Marylanders in Blue; The Artillery and The Cavalry. by Daniel Carroll Toomey and Charles Albert Earp. hc, dj, 159pp., Index, Illus.
Marylanders in Blue: The Artillery and The Cavalry
by Daniel Carroll Toomey & Charles Albert Earp
On the eve of the Civil War the Regular Army of the United States Government numbered only 16, 367 men. The Navy and Marine Corps totaled about 9,150. This slim force of professionals was supported by a state militia system ranging widely in organization, equipment, and competence. Before John Brownís Raid on Harperís Ferry in 1859, the State of Maryland had not responded to a military crises since the war with Mexico in 1846.
With the out break of war in April of 1861 the Federal Government attempted to create a 75,000 man army overnight that would be able to defend the country, suppress the rebellion, and turn in its equipment by the end of the soldiers ninety-day enlistment. This we know, for both the North and the South, was impossible.
During the course of the war the State of Maryland mustered thirty-five regiments, batteries, and independent companies into the Union Army. Six additional regiments of United States Colored Troops and nearly 4,000 Navy and Marine Corps personal were also credited to the states quotas. Fourteen native sons rose from the ranks of the Regular Army or the United States Volunteers to ware the stars of a general in the Union Army. Only one, Louis M. Goldsborough, achieved the rank of Rear Admiral. Seventeen others wore a badge of even greater distinction, the Medal of Honor.
In the peaceful years that followed the war Marylandís blue clad soldiers returned to civilian life. They celebrated their victories in over fifty posts of the Grand Army of the Republic and remembered their fallen comrades on Memorial Day. With the exception of a few monuments scattered across battlefields and cemeteries, it is not too far from the truth to say that for the Maryland Volunteers their history died with them. Not since the publication of Frederick Wildís history of Alexanderís Battery in 1912 has a book been written solely about those Marylanders who chose to defend the Union during the War of the Rebellion.
Who then were the Marylanders in Blue? What was their contribution to the Union war effort? Despite the fact that Maryland remained in the Union; that it contributed more white soldiers (46,672) than New Hampshire or Vermont; and more black soldiers (23,763) than any Boarder or Northern state except Kentucky, little has been written about these patriots of 1861 who were often forced to choose between flag and family when the time came to enlist.
Marylanders in Blue, The Artillery and The Cavalry is the first of a projected multi volume study that will cover each branch of the service and unit raised in the state during the Civil War. Where possible, photographs of soldiers who actually served in these units as well as their weapons and equipment have been included. Collectively they will present the faces, relics, and history of the Maryland Volunteers of 1861-1865.
In preparing this project Charles Earp and I would like to thank a number of people who responded willingly to our many request and made helpful suggestions that improved our final text. They are Jay A. Graybeal, Directory, Historical Society of Carroll County, R.J. Rockerfeller, Maryland State Archives, Jennifer Tolpa of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Ann Sindelar, Antietam National Battlefield. We would like to extend our appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Harding, Jr. and Mr. Gil Barrett for allowing us to use photographs from their private collections.