A Confederate Congress: The Civil War Treason Trial of Benjamin Gwinn Harris

Harris was a firebrand—effectively a Confederate serving in Congress—and had long advocated the constitutionality of slavery and the right of states to secede from the Union. This first-ever book-length analysis of the unusual trial examines the prevailing opinions in Southern Maryland and in the War Department regarding slavery, treason and the Constitution's guarantee of property rights and freedom of speech.