B&O Railroad Station

B&O Railroad Station. Keep Supplies Moving. , When the Civil War began, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad became a vital transportation route for the Federal armies, with men and supplies passing by this station day and night. To protect the line, local businessman Thomas McGowan raised the Patapsco Guard and served as its captain. After the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, Confederate prisoners of war were held here pending either parole or transfer to prison camps. The war's human toll was vividly evident here after the Union defeat at the Battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864, near Frederick. Thousands of Federal soldiers and casualties, as well as more Confederate prisoners, flowed through town along the rail line as they withdrew to Baltimore., [Sidebars:] , One of the first railroads in the country, built of wooden rails carrying horse-drawn carts, extended from Baltimore to Ellicott City. Regular passenger service began on May 24, 1830. The first successful American steam locomotive, Peter Cooper's Tom Thumb, famously raced a horse-drawn carriage running alongside the track near Ellicott's Mills on August 28. Tom Thumb was winning at a top speed of 10-15 miles per hour, until a belt broke and the locomotive lost steam. This station, the nation's oldest, was built in 1831. Iron rails soon replaced the wooden ones, and the track became part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad., Local businessman Thomas McGowan recruited the Patapsco Guards in September 1861 and served as its captain. The unit assumed provost marshal duties in Ellicott's Mills until 1862, and then were assigned to the 3rd Maryland Infantry and marched to Harpers Ferry, where they skirmished with Confederate forces. On June 3, the Guard refused to cross into Virginia on the ground that the unit was a home guard raised to defend Maryland, not to invade the South. Several members were dishonorably discharged as deserters. In 1863, the Guard fought in a small action at Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and then reported to Gettysburg after the battle to assist in guarding hospitals there. In August 1865, the guard was mustered out of service.