Ross Winans, Esq., was arrested last evening at the Relay House, as he was returning to the city from Frederick, where he was in attendance as one of the members of the Legislature. When the cars stopped at the Relay, an officer and several soldiers entered the cars, and the officer approached Mr. Winans and asked if he was Ross Winans, to which Mr. Winans replied affirmatively. The officer then said, “You are a prisoner of the United States.” Mr. Winans asked on what charge, and was told that he would be informed of the charge in the morning. Mr. Winans then expressed his willingness to accompany the officer, and he was taken from the car. Gov. Hicks and a number of the members of the Legislature were present, and the Governor immediately proffered any amount of bail for Mr. Winans’ appearance, and requested the officer to release him, but met with a refusal. The arrest created a most intense excitement on the train, and when the news reached this city it spread with great rapidity, and a universal condemnation of the act was expressed. It is understood that Mr. Winans will be detained at the Relay House until this morning, when Gen. Butler will have an interview with him.
The Daily Exchange, Baltimore, MD
Ross Winans
Ross Winans was an inventor, locomotive builder and Maryland politician and outspoken state’s rights advocate. He was arrested after the Baltimore riots as he returned from a legislative session in Frederick, MD, where secession was considered but ultimately rejected. Winans’ arrest was one of the first under Lincoln’s suspension of habeus corpus. He was released after signing his parole asserting loyalty to the government.
Winans was also associated with the “Baltimore Steam Gun” though he was not its inventor and it only passed through his machine shop. The name stuck regardless.