The War of 1812
My husband left me yesterday morning to join General Winder. He inquired anxiously whether I had courage or firmness to remain in the President's house until his return on the morrow, or succeeding day, and on my assurance that I had no fear but for him, and the success of our army, he left, beseeching me to take care of myself, and of the Cabinet papers, public and private. I have since received two dispatches from him, written with a pencil. The last is alarming, because he desires I should be ready at a moment's warning to enter my carriage, and leave the city; that the enemy seemed stronger than had at first been reported, and it might happen that they would reach the city with the intention of destroying it. - Dolly Madison August 23, 1814
I am accordingly ready; I have pressed as many Cabinet papers into trunks as to fill one carriage; our private property must be sacrificed, as it is impossible to procure wagons for its transportation. I am determined not to go myself until I see Mr. Madison safe, so that he can accompany me, as I hear of much hostility towards him. Disaffection stalks around us. My friends and acquaintances are all gone, even Colonel C. with his hundred, who were stationed as a guard in this inclosure. French John (a faithful servant), with his usual activity and resolution, offers to spike the cannon at the gate, and lay a train of powder, which would blow up the British, should they enter the house. To the last proposition I positively object, without being able to make him understand why all advantages in war may not be taken. - Dolly Madison August 23, 1814
Wednesday Morning, twelve o'clock. -- Since sunrise I have been turning my spy-glass in every direction, and watching with unwearied anxiety, hoping to discover the approach of my dear husband and his friends; but, alas! I can descry only groups of military, wandering in all directions, as if there was a lack of arms, or of spirit to fight for their own fireside. - Dolly Madison August 23, 1814
At this late hour a wagon has been procured, and I have had it filled with plate and the most valuable portable articles, belonging to the house. Whether it will reach its destination, the "Bank of Maryland," or fall into the hands of British soldiery, events must determine. Our kind friend, Mr. Carroll, has come to hasten my departure, and in a very bad humor with me, because I insist on waiting until the large picture of General Washington is secured, and it requires to be unscrewed from the wall. This process was found too tedious for these perilous moments; I have ordered the frame to be broken, and the canvas taken out. It is done! and the precious portrait placed in the hands of two gentlemen of New York, for safe keeping.
Memorable Residents
"A friendship was born in 1823 between (Sam) Houston and (Junius Brutus) Booth that would have important consequences for the actor's family. As their paths continued to cross in the ensuing years, the Tennessean's hard-drinking habits rubbed off on the actor." - My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone
"Charles Dickens visited Barnum's hotel on Monument Square in 1842, where he shared a drink with a struggling local author, named Edgar Allen Poe, himself the son of itinerant American actors. Inspired by the great novelist, Poe wrote and published his masterpiece, The Raven, in Baltimore that very year, to tremendous popular acclaim." - Nora Titone, My Thoughts Be Bloody

"For Baltimorians, Market vending was a family affair. The husband, wife, son, and daughter all act as sales people. John Wilkes, nine years old in 1847, probably started helping his mother with this work after (his brother) Edwin left home. The biggest Market Day was Saturday, and Lexington Market was the most crowded in the city. Thousands of shoppers descended on hundreds of small venders who's carts and stalls chocked the intersection of Lexington and Utah streets." - My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone
"She became obsessed with her husband's second family... Emboldened now by Junius' periodic absences from Baltimore, Adalad found a more satisfying way of venting her anger; she made it her business to pursue Mary Ann Holmes in the city streets, surprising the unsuspecting mother, who often had a child or two at her side, with a burst of invective." - My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone
"When she found Mary Ann's vegetable stand, Adalad showed no mercy. 'The Belgium women attacked her victim', a journalist wrote, 'with violent, often course language and approprious epithets." - My Thoughts Be Bloody by Nora Titone