Near Centreville in Queen Anne's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Maryland's Eastern Shore
Hundreds of Enslaved and Free Black Men Enlisted
In the years before the war, enslaved African-Americans here began escaping bondage via the Underground Railroad to the North and Canada, helped on their way by sympathetic blacks and whites and such courageous "conductors" as Harriet Tubman, an Eastern Shore native. During the war, hundreds of enslaved and free black men from the Eastern Shore enlisted in the United States Colored Troops, the black units authorized in January 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Afterward, returning black veterans established towns and emancipation celebrations that still survive today.
Some of the Shore's white residents held fast to the Union, while others supported the Confederacy. Although combat bypassed this area, families here as elsewhere suffered the loss of their men as well as the hardships of war. Newspaper publishers suspected of disloyalty to the Union were arrested. Streams and towns on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay became smugglers' havens as enterprising watermen ran the Federal blockade to supply Confederate forces. When the conflict ended, Eastern Shore residents returned to their fields and fishing vessels, and the passions of war subsided.
Please drive carefully as you visit Civil War Trails sites on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Erected by Maryland Civil War Trails.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1863.
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 39° 4.728′ N, 75° 58.75′ W. Marker was near Centreville, Maryland, in Queen Anne's County. Marker was at the intersection of Welcome Center Drive and Hayden Road, in the median on Welcome Center Drive. This marker is located at the Bay Country Welcome Center in the median of U.S. 301. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 1000 Welcome Center Drive, Centreville MD 21617, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies. War Along the Chesapeake (a few steps from this marker); Joshua Seney (approx. 2.4 miles away); Byway Destinations (approx. 3.8 miles away); Welcome to White Marsh Park (approx. 3.8 miles away); a different marker also named Byway Destinations (approx. 3.8 miles away); We Resign! (approx. 4.3 miles away); Church Hill Theatre (approx. 4.4 miles away); St. Luke’s Episcopal Parish (approx. 4.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Centreville.
More about this marker. On the lower left is a photo of a "Company of the 4th USCT, one of several infantry units formed in Maryland." In the center is a portrait of Harriet Tubman. On the right is a map of the Eastern Shore and a portrait of Frederick Douglass. On the upper right is a drawing with the caption, "The steamer Maryland was commandeered for the U.S. Army in the spring of 1861. It transported supplies and soldiers north and south." Courtesy Historical Society of Cecil Co.
Regarding Maryland's Eastern Shore. This Maryland CWT marker is replicated throughout the Bay area.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. New Marker At This Location titled "War Along the Chesapeake".
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 1, 2019
Credits. This page was last revised on January 12, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,292 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 8, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 4. submitted on March 1, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.