John Leeds Barroll

John Leeds Barroll (HM1F1)

Location: Chestertown, MD 21620 Kent County
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Country: United States of America
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N 39° 12.544', W 76° 3.921'

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Inscription

Publisher Accused of Treason and Exiled

John Leeds Barroll first walked these courthouse grounds, as a prominent Kent County lawyer before becoming a newspaper publisher. He was admitted to the bar in 1852 and served as the county State's Attorney, 1854-1856, then founded the Kent Conservator in 1859. Federal officials deemed treasonous an 1863 article reprinted in Barroll's newspaper from the St. Mary's Beacon, of Leonardtown, Md. Gen. Robert C. Schenck ordered a company of the 2nd Regiment Eastern Shore Volunteer Infantry to Chestertown, and Barroll was arrested on April 17. James L. Downs, the author of the original article, was arrested at the same time. In a May 5 letter to the Richmond Enquirer, Barroll and Downs described being held at Baltimore's Fort McHenry and raged about their treatment. "We had not been allowed even a form of a trial, nor officially notified of the charges against us," they wrote.

The pair were moved to Harpers Ferry and then marched to Winchester, Va., and finally to Newtown, Va. There they were released with a note that read "Guards pass James L. Downs and J. Leeds Barroll through the Federal lines, never again to return, under the penalty of being treated as spies." Barroll eventually returned to Chestertown, however, and became involved in local politics, being elected to the Chestertown Town Commission in June 1866. He died an untimely death at age 36, on Aug. 6, 1866. His death notice reported that he went to bed that evening "in usual health," and was found dead the next morning.
Details
HM NumberHM1F1
Series This marker is part of the Maryland Civil War Trails series
Tags
Marker Condition
9 out of 10 (1 reports)
Date Added Sunday, October 5th, 2014 at 3:21am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Photo Credits: [1] MARSHALL BARROLL  
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 408020 N 4340517
Decimal Degrees39.20906667, -76.06535000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 12.544', W 76° 3.921'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 12' 32.64" N, 76° 3' 55.26" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)410, 443
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 100-198 Court St, Chestertown MD 21620, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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I Saw The Marker

Marker still in excellent condition and legible.
Marshall M Barroll, (descendant) March 2019.

Mar 29, 2019 at 5:39pm PDT by kc135a

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