On April 19, 1861, the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Regiment arrived at President Street Station, the southern terminus of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad. As the regiment traveled along Pratt Street toward the B&O's Camden Station, an angry mob and Southern sympathizers attacked it. The first bloodshed of the Civil War had occurred. Four soldiers and twelve Baltimore citizens lay dead in the street.

The Baltimore Civil War Museum, housed in the 1849 train station - one of the oldest in the nation -, examines the events of that day and highlights Maryland's divided loyalties and critical role as a border state during the war. In addition, visitors will hear the story of the stations important role in the escape of enslaved African Americans via the Underground Railroad. The BCWM tells stories that are critically important to an understanding of Maryland's past and offers a thorough and fascinating perspective on the state's unique geographic and philosophical position, balanced - sometimes precariously - between the North and South.

The Maryland Historical Society's Baltimore Civil War Museum is located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor East.