A military genius : $b Life of Anna Ella Carroll of MarylandBlackwell, Sarah Ellen
History
A military genius : $b Life of Anna Ella Carroll of Maryland
Blackwell, Sarah Ellen
Carroll, Anna Ella, 1815-1894; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Well might Governor Hicks say to her again and again, as in a letter
to her in 1863: "Your moral and material support I shall never forget
in that trying ordeal, such as no other man in this country ever went
through."
A little further on, Governor Hicks writes as follows:
ANNAPOLIS, Md., _December 17, 1861_.
My Dear Miss Carroll:
In the hurry and excitement incident to closing my official
relations to the State of Maryland I cannot find fitting words
to express my high sense of gratitude to you for the kind and
feeling manner in which you express your approval of my whole
term of service in doing all in my power to uphold the honor and
dignity of the State; but especially do I thank you for the
personal aid you rendered me in the last part of my arduous
duties.
When all was dark and dreadful for Maryland's future, when the
waves of secession were beating furiously upon your frail
executive, borne down with private as well as public grief, you
stood nobly by and watched the storm and skillfully helped to
work the ship, until, thank God, helmsmen and crew were safe in
port.
* * * * *
With great regard, I have the honor to be ever your obedient
friend and servant.
T. H. HICKS.
Thus it was that, supported by Miss Carroll, this high-minded and
sorely tried man held fast to the end. He went into the struggle a
rich man, in a position of worldly honor and prosperity. He came out
of it reduced in prosperity, having, like other faithful Southern
Unionists, lost his worldly possessions in that great upheaval.
Thenceforth he lived, and he died, comparatively a poor man, but one
of the noble and faithful who had acted an immortal part in the
salvation of his country. All honor to brave and true-hearted Governor
Hicks of Maryland!
Thus by her powerful advocacy and influence Miss Carroll largely
contributed to securing the State of Maryland to the Union and saving
the National Capital, and her writings also had a great effect upon
the border States. Besides her numerous letters and newspaper
articles, she began writing and publishing, at her own expense, a
remarkable series of war pamphlets, which speedily became an important
element in the guidance of the country.
Senator John C. Breckenridge, in the July Congress of 1861, made a
notable secession speech. Miss Carroll replied to this in a pamphlet
containing such clear and powerful arguments that the War Department
circulated a large edition, and requested her to write on other
important points then being discussed with great diversity of opinion.
The following letters give some indication of the timely nature and
value of the Breckenridge pamphlet:
My Dear Miss Carroll:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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