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[467] Maryland. The President, in reply, called their attention to the fact that the capital was imminently threatened; that he was informed that Rebel batteries were being erected on the Virginia bank of the Potomac to command the passage of that river; that the Rebel Government had determined to establish forthwith its headquarters in the house where this interview was held; and that the only effect of yielding to their prayers would be the destruction of the Government as well as his own death or captivity. The Young Christians, of course, disclaimed any purpose to produce such a catastrophe; to which the President replied that their intent mattered little, since the effect of the course demanded by Baltimore could be no other than this. To a similar but more formal representation from Gov. Hicks, objecting to the passage of Northern troops across any portion of Maryland, Gov. Seward returned the following most moderate and conciliatory answer:

Department of State, April 22, 1861.
His Excellency Thos. H. Hicks, Governor of Maryland:
Sir: I have had the honor to receive your communication of this morning, in which you inform me that you have felt it to be your duty to advise the President of the United States to order elsewhere the troops then off Annapolis, and also that no more may be sent through Maryland; and that you have further suggested that Lord Lyons be requested to act as mediator between the contending parties in our country, to prevent the effusion of blood.

The President directs me to acknowledge the receipt of that communication, and to assure you that he has weighed the counsels which it contains with the respect which he habitually cherishes for the Chief Magistrates of the several States, and especially for yourself. lie regrets, as deeply as any magistrate or citizen of the country can, that demonstrations against the safety of the United States, with very extensive preparations for the effusion of blood, have made it his duty to call out the force to which you allude.

The force now sought to be brought through Maryland is intended for nothing but the defense of this capital. The President has necessarily confided the choice of the national highway which that force shall take in coming to this city to the Lieutenant-General commanding the Army of the United States, who, like his only predecessor, is not less distinguished for his humanity than for his loyalty, patriotism, and distinguished public services. The President instructs me to add that the national highway thus selected by the Lieutenant-General has been chosen by him, upon consultation with prominent magistrates and citizens of Maryland, as the one which, while a route is absolutely necessary, is furthest removed from the populous cities of the State, and with the expectation that it would, therefore, be the least objectionable one.

The President cannot but remember that there has been a time in the history of our country, when a General of the American Union, with forces designed for the defense of its Capital, was not unwelcome anywhere in the State of Maryland, and certainly not at Annapolis, then, as now, the capital of that patriotic State, and then, also, one of the capitals of the Union.

If eighty years could have obliterated all the other noble sentiments of that age in Maryland, the President would be hopeful, nevertheless, that there is one that would forever remain there and everywhere. That sentiment is that no domestic contention whatever, that may arise among the parties of this Republic, ought in any case to be referred to any foreign arbitrament — least of all to the arbitrament of an European monarchy.

I have the honor to be, with distinguished consideration, your Excellency's most obedient servant,


The spirit in which these negotiations were regarded throughout the loyal States is very fairly exhibited in the following letter:

New York, April 25, 1861.
To the President of the United States:
Sir: The people of the Free States have now been for some time cut off from communication with the capital of their country by a mob in the city of Baltimore. The troops of the General Government have been attacked and shot down by the mob in their passage through that city, in pursuance to the orders of the Government. The lines of communication have been destroyed, and the authority of the General Government has been set at defiance. This state of


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