Maryland in the American Civil War a majority of the legislature, wished to remain in the Union, but did not want to be involved in a war against their southern neighbors, and sought to prevent a military response by Lincoln to the South's secession. After John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, many citizens began forming local militias, determined to prevent a future slave uprising. The first bloodshed of the Civil War occurred in Maryland. Anxious about the risk of secessionists capturing Washington, D.C., given that the capital was bordered by Virginia, and preparing for war with the South, the federal government requested armed volunteers
A History of the Adjutants General of Maryland was an active one as the Maryland National Guard was called into state duty several times (and federalized once) in response to severe domestic disturbances in Maryland. Gelston was instrumental in defusing the Cambridge riot of 1963 and the Baltimore riot of 1968. In World War II, Gelston served as a liaison pilot with an artillery unit in the European theater of operations. He joined the Maryland National Guard in 1947 as the 29th Division's chief artillery air officer. Later, he participated in the Maryland National Guard's air defense program in the Baltimore-Washington area, serving as commanding officer of the