William Wilkins Glenn (July 20, 1824 - June 24, 1876) was a journalist, newspaper proprietor, and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

sympathizer from

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 ...

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 ...

. Portions of his estate helped establish the town of

Glen Burnie Glen Burnie is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population of Glen Burnie was 67,639 at ...

.Glenn Papers, MS 1017, 1706-1939, Finding Aid
Maryland Historical Society.

Biography

William Wilkins Glenn, the grandson of Judge

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...

and son of Judge

Elias Glenn Elias Glenn (August 26, 1769 – January 6, 1846) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Education and career Born on August 26, 1769, in Elkton, Province of Maryland, British Ameri ...

, was born into an influential Baltimore family. Glenn incorporated parts of the family's business property into an estate in the mid-19th century. In 1888, years after Glenn's death, these properties became part of the suburban-Baltimore town Glen Burnie. Glenn was an active personality in the debate preceding the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and active participant on behalf of the Confederacy during the war. Shortly before the start of the war, Glenn became part owner of Baltimore's '' Daily Exchange'' with the hope of spreading pro-southern public opinion throughout Maryland. The newspaper openly opposed

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Abraham Lincoln's government. As a result of his Confederate sympathies and opposition to Lincoln, Glenn was imprisoned from September 14, 1861 until December 2, 1861.Terry, R. C. ''Oxford Reader's Companion to Trollope''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.Glenn, William Wilkins, Bayly Ellen Marks, and Mark Norton Schatz, ''Between North and South: A Maryland Journalist Views the Civil War: the Narrative of William Wilkins Glenn, 1861-1869''. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1976. Glenn continued to agitate on behalf of the Confederacy, causing him to flee Maryland for England and France for portions of the war. After the war, Glenn edited the ''

Baltimore Gazette The ''Baltimore Gazette'', also known as the ''Baltimore Daily Gazette'' and ''The Gazette'', was a daily newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland between 1862 and 1875. It broke some high-profile stories including the fact that The Turk, all ...

'' until 1872 when he sold his interests in the paper. Glenn died at his home on the corner of Charles and Madison streets in Baltimore on June 24, 1876, from Bright's disease.

Works and Publications

''The Baltimore gazette''
(Baltimore, Md.) 1865-1875. Glenn, William Wilkins, Bayly Ellen Marks, and Mark Norton Schatz. ''Between North and South: A Maryland Journalist Views the Civil War : the Narrative of William Wilkins Glenn, 1861-1869''. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1976. Baltimore'
''The daily exchange''
(Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenn, William Watkins Writers from Baltimore 1824 births 1876 deaths American Civil War prisoners of war American newspaper publishers (people) People from Glen Burnie, Maryland American newspaper editors 19th-century American businesspeople