Howard County, MD in the Civil War

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Civil War Unit Activity in Howard County, 1861-1865

Civil War activity in Howard County was centered almost exclusively on three railroad lines in the county: the Baltimore and Ohio from Elkridge west to Watersville, passing through Ilchester, Ellicott's Mills, Alberton (Elysville), Woodstock, Marriottsville, Sykesville, and Woodbine, the Washington Railroad, serving Laurel, Annapolis Junction to Elkridge (Relay House), and the Annapolis Branch, from Annapolis Junction to Annapolis.

In 1863, during the Gettysburg campaign, units under Confederate Generals J. E. B. Stuart, and Fitz Lee tore up track and destroyed bridges at Sykesville, Mount Airy, and Cooksville. A brief skirmish at Cooksville between Stuart's cavalry and Maryland militia units occurred on June 29th. A year later a skirmish between the First Eastern Shore Volunteers and a “large force” of Confederate cavalry resulted in the Union Volunteers taking two prisoners and killing a lieutenant.

Throughout the War detachments of over 40 units served at the above locations, as well as guarding bridges, roads, and culverts along the rail lines. Relay House, in Elkridge, and Annapolis Junction, served as mustering and training locations for various units.

Below is a listing of all units (or parts thereof) that spent at least a few days in the Howard County area. Also listed are a partial list of documentary sources for each unit, where available. [Note: The notation CWA means the information was derived from the Civil War Archive website (http://www.civilwararchive.com/)]

1st Delaware Cavalry - Duty at Wilmington, Del., till June, 1863, and in the Defenses of Baltimore, Md. Engaged in provost duty at Baltimore City and in the surrounding country till June, 1864.

1st District Regiment - 11/30/1861 - “The First District of Columbia regiment marched from the city in the morning to the line of the Washington Branch railroad, which they are to assist in guarding between this and Annapolis Junction.”

1st Eastern Shore Volunteers - at Elysville, July 1864. At Relay House, 10/20/1864.

1st Maryland Infantry - [Mustered in United States service for three years 27 May, 1861. Stationed at Relay House, on the junction of the Washington Branch and Baltimore & Ohio Railroads, Howard County, Baltimore City, Maryland, 20 May-6 June, 1861.]

Historical record of the First regiment Maryland infantry, ... Camper, Charles

1st Michigan Infantry - Headquartered at Annapolis Junction, 1861. [Duty at Bladensburg, Md., October, 1861, and at Annapolis Junction guarding Washington & Baltimore Railroad until March, 1862.]

Abbott, General Ira Coray. 1st Michigan Infantry, Co. G & C. Diary. 1861-1863. Ms-42pp. CWVFM-131. Gettysburg College.

1st New Jersey Militia - at Relay House, 8/10/1864.

1st Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry - [Four companies were assigned to guard the Annapolis and Elkridge Railroad between Annapolis and Annapolis Junction, between 7/27/1861 and 8/30/1861.]

1st Rhode Island Cavalry - [Duty in the Shenandoah Valley until June 22. At Monrovia Station and Relay House, Md., until August. Mustered out at Baltimore, Md., August 3, 1865.] - CWA. [Only] Troop A to Relay House, June 24, 1864, rest of unit at Monrovia. July 25th, rest of unit to Relay House. July 29th - August 3rd, mustering out at Relay House.

Sabres and spurs: the First regiment Rhode Island cavalry in the civil war, 1861-1865.

2nd Battalion New York Light Artillery - [Reserve Artillery, Army of Virginia, to September, 1862. At Relay House, Md., 8th Army Corps, Middle Department, to October, 1862. Designated 15th New York Independent Battery Light Artillery October, 1862.] - CWA

3rd Pennsylvania Artillery - “In the spring of 1863, by order of the war department, the commands of Segebarth and Roberts were consolidated to form the 3d Pa. heavy artillery. Co. H, Capt. William D. Rank, was detached for garrison duty in the defenses of Baltimore, where it remained throughout its term of service…” Reported served at the skirmish at Cooksville, June, 1863.

Regimental history taken from “The Union Army” by Federal Publishing Company, 1908 - Volume 1

3rd Potomac Home Brigade/3rd Maryland Volunteer Infantry - at Elysville, June 1863. [Guard Washington Branch, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, June 28-July 10. At Annapolis, Relay Station, Annapolis Junction and Monocacy until July, 1864.] Disposition on June 10, 1864, Company C at Elysville, Co. F at Hoods Mill, Cos. A and G at Mount Airy.

Battle of West Frederick, July 7, 1864: Prelude to Battle of Monocacy By Joseph V. Collins

3rd Delaware Infantry - 6/24/1863, “…the Purnell Legion and the Third Delaware are at the Relay House, and guarding the railroad out to Annapolis Junction, where they connect with Heintzelman, and from the Relay House out to Elysville, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad…” - O.R.– SERIES I–VOLUME XXVII/3 [S# 45] [September 16-17. Duty at Frederick, Md.; Relay House, Md., and Elysville, Md., guarding R. R., and garrison duty in Middle Dept. until May, 1864.] - CWA

Edmund Townsend Papers, 1862-1864, University of Michigan.

3rd Pennsylvania Artillery - at Relay House, 8/10/1864.

4th Delaware Infantry - Possibly stationed briefly in Howard County, needs more research.

4th Wisconsin Infantry - [Arrived at Relay House, 7/29/1861. Stationed at Relay House until 11/4/1861.]

Martin, Michael, A History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the American Civil War. Savas-Beatie, 2006. ISBN 1-932714-18-9.

Collection Newton H. Culver
WVM ID Number WVM Mss 234
Object Name Archive
Title Papers and photographs, 1916.

Paine, Halbert E, Halbert E. Paine, Eliza P. Ladd, Eliza L. B. Paine, Thomas Williams, and Fred G. Benton. Halbert E. Paine Papers. , 1861. Archival material. Louisiana State University.

A Wisconsin Yankee in Confederate Bayou Country
The Civil War Reminiscences of a Union General
by Halbert Eleazer Paine

5th New York Heavy Artillery - At Relay House, September 1862. [Stationed at Relay House, January to April 9, 1864.]

5th New York State Militia - 1861. […to Annapolis, Md., April 30. Guard duty along railroad from Annapolis to Annapolis Junction until May 12.]

6th Massachusetts Infantry - [May 13, 1861 ordered to Relay House, stationed until July 30, 1861.] [Moved to Relay House May 5 and to Baltimore May 13, returning to Relay House May 16. Guard railroad until June 13. Duty at Baltimore and Relay House until July 29. Relieved from duty July 29, and mustered out August 2, 1861.] - CWA

William Henry Snow Papers, 1831-1902; 1934., University of North Carolina

Lois Wright Richardson Davis family papers, Duke University

Historical sketch of the old Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts, Hanson, J. W. (John Wesley), 1823-1901.

Addresses, reviews and episodes, chiefly concerning the “Old … Watson, Benjamin Frank, 1826-1905.

6th New York State Militia - [June 29, 1861 - July 29, 1861 at Annapolis Junction. ]

8th Massachusetts Infantry - [May 12, 1861 stationed on Elkridge Heights, in the vicinity of Relay House. Back and forth to Baltimore until July 3, 1861.]

John P. Reynolds journal, University of Michigan. [“Particularly noteworthy descriptions include those of the camp at Relay House, of particular drills, flag-raising ceremonies, and of celebrations of the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill and of the Fourth of July.”]

“In her hour of sore distress and peril” : the Civil War diaries of John P. Reynolds, Eighth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

8th New York State Militia - 1861. [Relay House, on the junction of the Washington Branch & Baltimore & Ohio Railroads, Howard County, Maryland, 5-17 May.]

Hopkins, Charles A. Papers, 1861-1885; (bulk 1861-1878). Rutgers University

Kincaid, Thomas H. When we were boys in blue, 1861-1865. [New York: 1903].

8th New York Heavy Artillery - Detachment at Relay House, 8/10/1864, 9/19/1864 and 10/20/1864.

9th New York Heavy Artillery - Detachment at Relay House, 8/10/1864, 9/19/1864 and 10/20/1864.

10th Maine Infantry - Relieved 4th Wisconsin at Relay House, 11/3/1861. Stationed on the railroad through 3/8/1862.

“Dear Friend Anna” : the Civil War letters of a common soldier from Maine by Abial Hall Edwards (Book)

History of the First - Tenth - Twenty-ninth Maine regiment. In service of the United States from May 3, 1861, to June 21, 1866 by John Mead Gould (Book)

The marching and fighting of the Tenth Maine regiment, also, Departed heroes, and the soldier's dream by Benjamin Russell

The Civil War journals of John Mead Gould, 1861-1866 by John Mead Gould (Book)

Directory of the First - Tenth - Twenty-ninth Maine regiment Association by Maine Regiment Association (Book)

Civil War Regimental Correspondence, Box 46 10th Maine - 1861-1863 (366 letters). Maine State Archives.

11th Maryland Infantry - at Mount Airy, 8/10/1864. Guard duty at Monocacy and Mt. Airy, Maryland, until October 1, 1864.

12th Maryland Infantry - at Mount Airy, 9/19/1864. On guard duty along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad between Baltimore, Md., and Kearneysville, Va.

12th New Jersey Infantry - 1862. [September 8 Guard duty at Ellicott’s Mills, Md. December 10 Moved to Washington, D.C.] - CWA

To Gettysburg and beyond : the Twelfth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, II Corps, Army of the Potomac, 1862-1865 by Edward G Longacre (Book)

While my country is in danger : the life and letters of Lieutenant Colonel Richard S. Thompson, Twelfth New Jersey Volunteers by Gerry Harder Poriss (Book)

12th New Jersey Volunteers, 1862-65 by Frederick W Jago (Book)

History of the men of Co. F, with description of the marches and battles of the 12th New Jersey Vols. by Wm. P Haines (Book)

Roster of the Twelfth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers by United States (Book)

Joseph B. Husted diary, University of Michigan.

Stratton, James S., Civil War Papers, Virginia and Trenton, NJ, 1863-1864, reflecting
service as an officer in the 12th New Jersey Infantry. Rutgers University.

Buck, Alfred H., Civil War journal, 1862-1864, Rutgers University.

13th New York State Militia - [June 14 - 17, 1861 at Annapolis Junction.] Probably stationed in Annapolis, no evidence they were at Annapolis Junction.

13th Pennsylvania Cavalry - 9/12/1862, ordered to report to Col. Johnson at Ellicott's Mills. 12/10/1862, replaces the 12th NJ at Ellicott's Mills.

Hand,Harold, Jr. One Good Regiment: The 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil War,1861-1865.

14th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry - At Elysville, 9/5/1862 - 9/16/1862.

Upon the Tented Field, by Bernard A. Olsen

Campaign of the Fourteenth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers by Terrill, J. Newton.

15th New York Independent Battery Light Artillery - [Duty at Relay House, Md., October, 1862, to January, 1863.] - CWA

20th New York State Militia - [The 20th New York State Militia was ordered to Annapolis Junction, Howard County, Maryland, at 12 PM on 11 May, 1861, and arrived at Camp Reynolds, on the Annapolis & Elkridge Railroad, Annapolis Junction, Howard County, Maryland, in the evening the same day. The regiment was assigned to guard the Annapolis & Elkridge Railroad between Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, and Annapolis Junction, Howard County, as far as Laurel, Prince George's County, Maryland, between 11 May and 29 June, 1861.]

THE THREE-MONTH SERVICE OF THE 20TH NEW YORK STATE MILITIA, APRIL 28-AUGUST 2, 1861. Osborne, Seward R.

The Civil War diaries of Col. Theodore B. Gates, 20th New York State Militia.

21st Massachusetts Infantry - Stationed at Annapolis Junction from 8/30/1861 through 12/18/1861.

History of the Twenty-first regiment, Massachusetts volunteers, in the war for the preservation of the union, 1861-1865: with statistics of the war and of Rebel prisons. Walcott, Charles F.
THE STORY OF PVT. HENRY W. BROWN, THOMPSON, CT. Thompson Historical Society

23rd New York National Guard - reported to be on Provost Guard duty, July-Oct, 1864.

“Jul-Oct, 1864: Lewis Le Clear: Six Weeks on Provost Guard”. Howard County Historical Society[?]

44th Pennsylvania Volunteers - Also known as the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry and the 15th Pennsylvania Reserves. Companies serving on detached duty in and around Baltimore throughout War.

60th Massachusetts Infantry - [Organized for 100 days August 1, 1864. Left State for Washington, D.C., August 1. Stopped at Baltimore, Md., and duty at Relay House until August 9…] - CWA

60th New York Infantry - At Relay House, 11/9/1861. [Duty at Baltimore, Md., and between there and Washington, D.C.; also at Relay House, Md., and Harper's Ferry, W. Va., until June, 1862.] - CWA

History of the Sixtieth Regiment New York State Volunteers, From the Commencement of Its Organization in July, 1861, to Its Public Reception at Ogdensburgh as a Veteran Command, January 7th, 1864 – Richard Eddy

69th New York State Militia - [Annapolis Junction, Howard County, Maryland, 29 April-2 May, 1861.]

71st New York State Militia - 5/19/1861. “A part of the seventy-first New York regiment relieved the eighth at the Relay camp”

93rd Regiment New York State Militia - at Relay House, 7/26/1864, 8/10/1864. At Elysville, 9/19/1864.

109th New York Infantry - [”…served at Annapolis Junction, Md., and in Middle Department, 8th Corps, from September, 1862; in the defenses of Washington and 22d Corps, from October, 1862, as Railroad Guard; in the 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 9th Corps, from March, 1864; in the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 9th Corps, Army of the Potomac, from August, 1864“] - New York in the War of the Rebellion, 3rd ed. Frederick Phisterer. [”“The regiment left Binghamton promptly, proceeding to Annapolis Junction, Md., where it was placed on guard duty along the line of railroad to Washington, a few of the companies being stationed at Laurel, Md. It remained there the rest of the year and during all of 1863. In the spring of 1864…”] - The Union army: a history of military affairs in the loyal states, 1861-65 – records of the regiments in the Union army – cyclopedia of battles – memoirs of commanders and soldiers. Madison, WI: Federal Pub. Co., 1908. volume II.

Ashley, Jesse Albert. Letters (1862-1865). New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections.

Brown, Peter Ogden. “Collectors Field Book : The diary and messkit of Sergeant Fred A. Ogden, 109th New York Volunteers.” Military Collector & Historian. 32 :4 Winter 1980. 174-175.

De Bell, William H. Letter (April 6, 1863). New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections.

Dear Friend Amelia, the Civil War Letters of Private John Tidd by Mary Jordan and Joyce Hatch (Author)

118th New York Infantry - Reported to be at Relay House, September, 1862.

138th Pennsylvania Volunteers - [Organized at Harrisburg August 16, 1862. Moved to Baltimore, Md., August 30, thence to Relay House. Attached to Relay House, Defenses of Baltimore, 8th Corps, Middle Dept., to February, 1863…Duty at Relay House, Md., until June, 1863.] - CWA

History of the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry By Osceola Lewis

“They will not be forgotten”: A Narrative History of the 138th Pennsylvania. by Stephen Light

144th Ohio Infantry - At Annapolis Junction, May 30, 1864. At Relay House, Elysville, and Annapolis Junction, 8/18/1864. [ May 11. Companies assigned to duty as follows: …“I” at Fort Dix, Relay House. ..Attached to 1st Separate Brigade, 8th Army Corps, Middle Department. Regiment relieved from duty at Baltimore and moved to Relay House. ] - CWA. Disposition on June 10, 1864, Three companies at Relay House, two companies at Fort Dix, Company F at Annapolis Junction.

Samuel McClain Papers 1864. Samuel McClain Co. I 144th OVI. Bowling Green University.

No Greater Glory. The 144th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. By Daniel Masters.

149th Ohio National Guard - Reported at Relay House, 8/10/1864, per OR, but no evidence they were ever there, see below.

A Summer in Maryland and Virginia; or, Campaigning with the 149th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a Sketch of Events Connected With the Service of the Regiment in Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Written by George Perkins.

Cook's Battery Boston Light Artillery - [May 5, 1861 at Relay House. A section of the Boston Light Artillery was stationed at Camp Essex, Woodside's Farm, on Elkridge Heights, overlooking the Thomas Viaduct on the Patapsco River, in the vicinity of Relay House. Back and forth to Baltimore, until June 13.]

Dodd's Rifles - [to Elkridge Heights, in the vicinity of Relay House, at the junction of the Washington Branch and Baltimore & Ohio Railroads, Howard County, Maryland, Companies B, E, F, G, & H, 14 May, 1861: The 8th Massachusetts Infantry… were accompanied by Dodd's Rifles or Carvers.]

Howard Dragoons - [The company was ordered to rendezvous at Ellicott's Mills, on the Patapsco River, Baltimore County, Maryland, on 19 April, 1861, and was assigned to Major General G H Steuart, Maryland Militia, at Baltimore City, Maryland, in the afternoon on 20 April, 1861.] Eventually became the 1st Maryland Cavalry, C. S. A.

Patapsco Guard - [Organized at Ellicott's Mills, Md, September 25, 1861. Attached to Dix's Command, Baltimore, Md, to March, 1862. Railroad Brigade, Middle Department, to July, 1862.] - CWA. Left Ellicott's Mills May 24, 1862 for Harper's Ferry.

Purnell Legion - 6/24/1863. “…the Purnell Legion and the Third Delaware are at the Relay House, and guarding the railroad out to Annapolis Junction, where they connect with Heintzelman, and from the Relay House out to Elysville, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad…” - O.R.– SERIES I–VOLUME XXVII/3 [S# 45]

Historical Record of the First Regiment Maryland Infantry: With an Appendix

Howard County, MD in the Civil War

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