![John Merryman by Meredith Janvier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/John_Merryman_by_Meredith_Janvier.jpg)
John Merryman (August 9, 1824 – November 15, 1881) of
Baltimore County
Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, was arrested in May 1861 and held prisoner in
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and was the petitioner in the case ''"
Ex parte Merryman
''Ex parte Merryman'', 17 F. Cas. 144 (C.C.D. Md. 1861) (No. 9487), is a well-known and controversial U.S. federal court case that arose out of the American Civil War. It was a test of the authority of the President to suspend "t ...
"'' which was one of the best known ''
habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
'' cases of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
(1861–1865). Merryman was arrested for his involvement in the mob in Baltimore, specifically for his leadership in the destruction of telegraph lines, but was not charged, a right normally ensured by the writ of ''habeas corpus''. The case was taken up by the federal circuit court and its current presiding judge who happened to be
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...
, a Democrat-leaning Marylander.
The reading of Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution was in question. Taney believed that the phrase “when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it” applied solely to Congress because of its location in Article 1. In ''Ex parte Merryman'', Chief Justice Taney writes, “If the high power over the liberty of the citizens now claimed was intended to be conferred on the President, it would undoubtedly be found in plain words in this article (Article I of the Constitution) … He certainly does not faithfully execute the laws if he takes upon himself legislative power by suspending the writ of habeas corpus.”
Lincoln asserted that his "war powers" gave him authority to act on this power to preserve the Union, especially since Congress could not be in session to suspend the writ. Lincoln completely ignored Taney's ruling thereby invoking
nonacquiescence In law, nonacquiescence is the intentional failure by one branch of the government to comply with the decision of another to some degree. It tends to arise only in governments that feature a strong separation of powers, such as in the United States ...
, and later asked Congress when they reconvened for a special session on July 4, 1861, “Are all the laws, but one, to go unexecuted, and the government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?”
Had the destruction of public property been allowed to continue in Maryland, Lincoln would have had to fight an insurrection in the north as well as the seceding states' armies. Thus, he concludes that suspending the writ of habeas corpus was essential to preserving the government. The executive branch could not enforce laws if people were damaging its infrastructure.
The case never reached the Supreme Court, partly because in 1861 Congress passed a law which "approved and in all respects legalized and made valid ... all the acts, proclamations, and orders of the President of the United States respecting the army and navy ... as if they had been done under the previous express authority and direction of the Congress."
Merryman was also a state militia officer during the Civil War, and a Maryland politician.
Biography
Early life
Merryman began his work life as an employee in Richard Norris' hardware store in Baltimore City. The following year he moved to Guayama, Puerto Rico to work for his uncle, Samuel N. Gott. Merryman returned to Maryland in 1842 to manage farms and raise Hereford cattle.
Merryman married Ann Louisa, daughter of Elijah Bosley Gittings, in 1844. John and Ann Louisa had eleven children. Merryman, a Democrat, served as member and president of the Board of County Commissioners, Baltimore County, in 1857.
[Maryland State Archives] At the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, he was a farmer in
Cockeysville, Maryland
Cockeysville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,776 at the 2010 census.
History
Cockeysville was named after the Cockey family who helped establish the town. Thomas Cockey (1676 ...
.
Civil War
Prior to the Civil War, Merryman was a 3rd lieutenant in the Baltimore County Troops. By 1861 he was a 1st lieutenant in the Baltimore County Horse Guards.
Following the
Pratt Street Riot in Baltimore, the Maryland legislature voted against secession. However, concerned about further unrest from pro-Southern elements, they voted to keep the railways closed so Union troops could not travel through Maryland on their way to defending Washington, D.C. and other federal enclaves.
While carrying out this policy, Governor
Thomas Holliday Hicks
Thomas Holliday Hicks (September 2, 1798February 14, 1865) was a politician in the divided border-state of Maryland during the American Civil War. As governor, opposing the Democrats, his views accurately reflected the conflicting local loyalt ...
allegedly ordered Merryman to aid in the destruction of several bridges north of Baltimore.
On May 25, 1861, Merryman was arrested at his home in Cockeysville by Union troops acting under orders of General William H. Keim. Merryman was then taken and confined in Fort McHenry.
[ Merryman petitioned for a writ of ''habeas corpus'', which was granted, in part, by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Taney's May 26, 1861 order directed General George Cadwalader, commander of Fort McHenry, (1) to produce (but not release) Merryman for a hearing before Taney to be held the very next day, on May 27, 1861, and (2) to explain on what legal basis the Army had seized Merryman. General ]George Cadwalader
George Cadwalader (May 16, 1806 – February 3, 1879) was a general in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War.
Biography
Cadwalader was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied law and was admitted to th ...
did not produce Merryman. Instead, Cadwalader delivered a response which was read to the court. Cadwalader's response explained that he was acting under orders from President Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
, who had delegated authority to the military to suspend habeas corpus. Because Cadwalader failed to produce Merryman, Taney cited Cadwalader for contempt, and ordered the U.S. Marshal to serve an attachment order on Cadwalader. The U.S. Marshal was unable to serve the attachment order, as he was denied entrance to Fort McHenry. Thus, the contempt citation was never adjudicated. Furthermore, Taney declared Lincoln's suspension of ''habeas corpus'' unconstitutional (see ''Ex parte Merryman
''Ex parte Merryman'', 17 F. Cas. 144 (C.C.D. Md. 1861) (No. 9487), is a well-known and controversial U.S. federal court case that arose out of the American Civil War. It was a test of the authority of the President to suspend "t ...
'').
While Merryman was in jail awaiting a hearing, Taney had furniture and home-cooked meals brought to him in his cell. Merryman later named one of his sons Roger B. Taney Merryman in the Chief Justice's honor.[The Politics of Continuity.]
Merryman was State Treasurer of Maryland from 1870 to 1872.
See also
*Taney Arrest Warrant
The Taney Arrest Warrant is a conjectural controversy in Abraham Lincoln scholarship. The argument is that in late May or early June 1861, President Lincoln secretly ordered an arrest warrant for Roger B. Taney, the Chief Justice of the United St ...
* Hampton NHS, 19th century
Footnotes
Further reading
* Baker, Jean H. ''The Politics of Continuity; Maryland Political Parties from 1858 to 1870.'' Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973.
* Maryland State Archives. Ex Parte Merryman. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from https://web.archive.org/web/20080519134303/http://teachingamericanhistorymd.net/000001/000000/000107/html/t107.html
* McGinty, Brian. ''The Body of John Merryman: Abraham Lincoln and the Suspension of Habeas Corpus.'' Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011.
* White, Jonathan W. ''Abraham Lincoln and Treason in the Civil War: The Trials of John Merryman.'' Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2011.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merryman, John
1824 births
1881 deaths
State treasurers of Maryland
People of the American Civil War
People of Maryland in the American Civil War
19th-century American politicians