Representative John Woodland Crisfield

John Woodland Crisfield (November 8, 1806 – January 12, 1897) was a U.S. representative from Maryland, representing the sixth district from 1847 to 1849 and the first district from 1861 to 1863. He was born near Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland, where he spent his early years in a rural setting on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Little is recorded about his parents or family background, but his formative years in an agrarian community on the Eastern Shore helped shape his later political focus on regional economic interests and the preservation of existing social institutions, including slavery. The city of Crisfield, Maryland, was later named in his honor, reflecting his prominence in the region.

Crisfield received his early education in local schools and pursued classical studies in preparation for a professional career. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1830, and commenced practice in Princess Anne, Somerset County, Maryland. As a young attorney, he quickly became a leading member of the local bar, building a reputation for legal acumen and for his involvement in public affairs. His legal practice and growing influence in Somerset County laid the groundwork for his entry into state and national politics.

Crisfield’s political career began in earnest in the 1840s. Aligning initially with the Whig Party, he was elected as a Whig to the Thirtieth Congress, representing Maryland’s sixth congressional district from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1849. During this first term in the U.S. House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative process at a time marked by debates over the Mexican–American War and the expansion of slavery into new territories, though he did not attain major national leadership roles. After leaving Congress in 1849, he returned to the practice of law in Princess Anne and remained active in state and local affairs, continuing to build his stature as a prominent Eastern Shore lawyer and politician.

With the dissolution of the Whig Party and the mounting sectional crisis of the 1850s, Crisfield’s political alignment evolved. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he emerged as a member of the Unionist Party in Maryland, reflecting his opposition to secession while maintaining many of his earlier conservative views. He was elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-seventh Congress, this time representing Maryland’s first congressional district from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1863. As a member of the Unionist Party representing Maryland, John Woodland Crisfield contributed to the legislative process during two terms in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents during one of the most significant periods in American history.

Crisfield’s congressional service during the Civil War was marked by a complex and, in many respects, contradictory stance. He was a strong supporter of the Union during the American Civil War, firmly opposing moves toward Maryland’s secession and working to keep his state within the Union. At the same time, however, Crisfield supported the institution of slavery and worked to prevent its abolition in Maryland. He resisted federal efforts aimed at immediate emancipation and opposed measures he believed threatened the property rights of slaveholders in his state. This combination of Unionism and pro-slavery conservatism placed him among those border-state politicians who sought to preserve the Union while maintaining the existing social and economic order.

After his defeat for reelection in 1862, Crisfield left Congress and resumed his legal and business pursuits. He became involved in regional development projects on the Eastern Shore, most notably in the promotion of rail connections that would stimulate commerce and trade. His support for railroad expansion and local economic growth contributed to the development of the town that would later bear his name, Crisfield, Maryland, a community that grew into an important center for the seafood and shipping industries. Through these activities, he continued to exert influence on the economic life of Somerset County and the surrounding region even after his national political career had ended.

In his later years, Crisfield remained a respected, if sometimes controversial, figure in Maryland public life, known both for his steadfast Unionism during the Civil War and for his opposition to emancipation in his home state. He lived to see the profound transformation of Maryland and the nation in the decades following the war, including the end of slavery and the restructuring of Southern and border-state society. John Woodland Crisfield died in Princess Anne, Somerset County, Maryland, on January 12, 1897. He was interred in Manokin Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Princess Anne, leaving a legacy closely tied to the political struggles of the Civil War era and the development of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.