On this day in Howard County history, McGowan’s Independent Company, Maryland Infantry (Patapsco Guards) was organized in Ellicott’s Mills by Thomas McGowan.

On September 25, 1861, McGowan’s Independent Company, Maryland Infantry (Patapsco Guards) was organized in Ellicott’s Mills by Thomas McGowan. McGowan recruited local men to serve in this Union company in order to protect Ellicott’s Mills. The unit was originally assigned to guard the railroads around Baltimore in 1862, but was later assigned to serve in Virginia and Pennsylvania. After learning that they would be deployed out of the region, many of these soldiers deserted and were dishonorably discharged. The remaining soldiers participated in several actions during the war. Most notably the company engaged in the pitched battles at Shippensburg, Columbia, Wrightsville, and Harrisburg to counter the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania preceding the Battle of Gettysburg. In 1864, 250 men of the unit, along with other soldiers, faced Jubal Early’s army in Lancaster after his attack on Washington, burning bridges to prevent the Confederates from crossing the Susquehanna River. The unit was mustered out of service on August 17, 1865.