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MARYLAND AND MOUNT CLARE DURING THE CIVIL WAR
(1861 – 1865)
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Camp Carroll |
Maryland, as a border state, had strong commercial ties with both the North and the South. Traditionally, much of Baltimore's trade was tied to the south, but by 1860 the city's coastwise trade had shifted to 60% Northern ports. Rail connections had forged important bonds with the North and Northwest. Economically and traditionally, Marylanders (particularly landowners) shared a common heritage with the South in the "Peculiar Institution" of slavery.
There were strong sympathies for the South yet Maryland was strongly attached to the Union. By the fall of 1861, there was an increasing Federal presence in the state. Maryland's geographic position - surrounding the capital and controlling the rail line to Washington from the North - made the state's continued loyalty essential. Federal presence and intervention into state affairs ended all real ability of Marylanders to make their own decision.
After April 12, 1861 (Fort Sumter), Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers. Governor Hicks of Maryland told Secretary of War Simon Cameron that Maryland strongly opposed coercion and that many citizens were determined to prevent transit of soldiers through Maryland. However, on April 17, 1861 the first vanguard of Federal forces arrived in Baltimore: Pennsylvania militiamen and two companies of U.S. Artillery marched under protection of police from Bolton Street Station to Mount Clare Station.
On April 19, 1861 the 6th Massachusetts Regiment (the first truly organized and equipped regiment to respond to the President's call) arrived at President Street Station to go to Camden Station for Washington. A crowd set upon them with stones and sticks, soldiers fired, casualties ensued. This was the first bloodshed of the Civil War. On May 13, 1861 came military occupation of Baltimore at Federal Hill. Union guns were trained on the city.
By summer, troops, artillery, and forts were placed in various squares and parks, including Mount Clare. The position at Mount Clare was called Camp Carroll, and remained here for the duration of the war. During the Civil War the pastures west of Mount Clare were used by the U.S. Army as a cavalry training camp. In the fall of 1862, the 13th Cavalry Regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers were at Camp Carroll, renamed Camp Chesebrough.
At the end of 1862, a new unit arrived - the 1st Regiment Connecticut Cavalry. It remained here until March of 1864 when it was replaced, this time by the last military unit stationed here - the 1st Maryland Veterans Volunteer Cavalry. The name Camp Carroll was reinstated. Nearby, along Gwynns Falls north of Camp Carroll was Camp Millington where the 128th Regiment of New York Volunteers was stationed.
Visit Mount Clare Museum House and the location of Camp Carroll as you travel along Maryland's Civil War Trail and discover the sites associated with one of America's greatest dramas.
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