[4CJ]

Your attempts to disassociate Taney from Maryland, and Balitmore in particular, are comical! He was born and Maryland and he is planted in Maryland. He lived there almost his whole life. Your so-called "refutation" fails.

Blatant distortion again. At issue is not whether or not Justice Taney lived in Maryland, at issue is whether or not Merryman was his close, personal friend.

The 1850 population of Baltimore was approximately 169,000. I take it they were all close, personal friends of the Chief Justice. </sarcasm>

[capitan_refugio]

Merryman was not just any old schlep from Baltimore. He has been described as one of its leading citizens. As a member of the Baltimore upper crust, his position as an officer in the cavalry is not surprising.

Taney and the Keys (Taney's in-laws) ran in the same social circles. (If I'm not mistaken, wasn't it Taney's nephew who Dan Sickles offed in a lover's triangle?) The Baltimore elites hung together. We aren't talking about 169,000 people.