Passage through Baltimore Adalbert J. Volck, Baltimore, 1863 Abraham Lincoln disguised with a cap and shawl trying to slip through Baltimore to avoid a rumored assassination attempt. More on Adalbert J. Volck

Witness to History:

The Civil War in Maryland 

The idea of choosing sides in the Civil War was difficult for many families in the United States, but few places felt the divide as much as Maryland. Located geographically in the middle of the country, Maryland was southern by tradition, but northern in its economic and cultural ways. Because of the divide in its citizens' loyalty, Maryland experienced political unrest and bloodshed.

The following bibliography is a selection of some of the available primary sources on Maryland and the Civil War located at the Enoch Pratt Free Library / SLRC.

Books

Baltimore City Government. Memorial of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, with Accompanying Documents. Baltimore: William M. Innes, 1861. MD F187.8.B32

Mayor George W. Brown writes an appeal to the United States Congress and the Baltimore City Council about the political unrest in Baltimore. He writes to both governing bodies trying to insure them that the city government is not hostile towards the United States.

Callum, Agnes Kane. Colored Volunteers of the Maryland Civil War: 7th Regiment United States Colored Troops, 1863-1866. Baltimore: Mullac Publishers, 1990. MD F175.74.C36 1990

Callum, Agnes Kane. 9th Regiment United States Colored Troops: Volunteers of Maryland, Civil War, 1863-1866. Baltimore: Mullac Publishers, 1999. MD F175.74.C358 1999

Gilmor, Harry. Four Years in the Saddle. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1866. MD E605.G48

This is an account of Harry Gilmore, a Maryland cavalryman in the Confederate army. He wrote the first part of the book recounting his first year in military service while in prison at Fort McHenry from September 1862 to February 1863. When captured again and placed in prison at Fort Warren, Gilmor recapped the remaining years of his military service.

Hartzler, Daniel D. Marylanders in the Confederacy. Silver Spring, MD: Family Line Publications, 1986. MD F175.74.H29 1986

Confederate soldier registers for the Civil War.

Huntsberry, Thomas Vincent. Maryland in the Civil War. 2 vols. Baltimore: J. Mart Publishers, 1985. MD F175.74.H8 1985

Book I covers the South and Book II covers the North. Both books provide a roster of soldiers, biographical information about leading players in the military, histories of the regiments, photographs, and maps.

Stotelmyer, Steven R. The Bivouacs of the Dead. Baltimore: Toomey Press, 1992. MD E474.65.S78 1992

History of those who died at Antietam and South Mountain Battles. Also includes registers of Civil War dead for Antietam, Washington, Mt. Olivet, and Elmwood cemeteries.

Watring, Anna Miller. Civil War Burials in Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub., 1996. MD F186.2.W38 1996

Wilmer, L. Allison, J. H. Jarrett, and George W. F. Vernon. History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-5. 2 vols. Baltimore: Press of Guggenheimer, Weil & Co., 1898. MD F175.74.M3

This set was produced under the auspices of the State of Maryland. Volume one contains a brief history and alphabetical listing of every regiment and battery Maryland formed during the War. Volume two lists all of the Marylanders who served in the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Volume two also details the histories and rosters of the United States Colored Troops from Maryland.

Newspapers

To pick exact articles about the Civil War in Maryland would be too numerous to print. Instead, listed below are the names of some of the leading newspapers in counties throughout the State, which are housed in the Maryland Department. If researching a particular battle or incident, look in one of the papers under the date.

Place of Publication	County	Title	Dates	Notes
Annapolis	Anne Arundel	Annapolis Gazette	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Baltimore City	Baltimore City	Baltimore American & Commercial Advertiser	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Baltimore City	Baltimore City	Baltimore Weekly American	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Baltimore City	Baltimore City	South	4/22/1861-2/17/1862	Incomplete holdings
Baltimore City	Baltimore City	Sun	1861-1865
Denton	Caroline	American Union	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Elkton	Cecil	Cecil Whig	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Port Tobacco	Charles	Port Tobacco Times & Charles County Advertiser	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Cambridge	Dorchester	Cambridge Chronicle	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Middletown	Frederick	Valley Register	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Bel Air	Harford	Harford Democrat	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Bel Air	Harford	Southern Aegis & Harford Co. Intelligencer	1/19/1861-3/11/1864	Incomplete holdings
Rockville	Montgomery	Montgomery County Sentinel	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Marlboro	Prince George’s	Marlboro Gazette	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Easton	Talbot	Easton Gazette	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings
Hagerstown	Washington	Hagerstown Mail	1861-1865	Incomplete holdings

Annual Reports

The railroads played an extremely important role in the Civil War for both sides-nothing could transport troops and supplies as fast. As the War progressed, troops were dispensed frequently to both destroy and protect sections of the tracks that were important to their needs. The Maryland Department houses several annual reports of the railroads that transversed the state of Maryland during the Civil War.

Name	Years	Notes	Location
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company	1861-1865		MD HE2791.B2
House of Refuge	1861, 1863-1865	See also Maryland Training School	MD HV9105.M3L6
Northern Central Railway Company	1861-1865		MD HE2791.N82
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Rail Road Company	1861-1865		MD HE2791.P55
Union Relief Association of Baltimore	1862-1863		AR12
Western Maryland Railroad Company	1863-1865		MD HE2791.W52

Scrapbooks

Maryland Department, Enoch Pratt Free Library. Civil War Clippings from Harper's Weekly, Leslie's Illustrated Newspapers, etc. 1861-1865. 3 vols. Special Collections F175.7.C5Q

Three scrapbooks put together by Maryland Department Librarians from 1940-1942. Volume one chronicles the Civil War and Maryland for the year 1861, volume 2 contains happenings in Maryland during 1862, and volume three follows the War and its effects, both privately and politically, in Maryland from 1863-1865. The books largely consist of the original newspaper articles, though there are some typewritten copies of articles.

Prints

Volck, Adalbert John [V. Blada]. [Sketches from the Civil War in North America, 1861, '62, '63]. 1863. 23 plates. Special Collections E647.V6Q

Adalbert Volck, drawing under the name V. Blada, was a Confederate sympathizer. A dentist by trade, Volck used his artistic abilities to "speak out" for Southern sympathizers. Completed in three series using black ink, these original Volck depictions of Lincoln and the North were particularly harsh. Although some of the sketches were imprinted with London as place of publishing, there is speculation among historians that this was a guise to lead authorities away from learning the true identity of the artist.

Broadsides

"Down Trodden Maryland" broadside was printed in March 1862. Its message urges Maryland citizens to keep their hope that Maryland will be free once the South is free.

A broadside is a single sheet with printing on only one side. Broadsides were used in Maryland in the mid-Nineteenth Century for political agitation, advertisements,  poems, ballads, etc. Below is a list of broadsides printed in Maryland during the Civil War, which are kept in the Special Collections Department. Both Northern and Southern sympathizers were well represented in these broadsides.

Unpublished Documents

Edelin, Philip F. Correspondence. Point Lookout, MD. February 9, [1863-65?]. Special Collections Manuscript Collection

Philip Edelin was a prisoner at Point Lookout during the Civil War. He served in the 1st Maryland Light Artillery for the Confederates. The letter is to an unidentified cousin and discusses some of the daily happenings at the prison as well as the emancipation of a fellow prisoner.