Maryland State Library Resource Center

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Civil War in Maryland: Primary Sources - Maryland State Library Resource Center

The Civil War in Maryland: Primary Sources

Passage Through Baltimore, illustrated by Adalbert Volck
"Passage Through Baltimore," illustrated by Adalbert Volck, a Baltimorean with Southern sympathies, shows Abraham Lincoln disguised with a cap and shawl trying to slip through Baltimore to avoid a rumored assassination attempt.
“Like the United States as a whole, Maryland was a society divided against itself."
—Barbara Jeanne Fields, Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground: Maryland During the Nineteenth Century

Following is a selection of primary sources on Maryland and the Civil War available at the Central Library/State Library Resource Center:

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 assure 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

A list of particular articles about the Civil War in Maryland would be too long to print. Instead, listed below are the names of some of the leading newspapers in counties throughout the State, which are housed in the Periodicals Department on microfilm. 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 traversed the state of Maryland during the Civil War.

Name Years Notes Location
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company 1861-1865   MD HE2791.B2
Northern Central Railway Company 1861-1865   MD HE2791.N82
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Rail Road Company 1861-1865   MD HE2791.P55
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 were created by Maryland Department librarians from 1940-1942. Volume One chronicles the Civil War and Maryland for the year 1861, Volume Two 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, Volck's depictions of Lincoln and the North were particularly harsh. Although some of the sketches were imprinted with London as place of publishing, historians speculate that this was a guise to lead authorities away from learning the true identity of the artist.

Broadsides

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 Pratt Library's Special Collections Department. Both Northern and Southern sympathizers were well represented in these broadsides.

Title Year Publisher
An Appeal to the South January 24, 1862  
Baltimore Boys' Own [1861]  
Camp Song of the Maryland Line [1861] R. M. Chambers
Down Trodden Maryland March 4, 1862  
Hurrah for Jeff. Davis [1861]  
Maryland in Chains May 14, 1861 Richmond Examiner
Our Union Flag   Thomas G. Doyle
Rebels are Skedadling Out of My Maryland    
True Union Ladies of Maryland    
We'll Be Free in Our Maryland January 30, 1862  
Southern Prisoner Gives Thanks to the Baltimore Ladies   James Young

For additional information about any of these resources or if you have questions, please contact:

Maryland Department
Enoch Pratt Free Library/State Library Resource Center
400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201
410-396-5468
mdx@prattlibrary.org

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