Robert Gray
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2012
Union troops pose for a picture at the Relay House, Maryland in 1861.
The B&O Railroad was the only railroad into Washington DC until after the Civil War, thus it was an essential supply train route for the Union. To prevent Confederate attack or sabotage of the Thomas Viaduct and Washington junction, the Sixth and Eighth Massachusetts regiments, as well as Cook's Boston Artillery Battery, took control of the railroad junction, Relay House train station, and the Thomas Viaduct on May 5th, 1861. The Relay House itself became the occupying Union Army headquarters.
To prevent the smuggling of arms and supplies by railway to the Confederate states, both freight trains and passenger trains passing through Relay were stopped and searched at the Relay House station by Union troops. Passengers had their trunks and even their food baskets searched. Everything from picnic baskets full of brass buttons destined for Confederate uniforms to thousands of percussion caps for rifles and pistols hidden in trunks were found and confiscated.
There were eventually over 2,000 troops stationed around the Thomas Viaduct in Relay, Elkridge, and the fields across the tracks from Relay that would later become the village of St. Denis. The entire area became a military occupation for the duration of the war, much to the dismay of the local residents.
Thomas Viaduct & Relay, Maryland Railroad History blogspot
The B&O Railroad was the only railroad into Washington DC until after the Civil War, thus it was an essential supply train route for the Union. To prevent Confederate attack or sabotage of the Thomas Viaduct and Washington junction, the Sixth and Eighth Massachusetts regiments, as well as Cook's Boston Artillery Battery, took control of the railroad junction, Relay House train station, and the Thomas Viaduct on May 5th, 1861. The Relay House itself became the occupying Union Army headquarters.
To prevent the smuggling of arms and supplies by railway to the Confederate states, both freight trains and passenger trains passing through Relay were stopped and searched at the Relay House station by Union troops. Passengers had their trunks and even their food baskets searched. Everything from picnic baskets full of brass buttons destined for Confederate uniforms to thousands of percussion caps for rifles and pistols hidden in trunks were found and confiscated.
There were eventually over 2,000 troops stationed around the Thomas Viaduct in Relay, Elkridge, and the fields across the tracks from Relay that would later become the village of St. Denis. The entire area became a military occupation for the duration of the war, much to the dismay of the local residents.
Thomas Viaduct & Relay, Maryland Railroad History blogspot