Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1866-05-11
MARYLAND.
From TIE Mobile Tribune.

At last we have the opportunity Of
carrying out the intention we have long
harbored of bringing before our readers
the noble efforts of this gallant old State
in behalf of the destitute of the Southern
States. There is no State in the Union
which has been more abused and maligned
by the Southern press and people than
Maryland, and we deem it but our duty
to take up the cudgel in her defence and
show how totally unjust and unkind this
abuse is and has been There are many
people, who, in derisive manner, say
that if it had been the wish Of the pco-
pie there was nothing to prevent Mary
land from seeding at the time of the
other slave States. These persons we
can only term ignoramuses. Let them
take into consideration the difficulties
that surrounded Maryland at that time
the delay Of Virginia in seeding, the
barrier (the Potomac river) which Sc
parated her entirely from all assistance
from the Southern States, and threw her
entirely at the mercy of the North.
The action of Baltimore on the memoir
able 10Th of April, 1861, in contesting
the advance of the Federal troops on
their crusade upon the South, brought
upon her the severe displeasure Of the
Government. The treachery of her
Governor enabled the Government tc
throw large bodies Of troops into the
State, and thus completely placed hel
people in its power. Her entire logisla-
ture was arrested and thrown into prison
her papers suppressed and her citizens
banished or incarceratcd in bast;les and
treated with every indignity. 9ii
The whole course of Maryland through
out the war was consistent with her
position as Southern State. Thousands
of her young men, the flower Of the
State, left their homes and cast their
fortunes with the Southern cause. Few
Of those men saw any hope Of betterirg
the condition of their State by taking
up arms in the Southern army, as her
unfortunate Typographical position and
the fact that the capital Of the United
States was on her soil, discountenanccd
any such hopes. They abandoned their
homes and families to the mercy Of the
Federal soldicry, and buckled on their
armor to defend the cause they deemed
just. The bravery of tho Maryland
soldiers is unquestionable their blood
has dyed every battle field from Manassas
to Shiloh Those who were present at
the bloody battle of Cold Harbor in 1864
will rememher the gallant and successful
charge of the I'd Maryland infantry
regiment, to recover the possession Of
their artillery, which had been captured
by the enemy, which drew forth the ex-
clamation from Gen. Breckenridge, that
:. if he had 10, 1000 such men he would
go all over the North" And yet these
very men, who have fought and suffered
for the maintenance Of the Southern
cause, have frequently had their feelings
outraged by the unjust and unmanly
slurs cast upon their State.
Look at Maryland to-day. Is she in
any better condition politically than any
Of the seeded States Three fourths
other voting population are disfranchised,
made ineligible by tyrannical laws from
holding civil positions, or even being
enrolled in the State Militia. The Gov.
eminent is in the hands Of few vindic.
tive radicals; who recognize, as entitled
to any rights, only those who compose
their clique. Even in this deplorablt
condition, look at what Maryland hal
done and is doing for the destitute o
the Southern States, and the most pre-
juliccd individual cannot fail to &C.
knowledge that she is entitled to the
gratitude and praise of the Southern
people. Witness her contributions for
the relief Of our beloved Lee, her Agri-
cultural Aid Society, her Relief Bair,
and numerous individual liberaltics. Ask
any Confederate soldier who passed
through Baltimore prisoner, during
the war, what treatment he received
from her people. and he will tell you ne
has not sufficient words to express MS
gratitude for their kindness and benevo-
lence. This being the case. it is but just
and proper that some appreciation and
acknowledgment of her llberality and
natriotism should be rendered. Hun
dreds of Maryland soldiers, in the Con-
fcderate army, on the close Of the war,
rather than return TO their homes and be
subject to insult and taunts from those
"a no,var determined to marry and settle