Savage Mill

Savage Mill. Vital Service to the Union. , This mill pulsed with activity during the Civil War as it turned out vast quantities of cotton canvas for the U.S. Quartermasters Corps. Owner William Baldwin, who had purchased the mill in 1859, overcame numerous obstacles to acquire cotton., The Quartermasters Corps cut and sewed the mill's canvas into tarpaulins, tents, and covers for wagons and cannons. The Quartermasters Corps and other Union departments used the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad spur here for transporting supplies and troops. Soldiers occasionally camped in the meadow on the north side of the tracks., The rail spur linked Savage Mill with the B&O branch lines to Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington. Confederate sympathizers damaged the track in 1861, necessitating quick repairs. When Union Gen. Benjamin F. Butler and his Massachusetts regiments disembarked from steamboats in Annapolis in April 1861, they found much of the track and equipment on that branch rendered useless. Butler's men repaired a locomotive and cars, rebuilt the tracks, and rode the train to Washington. Other Union troops occupied Relay and Baltimore to protect the lines., (captions) , Savage Mill, late 19th century - Courtesy Howard County Historical Society , Cotton mills began operating here in the mid-18th century, producing cotton duck or canvas. John Savage, for whom the mill is named, funded the company early in the 1820s. By 1825, the mill employed 200 people. Amid financial difficulties, William E. Baldwin Jr., acquired the complex in 1847 and expanded it. Besides producing canvas during the Civil War, the mill continued operation during World War I and World War II. It closed in 1947 and eventually was rehabilitated as a shopping center., Canvas tent and wagon cover, June 24, 1864 - Courtesy Library of Congress