After the attack on Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln called for support from state militias. Confederate sympathizers in Maryland ambushed some of the northern troops en route to Washington. Lincoln declared martial law in the region and authorized General Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief of the Army, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus if necessary to control rebellion.
Records of the Adjutant General's Office, National Archives and Records Administration
Order from President Abraham Lincoln to General Winfield Scott suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus, April 27, 1861
Response to Rebellion
In April 1861, Confederate forces attacked U.S. troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, plunging the country into civil war. Moving quickly against the insurrection, President Abraham Lincoln called up the militia and suspended the writ of habeas corpus—a legal order enabling an individual to seek release from unlawful detention. In suspending that privilege, Lincoln exercised an authority constitutionally reserved for Congress. Lincoln then called the entire Congress into extraordinary session, where he sought congressional approval of his actions.
After the attack on Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln called for support from state militias. Confederate sympathizers in Maryland ambushed some of the northern troops en route to Washington. Lincoln declared martial law in the region and authorized General Winfield Scott, General-in-Chief of the Army, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus if necessary to control rebellion.
Records of the Adjutant General's Office, National Archives and Records Administration
