Civil War
Even though Maryland did not secede from the Union, Steuart's loyalty lay with the South, as did that of his father. He commanded one of the Baltimore city militias during the riot of April 1861, following which Federal troops occupied Baltimore, an incident which was arguably the first armed confrontation of the Civil War.
Steuart resigned his captain's commission on April 16, 1861 and soon entered the service of the Confederate army as a cavalry captain. He and his father were determined to do their utmost to prevent Union soldiers from occupying Maryland. On April 22 Steuart wrote to Charles Howard, President of the Board of Baltimore Police:
- "If the Massachussetts troops are on the march I shall be in motion very early tomorrow morning to pay my respects to them".
However, events did not move in their favor and, in a letter to his father, Steuart wrote:
- "I found nothing but disgust in my observations along the route and in the place I came to – a large majority of the population are insane on the one idea of loyalty to the Union and the legislature is so diminished and unreliable that I rejoiced to hear that they intended to adjourn...it seems that we are doomed to be trodden on by these troops who have taken military possession of our State, and seem determined to commit all the outrages of an invading army."
Steuart's efforts to persuade Maryland to secede from the Union were in vain. On April 29, the Maryland Legislature voted 53–13 against secession. and the state was swiftly occupied by Union soldiers to prevent any reconsideration. Steuart's decision to resign his commission and join the rebels would soon cost his family dear. The Steuart mansion at Maryland Square was confiscated by the Union Army and Jarvis Hospital was erected on the estate, to care for Federal wounded. However, Steuart was welcomed by the Confederacy as "one of Maryland's most gifted sons", and it was hoped by Southerners that other Marylanders would follow his example.
Read more about this topic: George H. Steuart (brigadier General)
Famous quotes related to civil war:
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“The principle of majority rule is the mildest form in which the force of numbers can be exercised. It is a pacific substitute for civil war in which the opposing armies are counted and the victory is awarded to the larger before any blood is shed. Except in the sacred tests of democracy and in the incantations of the orators, we hardly take the trouble to pretend that the rule of the majority is not at bottom a rule of force.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)