Existing comment:
Eastern Shore Infantry
"... glorious achievements ..."
During the Civil War, US Col. James Wallace, commander of the 1st Regiment, Eastern Shore Maryland Volunteers, used this building as his headquarters. The regiment, which camped east of here, drew most of its members directly from the Eastern Shore. Wallace's principal duties were to protect local residents, ensure free elections, stop smuggling of supplies to Confederates and enforce wartime rules and regulations. While most of the men were assigned to the camp at Cambridge, detachments guarded towns, wharves and river ports up and down the Eastern Shore.
When Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee invaded the North in 1863, the regiment marched to Gettysburg, where it fought with distinction at Culp's Hill as part of the US Army's XII Corps. On July 4, 1863, Wallace reported," ... The conduct of my men was very satisfactory. All did their duty, and, considering that this was the first time they were under fire, their behavior was very steady. ... We remained upon the field until 8pm, when, in obedience to orders, we took up another position and bivouacked for the night. Thus ended the participation of my command in the glorious achievements of yesterday. From the prisoners taken we have been credibly informed that the enemy we fought was the First Maryland (rebel) Regiment [Battalion]."
Thomas Holliday Hicks was born near Cambridge on Sept. 2, 1798, and served as Maryland's governor from 1858 to 1862. Throughout his term, he was pressured by the General Assembly and Confederate sympathizers to allow Maryland to secede from the Union. Instead, Hicks worked closely with President Lincoln to prevent disruption of supply lines and interference with US troops.
Hicks is buried less than a mile from here in Cambridge Cemetery. His grave is marked by the monument pictured above, whose inscription states, "This monument, erected by the state in 1868, honors Thomas Holliday Hicks, a native and life resident of Dorchester County. Late in 1860, and early in 1861 as Maryland's first Civil War governor, he opposed the doctrines of secession and of coercion. In furtherance of his policy and resisting great pressure, he refused for five months to call the legislature in special session. During the war he supported the Union." |