APPOINTMENT OF BENJAMIN F. BROWN, ESQ., OF FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND, AS PAYMASTER OF THE 16th REGIMENT, MARYLAND MILITIA, JAN. 9, 1861

NP, 1861. A partly printed document, completed in manuscript, 24 x 39 cm., text enclosed in a decorative border, small vignette of the Maryland coat of arms at the head of the document. Signed in ink by Governor Thos. H. Hick, Secretary of State James R. Partridge, and Adjutant General Nicholas Brewer (of Jno.). Old fold lines (tender), with small breaks at folds, remains of old repairs to folds on verso; faint blind stamp of the Great Seal of Maryland above Partridge's signature.
The document reads, in part: "The State of Maryland, to [Benjamin F. Brown, Esq.] of [Frederick] County, Esquire: Greeting: Be it known, that reposing especial trust and (truncated) confidence in your Fidelity, Courage, Good Conduct, and attachment to the State of Maryland, and the United States, you are by these Presents constituted [Paymaster of the 16th Regiment M.M.]...." On the verso is Brown's signed oath to support the U.S. and Maryland constitutions and to properly execute his office. Certified by Justice of the Peace W. Mahony, and signed by him on Jan. 18, 1861. Gov. Thomas Hicks resisted the call for a special legislative session which might have brought about a vote for secession after Lincoln's election. He is quoted in the New York Times on Jan. 7, 1861: "But should I be compelled to witness the downfall of that Government inherited from our fathers, established, as it were, by the special favor of God, I will at least have the consolation at my dying hour that I neither by word or deed assisted in hastening its disruption." Maryland remained part of the Union throughout the Civil War, although militia units fought on both sides of the conflict. (Inventory #: 69430)