"I. Many patriotic citizens of Baltimore having tendered their services to the Government of the United States, for the protection of their city against armed invaders, the Major General commanding this Department accepts such volunteer services, and authorizes an issue of arms to such citizens in every case where a full company of them is duly enrolled and organized under competent officers, on the same plan of organization as is used in military service of the United States. "II. The arms furnished to these companies will be, by an arrangement that has been made, receipted for by the Mayor of the city, to be returned when the emergency requiring the services so to be rendered, has, in the opinion of the General commanding, ceased. "III.-Honorable H. Winter Davis, who has tendered his services as volunteer aide to the General commanding, is accepted as such, and is charged with the enrollment of the volunteer companies. "IV. All citizen volunteers thus accepted will be subject to be disbanded, in whole or in part, at any time by the General commanding; and while serving will be held subject strictly to military rule and government by the military authorities. "By command of "DONN PIATT, Lieut. Col. and Chief of Staff." "MAJOR GENERAL SCHENCK. General Schenck also issued special orders, summoning all officers and soldiers on leave of absence from the Middle Department to return forthwith and report at headquarters, under penalty of being considered deserters. The orders forbidding the sale of liquors to soldiers were re-issued. Another special meeting of the City Council took place on Saturday, June 20th, to adopt measures providing for the defence of the city. Immediately after its organization the following communication was received from the Mayor enclosing the communication from General Schenck: Mayor's Office, Baltimore, June 20th, 1863. "To the members of the First and Second Branches of the City Council: "GENTLEMEN-The want of additional fortifications to protect our city, and the necessity of providing labor to erect them, has induced me to call you together to-night. "The General commanding this department relies on the city authorities for aid in this matter, and I hope that it may be promptly given. Already a large number of men are at work, and it becomes our duty to see that their families are properly cared for. I respectfully urge prompt and energetic action in this matter, believing that we can soon place ourselves in an impregnable position. I enclose to you a communication from General Schenck on this subject. "With great respect, etc., "JOHN LEE CHAPMAN, Mayor." The following is the communication referred to: 66 Headquarters Middle Department, 8th Army Corps, ) "Honorable John Lee Chapman, Mayor of Baltimore: "SIR-I am prepared, among other preparations for the defence of Baltimore against a possible attack of the Rebels, to construct some lines of entrenchments at points commanding approaches to the city. You have apprised me that in this emergency the city authorities would furnish the required number of laborers, either by hiring, volunteering or otherwise. I desire to have immediately, to be put at work by 4 o'clock, to-day, one thousand men, who, when ready, will report to Lieutenant Meigs, of Engineer Corps, on my Staff, for service. If you have any difficulty in furnishing the labor, and find it necessary to obtain it, or any part of it, by some equitable system of impressment, give me notice to that effect at any time, and I will furnish you with the military power to enforce such impressment. "ROBERT C. SCHENCK, Major General Commanding." The council decided that $100,000 of the four hundred thousand voted a few days before as bounty-money, should be devoted to the construction of barricades and fortifications around the city. Accordingly, on Saturday morning, June 20th, about one thousand negroes were seized by the police in different sections of the city, causing much excitement among that portion of the population as they were marched out in squads of about forty each, under white overseers, to the different locations to work on the defences. At night another force was impressed to relieve those who had been at work throughout the day, and another relief-gang was provided on Sunday, so that rapid progress was made. In a number of cases, white persons were seized by the police and compelled to work for a time upon the entrenchments, but these were almost invariably those who were supposed to favor the Southern cause, or who took occasion to express sentiments obnoxious to the authorities. THE DEFENCES OF BALTIMORE. 539 The long trains of wagons and drays through the streets carrying hogsheads, barrels, and other materials required for the barricades, were rather a novel sight for Sunday, and brought to mind the scene presented on Sunday, the 21st of April, 1861. The work of erecting the barricades progressed rapidly, and on Sunday, June 21st, the entire circuit of the city was completed and ready for military occupation at any moment that the scouts and pickets should announce the approach of the Confederates. The line of entrenchments and fortifications on all the approaches to the city attracted thousands of visitors. The barricades which were erected in many parts, closed the streets to carriages, and it was supposed would be effectual against cavalry, although some of them were so low that a horse could have cleared them with ease. They were generally constructed at the corners of streets by gathering one or two carts at each end on the sidewalk, and then by digging up stones on the road-way, sufficient earth was thrown up to form an embankment, leaving a narrow passage on each side for foot passengers. If an attempt had been made to take the city, the houses in the vicinity of the line of barricades. were to be occupied by riflemen. In addition to Fort McHenry, which had already played an important part in the war, Fort Federal Hill, and Fort Marshall, upon higher ground than Fort McHenry, mounted each with fifty to sixty guns of forty-two and thirty-two pounders, and eight-inch columbiads with a few rifled pieces, could have destroyed Baltimore in a short time, this being the style of "defence" determined on, if they were not able to keep the Confederates from capturing the city. Boasts were openly made that the first shell from Fort Federal Hill would be thrown directly into the Maryland Club, at the northeast corner of Franklin and Cathedral streets, the "latin quarter," as it was sometimes called, for the exact range of the buildings had been ascertained, and it was regarded by the military authorities as the very focus of "treason" in the city. Besides these heavy works, and Fort Washington, afterwards constructed on the northeastern outskirts of the city, on even higher ground than Fort Marshall, a great number of earthworks were thrown up completing the circuit of defences. 1 As the proclamation issued by Governor Bradford on the 16th of June, did not have the desired effect, and as the troops were needed at once for the defence of the city and State, the governor on Sunday, June 21st, issued the following appeal: "TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE AND CITY : "Baltimore June 21, 1863. "The proclamation which I issued on the 17th instant, calling upon you to furnish six months' volunteers for the quota of militia required of us by the government has not met with that prompt and practical response which I thought I had the right to expect. Whilst some, with a cheerful alacrity worthy of all praise, have offered themselves for the service, the number, I regret to say, has fallen far short of what is required. 1 It was closed on the 28th of June, 1853, by order of General Schenck, and was not again opened until after the war ended, two years later. "Some, assuming to be ready for any emergency which the defence of the State may require, hesitate to enlist in government service lest they may be ordered elsewhere; but the very proclamation of the President which makes this call upon us assumes, as the true reason for it, the threatened invasion of our State, and would seem to be an implied assurance that such force is only required within the borders. But suppose it were otherwise, and that it could be made available elsewhere, are we willing so to qualify and cramp the service that may be asked of us as to say that it shall be rendered within the confines of our State, but nowhere else? It may well be that the very best stand-points for State defences are to be found on the other side of the Potomac. "Who are the men here in our midst to-day ready to meet the approaching foe? They come from the North and the East and the West. Volunteers representing six States now man the works upon Maryland Heights, and the citizens of the State, sheltered as they are under the very shadow of the capital, should be the last in the Union to hesitate over any service of a national character that may be required of them. "The commanding general authorizes me to say that whilst he has accepted for special duty in the neighborhood of the barricades the proffered service of some of our patriotic citizens, such service will be no obstacle to the enlistment of those who would volunteer for six months, and who, whilst in discharge of this special duty, will be still accepted and mustered into the six months' service. "Some, as I am told, decline to volunteer, prefering a draft, because, as they say, only the loyal will volunteer, whilst the draft compels the rebel sympathizer to discharge his just share of the public duty. The duty to which we are now summoned is emphatically a patriotic one, one which we should be unwilling to share with any whose whole heart is not devoted to his country. Do you expect a hearty service of this kind from Secessionists? Are you willing to leave the metropolis of the State undefended because they may fold their arms and offer no assistance? God forbid. "The patriots of the Revolution recognized no such reasoning. No whig failed to respond in those days because the Tories stood aloof-but when struggling for the liberties which it is now your duty to defend, they mustered to a man, and sought no aid from the traitors in their midst, and left the very name of Tory a term of contumely and scorn for all time to come. "Let me, then, once more appeal to you, my fellow-citizens, and remind you that the foot of the invader is once more upon the soil of Maryland. In other days her citizens did not require to be twice told of such an event. And you, I trust, will show the world that the blood of the Old Defenders still courses through your veins. Come, then, at once. Come with a will, and come in crowds; and as our fathers did fifty years ago, meet the invader before his tread shall desecrate the threshold of our homes. "The general commanding this Department informs me that besides the work upon the entrenchments now being done by a force of colored laborers impressed for the purpose, he will have occasion to-morrow (Monday) morning for one or two thousand patriotic citizens to be employed in different fortifications at other points. To wield a pick or a spade for such a purpose is fully as honorable, and just now quite as essential as to shoulder a musket or unsheathe a sword. "All citizens who will volunteer for this work are invited to present themselves at Monument Square, in front of the general's headquarters, at 9 o'clock Monday morning. "A. W. BRADFORD." In a short time, the 9th, 10th and 11th Maryland regiments of infantry were formed together, with several companies of cavalry and artillery. Major General Sandford, of New York City, received a despatch from the Secretary of War, directing him to send all the militia of the city direct to Baltimore LEE'S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMY. 541 instead of Harrisburg, and consequently a number of New York regiments came to Baltimore and remained during the troubles. On the 23d, Major General Halleck, commander-in-chief, made an official visit of inspection to the various forts and outposts around the city, expressing himself as well satisfied with everything that Schenck had done. He returned to Washington the same evening. General Hooker, after he was relieved of his command, also reported in Baltimore.1 While Ewell's corps was moving northward, General Lee was still in Virginia. As Hooker still showed no disposition either to cross the Potomac or to advance and offer battle, Lee prepared to move into Maryland with his whole army. On the 21st of June, Lee issued the following address to the army of invasion: "General Orders No. 72: “Headquarters Army Northern Virginia, June 21, 1863. "While in the enemy's country, the following regulation for procuring supplies will be strictly observed, and any violation of them promptly and vigorously punished. 'No. I. No private property shall be injured or destroyed by any person belonging to or connected with the army, or taken, except by the officers hereinafter designated. “No. II. The chiefs of the commissary, quartermaster, ordnance and medical departments of the army will make requisitions upon the local authorities or inhabitants for the necessary supplies for their respective departments, designating the places and times of delivery. All persons complying with such requisitions shall be paid the market price for the articles furnished, if they so desire, and the officer making such payments, shall take duplicate receipts for the same, specifying the name of the person paid, and the quantity, kind and price of the property, one of which receipts shall be at once forwarded to the chief of the department to which such officer is attached. “No. III. Should the authorities or inhabitants neglect or refuse to comply to such requisitions, the supplies required will be taken from the nearest inhabitants so refusing, by the order and under the directions of the respective chiefs of the departments named. "No. IV. When any command is detached from the main body, the chiefs of the several departments of such command will procure supplies for the same, and such other stores as they may be ordered to provide, in the manner and subject to the provisions herein prescribed, reporting their action to the heads of their respective departments, to which they will forward duplicates of all vouchers given or received. "No. V. All persons who shall decline to receive payment for property furnished on requisitions, and all from whom it shall be necessary to take stores and supplies, shall be furnished by the officer receiving or taking the same with a receipt specifying the kind and quantity of the property received or taken, as the case may be, the name of the person from whom it was received or taken, the command for the use of which it was intended, and the market price. A duplicate of said receipt shall be at once forwarded to the chief of the department to which the officer by whom it is executed is attached. 1 H'DQ'RS MIDdle Dep't 8th ARMY CORPS, OFFICE PROVOST MARSHAL, BALTIMORE, June 21, 1863. An order was published in the evening edition of the Republican, also in the Sunday Telegram of to-day, purporting to emanate from this office, in reference to the suppression of certain newspapers. No such order as thus published was issued. It is, perhaps, a misunderstanding, which is thus explained: I was directed by the major-general commanding, to notify the editors of some of the city papers, that "no extracts from the New York World, New York Express, Caucasian, Cincinnati Enquirer and the Chicago Times, would be permitted to be published in this department," which was duly done, and from this fact the mistake must have occurred. I, therefore, respectfully request that this explanation be published. WILLIAM S. FISH. Lieutenant Colonel and Provost Marshal, |