City of Unrest

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which began operating in 1830, was the nation’s oldest rail line and had cemented Baltimore’s status as a major transportation hub. Its proximity to the nation’s capital meant it would be essential to Union war efforts. But Maryland was a slave state and many Baltimoreans were opposed to the war. Yet the city also was home to the country’s largest population of free Blacks, many white abolitionists, and Union supporters. The divided loyalties created a palpable tension that boiled over on April 19, 1861, when the 6th Regiment Massachusetts Militia, answering Abraham Lincoln’s call for volunteers, reached Baltimore on its way to Washington

Because no direct rail connection linked