
Your Maryland
Little-Known Histories from the Shores of the Chesapeake to the Foothills of the Allegheny Mountains
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Your Maryland
Little-Known Histories from the Shores of the Chesapeake to the Foothills of the Allegheny Mountains
About this book
Four centuries of Maryland's history in one colorful and dramatic volume.
" Good evening, I'm Ric Cottom. Welcome to Your Maryland." Since 2002, when he first delivered his now-classic radio segment on Maryland history, Ric Cottom has narrated hundreds of little-known human interest stories. Collected here are 72 of his favorite on-air pieces, enhanced with beautiful papercut illustrations by Baltimore artist Annie Howe. From accused witches and the murderous career of gunsmith John Dandy through tales of Johnny U and the greatest game ever played, Your Maryland covers nearly four centuries of the Free State's heroes and scoundrels.
Entertaining listeners of all ages while sparking their interest in the past, Cottom's beloved Your Maryland is a unique blend of carefully researched regional history and narrative nonfiction. He deftly emphasizes the human dimension of Maryland's colorful past: its athletes (two- and four-legged), beautiful spies, brilliant writers, misunderstood pirates, and ghosts. All of that color, suspense, and humor—as well as the author's unusual talent for discovering interesting historical facts and personages—is part of your Maryland.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half-Title Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Map
- Contents
- Preface
- Chapter 1. Voyage of Discovery: A much-disliked Captain John Smith explores the Chesapeake
- Chapter 2. Avalon: George Calvert’s first attempt at colonization
- Chapter 3. The Murderous Career of John Dandy: An evil but indispensable gunsmith in St. Mary’s City
- Chapter 4. Witchcraft in Maryland: This wasn’t Massachusetts, but . . .
- Chapter 5. The Monster: Thomas Cresap terrorizes Pennsylvania and pronounces Philadelphia “one of the Prettyest Towns in Maryland”
- Chapter 6. The Blood-Red Flag: Eighteenth-century Chesapeake pirates were all too human
- Chapter 7. The Summer of ’76: Democracy, and the lack of it, at the start of the American Revolution
- Chapter 8. The Revolutionary: Charles Willson Peale at Valley Forge
- Chapter 9. Privateers: Chesapeake sailors escape a British prison and join John Paul Jones aboard the Bonhomme Richard
- Chapter 10. The Mermaid: A generous British captain encounters a nest of American “pirates”
- Chapter 11. Mr. Smith’s Ball: Baltimore belle Elizabeth Patterson scandalizes Washington society
- Chapter 12. The Most Hated Man in Maryland: Alexander Contee Hanson provokes the mob in 1812
- Chapter 13. The Scourge of the Chesapeake: Admiral George Cockburn arrives in the Chesapeake
- Chapter 14. A Frolic with the Yankees: An arrogant British aristocrat meets the Kent County militia
- Chapter 15. The Cool Hand and the Hothead: Robert Ross burns Washington and turns for Baltimore
- Chapter 16. Defenders: The bombardment of Fort McHenry
- Chapter 17. The Chasseur: An American privateer announces a blockade of Great Britain
- Chapter 18. The Battle of the Ice Mound: The last fight of the War of 1812
- Chapter 19. Jacob Gruber: Roger B. Taney’s antislavery background
- Chapter 20. The Bear: Hunter Meshach Browning in Western Maryland
- Chapter 21. The Slave Breaker: An incident from the life of Frederick Douglass
- Chapter 22. Moses: Harriet Tubman
- Chapter 23. Gidu: Freed African Americans on the west coast of Africa encounter native superstition
- Chapter 24. The Vineyard Tournament: The origins of Maryland’s state sport
- Chapter 25. The Rose of Westminster: Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore
- Chapter 26. Christiana: Fugitive slaves defend themselves in southern Pennsylvania
- Chapter 27. John Brown: The abolitionist finds immortality
- Chapter 28. April 19, 1861: The Pratt Street Riot
- Chapter 29. Clara’s Boys: Clara Barton during the first days of the Civil War
- Chapter 30. Lost Sons: George Alfred Townsend encounters a bereaved mother looking for her boys
- Chapter 31. Barbara Frietschie: The story behind the poem
- Chapter 32. The Despot’s Heel: Who were those men on Federal Hill?
- Chapter 33. The Glorious Fourth . . . 1863: In Baltimore on an historic day
- Chapter 34. The Orator: The prelude to the Gettysburg Address
- Chapter 35. Color Guard: The heroism of “a regiment of slaves”
- Chapter 36. The Music of Point Lookout: A poet brings solace amid the misery at Point Lookout prison camp
- Chapter 37. Hetty Cary: A beautiful woman, a battle flag, and the state song
- Chapter 38. The Great Patapsco Flood of 1868: Destruction and heroism on the Patapsco River
- Chapter 39. Ghosts of Western Maryland: Light-hearted stories of unnatural things
- Chapter 40. Early Racing at Pimlico: How the Preakness began
- Chapter 41. Preakness: The legacy of a great horse
- Chapter 42. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Part I
- Chapter 43. The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Part II
- Chapter 44. Gus Rice: The Oyster Wars on the Chesapeake
- Chapter 45. The Maestro: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky performs in Baltimore
- Chapter 46. The Heiress and the Medical School: Mary Elizabeth Garrett refuses to take “no” for an answer
- Chapter 47. The Pennant: The halcyon years of the Baltimore Orioles, 1894–1896
- Chapter 48. The Evil Empire: Good vs. Evil in 1897
- Chapter 49. Mouse: A mischievous musical genius rises out of Baltimore
- Chapter 50. Goliath: The equine hero of the Great Baltimore Fire
- Chapter 51. The Jungle: Upton Sinclair and the meatpacking industry
- Chapter 52. The Explorer: Matthew Henson at the North Pole
- Chapter 53. The Aviator: A devil-may-care pilot thrills Baltimore
- Chapter 54. Diamond Jim: The wages of excess
- Chapter 55. The Babe: A product of St. Mary’s Industrial School goes to spring training
- Chapter 56. Titanic: A Baltimore story of the great tragedy—with a happy ending
- Chapter 57. The Great Bathtub Hoax: H. L. Mencken has a bit of fun with a gullible nation
- Chapter 58. The Last Man: Henry Gunther, of Highlandtown, becomes the “last man” to die in World War I
- Chapter 59. Maryland, the Free State: Prohibition? Not here . . .
- Chapter 60. Leander: A Navy crew goes to the Olympics
- Chapter 61. The Schneider Cup Race of 1925: The golden age of airplane racing comes to Bay Shore Park
- Chapter 62. Cab and Thurgood: Two high-school kids in segregated Baltimore
- Chapter 63. Wallis: Young, poor, Wallis Warfield gets her start
- Chapter 64. Hatrack: H. L. Mencken and the Boston Watch and Ward Society
- Chapter 65. The Crack-up: Scott and Zelda
- Chapter 66. King Kong: The Great Ape’s connection to Catonsville
- Chapter 67. Omaha Beach: The Twenty-Ninth Division at Normandy
- Chapter 68. Canajoharie at the Gut: A war story
- Chapter 69. Tunnel Joe: A resourceful and irrepressible prisoner digs his way out of the state penitentiary
- Chapter 70. Johnny U.: How the greatest quarterback in football history came to the Baltimore Colts
- Chapter 71. The Greatest Football Game Ever Played: The 1958 NFL championship game
- Chapter 72. Silent Spring: The courage of Rachel Carson
- Acknowledgments
- Essay on Sources