For country or state: The lives of four Maryland soldiers and the decision they ultimately made before the Civil War.

摘要

As a state south of the Mason-Dixon Line and with the national capital within its borders, Maryland was a vital area to the North and South during the Civil War. After Union forces occupied Maryland in 1861, its citizens had a very difficult decision to ponder and eventually make. Would they fight for the Union, which favored an all powerful national government or for states' rights and the Confederate States of America? This study examines four particular soldiers from the state of Maryland who had to make that decision. The Union soldiers are Generals William Emory of Queen Anne's County and Edward Otho Cresap Ord of Cumberland who both fought gallantly in the western theatre of the war. The Confederates are General Lloyd Tilghman, who also fought mostly out west and eventually perished in battle, and Admiral Franklin Buchanan who led the CSS Virginia in the Naval Battle at Hampton Roads, Virginia.;Due to the fact that they all considered themselves Southerners, even practicing the institution of slavery, each had a very difficult decision to make when it came to the Civil War. Throughout this paper, their lives will be examined as best as possible in effort to discover the roots behind their decision to fight for the North or South. Only Admiral Buchanan spent considerable time in his home state as an adult while the other three men spent their time before and during the war out west in states such as California, Louisiana, New Mexico, Kentucky, and in the Washington and Indian Territories. Did these surroundings decide their fate or was it their upbringing in Maryland? By the end, a conclusion will be reached about each man and their reasons for choosing the side they did before doing battle in the Civil War.