John Woodland Crisfield (November 8, 1806 – January 12, 1897) was a

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

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 ...

, representing the sixth district from 1847 to 1849 and the

first district First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

from 1861 to 1863. The city of

Crisfield, Maryland Crisfield is a city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, located on the Tangier Sound, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 2,515 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statisti ...

, is named after him. Crisfield was a strong supporter of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

during

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 th ...

, opposing moves towards Maryland's

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

. However, Crisfield also supported the institution of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and worked to prevent its

abolition Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: * Abolitionism, abolition of slavery * Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment * Abolition of monarchy *Abolition of nuclear weapons *Abol ...

in Maryland.

Early life

Crisfield was born near

Galena, Maryland Galena is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 612 at the 2010 census. Geography Galena is located at (39.341680, -75.878444). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land ...

, in Kent County on the

Eastern Shore of Maryland The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that ...

, Crisfield was educated at

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

Chestertown, Maryland Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,252 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown rose in stature when it was named one of the English col ...

. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1830, commencing practice in

Princess Anne, Maryland Princess Anne is a town in Somerset County, Maryland, Somerset County, Maryland, United States, that also serves as its county seat. Its population was 3,290 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is included in the Salisbury metropolita ...

Career in politics

Crisfield entered the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

in 1836, and was later elected as a Whig to the Thirtieth Congress, serving the 6th Congressional district of Maryland from March 4, 1847 until March 3, 1849. He was a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1850, and a member of the

peace conference of 1861 The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of 131 leading American politicians in February 1861, at the Willard's Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the American Civil War. The purpose of the conference was to avoid, if possible, the secess ...

held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending

Congress, war and the question of slavery

In 1861, Crisfield was elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-seventh Congress from the 1st Congressional district of Maryland, serving one term from March 4, 1861 until March 3, 1863. Although Maryland remained loyal to the Union at the outbreak of the

, Maryland was divided on the question of slavery and the emancipation of Maryland slaves remained by no means a foregone conclusion. On December 16, 1861 a bill was presented to Congress to emancipate slaves in Washington D.C.,Rhodes, Jason, p.59, ''Somerset County, Maryland: a Brief History''
Retrieved August 11, 2010 and in March 1862 Lincoln held talks with Crisfield on the subject of emancipation. Crisfield however argued that freedom would be worse for the slaves than slavery, especially in time of war, but such arguments could no longer hold back the abolitionist tide. On July 17, 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the

Confiscation Act of 1862 The Confiscation Act of 1862, or Second Confiscation Act, was a law passed by the United States Congress during the American Civil War. Section 11 of the act formed the legal basis for President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Natur ...

, which permitted the Union army to enlist African-American soldiers, and barred the army from recapturing runaway slaves. In July 1862 Lincoln offered to buy out Maryland slaveholders, offering $300 for each emancipated slave, but Crisfield rejected the offer. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

which declared all slaves in Southern states to be free, but Maryland, like other border states, was exempted since Maryland had remained in the Union. However, in 1863 and 1864 growing numbers of Maryland slaves simply left their plantations to join the Union Army, accepting the promise of freedom in return for military service. One effect of this was to bring slave auctions to an end, as any slave could avoid sale by simply offering to join the U.S. Army. In 1863 Crisfield was defeated in local elections by the abolitionist candidate

John Creswell John Andrew Jackson Creswell (November 18, 1828December 23, 1891) was an American politician and abolitionist from Maryland, who served as United States Representative, United States Senator, and as Postmaster General of the United States app ...

, amid allegations of vote-rigging by the army. After being defeated at the polls, Crisfield resumed the practice of law.

After the War

Crisfield served as a delegate to the

National Union Convention The National Union Convention (also known as the Loyalist Convention, the Southern Loyalist Convention, the National Loyalists' Loyal Union Convention, or the Arm-In-Arm Convention) was held on August 14, 15, and 16 1866, in Philadelphia, Pennsylva ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1866. He was instrumental in building the

Eastern Shore Railroad The Eastern Shore Railroad, Inc. was a Class III short-line railroad that began operations in October 1981 on the former Virginia and Maryland Railroad line on the Delmarva Peninsula. The line ran between Pocomoke City, Maryland, and Norfolk, ...

and served as president, connecting it to the fishing town of Somers Cove which was growing rapidly due to the seafood industry there. This town was renamed Crisfield in his honor. A rural road in Princess Anne, called Crisfield Lane and passing next to his homeplace, 'Edge Hill', is also named after him. He died in Princess Anne in 1897, and is interred in Manokin Presbyterian Cemetery.

References

Rhodes, Jason, ''Somerset County, Maryland: a Brief History''
Retrieved August 11, 2010

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crisfield, John Woodland 1806 births 1897 deaths People from Kent County, Maryland Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Crisfield, Maryland People from Princess Anne, Maryland Crisfield, John W.