from 1851 to 1867 159

The Civil War had its effect on the work of
the court, of course. During the early days of
1861 when Maryland's action was undecided, and
bitterly debated, Chief Judge LeGrand's feel-
ings drew him into the controversy. On January
10, Reverdy Johnson, at a meeting in Baltimore,
made a strong appeal for adherence to the Union,
and Judge LeGrand replied in an open letter to
Mr. Johnson, published in the Baltimore "Sun" of
January 14, urging secession by the state; and the
judge's letter was not judicial in tone. On April
21, 1861, two days after the attack on the Sixth
Massachusetts Regiment on the streets of Balti-
more, General Butler landed at Annapolis troops
which he had brought by water from Havre de
Grace, and took possession of the town and the
railroad. And there were many days during the
remainder of that spring when the court was
adjourned for lack of judges.

At the election in the fall of 1861, Chief Judge
LeGrand and Judge Tuck were both defeated by
candidates on a Union ticket, Judge LeGrand
by Silas Morris Cochran of Baltimore City, and
Judge Tuck by Richard Johns Bowie, of Mont-
gomery County. It seems clear that both Judge
LeGrand and Judge Tuck had made acceptable
judges. Their opinions preserved in the pub-
lished reports mark them as able. A convenient
reference for illustrations of this would be to
volume 9 of the Maryland Reports. In the case
of Dowling v. Smith, on page 242, all of the four
judges then on the court filed opinions, and the
calibre of each is fairly exhibited there; and
probably there will be little disagreement with