Maryland in the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, Maryland, a slave state, was one of the border states, straddling the South and North. Because of its strategic location, bordering the capital city of Washington D.C., and the strong desire of the opposing factions within the state to sway public opinion towards their respective causes, Maryland would play an important role in the American Civil War. Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus in Maryland, and dismissal of the Supreme Court Chief Justice's ruling that such suspension was unconstitutional, would leave lasting scars.

The first fatalities of the war, happened during the Baltimore Riot of April 1861, and the single bloodiest day of combat in American military history occurred near Sharpsburg, Maryland, at the Battle of Antietam, on 17 September 1862. Antietam, though tactically a draw, was strategically enough of a Union victory to give President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared slaves in the Confederacy (but not those in border states like Maryland) to be free.

Later, in July 1864, the Battle of Monocacy was fought on Maryland soil. Monocacy was a tactical victory for the Confederate army but a strategic defeat, as the delay inflicted on the Confederates cost General Jubal Early his chance to capture the Union capital of Washington, D.C.

Across the state, nearly 85,000 citizens signed up for the military, with most joining the Union Army. Approximately one third as many enlisted to fight for the Confederacy. The most prominent Maryland leaders and officers during the Civil War included Governor Thomas H. Hicks who, despite his early sympathies for the South, helped prevent the state from seceding, and Confederate General George H. Steuart, who was a noted brigade commander under Robert E. Lee.

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