Couneil to Gentlemen, May 9, 1861

Near the hour of 12 p. m. on Friday, the 19th April, the day on which the collision with the Massachusetts troops occurred, I received intelligence that the president of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad Company had sent a dispatch to a gentleman here that additional troops would pass through Baltimore on their way to the capital.

I immediately sent to the president of the police board the intelligence referred to, and called at the residence of his honor Mayor Brown, to whom I also communicated the information which I had received.

The mayor immediately had an interview with the governor, who was then staying at his (mayor’s) house, and afterwards invited me to accompany him to the chamber of his excellency, to whom I communicated the information of the purposed coming of the troops.

A general conversation then ensued, in which it was agreed to by all present that any attempt to pass troops through the city, in the then excited condition of the public mind, would lead to the most fearful consequences, and that any such passage must be prevented or delayed. The governor fully accorded in these views.

The conversation resulted in the governor’s distinctly and unequivocally consenting, in response to the direct question put to him by the mayor, that the bridges on the roads by which the troops were expected to come should be destroyed as the only means of averting the consequences referred to of their coming at that time.

BALTIMORE, May 9, 1861.

About 12 o’clock on the night of Friday, 19th April last, I was present when aconversation took place between Governor Hicks and my brother, the mayor of Baltimore, in reference to the best course to be pursued, by which a repetition of the troubles which had occurred on that day could be prevented. It was represented to them by Marshal Kane that troops from the North were on their way to Baltimore, and might by the following morning reach the city. ; :

The destruction of the bridges on the Northern Central and the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroads was, in the opinion of my brother, the best and most effective method to obstruct their progress. In this opinion Governor Hicks fully concurred. When asked by my brother whether or not he gave his consent to the measure, the governor expressed a desire for time for reflection. Being reminded by those present of the lateness of the hour, and the necessity for prompt action, my brother again earnestly appealed to Governor Hicks and asked him for his consent. Governor Hicks’ answer was, in substance, although I may not use his exact words, “‘ I see nothing else to be done.” ” But, sir,” said my brother, “I cannot act without your consent; do you give it?” The governor’s reply was distinctly given in the affirmative.

FREDERICK, Mp., May 10 [?], 1861.

DEAR Sir: As reference has been made by his honor the mayor of Baltimore City to my knowledge of the facts connected with the interview between him.and the governor of Maryland on the night of the 19th ultimo, it gives me pleasure to furnish the desired statement.

I was present between 11 and 12 o’clock p. m. on Friday, the 19th of April, at the residence of a prominent citizen of Baltimore when Marshal Kane, who was one of the company, received information by one of his officers that a telegram had been sent by the president of the railroad company at Philadelphia, announcing the approach of troops to Baltimore. It was the spontaneous opinion of all present that, in the terribly excited condition of the public mind, an attempt to pass troops through the city would inevitably lead to a bloody collision, and perhaps to other very serious consequences. It was therefore proposed to repair at once to the office of the marshal of police, and to send immediately for the mayor and governor.

It was supposed at the time that Governor Hicks was stopping at the Fountain Hotel. Marshal Kane asked me to accompany him to Mayor Brown’s house, and the other gentlemen proceeded to the marshal’s office. Marshal Kane and I accordingly went to the mayor’s residence, and were admitted by his brother, who said that the mayor had retired. In a few moments the mayor came down to the parlor, when Marshal Kane stated to him the substance of the information received, and reminded him of the excited condition of the city, which rendered it imperatively necessary to adopt some prompt and efficient measures to delay the advent of the troops, so as to give time for the Federal Government to be correctly apprised of the state of affairs, and to arrest the threatened danger. Ifor that purpose the partial destruction of the bridges was suggested. Mayor Brown immediately assented to the suggestion as one of absolute necessity, but said that as mayor of the city his jurisdiction terminated with its corporate limits, and that consequently he could not assume to exercise powers beyond those limits. The mayor added, “The governor, however, is here, and I will go up and see him.” In a few moments he returned and said that Governor Hicks was not well and would therefore receive us in his room. Immediately upon entering the room Mayor Brown and Marshal Kane gave to Governor Hicks a full statement of the matter and solicited his authority to destroy the bridges. Governor Hicks replied that it was a serious affair to undertake to destroy the bridges, and he expressed some doubt as to his authority to give such an order. It was urged in reply that it was a case of absolute self-preservation; that in three or four hours’ time a large body of troops would probably be in the city inflamed with passionate resentment against the people of Baltimore for the assault made on their comrades in the Pratt-street encounter, afd that as the city was filled with hundreds of excited men, armed to the teeth, and determined to resist the passage of troops, a fearful slaughter must necessarily ensue, and the safety of the city itself be put in peril, unless by the destruction of the bridges time could be gained to avoid the difficulty by peaceable arrangement of some sort. Governor Hicks fully and most distinctly assented to all this, and said, ” Well, I suppose it must be done,” or words of precisely that import, to which the mayor replied, substantially, ”Governor, I have no authority to act beyond the city limits, and can do nothing in this matter except by your direction ; shall the bridges be destroyed?” Governer Hicks emphatically and distinctly replied in the affirmative. It is absolutely impossible for any misapprehension to exist on this point.

The mayor, Marshal Kane, and I then proceeded to the marshal’s office, where we found several highly respectable citizens gathered, to whom the mayor and marshal gave a statement of their interview with the ‘ governor. The mayor then issued written orders for the destruction of the bridges. The next morning I learned by the newspaper extras that the orders had been carried into effect.

Respectfully, yours, &c.,