Conflicting Loyalties
Of the four presidential candidates in 1860, Abraham Lincoln received only 50 of Montgomery County's 2429 votes. Some of Rockville's 365 residents surrendered government jobs in Washington, refusing to sign the Oath of Loyalty, rather than face their neighbors' sanction. Vocal supporters championed both sides, and although many families had Southern connections, men enlisted in the U.S. Army as well as the Confederate Service.When Lincoln issued his first call for militia in April 1861, Maryland failed to fill its quota of 3,123 men. In May, after quotas increased, Maryland had only 9,355 of the 15,578 needed. Many recruits agreed only to defend against Confederate invasion. Altogether, some 46,638 Marylanders served both armies; of them, 909 were killed in action, 1160 died of disease, 647 succumbed while prisoners of war, and 266 died accidentally or from other causes.Rockville residents Lawerence Dawson and John H. Higgins served as Union enrollment officers. Richard M. Williams was clerk, and John DeSellum drew draftees' names. In fall 1862, Dr. Edward E. Stonestreet, whose Rockville office stands before you, was commissioned the Montgomery County Examining Surgeon for the Union army. While examining draftees in Washington, D.C., he issued 233 waivers for service including one for a sharpshooter with "vision problems." Some evaded the draft by paying $300 commutation or hiring substitutes to enlist for three years—often a slave or someone from among recent immigrants and the poor. Free blacks and slaves served in both armies, and Maryland Governor Thomas Hicks complained of Union recruiters who enticed slaves to leave their owners.| HM Number | HM5XK |
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| Series | This marker is part of the Maryland Civil War Trails series |
| Tags | |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Sunday, October 26th, 2014 at 2:49pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 18S E 313565 N 4328396 |
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| Decimal Degrees | 39.08478333, -77.15550000 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 39° 5.087', W 77° 9.33' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 39° 5' 5.22" N, 77° 9' 19.80" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 240, 301, 410, 202 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 103 W Montgomery Ave, Rockville MD 20850, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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