At the last minute, the Maryland Legislature decided to convene in Frederick, a Unionist stronghold, instead of Annapolis. The secessionist tide, which had flowed so strongly in eastern Maryland, was now ebbing. Federal soldiers occupied strong positions near Baltimore and the state capital. On May 9, troops once again began passing through the Monumental City en route to Washington. Rather than calling for a secession convention, the General Assembly sent a deputation to Lincoln to learn what military action he planned in their state and to protest various measures taken by the administration. On May 4, he bluntly told them “that while the Government had no intention to retaliate for Baltimore outrages by force of arms, it had determined upon measures to secure the unobstructed passage of troops through their State, and would carry them out at all hazards.” He also assured them that “the public interest and not any spirit of revenge should actuate his measures.” Nine days later, General Butler marched a thousand troops by night into Baltimore and occupied Federal Hill, thus making sure the city would remain pacified. After the legislature adjourned on May 14, Governor Hicks complied with Lincoln’s proclamation by issuing a call for four militia regiments. In mid-June, Unionist candidates won elections in sixteen of the state’s twenty-one counties, signifying that less than two months after the Baltimore riots, loyalty to the Union had reasserted itself in Maryland.
Source: Abraham Lincoln ∶ A Life ▫𓂃