Maryland

A small state located in the east-central coast of the United States of America, named after the wife of the British King Charles I. This state was one of the original 13 colonies and was incorporated in 1632. After the American Revolution, Maryland became a state on April 28, 1788.

During the American Civil War Maryland remained a neutral border state between the Union and the Confederacy, as its population was split between those who supported the North and those who supported the South. It was the location for an important battle during this war, the Battle of Antietam, which ended in a stalemate. After the Battle of Antietam, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the manumission, or freedom, of African American slaves in the U.S., even though the decree was not legally binding until the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed in 1865.