| Although its citizens had divided loyalties
as most Maryland towns did during the civil war, Ellicott’s
Mills played a crucial role in the civil war for the
Union. The railroad station, and to a lesser extent
the town, were guarded by a garrison of Union soldiers
about the size of a brigade. Confederate troops invading
Maryland wanted control of such a vital rail line, since
it would disrupt supplies to Baltimore and Washington.
In the summer of 1864, Union Lt. General
Ulysses S. Grant had Confederate General Robert E.
Lee’s confederate army caught in a siege. In
order to relieve some pressure from the siege of Petersburg
(VA), Gen. Lee sent Lt. Gen. Jubal Early and his corps
on a mission to march up the Shenandoah Valley and
cross the Potomac, threatening Baltimore and Washington.
Scattering the meager resistance he met, Gen. Early
made it across the Potomac safely. Unsure of Early’s
intentions or even his strength, Union Major Gen.
Lew Wallace set out on July 5th with a force of mostly
raw recruits numbering 2,500 from Baltimore to Monacacy
junction. Upon arriving there, Wallace discovered
he was facing a large force and wired Grant asking
for reinforcements. Grant decided to send the VI corps
by transport ship. The two brigades of Brigadier Gen.
James Ricketts veteran division would arrive in a
few days. Heavy skirmishing between Wallace and Early
took place on the 7th and 8th of July. On the morning
of the 8th, Rickett’s Union division arrived,
enlarging Wallace’s force to 6,000. Wallace
gathered from scattered intelligence and reports that
he was facing a rebel force of 18,000 troops. He knew
that he couldn’t defeat Early, but he had to
delay him long enough for the rest of the VI corps
to arrive in Washington. The battle began on July
9th. After some skirmishing, Early decided to attack
Wallace’s right flank, where he expected to
meet raw militia and new troops. Instead he met Rickett’s
battle hardened veterans. After several attacks on
the outnumbered Union right, confederate Gen. Gordon
finally forced Union troops into a retreat towards
Baltimore.
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