06/19/2026
On January 1, 1863, when the Emancipation Proclamation began its long journey across the Confederate States to Galveston, Texas, Maryland’s loyalty to the Union prevented the immediate liberation of the 87,000 people enslaved in the state. Slavery was not abolished in Maryland until nearly two years later when the General Assembly passed a new state constitution that officially outlawed the institution.
Enslaved Black Marylanders continued to escape despite Maryland’s status as a slave state. Many headed for Union lines where they often found work for the army. Their actions forced the federal government to reconsider their recruitment strategy. By the summer of 1863, the federal government began actively recruiting free Blacks in Maryland. On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued General Orders 329 authorizing the recruitment of enslaved Black men in Maryland and other border states—guaranteeing their freedom after enlistment. All Black recruits were placed in a segregated branch of the army known as the United States Colored Troops (USCT).
Three regiments raised in Maryland were present in Texas when the Emancipation Proclamation reached Galveston on June 19, 1865: the 7th (Baltimore), the 9th (Camp Stanton, Benedict), and the 19th (Camp Stanton, Benedict). Horace Gibson of Talbot County and Robert Riley of Queen Anne’s County (pictured) served alongside one another in Company B of the 7th Regiment. Upon enlisting in the USCT, soldiers like Gibson and Riley received a “bounty” for $100 (their former enslavers received the same amount until Congress adjusted General Orders 329 to award Maryland enslavers up to $400). Maryland bounty records like Gibson’s (pictured above) are preserved and made accessible online by the Maryland State Archives.
In November 1866, Gibson and Riley’s regiment was mustered out of service in Indianola, Texas. The soldiers made their way home to Maryland where they soon filed for their pensions. Scanned versions of these extensive pensions – which offer key service, genealogical, and health information – are available through the Maryland State Archives [MSA SC 4126].
Researchers interested in the 19th Regiment as well as the 30th and 39th Regiments can also utilize a unique muster roll: “Slaves mustered into U.S. Colored Troops, 19th, 30th, and 39th Regiments Md. Volunteer Infantry” [MSA S936-51], which includes county-level rosters of those enslaved who enlisted in the specified units.
[1] “Portrait of Robert Riley,” Carolyn C. Williams Collection of Robert Riley Papers [MSA SC 3836-1-1].
[2] COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY (Bounty Rolls) 1864-1880 [MSA SM183].
[3] U.S. Colored Troops Pension File Collection [MSA SC 4126].
