A Town Divided

By the 1850s, a prosperous community was located here around the Ellicott family gristmills and ironworks established in the 1770s. When the Civil War began in 1861, the town's population exceeded 2,000. Although the mill workers and merchants of Howard County primarily supported the Union, there were those in town with Confederate sympathies. The Hayden family lived on the hill behind you. Horace and William served in the 1st Maryland Cavalry, CSA. Horace entered the Staunton Virginia Theological Seminary in 1864 and became an ordained minister in 1867. Their sister Kate lived in Ellicott's Mills throughout the war and saved newspaper clippings and images of southern heroes in her scrapbook as the war progressed.

Other residents who remained loyal to the Union joined the First Maryland Infantry. Several merchants' sons organized "broomstick brigades," decorated themselves with ribbons liberated from their mothers' bonnets, and marched forth to attack their pro-Confederate counterparts near the Hilton estate (which the boys nicknamed Helltown). Later, one recalled, The "old fields" and unfenced acres of mammoth cherry trees were the extreme limit of our marches. We stacked our arms overlooking the secession colony. The sentinels looked toward the enemy's breastworks as the real attack was made upon the fruit trees. We marched toward Helltown and met up with the Hilton girls. We sang [to the tune of "Buffalo Gals"], ?Helltown gals won't you come out tonight and dance by the light of the moon.' The girls charged us, boxed our ears and smacked chops. They continued to pass around their compliments until our retreat. This ended the campaign against Helltown.

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Show me all markers in:  Ellicott City, MD  |  Howard County  |  21043  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

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