“The Despot’s Heel” tells the story of the secession crisis in Maryland in the early days of the American Civil War. Both the state, as well as the city of Baltimore, experienced tensions caused by the divided loyalties of its citizens. These differences erupted into a riot in the streets when a pro-secession mob attacked U.S. troops passing through Baltimore on their way to Washington, and the subsequent military occupation of the city by federal forces. News of the riot inspired James Ryder Randall, a Marylander living in New Orleans,...