Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Scharf, John Thomas

SCHARF, John Thomas, author, b. in Baltimore, Md., 1 May, 1843; d. 28 Feb., 1898. He entered the counting-house of his father in Baltimore, when sixteen years of age. In the beginning of the civil war he joined a Confederate battery, was engaged in the battles around Richmond in 1862, was wounded at Cedar Mountain, at the second battle of Bull Run, and again at Chancellorsville, and on 20 June, 1863, was appointed a midshipman in the Confederate navy. In January, 1864, he took part in the capture of the steamer “Underwriter,” near New Berne, N. C. He rejoined the army after all the ports were blockaded, and was captured in Maryland while on his way to Canada with despatches. After the war he engaged in mercantile business, then in journalism, and in 1874 was admitted to the bar. In 1878 he was a member of the legislature. Since 1884 he had been a commissioner of the land office of Maryland. Georgetown college gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1885. He had been editor of the Baltimore “Telegram” and “Morning Herald.” Besides many historical addresses and magazine articles, he has published “Chronicles of Baltimore” (Baltimore, 1874); “History of Maryland” (3 vols., 1879); “History of Baltimore City and County” (Philadelphia, 1881); “History of Western Maryland” (2 vols., 1882); “History of St. Louis” (2 vols., 1884); “History of Philadelphia” (3 vols., 1884); “History of Westchester County, N. Y.” (2 vols., 1886); “History of the Confederate States Navy from the Laying of the First Keel to the Sinking of the Last Vessel” (1887; 2d ed., Albany, 1894); “History of the State of Delaware” (1888); and “Natural and Industrial Resources and Advantages of Maryland” (Annapolis, 1892).