B&O Railroad Station

B&O Railroad Station. Keep Supplies Moving. One of the first railroads in the country, constructed in 1830 of wooden rails that carried horse-drawn cars, extended from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills. This station was built the next year, and soon steel rails replaced wooden ones as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was constructed. The line became strategically important to the Union war effort in 1861, and the local Patapsco Guard were among the Federal troops that guarded the road. Supplies en route to the armies passed the station day and night. After the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, prisoners were held here pending parole or transfer to prison camps. The war's human toll was vividly evident here after the Union defeat at the Monocacy River near Frederick, Maryland, as thousands of Federal Soldiers, casualties, and prisoners flowed through town both on foot and by train as they retreated to Baltimore. , Patapsco Guard. Local businessman Thomas McGowan began recruiting for the company named the Patapsco Guard in September 1861; he became its captain. The Guard assumed provost marshal duties in Ellicott's Mills until May 1862. They briefly served with the 3rd Maryland Infantry and marched to Harpers Ferry where they skirmished with Confederate troops. On June 2, the Patapsco Guard refused to enter Virginia on the grounds that they were a home guard raised to defend Maryland, not invade the South. Several men were dishonorably discharged for desertion. In 1863, the Guard fought a small engagement at Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, and then reported to Gettysburg after the battle to assist in guarding hospitals on the battlefield. In August 1865, they were mustered out of service.