Cadwalader had been sent instructions on May 28, 1861, from Army headquarters explicitly acknowledging issuance by Chief Justice Taney of the writ of "habeas corpus", and ordering Cadwalader, under the President's authority, to keep holding Merryman in custody. On that same day, the Executive Branch – namely, a U.S. Marshal – attempted to execute Taney's writ of attachment, but the U.S. Marshal was refused entry into the fort. There is no concrete documentation that Cadwalader had received those instructions prior to the time when the Marshal was refused entrance at Fort McHenry; there is no evidence that Cadwalader ever received those instructions from Army Headquarters. Because the Marshal was unable to serve the attachment, the citation for contempt was never adjudicated. At the end of the "Merryman" litigation, it became a nullity, as do all civil contempt orders at the termination of litigation.