History Captured in Ellicott's Mills

One hundred and fifty years ago, on May 11, 1861, the townspeople of Ellicott’s Mills were  anxious and fearful. Barely a month had passed since Confederate artillery had reduced Fort Sumter  in Charleston, S.C., to rubble. 

Days later newly elected President Abraham Lincoln declared that the country was involved in what was the unthinkable, a Civil War between North and South.

And then on April 19, just a mere 10 miles east of town on Baltimore City’s Pratt Street, a group of southern sympathizers rioted.  The mob viciously attacked a Massachusetts regiment that had responded to Lincoln’s plea to defend Washington, D.C.  Ellicott’s Mills citizens read with disbelief articles in the Baltimore American of the four young soldiers killed in the street and of the scores of Baltimoreans killed and wounded.

Soon after, rumors reached town that Union General Benjamin Butler, with two regiments of infantry, almost 1200 men, along with a battery of artillery had taken possession of Relay, overlooking the nearby Thomas Viaduct. This event accompanied the news that President Lincoln had suspended habeus corpus between Philadelphia and Washington.  Any citizen could now be arrested by the military without showing cause, and held indefinitely.  

Many prominent area families had southern sympathies, such as the Gaithers of Oakland Manor, the Peters of Ellicott’s Mills, descendents of Martha Washington, and the Dorseys of Belmont.  George Gaither, Jr. had organized a pre-war cavalry unit, the ‘Howard Dragoons’, which later became a part of the Army of Northern Virginia.  

Many in town feared the war would end up on their doorstep.  

And on the morning of May 11t, 1861, an obscure piece of weaponry did arrive in Ellicott’s Mills.

It was said to be a “diabolical engine for destruction,” looking much like a large piece of firefighting equipment.  Called “Dickinson’s Patent Centrifugal Gun,” it was being marketed by a former dance instructor named Charles Dickinson.   

Dickinson claimed the weapon could fire 300 rounds a minute in an era where an infantryman could only fire three.  He brought the weapon to Baltimore in the spring of 1861 to demonstrate to the city authorities.

After the Pratt Street riot, Baltimore City police appropriated the weapon, perhaps to use against a Federal invasion.  The gun was taken to the machine shops of a prominent Baltimore inventor and tycoon, Ross Winans. Maybe because he was a vehement believer in the southern cause, the newspapers of the day forever linked the two together, giving the weapon a new name, the ‘Winans Steam Gun’. When things calmed down in Baltimore, Dickinson recovered his gun and set out to make the best of a bad situation. He had met with a man in Baltimore who thought there might be an interest in the weapon in the newly formed Confederacy.  

But now Dickinson needed to get the gun to the Confederate capital in Richmond.

He hired a couple of teamsters to help drive the gun, which was mounted on a carriage with wheels. They quietly headed from the east Baltimore machine shop near Mount Clare Station (and the present day ) down the Frederick Turnpike (now Frederick Road) to the Ellicott’s Mill B & O station.

Dickinson then planned to load it on the train to Harper’s Ferry and then head south to meet his contact in Richmond.

Actual details are sparse, but some reports say that the gun was covered with a large wooden box, disguised as a piece of agricultural equipment.

The ruse failed.  News of the gun being transported reached General Butler at Relay. Union supporters been streaming daily into the Federal camp with tidbits of information they thought important, and this one was heard by Colonel Edward F. Jones of the 6th Massachusetts who passed it up to his commander.

Except the information Butler received was that the Steam Gun was being guarded by an armed force of nearly 300 men.  So Butler immediately ordered Colonel Jones with a detachment of 100 men, along with an artillery unit armed with two cannons, to commandeer the B & O train at Relay and head towards Ellicott’s Mills.

Their timing was perfect.  

Immediately upon arrival at the station they found a suspicious wagon and passengers outside the station.  Investigation revealed their prize, captured without a shot.  Dickinson quickly surrendered, claiming he was just taking it out of town for long range testing.  He was still arrested, along with the innocent teamsters, and would be sent to Annapolis for questioning.  They were all released several days later.

The Massachusetts troopers loaded the gun on the train for the trip back to Relay house.  On May 12, they mounted the gun on a hillside above the Thomas Viaduct in Elkridge, where it “commands an immense sweep of country”.

The gun was never put into actual field service. The army never considered it practical because of its weight, its need for water and fuel, and the belief that one well aimed artillery shell could destroy it. 

It was also rumored that Dickinson had removed an integral piece before its capture, and the Federals could never get it to work.

General Butler later had it moved down to his headquarters in Virginia as a war trophy.  It was shipped up to Boston for a patriotic rally, then donated to a new England Mechanics Association and finally, scrapped.

The Steam Gun is an asterisk in Civil War history, but to the Union supporters of Ellicott’s Mills in the spring of 1861, it was a horrible weapon capable of killing their sons and loved ones. 

And they were glad it was gone.

In addition to writing for Patch and others, Mike Radinsky is a dad, history lover, and living historian. On weekends, he is usually found at a battlefield or museum (try the ), wearing blue or gray wool, carrying a musket and talking to kids about history. Mike searches for unique, little- known stories about the history of the area.