History of Baltimore, Maryland, from its founding as a town to the current year, 1729-1898, including its early settlement and development; a description of its historic and interesting localities; political, military, civil, and religious statistcs; biographies of representative citizens, etc., etc, Part 62

Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1344

USA > Maryland > Baltimore County > Baltimore City > History of Baltimore, Maryland, from its founding as a town to the current year, 1729-1898, including its early settlement and development; a description of its historic and interesting localities; political, military, civil, and religious statistcs; biographies of representative citizens, etc., etc > Part 62

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There are several small systems of rail- ways on the Eastern Shore of Maryland that connect by water lines centering at Baltimore. These roads give an outlet at a small expense to the Delaware and Mary- land seashore, while the great rival lines to the north from Baltimore through Phila- delphia give direct connections to all the principal seashore points on the New Jer- sey coast. As at Baltimore the finest sail

vessels were developed in the "clipper," s) Baltimore took the lead in developing the tram road and followed it up in changing the tram into a street railway; as the first gas works in the United States were built in Baltimore: as the original telegraph line was built and operated between Baltimore and Washington, so, too, was she active in adapting for intermural purposes improved methods of transportation. It is a little singular that although the original street railway was chartered prior to the Civil War, viz .: On March 28, 1859, the incor- porators being well-known and prominent business men of Baltimore and Philadel- phia, viz .: Henry Tyson, John W. Wal- ker, Wm. Chestnut, A. W. Markley, John W. Randolph, Conrad S. Grove, Jonathan Brock, Wm. S. Travers, Robert Cathcart, Joshua B. Sumwalt, and Wm. D. Goey. So jealously did the State guard what they considered the vested rights of its citizens, that it was incorporated on the franchise that before the street railway commenced operations they should purchase the vari- ous omnibus lines then running over the various streets upon which the railway tracks were to be laid. The owners of these omnibus routes were James Mitchell, Cole- man & Bailey, and Wm. Robertson. Their lines were valued and paid for in cash. Nothing was practically done by citizens towards the building of the line for many years, and this charter which is now part of the Baltimore City Passenger Railway, was taken up and the line built by capital from Harrisburg, Pa. These capitalists, after demonstrating its success, were satis- fied with moderate profits and sold out to local capitalists. The returns proved so handsome, many hundred per cent., that

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

very soon other lines of street railway were projected and proved remunerative to the capital invested. It was not, however, un- til Mr. T. Edwin Hambleton, of the bank- ing house of John A. Hambleton & Co., took hold of the Druid Hill Line that rapid transit was given to the city of Baltimore. Through the efforts of Mr. Hambleton, capital was procured to introduce the cable system which had been operated for several years in San Francisco and other western cities to such advantage. Remarkable suc- cesses attended this venutre and an impetus was given to building operations at points that were considered almost inaccessible on account of the elevations, which this line overcame. Shortly after this the first elec- tric line ever started or operated in the country with the use of storage batteries, was operated in Baltimore, and the first trolley line that, I believe, was ever erected in the country, was erected out along the Huntingdon avenue road, an experimental line about a mile in length.

The introduction of electricity extensively as a motor was due to Mr. Nelson Perin, a gentleman from Cincinnati, who came to Baltimore and secured control of one of the horse lines and changed the motive power from horse to electric trolley. The intro- duction of the trolley gave to Baltimore an impetus the beneficial effects of which she is already feeling, although the adoption of the trolley dates from very recent years. The suburbs of Baltimore have long been celebrated and recognized for their beauty, but owing to the undulating nature of the country, access to them was difficult and expensive. Electricity has practically level- ed the hills, and nowhere in the United States will you find better evidences of

domestic comforts than in the suburban homes of the city of Baltimore.

Allusion has been made previously to the freedom from taxation which many of the railroads centering at Baltimore have under their charters. This, in a great measure, has very seriously injured the value of warehouse property in the city belonging to individuals, making taxes heavier on private realty, at the same time lessening the value of rentals. Another factor operating against the individual warehouse men is the competition between the various railroads and transportation companies, which has given rise to practically giving free storage on much of the freight that they handle. This freedom from taxation, while undoubtedly an aid to the railroads at their inception, was certainly never in- tended or contemplated by the Legislators in granting charters, as conveying a right to railroads to act as warehouse men. The railroad companies have erected at termi- nals splendid warehouses and facilities for the handling of tobacco, flour and general merchandise. They have also erected ele- vators with a capacity of nearly six million bushels of grain, capable of handling in and out over 1,000 cars per day, and this has made Baltimore the leading export city for grain on the Atlantic coast.

While it is extremely gratifying to see these facilities for grain shipment, it would be much better for the general interests of the country at large, for shipping mer- chants and transportation companies, if the grain had been advanced in manufacturing in this country and shipped in the nature of flour, meal, etc. We in this country would not only have the profits from the manufac- turing, but the offal products for feeding

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

cattle, and a more stable foreign market. By the introduction of floats and scows, all points in the harbor of Baltimore are reach- ed at very moderate cost, making this city a very cheap port for the handling of freight destined to foreign markets.

Another industry that railways have built up and fostered has been the shipment of cattle. sheep and horses to Great Britain and the Continent. This business now ag- gregates over 100,000 head per annum. The cattle shipped from Baltimore are the finely bred cattle from southwestern Vir- ginia, Ohio and Kentucky, and bring the very highest prices in the English market ; while the horses are used on the Continent for military purposes. I would direct at- tention here to an extract from the 16th Annual Report of the Northern Central Railway, made by its then president, J. D. Cameron, as exhibiting the plan and policy of that company. After referring to the plans by which the Northern Central Rail- road, chartered in 1829, built to York in 1838, extended to Harrisburg in 1851, sub- sequently to Sunbury in 1854, obtaining control of the lines north of Williamsport to Canandaigua in 1863, pursuing a steady uniform policy of reaching the anthracite coal fields of Central Pennsylvania, and an outlet to the Great Lakes, and showing that in the year previous to his report that 42 per cent. of the imports of the city of Balti- more had been carried to the West and North by the Northern Central Railway. He then says: "Our experience has tauglit us that trade can be increased by a judicious reduction of tolls, and that when the in- creases established, that road which adopts and adheres to a liberal policy with its cus- tomers, can secure its share of traffic."

It therefore rests with the merchants of Baltimore whether they will maintain the advantages which she possesses from her geographical position, in which transporta- tion companies centering at Baltimore are ready to assist in developing and giving outlets for any and all business offered.

The Baltimore and Ohio management had, through the State of Maryland and City of Baltimore having a stock owner- ship in their company, so thoroughly in- trenched themselves, that it was considered almost an impossibility for a rival corpora- tion to secure a footing so as to compete successfully for an outlet south to the city of Washington, the capital of the Nation. For seventeen years they prevented the Northern Central from getting an outlet at tide-water after that corporation had reached the great anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania, and established connections with the West and North.

The Civil War found the cities of Balti- more and Washington connected by a single-track road, almost destitute of sid- ings, totally inadequate to handle the busi- ness thrust upon it.

It was here that the almost superhuman abilities of a number of gentlemen were shown. I refer to Col. Thomas A. Scott, Assitant Secretary of War; Gen. Herman Haupt, J. H. Devereaux, Adnah Anderson, W. Prescott Smith, Anson Stager, David Brooks, and Samuel H. Shoemaker; with the exception of Devereaux, Anderson and Smith, they were all Pennsylvania Railroad men or affiliated with the system. With Colonel Scott as the presiding genius the United States Military Railway organiza- tion was effected and placed in charge of Gen. Herman Haupt, with Devereaux and

Othiswola

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

Anderson as assistants. W. Prescott Smith had charge of N. Y. & Washington Air Line, and was general superintendent of the B. & O. R. R. General Stager and Colonel Brooks had charge of the telegraphi lines, and Mr. Shoemaker of the express.

The effect was shortly apparent-order came out of chaos. The wonderful ability of Haupt, seconded by his assistants, in utilizing the resources of the country and keeping up the supplies needed by the army, won the admiration of the world.

But the crowning achievement was when the President and Secretary of War asked Colonel Scott how long it would take to move two army corps (80,000 men) and equipment from the East to the operations in the West, where troops were needed. The modest reply of Colonel Scott was he would place them in Tennessee in ten days, but "They, the troops, must be moved without military interference with my orders." The troops were moved without accident and in the time.

One amusing incident of this movement is worth relating. General -- , ac- customed to the ordinary leisurely move- ment of troops, concluded to spend a few days in Washington, and ordered his chief of staff to report by wire the progress of his command. Telegram No. I came from Martinsburg, 10 a. m .; No. 2 from Cum- berland, 2 p. m., and No. 3 from Grafton, 4 p. m., when the General considering pro- gress was too fast, wired from Washington to hold his command at Bellaire. Upon which Gen. Anson Stager promptly arrest- ed him and sent him to Louisville, Ky., un- der arrest, where he was released and sent forward with his command.

During the Civil War, or just about its

close, some parties in the southern coun- ties of Maryland secured a charter for a railroad from Baltimore to Pope's Creek, and a branch to the city of Washington. This was the Baltimore and Potomac, which was secured by the Pennsylvania Railroad system, and was built under the management of the late J. N. DuBarry and Gov. Oden Bowie. The resources of this line and its business has been carefully developed under the management of Mr. Geo. C. Wilkins, the General Agent of the Pennsylvania Company at Baltimore, to whose untiring energy and business ken much of the success of the company is due. Immediately on opening the B. & P., fares between Baltimore and Washington drop- ped from 5 cents per mile to 23 cents per mile, and in 1897 both roads for two days in each week issued round-trip excursion tickets at about 14 cents per mile, and both companies claimed to have been satisfied with the results and the earnings.

To the lovers of the picturesque, the little Narrow Gauge Road, "The Milky Way" (Baltimore and Lehigh), presents many at- tractions. At Loch Raven, about sixteen miles out from Baltimore on the Gunpow- der, will be found the location of the power house, reservoir, etc., from which the city of Baltimore derives its water supply.

About ten miles beyond is the wonderful geological formation, "The Rocks of Deer Creek." At this point most of the flint used in the New Jersey, Ohio and Missouri potteries is found. At Delta, partly in Pennsylvania and partly in Mary- land, is found the celebrated "Peach Bot- tom Slate," that finds a market wherever slate is used for roofing purposes.

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

In the streams adjacent to this road are found blooming in season the beautiful rhododendron (wild) and ferns of every variety.

To those who admire scenery and can spare a few days, the Pennsylvania lines up the Susquehanna from Baltimore via Philadelphia to Columbia and Harrisburg will repay them. In the month of August the sunset view along the river front at Harrisburg is one that pleases the artist's eye. Before you is spread the beautiful Susquehanna, dotted with green covered isles, while to the west the sun is setting in

the Blue Ridge Mountain Gap, through which the river has broken its way to the sea. Each spray of water is capped with ambient tints, while the dark greens of the mountains form a back gound in bold con- trast to the fleecy colored clouds of heaven and the rippling water of the river. Our partiality to the Susquehanna region must not permit us to overlook the scenery along the Baltimore and Ohio, about Harper's Ferry on the Potomac, nor the magnificent mountain and historic country reached by the Western Maryland at and around High Rock, Antietam and Gettysburg.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE MONUMENTS OF BALTIMORE. THE WASHINGTON. THE BATTLE. THE MONUMENT AT THE ADVANCED POSITION OF THE AMERICANS

AT NORTH POINT. THE ODD FELLOWS MONUMENT TO

WILDEY. THE COLUMBUS MONUMENT.

By WILLIAM M. MARINE.

When there were but two shafts erected within the limits of Baltimore-one to George Washington and the other to com- memorate the battle of North Point and the defense of Fort McHenry-the place was called the Monumental City, a name which it has retained. Since then the mon- ument to Wells and McComas, two youths who, by some reports, are credited with having shot and killed General Ross, and one to Thomas Wildey, the father of Odd Fellowship in America, have been erected. A third stands on the breastworks of Gen- eral Benjamin Butler's encampment, built on Federal Hill in 1861. All that need be said about it is, that it replaces a tablet to the memory of Mayor Armistead, which once stood in the City Spring, on North Calvert street. The tablet was permitted to go to decay and finally, without official knowledge, was carted away as rubbish. The monument on Federal Hill was orig- inally located on Eutaw Place, but the pro- test of the citizens of that locality against its continuance there caused it to be placed in its present position, the objection of the residents being that its diminutive size did not accord with its pretentious surround- ings.

The Odd Fellows have erected to James L. Ridgely a bronze statue in Harlem Square. The work is by an authoress who resides in Kentucky, and it is mounted on a pedestal high up in the air, so that a vis- itor cannot scan the features of Mr. Ridge- ly's face. Other statues are those to George Peabody and Chief Justice Taney in Wash- ington Square.

In 1809 John Canegys, James A. Bu- chanan, David Winchester and other prom- inent citizens were authorized by the Leg- islature to raise the sum of one hundred thousand dollars to erect the monument to Gen. George Washington.

It was intended to place the Washington Monument in the present Battle Monument Square, but the securing of the right to do so was neglected, and after the War of 1812 the people were so grateful that their city was saved from Britain's clutches that the square was made the site of the Battle Monument. Howard, a soldier of the Rev- olution, presented to the Washington Mon- ument Association the site on which that monument stands.

The laying of the corner-stone took place on the 4th day of July, 1815, at noon. The number present was in the neighborhood

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

of thirty thousand persons. People of dis- tinction, civil and military, were there. The corner-stone was laid by the Masons; na- tional airs were sung, and a salute of thirty- nine guns was fired, signifying that that number of years had passed since the Declaration of Independence gave to the world a new nation. James A. Buchanan, president of the managers, made an ad- dress, and Bishop Kemp offered a prayer. When speech-making was ended Mr. Mills, the architect; William Stewart, who com- manded a regiment at Fort McHenry dur- ing the bombardment, and Thomas Tow- son, masons, placed the corner-stone in po- sition. In the stone was deposited a copper plate and on one of its sides was engraved, "On the 4th day of July, A. D. 1815, was laid this Foundation Stone of a monument to be erected to the memory of George Washington." On the reverse side were the names of the managers, twenty-three persons in all, that of the secretary and Robert Mills, architect, with this further mention: "The site presented by John Eager Howard, Esqr. Edward Johnson, Mayor of the City." After the Masonic ceremonies incident to such an occasion were completed Mr. Buchanan addressed to Mr. Mills some words of patriotism. Mr. Mills responded in a similar vein. Rev. Dr. Inglis offered up a prayer and pro- nounced the benediction. Music was ren- dered and a salute of one hundred guns was fired, "Yankee Doodle" being played by the bands while the salute was in progress. A line of infantry discharged three volleys at the close of the day's exercises, and in the evening the sky was lighted up by rock- ets from Fort McHenry.

On the 25th of November, 1829, the com-

pletion of the monument was announced, and the noble Doric column, which rises to an elevation of two hundred and eighty feet above tide water, proclaimed to the world the fame of Washington. It was the first monument erected to his memory; others have since followed, but none have sur- passed it in beauty. It came near being spoiled, for the architect contemplated iron balconies, which the lack of funds forbade. The proceeds of licensed lotteries were used in its construction and it was provided that when finished it should be the property of the State.

The statue on the summit of the monu- ment is of white marble, which was quar- ried on the York road. Mrs. F. T. D. Tay- lor made a present of it to the managers. The statue is sixteen feet high and in three several pieces, each block when chiseled and polished weighing five and a half tons. Henry Cancici, an Italian, was the artist whose chisel gave shape to the statue of the Father of his Country, who is represented in the attitude of resigning his commission as commander-in-chief of the army.

The following inscriptions appear on the base of the monument in iron letters. Over each of the four doors, "To George Wash- ington, by the State of Maryland." On the north side of the monument is "Yorktown, October 19, 1781. Trenton, December 26, 1776." On the south side is "Born Febru- ary 22, 1732; died December 14, 1779." On the east side is "Commission resigned at Annapolis, December 23, 1783." "Com- mander-in-chief of the American Army, June 15, 1775." On the west side is "Re- tired to Mount Vernon, March 4, 1797." "President oi the United States, March 4, 1789."

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

During the British investment of Balti- more the administration of the affairs of the city was in the hands of a Committee of Vigilance and Safety, composed of the ablest and most influential of its citizens.

It was this committee which gave re- newed impetus to the movement after the war to erect a monument to the citizen sol- diers of Baltimore, who saved it from their city desolation. In consequence of the en- ergy displayed by the committee, on the 12th of September, 1815, the corner-stone of the monument was placed in position in the square. The laying of that stone was preceded by a procession, the line of which was formed on East Baltimore street. The customary and suggestive funeral car was on hand, on the top of which was to be seen curiously exhibited a plan of the monu- ment, designed by Maximilian Godefray, and executed by John Finley and Rem- brandt Peale. At the square select and en- trancing music was rendered by a martial band. Bishop Kemp, of the Episcopal Church, offered prayer. Upon its conclu- sion the architect supervised the laying of the corner-stone in the presence of Gen- eral Smith, General Stricker, Colonel Armi- stead and the Mayor.

The following articles were placed in the corner-stone: A subscription book in which was recorded the names of those who had contributed toward the erection of the mon- ument; the daily newspapers of the city and several pieces of silver, gold and copper coins, with a copper plate having upon it this inscription:

September XII. A. D. MDCCCXV. In the XL year of Independence. James Madison being President of the U. S.

To the memory of the brave defenders of this city, who gloriously fell in the Battle at North

Point on XII September, 1814,

And at the bombardment of Fort McHenry on the the XIII of the same month : Edward Johnson, Mayor of the City.

Major General Samuel Smith, Brig .- Gen. John Stricker and Lieut. Col G Armistead of the U S Artillery,

Laid the corner stone of this Monument of public gratitude and the deliverance of this City. Raised by the munificence of the citizens of Balti- more, and under the superintendence of the Committee of Vigilance and Safety.

J. Maximilian M. Godfroy. Architect ; J. G. Neale, S Baughman, and E Hare, stone cutters ; W. Atley, stone mason.

The Rev. Dr. Inglis, a prominent Pres- byterian clergyman, delivered the oration; at its conclusion the Federal artillery from Fort McHenry fired a salute and the cere- monial proceedings were at an end.

During the period occupied in the mov- ing of the procession minute guns were fired and muffled church bells were rung, business was closed and every one was in- terested in what was taking place. It had been but a short while since the British had threatened to make Baltimore feel the sting of their humiliation, by selecting it for their winter quarters. The people of that day felt "a public gratitude" to the defenders and styled their achievements a "deliver- ance of the city."

There appears on the monument this in- scription :

Battle of North Point

12th of September, A. D. 1814, and of the Inde . pendence of the United States the thirty ninth. Bombardment of Fort McHenry. September 13th, A. D. 1814. John Lowery Donaldson Adjutant 27th Regiment. Gregorius Andre, Lieut. Ist Rifle Battalion. Levi Claggett, 3d Lieut. in Nicholson's Artillerists. G Jenkins, H G McComas, D Wells,

J Richardson, J Burneston, R K Cooksey,

W Alexander, G Fallier, J Wallack,

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

T V Buston,

J Jephson,

J C Byrd,

D Howard,

E Marnott,

W Ways,

H Marriott of John,

J Dunn,

C Bell,

J Armstrong,

P Byard,

J Clemm,

M Desk,

B Reynolds,

T Garrett,

J Craig,

J Gregg,

J Merriken,

R Neal,

A Randall,

C Cox,

J Evans,

J H Cox,

U Prosser,

J Haubert,

J Wolf,

B Bond.

D Davis,

The square in which the monument is lo- cated is a hallowed one. From time im- memorial it was a tribune of the people, where their political assemblages were held. The survivors of the defense of Baltimore, on the anniversary of their battle, with cockades on their hats and crape on their arms, marched round the monument with uncovered heads. The last to honor the custom was James Morford; he was too feeble to walk and was driven round it in a hack, accompanied by Mr. Todd Hall and William M. Marine, the last named person for a great number of years orator of the Association of Defenders. When Mr. Morford died it was supposed he was the final living member of the association; recently that assumption has been discov- ered to be incorrect. There was until lately living, and may be surviving at this writ- ing, Elisha Glenn, in Newark, N. J., over one hundred years of age, and John Lam- berson, ninety-six years of age, residing in Baltimore, and two in Texis-Jarett Carl, one hundred and two, and Joseph Coffman, ninety-six years of age.

Prior to 1850 a military body existed in Baltimore known as the Wells and Mc- Comas Riflemen. The last drill room oc- cupied by them as a military company was the third story in the building on the south- east corner of Gay and Front streets. They inaugurated a movement to erect a monu-

ment to their namesakes. It passed through many vicissitudes; finally on the 13th day of September, 1858, a movement was made in fulfillment of the program for the monument. The bodies of Wells and Mc- Comas were originally buried in the Metho- dist graveyard where the Johns Hopkins Hospital fronts on Broadway. From there they were removed to Greenmount Ceme- tery. On the day mentioned they were finally interred in Ashland Square, where a plain, unpretentious shaft was subse- quently placed over their graves. The in- scriptions relate to their names, births and their having been killed in battle.

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Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n Publication date: 1898 Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1344

Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1344