Maryland in The American Civil War

Maryland In The American Civil War

In the American Civil War, Maryland, a slave state, was one of the border states, straddling the South and North. Due to its location and a desire from both opposing factions to sway its population to their respective causes, Maryland played an important role in the American Civil War. The first fatalities of the war happened during the Baltimore Riot of 1861, and the single bloodiest day of combat in American military history occurred near Sharpsburg, Maryland, at the Battle of Antietam. Antietam, though tactically a draw, was strategically enough of a Union victory to give President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Later in 1864 the Battle of Monocacy helped delay a Confederate army bent on striking the Federal capital of Washington, D.C.

Nearly 85,000 citizens signed up for the military, with many joining the Union Army, although just over a third of these enlisted to fight for the Confederacy. Leading 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 General George H. Steuart, who was a noted brigade commander under Robert E. Lee.