MARYLAND STATE ARCHIVES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MIMI CALVER 410.260.6444
LINCOLN IN ANNAPOLIS
PUBLISHED BY THE
MARYLAND STATE ARCHIVES
Annapolis, February 6, 2009 --- In honor of the
bicentennial of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln, the Maryland State
Archives has published a new booklet about Lincolns
visit to Annapolis
in February 1865. Called Lincoln in Annapolis, the booklet
was written by local author Rockford E. Toews, with an introduction by State Archivist
Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse. The booklet was made possible through grants from the
Friends of the Maryland State Archives and the City of Annapolis.
The 48-page booklet describes the circumstances of Lincolns brief visits to Annapolis
in February 1865, on his way to and from a conference in Hampton Roads, Virginia that he hoped
would bring peace to a nation torn apart by the Civil War. Lincolns decision to attend the meeting was
a spur-of-the-moment one, so the rail line that would have taken him to the
steamship wharf on the grounds of the US Naval Academy was clogged with supplies.
On his arrival in Annapolis,
the president walked from the train depot at West and Calvert Streets to the
wharf.
As he walked through the town, Lincoln did not want to draw
attention to himself or attract the attention of the General Assembly which
was, at that time, debating ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which
would abolish slavery in America. In his introduction, Dr. Papenfuse noted that
Lincolns
journey to Hampton Roads was a mission of hope, in the last desperate months
of war.
The booklet is richly illustrated with mid-19th
century photographs, maps, prints and newspaper images. It also includes a
timeline of the Civil War in Annapolis
assembled by local historian Jane W. McWilliams.
Lincoln in Annapolis is available from the Maryland
State Archives for $10/copy and for $6/copy for orders of more than ten. Please
contact Dottie Zimmerman at 410.260.6404 or at pubs@mdsa.net.
Washington's Birthday Remarks, Senator Jamie Raskin, February 16, 2009