Helped Acquit President Andrew Johnson

At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, George Vickers opposed secession and used his influence to keep Maryland in the Union. He became a major general of the 2nd Division, Maryland Militia, and helped form the 2nd Regiment Eastern Shore Volunteer Infantry. The unit fought in the 1862 Shenandoah Valley campaign and served at home protecting the Eastern Shore from Confederate incursions.

Born in Chestertown in 1801, Vickers was admitted to the bar in 1832 and became a leading lawyer in Kent County. He served as a state senator, 1866-1867, and became a U.S. Senator in March 1868. In May 1868, he was the nineteenth man to vote "not guilty" in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. This prevented two-thirds majority needed to convict Johnson and ensure the president's acquittal by a single vote.

Some of Vickers' sons also performed military and civil service during the conflict. Benjamin C. Vickers moved to Memphis, Tennessee, shortly before the war. Much against his father's will, he joined a Confederate regiment, was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, and died days later. His body was brought to Chestertown for reburial. Lt. James M. Vickers served in the 2nd Regiment Eastern Shore Volunteer Infantry.

Harrison W. Vickers, Sr., became a prominent Kent County lawyer and politician. In front of you is the house he built in 1881.

U.S. Camp Vickers, named in honor of Gen. George Vickers, was located near here. Union soldiers were trained there late in 1861 and early in 1862.

(captions)
George Vickers (1801-1879) , educated at Washington College, was a newspaper editor, prominent Kent County lawyer, and politician who was a presidential elector in 1864 for Democrat George B. McClellan. He is buried in Chester Cemetery in Chestertown.

Harrison W. Vickers, Sr. (1845-1911), who built Lauretum, was one of George Vickers' eleven children.

Lauretum (Laurel Grove in Latin), designed by architect Edmund George Lind, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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Chestertown, First Population Center of the United States

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