Research How many Confederates from Maryland?

[W. Caldwell-37thNC]

I've seen ranges from 3500 all the way to 23,000. Anyone have insights on this?

 

[Bruce Vail]

Look for a good estimate at the lower end of the range, if you are talking about native Marylanders who were officially enrolled in the armed forces of the CSA.

I've read some about the Maryland units deployed by the ANV -- they could never manage to fill the ranks of a single brigade, which nominally would have been 2,000 to 4,000 men.

Good reading on this subject is McHenry Howard's memoir Recollections of a Maryland Soldier. Fair warning though, Howard's book reflects the experiences of a wealthy and privileged young man, not the experience of an average working-class Marylander.

 

[leftyhunter]

I've seen ranges from 3500 all the way to 23,000. Anyone have insights on this?

You can use Dyers Compendium for Maryland CSA units but it is said that many men from Maryland enlisted in CSA Virginia Regiments.
Leftyhunter

 

[Drew]

No answer on the numbers, but you may read Henry Kid Douglas' book, I Rode with Stonewall.

Douglas was a Marylander and his book will tell you a lot about what was going on, especially with Stonewall Jackson. Good luck in your search.

 

[Stone in the wall]

Some companies served in Virginia units such as:
Maryland Guard Co B 21st Va Inf
Maryland Zouave's Co H 47th Va Inf
Griffen's Battery Stuarts horse Artillery
and others may be harder to track down.

 

[Bruce Vail]

The Wikipedia entry for the Maryland Line states there were an estimated 25,000 Marylanders in the Confederate army, although it tellingly cites no source for this info. I am on a holiday visit out of town right now, but I'll check some books about Maryland and the Civil War I have at home when I return.

 

[Bruce Vail]

No answer on the numbers, but you may read Henry Kid Douglas' book, I Rode with Stonewall.

Douglas was a Marylander and his book will tell you a lot about what was going on, especially with Stonewall Jackson. Good luck in your search.

A similar book was written by Harry Gilmor, a Marylander who served in a Virginia unit in the first half of the war. I doubt, however, that Gilmor's Four Years in the Saddle contains any reliable statistical info on Maryland enlistments.

 

[rpkennedy]

I would venture that the majority of Marylanders who fought in the Confederate armies probably enlisted in Virginia units since there were so few Maryland ones. That said, I bet that the most accurate estimate would be closer to your 3500 rather than 23,000. A nice round number which, IMHO, is reasonable would be 5000-8000.

Ryan

 

[W. Caldwell-37thNC]

I would venture that the majority of Marylanders who fought in the Confederate armies probably enlisted in Virginia units since there were so few Maryland ones. That said, I bet that the most accurate estimate would be closer to your 3500 rather than 23,000. A nice round number which, IMHO, is reasonable would be 5000-8000.

Ryan

Thanks rpkennedy.

 

[W. Caldwell-37thNC]

The Wikipedia entry for the Maryland Line states there were an estimated 25,000 Marylanders in the Confederate army, although it tellingly cites no source for this info. I am on a holiday visit out of town right now, but I'll check some books about Maryland and the Civil War I have at home when I return.

Thanks Bruce.

 

[W. Caldwell-37thNC]

Some companies served in Virginia units such as:
Maryland Guard Co B 21st Va Inf
Maryland Zouave's Co H 47th Va Inf
Griffen's Battery Stuarts horse Artillery
and others may be harder to track down.

Thanks Stone in the wall.

 

[W. Caldwell-37thNC]

No answer on the numbers, but you may read Henry Kid Douglas' book, I Rode with Stonewall.

Douglas was a Marylander and his book will tell you a lot about what was going on, especially with Stonewall Jackson. Good luck in your search.

Thanks Drew.

 

[W. Caldwell-37thNC]

You can use Dyers Compendium for Maryland CSA units but it is said that many men from Maryland enlisted in CSA Virginia Regiments.
Leftyhunter

Thanks Lefty.

 

[Lubliner]

At the beginning of the war when the Federal troops were moving through Baltimore, confederate correspondence spoke of General Steuart having nearly 10,000 Marylanders ready to form up as a militia. Most of these men joined Virginia regiments.
Lubliner.

 

[Bruce Vail]

It has been estimated that, of the state's 1860 population of 687,000, about 4,000 Marylanders traveled south to fight for the Confederacy. While the number of Marylanders in Confederate service is often reported as 20-25,000 based on an oral statement of General Cooper to General Trimble, other contemporary reports refute this number and offer more detailed estimates in the range of 3,500 (Livermore)[49]​ to just under 4,700 (McKim),[50]​ which latter number should be further reduced given that the 2nd Maryland Infantry raised in 1862 consisted largely of the same men who had served in the 1st Maryland, which mustered out after a year.-- Wiki

I think Randolph McKim has to be preferred source here because of his intense study of Maryland's role in the War.

 

[Rick Richter]

Maryland soldiers also served in multiple Maryland units, so would be double counted in the aggregate. Dan Toomey is the expert on Marylanders in the Confederate army (author of "The Civil War in Maryland," and "The War came by Train," among other books on Maryland in the Civil War). He has studied both historical and modern rosters of Confederate Maryland units, and adding an estimate of those Maryland soldiers serving in units from other states, comes up with a number between 10,000 and 11,000. This is probably the best estimate.

 

[Bruce Vail]

Maryland soldiers also served in multiple Maryland units, so would be double counted in the aggregate. Dan Toomey is the expert on Marylanders in the Confederate army (author of "The Civil War in Maryland," and "The War came by Train," among other books on Maryland in the Civil War). He has studied both historical and modern rosters of Confederate Maryland units, and adding an estimate of those Maryland soldiers serving in units from other states, comes up with a number between 10,000 and 11,000. This is probably the best estimate.

I've met Dan Toomey and have two of his Maryland Civil War books on my shelf back home. If he thinks 10,000 to 11,000 is a good estimate, then I would go with that.

 

[Stone in the wall]

A similar book was written by Harry Gilmor, a Marylander who served in a Virginia unit in the first half of the war. I doubt, however, that Gilmor's Four Years in the Saddle contains any reliable statistical info on Maryland enlistments.

Gilmor's book is a really good read, but he sure likes to blow his own horn. Should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Bruce Vail]

Gilmor's book is a really good read, but he sure likes to blow his own horn. Should be taken with a grain of salt.

Yeah, a grain of salt, or two!

Seems to me one of his motivaitons for publishing the book was to provide a defense against possible war crimes charges for the burning of Chambersburg, PA. At the time of publication in 1866, some people were still talking about bringing some sort of charges agaainst the Confederate officers responsible.

 

[Stone in the wall]

Yeah, a grain of salt, or two!

Seems to me one of his motivaitons for publishing the book was to provide a defense against possible war crimes charges for the burning of Chambersburg, PA. At the time of publication in 1866, some people were still talking about bringing some sort of charges agaainst the Confederate officers responsible.

Not sure why? Chambersburg was nothing to what Hunter and Sheridan burned in the valley.