical catalog based on the Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte exhibition. And in this season of coMMemorating wars while paying due attention to other Maryland stories, we duly note that the centennial of our involve- ment in the Great War is just three years away. Unlike Scarlett O’Hara, however, we will not threaten to “go in the house and slam the door.” PDA Cover The Patent of Nobility, 1625 King James I granted George Calvert the title “Baron Baltimore of Baltimore in the Kingdom of Ireland.” The portrait of the monarch shown here is in the top left corner of the parchment,