Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-10-16
PLOT IN BALTIMORE.
UNION MEN WERE PREPARED TO
BuRN THE CITY IN 1861.


believed Southern Sympathizers Had on
Foot-Confidential Disclosures Made by
the Old Tobacconist.
During the first year Of tho war, +" o
grizzlcd colonel remarked, while recall
ing incidents of the great rebellion,
business connected with tho recruiting
and equipping of volunteers in Pennsyl-
vania took me frequently to Washing
ton, and, rs the hotels i'll that city soon
became crowded and uncomfortable, l
made it custom TO stop at Barnum S,
in Baltimore, remain overnight there
and run over to the capital early Ill the
morning, and thus I passed many
nights during 1861 in the famous old
hotel of the Monumental City. Near it
was large tobacconist's shop, where l
discovered superior grade of cigars
was sold, and of this shop I became u
regular customer. Ordinarily was
served by young salesman, but l fire.
Quently saw in the shop an old gentle
man who, presumed, WAS the propric-
tor. One day WAS rather surprised by
the old gcntleman's stopping forward
to wait on mo himself After l was
served he said:
If you arc not III a hurry, sir, /
would be pleased to have you walk into
my private office and have smoke.
Il readily assented, and he led the
way to q room ut the rear of tho store,
separated from it by 4 glass partition,
plainly but comfortably furnished, and
having the appearance of long and ha-
bitual use. Pushing toward me large
split bottomed rocker, my host remark
ed:
:. Here, for many years, I have been
accustomed to receive my friends, Of
whom I had many, but I am sorry to
say that now the number is sadly di-
minished
Why so:' 1 asked
Because Of differences in opinion, }
he replied I need not remind You of
the condition the whole country is in,
or tell you how completely men vary in
their ideas of duty. Nowhere is thatva-
rance greater than here in Baltimore,
and nowhere is there greater danger of
its leading TO Il calamity.
- You surprise me, exclaimed. I
knew there was considerable secession
sentiment here. and that months ago it
exhibited itself openly, leading to blood
shed on the streets, but ! thought all
that had passed away.
By no means. he replied The
rebel sentiment in Baltimore is as in
tense and bitter today as it ever was.
The apparent quiet is only on the sur
face. You are in the service OF the
Union, ard it may be as well Tor you to
be informed exactly what the situation
here is.
'Three-forrths of the people of Bal
timore are intensely southern i'll their
feelings and prejudices. All the slave
holders are so, and they are the leading
citizens Following them is the class
which always toadies to what is consid-
cred the aristocracy, and after these
comes large disorderly element known
as the plug uglies, who are willing and
ready to do anything that looks like re-
sistance to constituted authority. Now,
know beyond doubt that the leading
secessionists here are thoroughly organ
lied and are determined, the first favor
able opportunity that offers, 10 declare
openly for the new Confederacy and car
~ Baltimore certainly, and Maryland
if possible, out of the Union.
How is al this to be done:' I in
quired.
Their plan is this: They know
every man upon whom they can rely,
and their strength is well understood.
They have clubs organized, which meet
regularly The leaders have control of
plenty Of money, and supplies of arms
are available Regular communication
is had with the Confederate leaders in
Virginia, and thev are waiting only for
definite, tangible opportunity to strike.
Such an opportunity would come if the
Confederate army made an advance to-
ward Washington thing they expect
or should the Union army meet with
another serious reverse in the east. If
Beauregard had pursued Mcdowell after
the battle Of Bull Run, they would
have risen then, and many were the
curses heaped upon him for his failure,
as they expressed it, to follow up his
victory
"'What, I asked, do you Union
men propose to do if the movement you
anticipate is made?'
Burn the city, he replied. Just
as certainly as the Russians burned
Moscow will we burn Baltimore if the
rebels here take it out of the Union.
How can you, so few comparative
~ in numbers. do this:'
well, sir, we, too, are organized
and for this one purpose. In every part
Of the city preparations have been made,
and when the time comes 100 or more
fires will be started at once, Do you
know what this is:' lie asked, taking
from closet a bail of tow, cotton, or
oallum about the size Of a large cocoa
nut. 1t is fire ball, thoroughly satu-
rated with turpentine Plenty Of these
are ready, and at an understood signal
they will be lighted and thrown where
they will certainly prove effective. Oh,
we know we'll enough that we cannot
resist the organized rebels, but you can
rely upon it that only the ruins of Bal
timore will ever become part of the
slaveholding Confederacy.
81 never saw my old Union loving
tobacconist after that evening, for not
long afterward l was sent to the army
in the southwest and remained there
until the end of the war. We all know
that Baltimore remained III the Union
and was not burned, but we know, too,
that the Confederate army never made
serious advance on Washington, SO
that the opportunity waited for by the
rebels in the Monumental City never
came How much truth, if any, there
was in the old mans story must remain
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