Lock 29 (Lander)

This point of the Canal is where John Mosby’s confederate raiders crossed the river on July 4, 1864 en route to their Calico Raid at Point of Rocks. It is also the exact point—at the exact time—when a holiday excursion boat of Treasury clerks approached the lock from upstream on their way back from Harper’s Ferry. The presence of the hostile raiders scared anyone from operating the lock, so the Treasury clerks abandoned ship and made a run for it! Mosby’s raiders promptly set their vessel “The Flying Cloud” on fire and continued on their way.

The lock itself is constructed of granite from the Patapsco and white flint stone from across the river in Virginia. It’s just a half mile downstream of the 100-foot long Catoctin Aqueduct. The adjacent lockhouse is still standing.