Richard Bennett Carmichael

Richard Bennett Carmichael was born 12-25-1807 in Centreville, Maryland to a distinguished family. Carmichael attend Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for a couple of years before finishing up at Princeton in 1828. After studying law he was admitted to the bar in 1830. At the beginning of the Civil War, Carmichael a leading Democrat in the state and suspected of being a southern supporter, was a circuit court judge. Carmichael had gained the interest of the local Provost Marshal by defending area citizens who had been arrested without cause on the suspicion that they were Loyal to the Confederacy and investigating the military for interference in the 1861 election.   On May 28th, 1862 the Provost Marshal surrounded the Talbot County courthouse with about 125 soldiers and stormed into the court room. The Provost Marshal told Carmichael he was under arrest by authority of the United States. When Carmichael resisted, he was dragged from the Bench and pistol whipped into submission. Carmichael was then transported to Ft. McHenry. He was later transferred to Ft Layfayette and then finally to Ft Delaware. Held for over 6 months, Carmichael repeatedly asked that charges against him be made public.  He was finally released without any charges.