The Civil War divided our great nation like no other war before it or since, and nowhere was that divide more deeply felt than in the state of Maryland. With its industrialized north and its agrarian south, Maryland would find itself unique in its struggle to align with either the Union or the Confederacy. Although no major battles occurred in Southern Maryland, the region played a key role in providing information to the Confederacy through the area's many spies, blockade runners, and southern sympathizers.

Long before the war, tobacco plantations had been a major source of income for Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert counties. These plantations required vast numbers of slaves to ensure their success and viability. With the election of President Lincoln and the looming possibility of emancipation, many plantation owners began preparing for a fight.

As early as 1860, records show that groups of men throughout Southern Maryland were organizing brigades, such as the Maryland Line, to fight Union forces. The Confederate Association of St. Mary's County held a meeting in March of that same year. By invitation of Captain George Thomas (President of the association), Brigadier General Bradley T. Johnson spoke regarding the imminent war saying, "When Captain Thomas invited me to address this association last fall, I was obliged to decline to do it at the time, but wrote him that I wanted to make the address, for there were some things that ought to be said before we all are dead, that St. Mary's was the place to say them in, and that I was the man to say them." Adding, "I never saw a Marylander a coward."

By September of 1861, talk of secession and unrest among some Maryland residents had become so fervent that the U.S. government arrested and imprisoned some state legislators who supported the southern cause, to prevent Maryland from joining the Confederacy. Even this drastic measure could not quell the southern sympathizers, and many men from Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties either crossed the Potomac to fight for the Confederacy or acted as blockade runners and spies to help fight the Union. This loyalty to the South came at a price for some residents including Henry J. Carroll of St. Mary's County. He was just one of the many men questioned and sometimes jailed for rallying people to the Confederate cause. Mr. Carroll was charged with "disloyalty and with having counseled and advised a large number of the residents of St. Mary's County to join the Confederate Army and with contributing liberally of his means to equip and forward recruits to Virginia for the rebel army."

Though not much documentation exists on the subject, it is presumed that some of the spies and those aiding both the North and the South, were women of Southern Maryland. It is believed that over 400 women fought during the civil war, many disguising themselves as men, while countless others served as nurses. A few even used their feminine wiles to acquire valuable secrets for both sides.

Throughout the war, recruitment of slaves in Southern Maryland had become commonplace, but in October of 1863 plantation owners took the matter up with the federal government claiming the practice to be illegal. The government decided to make reparations to the slave owners by offering "manumissions" or compensation in the amount of $300 for each freed man who would enlist and fight for the Union Army. During that same year Camp Stanton was established in Benedict to train these newly freed slaves. Four separate regiments were established, and the men were promised food, shelter, and money in exchange for their service to the Union. In spite of the harsh conditions and inadequate supplies, these soldiers went on to participate in some of the most important and brutal battles of the war.

Wealthy gentry of Southern Maryland could also pay a $300 "bounty" to have an African American volunteer take their place and fight for the Union cause. This was not only done because so many plantation owners refused to support the Union, but also to ensure that their livelihood would be protected, and that they could remain on their farms and continue to produce crops. Many plantation owners did leave and go to Richmond to join the Confederacy, only to return after the war to find their plantations in utter ruin. Some even successfully sued the federal government and were compensated for their losses following the war.

As the war progressed, and the number of prisoners from both sides began to increase, the government began looking for sites to establish prisoner of war camps. A resort at Point Lookout became the ideal location to construct a hospital complex and also a prisoner of war "depot." Named for Surgeon General W.A. Hammond, in July of 1862 construction began on the hospital, a dining room, and numerous other buildings. Following the battle at Gettysburg in July of 1863, the focus of Camp Hammond was to house as many as 10,000 rebel soldiers in tents. Many of the Confederate soldiers captured at Gettysburg would do much of the construction on their own prison camp. Because tents were used instead of more weatherproof wooden structures (and other substandard conditions), more than 3,500 prisoners lost their life at the camp. During its operation from July 1863 until May 1865, over 50,000 men were imprisoned at Camp Hammond. With the camp located so near to many Confederate sympathizers, many tried to aide the prisoners only to find themselves detained at the same facility. Just one year after the end of the war lease of the property was discontinued and the prison was dismantled.

The most famous event to take place in Southern Maryland is undoubtedly the escape of John Wilkes Booth following President Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theater in Washington on April 14, 1865. A 26-year-old stage actor, Booth's sympathies for the South reached a fever pitch following the surrender of General Lee just days before the assassination. After fatally wounding President Lincoln, Booth fled to Prince George's County and eventually to Charles County where he felt he would be given safe haven as he attempted to escape to Virginia. On April 15, he and fellow conspirator, David Herold, arrived at the house of Samuel Mudd where Booth received medical treatment for a broken leg. He and Herold then fled through Zekiah Swamp to the home of Colonel Samuel Cox who provided the fugitives with food and shelter for the next four days. Booth and Herold eventually made their way across the Potomac River to Virginia where Booth was later killed on April 26th. Dr. Mudd was convicted and received a prison sentence and was later pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1869. Other conspirators, including several from Charles County were named and either received prison sentences or, as in the case of David Herold, were hanged in July of 1865.
With all the hardships suffered by both sides during the war, Southern Maryland slowly recovered following the end of the war. Plantations, though economically devastated by the war, began to function without the use of slave labor and some found other ways to become financially viable again. Today, monuments and memorials throughout Southern Maryland are small reminders of those who fought so valiantly for what they believed. The greatest legacies are the hard fought lessons from the Civil War learned by the families of Southern Maryland, who saw such great sacrifice by so many.