Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland. Founded in 1729, Baltimore is a major U.S. seaport and industrial center. The city is named after Lord Cecil Calvert of Baltimore (1605–1675), the first English governor of Maryland Colony. The city has played notable roles in the country's history. During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress was based there briefly (December 20, 1776 to February 27, 1777), giving the city a claim to have been the national capital. It was the site of an American victory during the War of 1812, commemorated in the national anthem. At the start of the American Civil War, Union troops were attacked by Confederate sympathizers in Baltimore in 1861. President Abraham Lincoln's controversial suspension of habeas corpus during this time period caused numerous arrests in Baltimore, which may have prevented Maryland's secession and saved Washington, DC from Confederate invasion.

Colloquial local ways of saying Baltimore include "Balt'm'r" or simply "Bal'm'r."

Baltimore in The Guns of the South

Baltimore was the site of the Republican Party's 1864 Presidential Convention, which was delayed by the final thrust of the Second American Revolution.

Baltimore in "The Haunted Bicuspid"

In Baltimore in 1850, prosperous furniture merchant William Legrand paid a less than reputable dentist named Vankirk for a replacement bicuspid. The tooth had been taken from a local corpse.

After receiving the tooth, Legrand's manner of speech became more pompous and flowery. He suffered through a series of nightmares, and became convinced that the tooth was haunted. He had it removed and returned to its rightful owner.

Baltimore in The Hot War

After witnessing the destruction of Washington, DC by a Soviet atomic bomb in May 1952, President Harry Truman asked to land the presidential airplane in Baltimore. Major Pesky advised against this, as Baltimore was likely to be a target, and convinced Truman to remain airborne in Washington airspace as long as possible although in the end the city was not targeted. En route, they witnessed a second bomb going off destroying the Pentagon. Eventually, the airplane ran low on fuel and they landed in Richmond.

Baltimore in "The House That George Built"

Minor league baseball great George Ruth launched his career in Baltimore. He returned there to open a restaurant after he retired from professional baseball.

Baltimore in Southern Victory

Baltimore, 1912

The Army of Northern Virginia left a major pocket in Baltimore when it invaded early in the Great War in 1914. The United States kept shipping troops via the still-intact coastal railways allowing a breakout the following year that forced the Confederate forces to retreat from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, back through Maryland, and eventually into Virginia.

During the Second Great War, Baltimore was a target of Confederate bombardment, particularly during Operation Blackbeard. While the city was never invaded, it was bombed heavily for the duration of the war. After the C.S. surrendered, Baltimore became a port for C.S. ships that were taken into custody.

Baltimore in The Two Georges

Thomas Bushell's long career as a RAM took him to Baltimore at one point. He became enamored of the local crab cakes, and thought that no place in the world could match them. He was pleasantly surprised, therefore, when the version of this dish served at the William and Mary Hotel in Victoria proved near enough the equal of the Baltimore version.