Early in the civil war President Lincoln had Federal Troops occupy the State of Maryland. Though the power vested only with the US Congress, Mr. Lincoln also took it upon himself to suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus (the right of trial) throughout Maryland and eventually throughout the entire Union. Mr. Lincoln also authorized his military commanders to imprison and even execute non-combatant civilians both within Maryland and throughout the Union. Thousands of Marylanders were imprisoned with no charges filed and it is estimated that 14,000 civilians were arrested and imprisoned throughout the Union under this policy.
Military executions, though rare, did happen and were used to show a public display of force to the civilian population. In Fredrick Maryland the citizens were shocked over the execution by Federal troops of Mr. William Richardson a local paper and map peddler. William was hung naked from a locust tree along the roadside about one mile outside of the town of Fredrick and his corpse was left to rot for nearly a week in the hot summer sun. The Union Commander had a note pined to William’s chest that stated “Anybody cutting down the body without orders will take his place”
The Federal arrests within Maryland was also used not just to suppress civilians, but to control Maryland’s local and State government. The historical archives of Maryland document the imprisonment of the Baltimore Council and Police Commissioners and their replacement by Federal Officers. Additionally, Maryland’s representative to the US Congress, Congressman Mays, was also imprisoned. In September of 1861 Mr. Lincoln had a third of the Maryland Legislature imprisoned to prevent them from further convening in their special session called by Governor Hicks.
Judge Richard Bennett Carmichael, a graduate of Princeton University, was our Talbot County Judge during that turbulent time. Judge Carmichael held that the imprisonment of non-combatant civilians was in direct violation of the US Constitution. The Maryland archives records a petition, dated June 18th 1861 from Judge Carmichael and 48 other citizens of Talbot and Queen Anne’s counties asking that, due to the great crisis facing our State, our Legislature stay in session to address the same. In this petition Judge Carmichael reports what was happening on Maryland’s Eastern shore and by using language from the US Constitution calls out its injustice.
From Judge Carmichael’s petition: “They have subverted the law of this State, and all other law that has ever obtained here, and in its stead have set up brute force – “the higher law” – heretofore promised by their chief. They have seized private citizens, without warrant of law – they have deprived them of their liberty without a hearing before judge or jury – they have a military force within our border without sanction of the Legislature – they have set the military above civil power – they have subjected persons to martial law, who are not soldiers, nor mariner, nor marines, nor of the militia in the regular service of the State. The habeas corpus has been suspended. The right of the people to bear arms has been infringed, and the militia of the State is being disarmed, thereby depriving us of the best “security of a free State.”
Judge Carmichael knew full well the personal dangers imposed directly to him but he held firm to his duty to the US Constitution and to the citizens of Talbot. Judge Carmichael attempted to give Talbot citizens their Constitutional protections by ordering the Federal Commander in Talbot to bring the Talbot citizens, unlawfully held by those troops, before his court so the charges could be heard and ruled upon as required by the US Constriction. Though an elderly bespectacled man, Judge Carmichael must have known that he was just one person standing against an overwhelming force. He knew our Legislature had already been imprisoned. But Judge Carmichael also believed in the rule of law and knew that it was through him, as the Judge of our District Court, that any case must pass to higher courts and even to the US Supreme Court to hear the Constitutionality of these actions. If Judge Carmichael did not do his duty then the case could not pass to the higher courts and the rule of law could not occur.
Federal authorities could not allow this to happen. To demonstrate a public display of overwhelming force, 125 Federal troops surrounded the Talbot County courthouse. Troops entered our courthouse while the Judge was holding trial and viciously beat the old judge unconscious and drug him from our courthouse. Judge Carmichael was then imprisoned without any charges being filed against him. Judge Carmichael’s beating was so vicious that the defense attorney at that trial attempted to come to the old Judge’s aid and this attorney was also was beaten by the Federal Troops.
Though too late to help the citizens of Maryland, what Judge Carmichael attempted to do, to have the unlawful imprisonment and executions of non-combatant civilians heard by a higher court, came to pass. Late in the civil war Federal Troops in Indiana arrested and sentenced to death an Indiana non-combatant civilian. President Lincoln sent a message to the military commander there to carry out the execution as expeditiously as possible. Somehow this case made it to the US Supreme Court that ruled that Mr. Lincoln’s policy of allowing Federal troops to imprison and execute non-combatant civilians was a violation of the Constitution of the United States. The US Supreme court stated, that even with the writ of Habeas Corpus suspended, that in any State that was not in rebellion and where the district, circuit and Federal courts were open, Federal forces were required by the US Constitution to turn over any civilians to the civilian courts for determination of charges and trial. This is exactly what Judge Carmichael attempted to do. This Supreme Court case was Exparte Milligan, 71 U.S 2, (1866).
As citizens of Talbot County and as Americans we should be greatly proud of Judge Carmichael, an elderly bespectacled Judge who stood firm against an overwhelming force. Though he knew the great danger to himself, Judge Carmichael stood firm in his duty to the US Constitution and to the Citizens of Talbot county.
Paul Callahan is a native and current resident of Talbot County who currently serves as a volunteer fireman and is employed as a Captain at a major U.S. airline. He is also a veteran who served as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps.
Dick Deerin says
Let us not forget that in 1860 there were over 80,000 enslaved Africans held in bondage in Maryland. One of those slave-owners was Richard Bennett Carmichael, the Circuit Court judge for Kent, Queen’s, Talbot and Caroline Counties, who owned 18 slaves in 1860. In February 1861 he served as the chair of the Resolutions Committee of the Southern Rights Convention and under his leadership adopted resolutions recommending “if a disruption could not be avoided, Maryland should cast her lot with Virginia and the South.” He continued to be an outspoken supporter of the Confederacy and the South and against the Federal government. In 1862 he was charged with Treason.
I suggest that none should take pride in a man who was a slaveholder, supporter of the Confederacy against United States, and charged as a traitor during the Civil War.
Paul Callahan says
Dick,
Outside of Judge Carmichael being the Chair of a committee that stated that if a choice had to be made, then the recommendation would be for the Confederacy, there is no evidence he supported or spoke for the South. There was reasoning that if a President could abuse Maryland with such unchecked powers, what State in the Union could truly ever be free? The history of this Judge reveals that he was solely focused on the US Constitution and the denial of its liberties to Maryland and her citizens.
You misspeak that Judge Carmichael was charged as a traitor. Like so many other Marylanders, Judge Carmichael was imprisoned without any charges filed or ever knowing what the accusations were.
There is confusion on the label “Southern Sympathizer” or “Southern Supporter” a label the Federal forces, and many historians used generally. In short a “Southern Sympathizer” was any person who did not agree with the President’s policies, thought the war was morally or Constitutionally wrong or thought the abuses inflicted onto Marylanders were a violation of the US Constitution. It also included people who believed that the right to self government was an “inalienable” right of the citizens as stated by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence from Britain – who the British labeled “traitors” by the way. If any citizen fell into this category by speaking or writing such, or if someone with a grudge accused you of the same, you were rounded up and imprisoned without trial, an act the US Supreme Court ruled a violation of the Constitution in 1866.
Do you agree with our current President’s policies and write or speak against the same? How would you like to be imprisoned for a few years for being “disloyal” then labeled a “traitor”. Will you not give the same Constitutional protections which you and I demand today to the citizens of 1861?
Maryland was a slave State during the war, but you failed to mention that Mr. Lincoln did not free the 80,000 slaves held in bondage within Maryland through his Emancipation Proclamation. Should you not hold Mr. Lincoln accountable for failing to do this? By your reasoning Mr. Lincoln’s memorial should be removed from Washington.
Everyone agrees that slavery was morally wrong but the argument you present would mean Americans can no longer hold the Founding Fathers in high esteem. This certainly does present an interesting dilemma.
The answer to this dilemma was given to us by Frederick Douglass some 144 years ago. Frederick stated that, it was right and proper to give honor and respect to a man based upon his contributions to a society and form of government that eventually leads to freedom to all. Frederick pointed out that America was not living up to the words of her Constitution. Frederick states that the Constitution was perfect but the men, as are all men, were not, but we should nethertheless respect them for the contributions that they help forward.
Frederick Douglass should guide us today that it is proper to give honor and respect to both those that gave us the greatest document ever written, and those that protected and upheld the same afterwards.
Your comments about the Judge failed to mention the case of Phoebe Myers. Phoebe was a free African American woman who assisted in the escape of 6-7 slaves from the farm the Judge owned. She was sentenced very harshly to many years in prison. The Judge lead a group of prominent citizens to petition the Governor for Phoebe’s pardon which the Governor granted and Phoebe was released.
All of us should exercise caution in passing moral judgements on a society long past. Today we all are disgusted by the thought of slavery and ask how a society could have allowed such a practice? However, if today many from that time could come back and see certain practices that we find acceptable, I am sure they would be equally horrified. There are practices today that many believe to be their right to exercise, others believe it to be immensely immoral, while most just accept things and move along.
So in summary and based upon the historical records in Maryland’s archives, your words above are incorrect, Judge Carmichael supported the US Constitution – not the Confederacy and Judge Carmichael was never charged as a traitor pursuant his arrest.
I also strongly disagree with the ideology that you forward – that Americans who created the US constitution or who protected the same afterwards should not be allowed honor and respect for their contributions and sacrifices.
Paul Callahan says
Dick, From the state Archives:
“…and Carmichael remained in prison until December 2, 1862, when he was released from Fort Delaware without any formal charges filed against him.”
You can not always use a single source when you conduct research. Numerous other historical texts and documents state that not only were formal charges never filed but the Judge was not even told why he was arrested.
Dan Watson says
Mssrs. Callahan and Deerin–
Respectfully, can we leave it here? Both sets of facts you recite can be–and I assume are–true. It is not either/or, but both/and. Saint or sinner is the debate you seem to want, not an argument on the facts.
The point of view one adopts says nothing at all about the long-deceased Judge Carmichael, but everything about the person regaling this 160-year old story. If you wish to say something relevant to current events, kindly take up the point directly, rather than abuse the poor Judge as a hapless tool.
Mike McConnel says
I think that was rather severe, Dan. Mike McConnel
Paul Callahan says
Dan,
It will not rest. If false statements are made they will be challenged. Dick states that the Judge was “charged as a traitor”and that is unequivocally a false statement that you give credence to in your statement above.
Many of us veterans are getting disgusted that our military history and past and present veterans are being inappropriately used as tools to support other groups political cause or agenda. That this history, grossly distorted, is being used as propaganda by others to use at their whim. That certain individuals and groups have no interest in taking basic care or diligence and seem to be perfectly willing to compromise historical integrity to support their cause.
Though the cause may be just, the inappropriate use of our military history and past veterans is not, and such will be challenged – every time. We will not go away…..
Meg says
I believe that each veteran is entitled to his or her opinion. I would venture to guess that those that are speaking on “political causes” do not view themselves as tools and are voluntarily sharing their perspective on the matter to support a cause that means a lot to them. I also believe I know which group you are referencing and the history is not being grossly distorted, what was distorted is the history that was taught with a veil of bias. No propaganda. Just facts.
Glenn Baker says
As a veteran and student of Talbot history I thank Paul for sharing his research. Just the Maryland Archives, The Official records of the Union and Confederate armies, and The Maryland Historical Society publications will take a lifetime to explore and learn the truth about what occurred in Maryland in the 1860’s.
Paul Callahan says
Thank you Glenn,
What many don’t understand, including Dan Watson, is that “History is Our Teacher”. It is as relevant today as it was then and should be preserved intact for future generations.
Matt Redman says
Carmichael was not a victim. In 1855, Carmichael’s slaves made an unsuccessful attempt to escape. He was pro-slavery. Carmichael was charged with treason because he was notoriously outspoken at a national level that Maryland should join Virginia and the South. He does not deserve praise for that.
Paul Callahan says
Matt, Please read above – no charges made. Please read about Phoebe Myers also above.
If you are using Dixon Preston’s book it has allot of inaccuracies and provides few sources. Please go to page 348 where he states his book is not for scholarly review.
Paul Callahan says
Matt,
Just to add to above, many people think that Mr. Lincoln embarked on a war over abolition. This is why there is so much confusion amongst those who choose not to understand that history. The abolition objective was not until Mr. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Before that all Northerner’s believed that war was about re-unification only. Judge Carmichael was imprisoned in 1862, well before abolition became a war objective.
The Emancipation Proclamation however, did not apply to Maryland anyway but only to the confederate States and had no impact in Maryland. An obvious proof of that is that the Federal troops that occupied Maryland during the war did not free any slaves either before or after Mr. Lincoln issued this Proclamation. So the idea that Judge Carmichael was working either for or against slavery was not even on the table when he was imprisoned.
So you know, Maryland freed their Slaves in November of 1864. Congress had the protection of slavery removed from the US Constitution through the 13th Amendment in December 1865. I hope this helps readers to better understand this terrible time in our Nation’s history.
Matt Redman says
Paul Callahan, thank you for your service. My source is the Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series) Richard B. Carmichael (1807-1884) MSA SC 3520-1934. I know that Carmichael was never officially charged with a crime but an order was given. So nonetheless he was charged with treason and that is why he was forcibly taken out of the Talbot Co. Courthouse: “He received national attention in 1862 when his outspoken pro-Southern sentiments led him to be charged with treason.” Have you contacted the Maryland State Archives to let them know that their write-up is wrong? Why are you sympathetically defending Judge Carmichael, this unworthy, pot-stirring slaver? He was on the wrong side of history–just like the Talbot County Council with regard to a certain Jim Crow statue.
Paul Callahan says
I did read that biography along with numerous other historical documents and texts concerning Judge Carmichael. Sometimes you must use more than one source. I did use several on Carmichael. I can understand the confusion sin this biography is contradictory. If you continue reading that bio you will see the following:
“…he wrote from Fort McHenry to his friend James Alfred Pearce for help. However, Pearce was near death, and Carmichael remained in prison until December 2, 1862, when he was released from Fort Delaware without any formal charges filed against him.”
I know you strongly support your cause for social justice – which the peaceful protests for such I also support. Our historical reality is that the people obtained most of our freedoms through protests (or revolution from the British) and were not given to us by our government. Our “revolutionary” founding Fathers, the abolitionist movement, the civil rights movement all contributed greatly to the freedoms in this Country, freedoms demanded by the people and not freely given by our government. Our government was set up so it would not abuse its citizens, and if it did the citizens had the right to resist. That system failed for the people of Maryland in 1861. Having said that, it is inappropriate for any person or group to violate the integrity of our military history, past veterans or to manipulate the same to support their movement.
Paul Callahan says
An yes I will contact them to relay that their biography is in error……
Adam Goodheart says
I live in the house in Centreville where Richard Bennett Carmichael was born, grew up, and had his first law practice. So you might think that, like Mr. Callahan, I’m inclined to admire him. I’m not. In fact, I find this article defending him bizarre and indeed offensive.
First of all, it’s riddled with errors: of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and, more important, history. Carmichael did not wish to convene the Legislature in 1861 simply to address “the great crisis facing our State.” Rather, he wanted it to vote for Maryland to secede. President Lincoln did not tell his commanders to “execute non-combatant civilians both within Maryland and throughout the Union.” Rather, the case that Mr. Callahan cites involves not a political dissenter, but a Confederate spy caught with stolen documents, who was court-martialed and hanged — as customary in wartime in that era.
The Judge’s beating and arrest in 1862 (when he was 54, not “old”) was unnecessarily brutal. But he wasn’t arrested simply because he didn’t “agree” with Lincoln, as Mr. Callahan suggests in a comment. Rather, it was because he was abusing his authority as a government official to actively assist an armed rebellion against the U.S. government, the same government that he had sworn to preserve, protect, and defend. In doing so, he hypocritically invoked the same Constitution that the Confederates were seeking to overthrow. I agree with President Lincoln’s opinion of Carmichael: when he first heard of the arrest a few weeks later, he wrote that “the judge was standing on the Constitution in one place, so that he could stab it in another.” (Nonetheless, Lincoln ordered that Carmichael be released if he simply took an oath of allegiance to the United States, which Carmichael apparently refused to do.)
Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus in Maryland has been fiercely debated. But let’s not forget that he was combating a massive armed rebellion by traitors who ultimately caused nearly a million American deaths and very nearly destroyed the United States.
When it came to slavery, Judge Carmichael was not simply a man of his time who can be condemned today only by those who hold him to anachronistic moral standards. His own father and grandfather had detested slavery to the point of liberating some 130 of their slaves between the 1810s and the 1830s — perhaps the largest mass emancipation in Maryland history. Richard Carmichael grew up with this example of moral courage right in front of his eyes, in his own family — and yet he became not just a slaveholder, but an outspoken defender of slaveholders’ “right” to hold human beings as property. This was as despicable by the standards of the 1860s as it is by the standards of today.
Would the Spy publish an article “in praise of” a Klansman? Judge Carmichael was no less of a white supremacist, and like most Confederates and Confederate sympathizers, his political stance was motivated largely by a desire to defend white supremacy.
Mr. Callahan’s bio says that he’s a veteran who served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. In this article, he praises those who took active part in an armed proslavery rebellion against the United States. Those traitors slaughtered over five times more U.S. military personnel than the Taliban, Viet Cong, Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Saddam Hussein combined. How can this not turn Mr. Callahan’s stomach, rather than inspire his praise?
Paul Callahan says
Most of what you have written is not supported by the document found is the State Archives. These are original source documents with the direct words of those who wrote them. I will be happy to review your sources if you provide them which may be from other texts. We must be careful in reviewing non first party sources. As Dixon J. Preston stated “history is changed by the prejudices and biases of the author”
Paul Callahan says
Mr. Goodheart,
Please review the Petition of Judge Carmichael and 48 others dated June 18, 1861. In this you will find that this petition was not to “convene” the legislature as you stated above, but for the Legislature to stay in session. The Legislature was already convened by Gov Hicks at an earlier date. Since I am looking directly at this petition this instant I don’t believe my history is “incorrect”.
Thanks
Paul Callahan says
There are some comments who question why a slave owner should be given recognition. The answer to that question lies in the teachings of Ibram Kendi and of Frederick Douglass. Please let me explain.
I read Ibram’s book out of respect for Mr. Potter who said this is important for all of us to read. Ibram tells us that everything is either racist or anti-racists – there is no middle ground. Ibram applies this to every law, custom or person. For people, he says they can switch back and forth depending upon their actions. Looking at this theory on the US Constitution I hope we can all agree that it is “anti-racist” – All men are created equal. Certainly the people then did not live up to those words. But if the US Constitution is anti-racists that means the men who created it (many were slave owners) did an anti-racist act by doing such. That also means anyone protecting the Constitution is also doing an anti-racist act. Now forward to Frederick Douglass in his Freemen’s monument speech in 1876. In that speech he describes the racist acts and thinking of Abraham Lincoln, but then he goes on to say that it is proper to give him honor due to his contributions to a society that eventually leads to freedom for all – his anti-racist acts.
If you truly research Judge Carmichael, beyond the basic bio, you will find that the reason that he was arrested was because he believed Mr. Lincoln was violating the Constitution and the Judge took actions to protect the same. Whether or not the Lincoln administration labeled him a traitor is immaterial – every oppressive regime labels those that oppose them traitors. The fact remains that the US Supreme Court ruled Mr. Lincoln had violated the Constitution with his unlawful arrests of non-combatant citizens. So the recognition for this judge would be appropriate for his attempts to protect the US Constitution – an anti-racist action.
K. Johnson says
Mr. Callahan has delivered nothing but the facts on a true Talbot County hero. Whatever his political leanings, Judge Carmichael was subjected to over-the-top treatment, whichever version you choose to believe. Imagine being a judge and being pulled off your bench by federal authorities. There was no Twitter updates then to keep you informed about what was going on….Judge Carmichael might not necessarily be a “sympathetic character” but he was treated terribly, much like the great state of Maryland was throughout the Civil War.