Congressman James Dixon Roman - Hagerstown, Maryland
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 38.629 W 077° 43.426
18S E 266280 N 4391771
Marker with information about a former Congressman who played an interesting role during the Civil War in Hagerstown, Maryland.
Waymark Code: WMKEVA
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 04/02/2014
Views: 7
Text of marker:
Congressman James Dixon Roman 1809 - 1867
This building was Congressman Roman's home from the time he purchased it in 1845 until his death in 1867. A prominent member of the Whig Party, Roman was elected to the House of Representatives during the 30th Congress (1847-1849). He declined nomination for election to a second term. One of the more influential members of the House, he regularly associated with many senators, including Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. He was a presidential elector in 1849 for the Taylor/Fillmore ticket, and again in 1857 for the Buchannan/Breckinridge ticket.
In the Spring of 1861, Roman served as a Maryland representative to a "Peace Convention" that was assembled at Washington's Willard Hotel in hopes of avoiding the coming Civil War through a negotiated settlement. While strongly pro-Union, he was against forcing seceding states to stay in the Union. In July, 1864, as President of the Hagerstown Bank, Roman was asked by the City to coordinate efforts to collect and pay the $20,000 ransom levied on the City by Confederate General McCausland. Seriously ill at the time, Roman walked to the Courthouse (on-half block east) and settled the payment with the Confederate leaders to save the city from threatened destruction.
Among Giants - Roman and the 30th Congress
The 30th Congress (1847-49) was one of the more contentious and important conducted in the nation's history. Great issues regarding the westward expansion of the territories, how slavery would be treated in those territories, and the controversial Mexican-American War were the primary issues of the time. At his time, the House of Representatives had its "old lions", but also served as an incubator for young leaders who would one day lead the north and south through the Civil War. Other members included:
Rep. Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia - Vice Present of the Confederacy
Rep. John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts - formerly 6th President of the United States
Rep. Abraham Lincoln of Illinois - future 16th President of the United States
Rep. Howell Cobb of Georgia - Speaker of the Provision Confederate Congress and Major General in the Confederate Army
Rep. Robert Barnwell Rhett of South Carolina - Prominent Leader of the South Carolina Secession Convention
Rep. Horace Greely of New York - Abolitionist and Editor of the New York Tribune