The Republic Hung By a Thread

The Story of the Annapolis andElk Ridge Railroad

April 1861• Fort Sumter had fallen

• Washington could soon be isolated

• Troops left Philadelphia on April 18 and arrived in Baltimore the next day

• Had to go from President Street Station to Camden Station

Pratt Street Riot• 6th Massachusetts evaded civilians then went to

Camden Station and on to Washington

• Pennsylvania troops returned to Philadelphia

Baltimore Shuts Down

• Governor Thomas Hicks and Mayor George Brown asked Lincoln not to bring troops through Baltimore

• Hicks dispatched troops to disable bridges leading to Baltimore

In Philadelphia• Two fully-equipped

regiments were waiting

– 7th New York led by Col. Marshall Lefferts

– 8th Mass. led by Brig. General Ben Butler

– A battle of wills ensued

Philadelphia to Washington

• Via rail and bay

• To Perryville

• Board ferry to Annapolis

• Via steamer

• Around Cape Charles

• Up the Potomac

• Or on to Annapolis

•Via rail

Decisions, Decisions

• Butler chose the train

• Troops boarded a ferry

• Arrived in Annapolis harbor on April 20th

• Sat offshore at the Naval Academy before it was allowed to land

Decisions, Decisions

• Lefferts chose the steamer Boston; bypassed trip up Potomac

Arrived after Butler

Good decision – both means were very crowded

On to Washington• Narrow, muddy road “infested with guerillas and

bushwhackers”

• Green troops

• Low on ammunition and supplies

• Preferred not marching

• Winfield Scott was increasingly anxious

• Sent eight messengers looking for the troops

A&ER Railroad• Chartered in 1837, two years after B&O

completed branch from Baltimore to Washington

• Was to link Annapolis to that branch and on to Elk Ridge and the Patapsco – never got there

• $2 from Annapolis to Baltimore; $2.30 to Washington

Take the Train• Late on the 23rd – Mass. troops found rail depot

• Small, rusting, slightly disassembled locomotive and several rail cars found

• Pvt. Charles Homans of Company E

• By sunset, decision made to use train to proceed to Washington in the morning

Moving On• Turmoil overnight

• Not sure of condition of rails

• At 4 a.m. two companies of New Yorkers left the Academy grounds with a howitzer

• Mass. men had worked overnight – engine ready and first two miles of track restored

• Cut off tops of two cattle cars, one for howitzer, other for ammo and six riflemen

Moving On• Two converted cattle cars, locomotive – with Pvt.

Homans at the helm – two passenger cars filled with troops

• Going was slow

• Stopped often to search for missing track, reassemble tracks, chase off marauders

• Got to 6 mile mark by 9 a.m.

Millersville• Locomotive sent back to get the remainder of the

New Yorkers

• 2 p.m. arrived at Millersville water station

• Bridge just beyond had been destroyed

• 20 feet high, 16 feet long, over a road

• Engineers of the 7th started rebuilding

Millersville

Millersville

On to Annapolis Junction• Kept moving

• Replaced rails, found some in fields, one at the bottom of a pond

• On edge

• Arrived in Annapolis Junction about 3 a.m.

• In morning, train arrived, departed for Washington

The Link is Established

• May 5: Butler controlled Relay House

• May 8: Second route from Perryville to Locust Point (by Fort McHenry) to Washington was established

• May 13: Butler’s men occupied Baltimore and writ of habeas corpus was suspended

The Railroad Continues

• Ran until 1879 – never paid interest on initial loan

• Reorganized in 1886 as Annapolis, Baltimore and Washington Railroad

• Purchased in 1902 by the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway

• Operated until 1935

It’s Still There

Over Dorsey Run

Fort Meade

Stables

Odenton

Station

Millersville Bridge

Millersville

Bridge

Millersville Bridge – circa 1902

Millersville Bridge Today

Millersville Bridge Today

Where the Stones Are Now