Leonardtown
N 38° 17.371 W 076° 38.160
18S E 356925 N 4239204
The Union Navy occupied the Maryland port of Leonardtown in 1861 searching for Confederate sympathizers.
Waymark Code: WMEG5N
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 05/25/2012
Views: 1
In April 1861 at a public meeting held at the courthouse in Leonardtown, Maryland, the citizens of St. Mary's County declared their sympathies with the South and pledged to raise $10,000 for arms and ammunition for the Confederacy.
That summer, Federal navy forces landed at the port of Leonardtown, located on an estuary of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. They occupied the courthouse and conducted house-to-house searches for any supplies and weapons meant for shipping to the Confederate army in Virginia. Suspected traitors were arrested and eventually sent to Point Lookout.
A CWDT marker stands on the courthouse grounds in front of the Old Jail which also houses the St. Mary's County Historical Society. The St. Mary's County Courthouse is located at Courthouse Dr. and Washington St. in Leonardtown. Not far from the courthouse, at the end of Washington St. is the old port, once a hotbed of spies and blockade runners, today the Leonardtown Wharf Public Park.
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