BCPL History and Genealogy - Perry Hall - The Civil War and its Aftermath.
Skip Navigation
Graphics Version

The navigation path to this page is: Home > Web Resources > History and Genealogy > Baltimore County History > Perry Hall Area History > The Civil War and its Aftermath.

The Civil War and its Aftermath
by David Marks
Historian, Perry Hall Improvement Association

By the middle of the Nineteenth Century, Baltimore County had become a microcosm of America--sharply divided over slavery, yet reluctant to sever the Union and plunge into a catastrophic war. The county was polarized by the issue; businesses and leading politicians defended the institution as necessary for the county's economy, while religious leaders undertook a moralistic crusade to banish it forever. Perry Hall was at the center of the struggle.

The early Methodist Church was active in the effort to abolish slavery. Although Perry Hall landowners like Harry Dorsey Gough were strong supporters of Methodism throughout the region, they did not share the fervent antislavery passions of their religious leaders.

In 1798, eight landowners controlled over three hundred of the slaves in eastern Baltimore County. Harry Dorsey Gough, proprietor of Perry Hall Mansion, owned fifty-one slaves, while Charles Ridgely, another Perry Hall landholder, owned nearly two hundred slaves. Both of these men were prominent Methodists, and each contributed either land or funds for Camp Chapel Church in Perry Hall. Historians believe that Gough and Ridgely treated their slaves decently, which might explain how they were able to reconcile their contradictory Methodist and slave holding beliefs. This underscores Baltimore County's dilemma in the 1860's: people found slavery ideologically repugnant, but economically necessary.

Evidence suggests that as the Civil War approached, the number of freed slaves in Baltimore County was increasing, while the institution of slavery was losing its economic viability. The county was industrializing, and in places like Perry Hall, large farms were being replaced by smaller lots tilled by European immigrants, not slaves. With the death of Charles Ridgely and the dispersion of the Gough family, their holdings were divided up, and many have suggested that the later Gough family became active opponents of slavery.

Baltimore County was reluctant to settle the issue of slavery, with most voters basically preferring incremental, slow changes. While vocal minorities sympathized with either the South or the North, most residents simply wanted the Union restored. In the Presidential election of 1860, county voters chose John Bell, a Constitutional Unionist whose platform rested on "the Constitution, the Union, and enforcement of the laws." The winner of the election, Republican antislavery candidate Abraham Lincoln, received only 37 votes out of 7,179 cast.

Baltimore County generally avoided conflict during the Civil War, although it was the site of numerous troop movements by both sides. Union troops, for example, were stationed at Back and Gunpowder River bridges, while other units protected the railroad lines near Perry Hall in Cowenton.

Permeating the entire conflict, however, was a passionless feel to the war, with residents preferring only to end the conflict, not immediately settle the issue of slavery or dismantle the United States. Although Maryland remained in the Union, it routinely fell short of its quota of troops for the federal cause. While President Lincoln wanted 10,000 state militia to take active duty, less than twenty percent of that number reported for service. In an average month in 1864, for example, only 95 men from northeastern Baltimore County were drafted.

One of the few troop movements through Perry Hall occurred in 1864, when Major Harry Gilmor led a Confederate unit from Harford County to Towson. Gilmor's troops had disabled the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore railroad line. They ransacked a railroad car near Magnolia and captured a Union battalion led by General William Buel Franklin. The Confederate unit then headed south, encountering little resistance along the way. They traveled down Philadelphia Road, then turned east and moved along Joppa Road. On the way, they passed by Camp Chapel Church, the log cabins near Cowenton Avenue, and the village taking shape near Belair Road. When Gilmor's troops reached Towson, they galloped into town expecting resistance. None was found; the Confederates marched to Ady's Hotel, set their feet up on the tables, and enjoyed a round of ale!

The Civil War ended the domination of the county by large landowners and wealthy agricultural interests. Industrialization and immigration changed places like Perry Hall, where the Gough plantation was carved up into smaller farms and lots. "Perry Hall," that antebellum estate of the colonial era, became a thriving center of commerce, activity, and change, although it would retain a small-town identity until well after the Second World War.

This page is provided by the Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Maryland USA.
The text version of this page was last revised on 26 August 2008.
The graphics version of this page was last revised on 26 August 2008.
You are welcome to provide feedback.