The Mural Story
The mural scene depicts various time periods in Leonardtown’s history.
In general, the left side of the painting presents an older time period,
around the turn of the century. As you move to the right, the chronology
advances to a point in the mid 1950s. However, the time frame drops
back to the 1860s where you see the sepia-toned vignette in which
Congressman Benjamin Gwinn Harris is being arrested on April 26, 1865,
on the porch of the Fenwick Hotel, for his opposition to the Civil War.
Though Congressman Harris was arrested after the Civil War was over,
he was, nonetheless, charged with war crimes for giving a small amount
of money to two freed Confederate prisoners making their way from the
Point Lookout prison camp to Baltimore. In fact, the prisoners had been
detained by Union officers and ordered to seek lodging from the
congressman. Harris was suspicious and instead of taking the men into
his home at Ellenborough, just outside of Town, he gave them each a
dollar and suggested they seek food and lodging at the hotel.
The soldiers reported this to the Union officers who had Congressman
Harris brought from his home into Town for the reading of the charges.
He was immediately transferred to a boat waiting in Breton Bay and
taken to Washington, D.C. for incarceration. He was convicted of war
crimes by a military tribunal, even though he was a civilian and the war
was over when the alleged crime occurred.
He was also removed from his seat in the House of Representatives
and thrown in jail.
Leonardtown lawyer John A. Camalier pleaded the case of Cong. Harris
to President Andrew Johnson who agreed that Harris had been treated
unfairly. He gave Camalier a pardon for Mr. Harris and told the attorney
to invite Cong. Harris to the White House for dinner that night.
The unrepentant Harris refused the dinner invitation in the strongest
terms. He returned to Leonardtown and was sent back to Congress
at the next election.
Marker is on Washington Street (Business Maryland Route 5) near Leonardtown Road (Business Maryland Route 5), on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
