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
Capital Plaza Mall hub---Landover Mall. Capital Plaza's prime location along Maryland Route 450 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway made it ideal for shoppers by both automobile and public transit. Local bus service to Capital Plaza operated along Annapolis Road linking the plaza with shoppers from the nearby neighborhoods of College Park, Hyattsville, Riverdale, Rogers Heights, Edmonston, Bladensburg, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, Brentwood, Mount Rainier, Villa Heights, Cheverly, Landover Hills, Landover, New Carrollton, Lanham, Glenarden, and even certain pockets of Washington, DC (provided by the old WMA Transit Company, until later becoming the Metrobus system). In the late 1970s-1980s, Capital Plaza even featured a Trailways