Cabin. He encouraged immigration into Maryland especially after the abolition of slavery, supported the appointment of a State Superintendent of Schools and School Commissioners, and the establishment of a system of education, and was instrumental in reorganizing the militia and in assisting in the movement to acquire a portion of the Gettysburg battlefield for a cemetery for the Union dead. The Constitution of 1864 which abolished slavery in the State and disenfranchised those who fought for or aided the Confederacy was only ratified by the vote of the soldiers in spite of Bradford's efforts to secure its adoption. In this respect, it was an extremely unsatisfactory document and it remained operative for only three years. Bradford objected to the federal government's policy of enlisting slaves in the Union Army at least until their owners could be compensated. At the only election held under the Constitution of 1864, that of November 8, 1864, Thomas Swann was elected as Bradford's successor. He took his oath of office on January 11, 1865, but by a provision of the Constitution, he did not actually become Governor until January 10, 1866. After Bradford's retirement from office, President Andrew Johnson appointed him the Surveyor of the Port of Baltimore, which he served as until April 1869. He became a Democrat about 1872, and he was elected one of the Horace Greeley presidential electors in that year. He retired in 1869, and died in Baltimore on March 1, 1881. Funeral services were held at the Mount Vernon M.E. Church. He was buried in Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. References Governors of Maryland 1806 births 1881 deaths People of Maryland in the American Civil War People from Bel Air, Maryland Union (American Civil War) state governors Maryland Democrats Maryland Unionists Unionist Party state governors of the United States Republican Party governors of Maryland