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Great Cities of American History: Baltimore
The War of 1812, the B & O Railroad, the Civil
War, and Maritime History
June 20-24, 2012 – Baltimore, Maryland
with C.
Robert Mullauer, Roy A. Cather, Wayne Schaumberg and Jack
Trautwein |
Baltimore – Charm City – famous for crab cakes, row houses and the Inner
Harbor – the city of Frederick Douglass, Billie Holiday, H. L. Mencken, Ogden
Nash, Edgar Allan Poe, Cal Ripken, Jr., Gertrude Stein, Johnny Unitas and many other
prominent Americans. But mostly Baltimore is known as a truly Great City of
American History!
The Maryland General Assembly created the Port of Baltimore in 1706 for
the tobacco trade. The Town of Baltimore was founded on July 30, 1729, and is
named after Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert), who was the first Proprietary
Governor of the Province of Maryland.
Baltimore grew swiftly in the 18th century as a granary for
sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean. It played a key part in events
leading up to and during the American Revolution. Its citizens resisted
British taxes and its merchants signed agreements to not trade with Britain.
The Second Continental Congress met in the Henry Fite House from
December 1776 to February 1777, effectively making the city the capitol of the
United States during this period. In 1796, the Town of Baltimore incorporated
into the City of Baltimore.
During
the War of 1812, the British sent a large fleet to attack Washington DC.
After spending several days looting hundreds of tons of merchandise there, the
British turned their attention north to Baltimore where they hoped to
strike a knockout blow against the demoralized Americans. Baltimore, as a busy
port, was thought by the British to harbor many of the privateers who had been
raiding British shipping. The British planned a combined operation, with
Major-General Robert Ross launching a land attack at North Point, and
Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane laying siege to Fort McHenry, which
was the principal defensive installation in Baltimore Harbor. After an initial exchange of fire, the British fleet
withdrew to just beyond the range of Fort McHenry’s cannons and continued to bombard
the American redoubts for the next 25 hours. The fort’s defense was augmented
by the sinking of a line of American merchant ships at the adjacent entrance to
Baltimore Harbor to further thwart the passage of British ships. The Americans
in the fort, commanded by Major George Armistead, held on and the British, at
3:00 AM on September 14, 1814, retreated back to their ships. Francis Scott Key, a Maryland lawyer, was aboard a British ship where
he had been negotiating for the release of an American prisoner. Key witnessed
the bombardment from there and later wrote "The Star-Spangled
Banner", a poem recounting the attack, which was set to a 1780 tune by
British composer John Stafford Smith, and the Star-Spangled Banner became the
official National Anthem of the United States in 1931.
Following
the War of 1812, Baltimore continued to develop as major city. On February 27,
1827 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was chartered to enable the city
of Baltimore to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal serving New York
City, and a proposed canal which would have connected Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh. By 1861, the B&O stretched from Baltimore to Wheeling, Virginia
and to the Ohio River in the west, and owned more than 75 locomotives, 2,000
freight cars and more than 100 passenger cars. The railroad would help
determine the course of the Civil War by allowing the North to shuttle men to
and from the Western and Eastern theaters and by bringing foodstuffs grown in
the Midwest to Federal armies in the East.
As
the war clouds of the Civil War gathered, Baltimore was a city divided. There,
in 1829, William Lloyd Garrison and publisher Benjamin Lundy first
edited the anti-slavery newspaper, The Genius of Universal Emancipation,
thereby inaugurating the abolitionist movement in the United States. And in no
other city would the turbulent presidency of Abraham Lincoln play out so
dramatically, both in terms of political violence and patriotic achievement.
Baltimore was the only major city to which Lincoln traveled during the war to
make a political speech, and yet in February of 1861, he had to sneak through
town, unannounced and in the middle of the night, en route to Washington.
Baltimore
was the first American city to fall under an order suspending the writ
of habeas corpus as Lincoln, fearing a vote by Maryland
legislators to join the Confederacy, imprisoned key legislators in Fort McHenry.
For this act, one of the most controversial ever undertaken by an American
president, the United States Supreme Court found Lincoln to be in violation of
the Constitution. In Baltimore, residents attacked, wounded and killed Federal
troops marching to defend the nation’s capital. Baltimore was the scene of the
re-nomination of the president who led the nation to victory during its greatest
crisis. It was also the site of the state constitutional convention that in
1864 voluntarily amended its own constitution to end slavery by popular vote of
the people of Maryland. And on April 21, 1865, Lincoln’s funeral train arrived
at the Old Custom House in Baltimore, where his remains were viewed by
the public during its first stop on the slow trip to Lincoln’s final resting
place in Springfield.
Our June program
will cover four major aspects of the history of Baltimore: the War of 1812,
the B & O Railroad, the Civil War and the maritime history of the city. After a welcome reception on Wednesday evening at the Best
Western Hotel & Conference Center, we will begin on Thursday with a tour of the campaign by the British in 1814 to take Baltimore, and of
the efforts by the Americans to defend it. We will cover events from the
British landing to the defenses of Baltimore. Sites we will visit include the
British landing area, the site of the Battle of North Point, and Fort McHenry where the attack began on September 13, 1814, as the
British fleet of some nineteen ships began pounding the fort with rockets and
mortar shells.
On Friday, we’ll address the important role played by the B & O
Railroad in the history and development of Baltimore. Our first stop will be
the Carrollton Viaduct, the world's oldest railroad bridge still in use,
named after Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration
of Independence and a director of the B & O who laid the cornerstone on
July 4, 1828. As he laid the first stone he said, "I consider this among
the most important acts of my life, second only to my signing the Declaration
of Independence."
Then
we will visit the magnificent B & O Railroad Museum at Mount Clare
for a guided tour. This National Historic Landmark holds the oldest and most
comprehensive American railroad collection in the World, in a unique complex of
historic structures, on a 40-acre site recognized as the birthplace of American railroading.
After
lunch, we’ll visit the Thomas Viaduct, the largest bridge in the nation
in its day and which today is still the world's largest bridge of its kind as
well as the world's oldest multiple arched stone railroad bridge. It was named
for Philip E. Thomas, the first president of the B & O. During the
Civil War, the B & O was the only railroad into Washington and thus the
Thomas Viaduct was essential for supply trains to reach the Union capital. To
prevent sabotage, the bridge was heavily guarded by Union troops stationed
along its length.
Then, we’ll drive to nearby Savage Mill and inspect
the Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge, named
for its inventor, Wendel Bollman. This bridge
is the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history
of American bridge engineering. The 160-foot double-span truss bridge is one of
the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the country and was the first
successful all-metal bridge design to be adopted and consistently used on a
railroad.
On Saturday, our tour will cover the Civil War in Baltimore. We will
visit the Baltimore Civil War Museum, the site of the President
Street railroad station, critical to Lincoln’s passage through the
city in 1861. In this area, along Pratt and Gay Streets, the 6th Massachusetts regiment was attacked by an angry mob and the first
casualties of the Civil War fell. Then at Federal Hill, we will see
where, on May 13, 1861, a political general named Benjamin Butler lined
up artillery and threatened to raze the town if the rioters did not disband and
return home. The entire hill was covered with walls, gun emplacements, and
barracks. Regiments posted on Federal Hill included the 5th New York Artillery,
and the 8th New York Heavy Artillery.
In
the afternoon, we’ll visit Green Mount Cemetery, the final resting place
of many notables, including Confederate generals Joseph E. Johnston, George
H. Steuart and Isaac R. Trimble, philanthropist Johns Hopkins,
and John Wilkes Booth.
Sunday will be our Maritime Day. We’ll start with a
visit aboard the U. S. S. Constellation, in Baltimore Harbor, the only
Civil War-era ship still afloat, which today houses a fine maritime museum.
Afterwards, we’ll cross the harbor by water taxi to Fell’s Point,
the center of shipbuilding in Baltimore in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
and home to Baltimore clippers and privateers in the War of 1812. Here, too, a
young slave named Frederick Bailey worked as a ship caulker before escaping
slavery on the Eastern Shore, changing his name to Frederick Douglass and becoming a renowned abolitionist. We’ll enjoy a leisurely stroll of Fell’s
Point and learn about the homes, businesses and lives of sea captains, ship
builders and immigrants in this charming and historic maritime community.
What
a rich and multi-faceted four day adventure this will be as we explore the
unique history and culture of Baltimore. Forts, trains, bridges, boats,
historic homes, museums – plus delectable regional cuisine: this is a formula
for an outstanding summer adventure. And if you wish to enroll for
individual days only, instead of the entire four-day program, the registration
fee will be $150 per day. Meet us in Charm
City. We’ll have a great time!
Faculty
C. Robert “Bob”
Mullauer teaches military history
courses for two Maryland community colleges. He is a veteran tour leader of
Antietam, Gettysburg and War of 1812 sites in the Baltimore area.
Roy A. “Chip” Cather is an amateur railroad enthusiast who has been
studying the B &O Railroad for many years.
Wayne R.
Schaumburg is widely acknowledged as
the leading tour guide of Civil War Baltimore, and Green Mount Cemetery.
Jack Trautwein is perhaps the best-known and highly regarded tour
guide of Fell’s Point and is affectionately known as “The Town Crier of Fell’s
Point.”
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, June 20
7:00 PM-8:30 PM Welcome Reception - Best
Western Hotel & Conference Center
Thursday, June 21
8:15 AM Depart for tour of the 1814
Campaign for Baltimore
5:00 PM Arrive
Back at Best Western Hotel & Conference Center
Friday, June 22
8:15 AM Depart for tour of the B &
O Railroad
4:45 PM Arrive
Back at Best Western Hotel & Conference Center
Saturday,
June 23
8:15 AM Depart for tour of Civil War
Baltimore
4:30 PM Arrive Back at Best Western
Hotel & Conference Center
Sunday,
June 24
8:30 AM Depart for Maritime tour –
U.S.S. Constellation and Fell’s Point
4:30 PM Arrive Back at Best Western
Hotel & Conference Center
Registration Fee: $595
Per Day Rate: $150 per day
If You Must Cancel we will refund 100% of your fees paid within 30 days of your notice.
What is Included in Your
Registration:
· the services of expert historians
chosen for their knowledge and experience
· bus transportation to sites as
described
· water taxi ride across harbor on
Sunday
· Thursday, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday lunches
· refreshments and snacks during the
tour
· information package
· admission to sites as described
BASE LOCATION & LODGING: We will be based at the Best Western Hotel & Conference Center, 5625 O’Donnell Street, Baltimore, MD 21224 where we have reserved a block of room at the special nightly rate of $109.99 + tax for Single, Double, Triple or Quad. A complimentary breakfast will be available each morning for all hotel guests.To reserve a room under our block call 800-633-9511 and identify yourself as a registrant for the CWEA Tour/American History Forum. Room block availability is guaranteed only through May 25 so MAKE YOUR ROOM RESERVATIONS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
DIRECTIONS:
From I-95: Take exit 57 to the Best Western.
From BWI Airport – Exit the airport via I-95 West; Merge onto I-95 North. Take exit 57 to the Best Western.
Airport Shuttle Service – for those flying into Baltimore/Washington
International Airport (BWI) - call in advance and arrange a shuttle from KD
Elite – 888-808-1212. A one-way trip from BWI to the Best Western Hotel
& Conference Center on O’Donnell Street should run $22.00 for the first
person and $5.00 for each additional person
