War Along the Chesapeake

War Along the Chesapeake. A Divided Region. , Welcome to Worcester County! The Civil War intruded into quiet Eastern Shore communities, and residents of this beautiful, water-laced region faced difficult choice., In the years before the war, enslaved African Americans from Eastern Shore actively sought freedom via the Underground Railroad. Courageous "conductors" such as Eastern Shore-native Harriet Tubman, and other sympathetic residents, helped them along their hazardous way., During the conflict, hundreds of formerly enslaved and free Black men from the Eastern Shore enlisted in the U.S. Colored Troops, the units authorized in January 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. After war's end, Black veterans returned to establish towns and emancipation celebrations that continue to influence Eastern Shore culture., While some of the Eastern Shore's white residents held fast to the Union, others supported the Confederacy. Union authorities arrested newspaper publishers suspected of disloyalty. Daredevil watermen used twisting rivers and waterside town to run the Federal blockade and supply Confederate forces., Combat's devastation may have bypassed this area, but families with loyalties on both sides suffered the loss of soldier relatives on faraway battlefields and experienced the hardships of war in other ways. Enjoy the Civil War Trails markers that explain the complex impact and long shadows the conflict left on Maryland's unique, colorful Eastern shore., [Sidebar:] , Follow the red bugle to more than 1,300 Civil War Trails sites across six states. Stand in the footsteps and hear the personal stories of men and women involved in our dramatic Civil War., [Captions:] , Harriet Tubman was known as "Moses" for leading so many to freedom. (image late 1860s) NMAAHC, Library of Congress, A schooner sails by a ferry landing on the Nanticoke River. Such vessels made furtive voyages along the Eastern Shore to bring supplies to the Confederacy., A company of the 4th U.S.C.T., raised in Maryland. Courtesy Library of Congress