Do people in Maryland consider themselves North, Southern, or in Between? (Baltimore: real estate, buy)

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by vivo

georgia and the carolinas were also amongst the original 13 states.

If we look at the original "southern" colonies, Maryland was actually one of them

Deleware
Maryland
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia

Those were the southern colonies. Of course as the country stretched, deleware and maryland became border states.

[Aalbatr0ss]

Its been awhile since I took civil war history, but I seem to remember that Maryland remained a slave state within the Union during the Civil war. I think this was strategic because Maryland had plantations but was too Northern to be defended by the confederate army. Didn't the Maryland state song used to say something about "spurn the Northern scum"?

[Aalbatr0ss]

Ah yes, there it is in the last verse. Wow, this is the most militant state song I've ever seen!

"Maryland, My Maryland
I
The despot's heel is on thy shore,


Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,

Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,

Maryland! My Maryland!
II
Hark to an exiled son's appeal,


Maryland!
My Mother State! to thee I kneel,

Maryland!
For life or death, for woe or weal,
Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
And gird they beauteous limbs with steel,

Maryland! My Maryland!
III
Thou wilt not cower in the dust,


Maryland!
Thy beaming sword shall never rust,

Maryland!
Remember Carroll's sacred trust,
Remember Howard's warlike thrust,-
And all thy slumberers with the just,

Maryland! My Maryland!
IV
Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day,


Maryland!
Come with thy panoplied array,

Maryland!
With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
With Watson's blood at Monterey,
With fearless Lowe and dashing May,

Maryland! My Maryland!
V
Come! for thy shield is bright and strong,


Maryland!
Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong,

Maryland!
Come to thine own anointed throng,
Stalking with Liberty along,
And sing thy dauntless slogan song,

Maryland! My Maryland!
VI
Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain,


Maryland!
Virginia should not call in vain,

Maryland!
She meets her sisters on the plain-
Sic semper! 'tis the proud refrain
That baffles minions back amain,

Maryland!
Arise in majesty again,

Maryland! My Maryland!
VII
I see the blush upon thy cheek,


Maryland!
For thou wast ever bravely meek,

Maryland!
But lo! there surges forth a shriek,
From hill to hill, from creek to creek,
Potomac calls to Chesapeake,

Maryland! My Maryland!
VIII
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll,


Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,

Maryland!
Better the fire upon thee roll, Better the shot, the blade, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the Soul,

Maryland! My Maryland!
IX
I hear the distant thunder-hum,


Maryland!
The Old Line bugle, fife, and drum,

Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-
Huzza! She spurns the Northern scum!
She breathes! She burns! She'll come! She'll come!

Maryland! My Maryland!

[sundaze]

There is always talk of changing the state song. I think Maryland would have liked to secede but the presence of the union army prevented it. That was really long ago though, and Maryland has changed a lot. I don't think many in Maryland now align themselves philosophically with the confederacy.

[Billiam]

Originally Posted by Aalbatr0ss

Its been awhile since I took civil war history, but I seem to remember that Maryland remained a slave state within the Union during the Civil war. I think this was strategic because Maryland had plantations but was too Northern to be defended by the confederate army. Didn't the Maryland state song used to say something about "spurn the Northern scum"?

MD did have slaves, the least amount of any state, but still, it had slaves

[Billiam]

Originally Posted by sundaze

There is always talk of changing the state song. I think Maryland would have liked to secede but the presence of the union army prevented it. That was really long ago though, and Maryland has changed a lot. I don't think many in Maryland now align themselves philosophically with the confederacy.

MD fought on both sides. i went to Vicksburgh (Mississippi) and it had a list of states that fought for the confederacy and MD was listed first. And I've been to numerous batttlefeilds that list MD as north

[vasinger]

Originally Posted by sundaze

There is always talk of changing the state song. I think Maryland would have liked to secede but the presence of the union army prevented it. That was really long ago though, and Maryland has changed a lot. I don't think many in Maryland now align themselves philosophically with the confederacy.

I think thats right. Washington D.C. was the capital of the Union and it remained there during the war so it made it hard. But even in Baltimore there was lots of pro- Confederate sympathy (they cheered Robert E. Lee when he visited)

Western Maryland and the foothills were much more Union. On their way to Gettysburg Lee's Army played "Maryland My Maryland" to stir up some support that way, but they were in the wrong part of Maryland to get it.

[jeremeyk482]

Originally Posted by JaBradshaw

Northerners consider us Southerners.
Southerners consider us Northerners.

Exactly.

Anything south of New Jersey is considered "The South" to folks here in Connecticut. This, of course, includes DC

[emsgoof]

Maryland had an interesting history during the early days of the Civil War.
The state was anti-slavery, but also felt it was each state's right to choose to allow slavery or not. The first recorded casualties of the war occurred in Baltimore, when the 6th Massachusetts Regiment had to march through Baltimore to change from Mt Royal Station to Camden Station (the citizens were protesting them altogether, and had blocked the tracks leading through town) - April 19, 1861. The person who penned the state song (Maryland, My Maryland) was a college friend of one of the citizens wounded during that riot, and wrote the poem out of outrage of the actions by the Union army.
The federal government (Lincoln - congress was in recess at the time) wasn't sure how Maryland would vote on the issue of secession, and so on April 27, 1861, he ordered the arrest of any "southern sympathizers" between DC and Philadelphia, while suspending the prisoner's writ of habeas corpus. Maryland's Chief Justice (Roger Brook Taney) protested this action, deeming it unconstitutional (only the Congress can suspend the writ of habeas corpus). Lincoln ignored Taney, saying he spoke for the government while Congress was in recess.
In September 1861, Lincoln ordered the arrest of any alleged disloyal state senate members, and many government officials, imprisoning them at Ft. McHenry, preventing them from attending a vote of secession. This earned the fort the nickname "The Baltimore Bastille".
During the regular elections a few months later, union troops from Maryland were permitted to return to the state to vote for the definitive election of secession in the state (during the state general election), ensuring the union won the vote. The following year, a group of state judges ordered an investigation into the election regarding fraud, but those judges were also arrested and placed in federal prisons.

During the Civil War, Maryland provided troops to both sides (the Confederate troops were all exiles or state residents that joined mostly Virginia units). The state constitution was amended in 1864 to abolish slavery, but the vote was close; 30,174 in favor of the change and 29,799 opposed.

[sundaze]

My parents are west coast -- live in northwest Washington State. To them anything east of somewhere -- not sure exactly dividing line, is simply "the east". They refer to every place from Maine to Florida as the east. For example, my aunt in Maine, My Uncle in South Carolina, and me in Maryland all live in "The East". They link it all together. I tell them it is a lot of places very different from each other in terms of climate, accent, and various other things but still its "The East."