Page "Abraham Lincoln" Paragraph 49

Troops headed south towards Washington to protect the capital in response to Lincoln's call.

On April 19, secessionist mobs in Baltimore that controlled the rail links attacked Union troops traveling to the capital.

George William Brown, the Mayor of Baltimore, and other suspect Maryland politicians were arrested and imprisoned, without a warrant, as Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus.

John Merryman, a leader in the secessionist group in Maryland, petitioned Chief Justice Roger B. Taney to issue a writ of habeas corpus, saying holding Merryman without a hearing was unlawful.

Taney issued the writ, thereby ordering Merryman's release, but Lincoln ignored it.

Then and throughout the war, Lincoln came under heavy, often vituperative attack from antiwar Democrats, called Copperheads.