INTRODUCTION. — THE FIRST BLOOD SHED IN THE WAR. — THE SUPPOSED PLOT TO ASSASSINATE THE INCOMING PRESIDENT. — THE MIDNIGHT RIDE TO WASHINGTON. I have often been solicited by persons of widely opposite political opinions to write an account of the events which occurred in Baltimore on the 19th of April, 1861, about which much that is exaggerated and sensational has been circulated; but, for different reasons, I have delayed complying with the request until this time. These events were not isolate

THE COMPROMISES OF THE CONSTITUTION IN REGARD TO SLAVERY. — A DIVIDED HOUSE. — THE BROKEN COMPACT. — THE RIGHT OF REVOLUTION. For a period the broad provisions of the Constitution of the United States, as expounded by the wise and broad decisions of the Supreme Court, had proved to be equal to every emergency. The thirteen feeble colonies had grown to be a great Republic, and no external obstacle threatened its majestic progress; foreign wars had been waged and vast territories had been annexed,

MARYLAND'S DESIRE FOR PEACE. — EVENTS WHICH FOLLOWED THE ELECTION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. — HIS PROCLAMATION CALLING FOR TROOPS. — THE CITY AUTHORITIES AND POLICE OF BALTIMORE. — INCREASING EXCITEMENT IN BALTIMORE. I now come to consider the condition of affairs in Maryland. As yet the Republican party had obtained a very slight foothold. Only 2,294 votes had in the whole State been cast for Mr. Lincoln. Her sympathies were divided between the North and the South, with a decided preponderance on t

THE SIXTH MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENT IN BALTIMORE. — THE FIGHT. — THE DEPARTURE FOR WASHINGTON. — CORRESPONDENCE IN REGARD TO THE KILLED AND WOUNDED. — PUBLIC MEETING. — TELEGRAM TO THE PRESIDENT. — NO REPLY. — BURNING OF BRIDGES. The Sixth Massachusetts Regiment had the honor of being the first to march in obedience to the call of the President, completely equipped and organized. It had a full band and regimental staff. Mustered at Lowell on the morning of the 16th, the day after the proclamation w

APRIL 20TH, INCREASING EXCITEMENT. — APPROPRIATION OF $500,000 FOR DEFENSE OF THE CITY. — CORRESPONDENCE WITH PRESIDENT AND GOVERNOR. — MEN ENROLLED. — APPREHENDED ATTACK ON FORT McHENRY. — MARSHAL KANE. — INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT, CABINET AND GENERAL SCOTT. — GENERAL BUTLER, WITH THE EIGHTH MASSACHUSETTS, PROCEEDS TO ANNAPOLIS AND WASHINGTON. — BALTIMORE IN A STATE OF ARMED NEUTRALITY. On Saturday morning, the 20th, the excitement and alarm had greatly increased. Up to this time no answer had b

SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. — REPORT OF THE BOARD OF POLICE. — SUPPRESSION OF THE FLAGS. — ON THE 5TH OF MAY, GENERAL BUTLER TAKES POSITION SEVEN MILES FROM BALTIMORE. — ON THE 13TH OF MAY, HE ENTERS BALTIMORE AND FORTIFIES FEDERAL HILL. — THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY WILL TAKE NO STEPS TOWARDS SECESSION. — MANY YOUNG MEN JOIN THE ARMY OF THE CONFEDERACY. On the 22d of April, Governor Hicks convened the General Assembly of the State, to meet in special session at Annapolis on the 26th, to deliberat

CHIEF JUSTICE TANEY AND THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS. — A UNION CONVENTION. — CONSEQUENCE OF THE SUSPENSION OF THE WRIT. — INCIDENTS OF THE WAR. — THE WOMEN IN THE WAR. The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus , by order of the President, without the sanction of an Act of Congress, which had not then been given, was one of the memorable events of the war. On the 4th of May, 1861, Judge Giles, of the United States District Court of Maryland, issued a writ of habeas corpus to Major Morris, then in

GENERAL BANKS IN COMMAND. — MARSHAL KANE ARRESTED. — POLICE COMMISSIONERS SUPERSEDED. — RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. — POLICE COMMISSIONERS ARRESTED. — MEMORIAL ADDRESSED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL TO CONGRESS. — GENERAL DIX IN COMMAND. — ARREST OF MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, THE MAYOR AND OTHERS. — RELEASE OF PRISONERS. — COLONEL DIMICK. On the 10th of June, 1861, Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks, of Massachusetts, was appointed in the place of General Cadwallader to the

A PERSONAL CHAPTER. I have now completed my task; but perhaps it will be expected that I should clearly define my own position. I have no objection to do so. Both from feeling and on principle I had always been opposed to slavery—the result in part of the teaching and example of my parents, and confirmed by my own reading and observation. In early manhood I became prominent in defending the rights of the free colored people of Maryland. In the year 1846 I was associated with a small number of pe

The following account of the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln on his journey to Baltimore is taken from the "Life of Abraham Lincoln," by Ward H. Lamon, pp. 511-526: "Whilst Mr. Lincoln, in the midst of his suite and attendants, was being borne in triumph through the streets of Philadelphia, and a countless multitude of people were shouting themselves hoarse, and jostling and crushing each other around his carriage-wheels, Mr. Felton, the President of the Philadelphia, Wilmingto

EXTRACT FROM THE OPINION OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, DELIVERED BY CHIEF JUSTICE TANEY IN THE CASE OF DRED SCOTT vs. SANDFORD, 19 HOW. 407. "It is difficult at this day to realize the state of public opinion in relation to that unfortunate race" (the African) "which prevailed in the civilized and enlightened portions of the world at the time of the Declaration of Independence, and when the Constitution of the United States was framed and adopted. "But the public history of every Eu

THE HABEAS CORPUS CASE EX PARTE JOHN MERRYMAN, CAMPBELL'S REPORTS, P. 246. — OPINION OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES. The application in this case for a writ of habeas corpus is made to me under the fourteenth section of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which renders effectual for the citizen the constitutional privilege of the writ of habeas corpus . That act gives to the courts of the United States, as well as to each justice of the Supreme Court and to every district judge, power to grant

On the 12th of July, 1861, I sent a message to the First and Second Branches of the City Council referring to the events of the 19th of April and those which followed. The first paragraph and the concluding paragraphs of this document are here inserted: "The Mayor's Message. "To the Honorable the Members of the First and Second Branches of the City Council. " Gentlemen :—A great object of the reform movement was to separate municipal affairs entirely from national politics, and in accordance wit

As a part of the history of the times, it may not be inappropriate to reproduce an account, taken from the Baltimore American of December 5, 1860, of the reception of the Putnam Phalanx of Hartford, Connecticut, in the city of Baltimore. At this time it still seemed to most men of moderate views that the impending troubles might be averted through concessions and compromise. In the tone of the two speeches, both of which were, of course, meant to be friendly and conciliatory, there is a differen

On the 19th of April, 1880, a portion of the members of the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment again visited Baltimore, and an account of its reception, taken from the Baltimore Sun and the Baltimore American , seems to be a fitting close to this paper: "Thirty-nine members of the Association of Survivors of the Sixth Massachusetts Union Regiment came to Baltimore yesterday afternoon, to celebrate the nineteenth anniversary of their march through Baltimore, April 19, 1861, which gave rise to the riot

HERBERT B. ADAMS, Editor. PROSPECTUS OF FIFTH SERIES.—1887. The Studies in Municipal Government will be continued. The Fifth Series will also embrace Studies in the History of American Political Economy and of American Co-operation. The following papers are ready or in preparation: FOURTH SERIES.—Municipal Government and Land Tenure.—1886. THIRD SERIES.—Maryland, Virginia, and Washington.—1885. SECOND SERIES.—Institutions and Economics.—1884. FIRST SERIES.—Local Institutions.—1883. The first ann

BY EDWARD P. ALLINSON, A. M., AND BOIES PENROSE, A. B., OF THE PHILADELPHIA BAR. While several general histories of Philadelphia have been written, there is no history of that city as a municipal corporation. Such a work is now offered, based upon the Acts of Assembly, the City Ordinances, the State Reports, and many other authorities. Numerous manuscripts in the Pennsylvania Historical Society, in Public Libraries, and in the Departments at Philadelphia and Harrisburg have also been consulted,

1 : At Fort Sumter, it is true, one week earlier, the first collision of arms had taken place; but strangely, that bombardment was unattended with loss of life. And it did not necessarily mean war between North and South: accommodation still seemed possible. 2 : The Life of Abraham Lincoln, p. 526; and see Appendix I . 3 : Judge Taney's utterance on this subject has been frequently and grossly misrepresented. In Appendix II. will be found what he really did say. 4 : Lamon's Life of Lincoln, p. 8