Pvt. Benjamin Welch Owens

Pvt. Benjamin Welch Owens. An Outstanding Example of Courage. This monument, dedicated on June 17, 1999, honors the memory of a local man, Benjamin Welch Owens, who left his nearby West River farm to join Confederate forces during the Civil War. Owens was among the tens of thousands of men from Maryland who made their way south. He enlisted on June 3, 1863, joining the 1st Maryland Flying Artillery, C.S.A, which was composed of men from southern Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and Baltimore. Less than two weeks after Owens enlisted, his unit engaged Union forces on June 15 at Stephenson's Depot near Winchester, Virginia, during the Gettysburg Campaign. Owens defended a key railroad bridge alone after the other members of his gun crew were killed or wounded. He continued to hold his ground and serve his gun unit until help arrived, in an outstanding example of courage during the war in Virginia., Pvt. Owens returned to Anne Arundel County after the war and was appointed deputy county clerk. He died in 1917 at the Confederate Soldier's Home in Pikesville at age 81. Owens was awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor posthumously by the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1993, one of only 43 men, and the only Marylander, to receive it. (Because of political and economic difficulties, the Confederate government never awarded medals but instead published "rolls of honor" periodically.) The 12-foot bronze memorial, created by Texas sculptor Ron Moore, was erected with private contributions on land owned by Mt. Calvary Southern Methodist Church.