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Recent posts: Finding the Maryland 400
Death by Pig
While researching soldiers and their families from the Revolutionary War, it can be difficult to uncover reliable information. We have written about some of our methods before, and you can read one of those posts here. However, sometimes the best we can do is to make an educated guess or conclusion, as was done in […]
A Veteran Remembers
The last officially recorded fact about Joseph Steward’s military service is that he enlisted in the Second Company of the First Maryland Regiment, commanded by Captain Patrick Sim, on February 26, 1776. There is nothing to tell us what became of him. [1] But another soldier remembered Steward. Moses Gill still remembered clearly, some fifty […]
Happy National Literacy Day! – Literacy Rates in Colonial America
In addition to the Revolutionary War, a literary revolution swept across the American Colonies and Europe in the 18th century. In celebration of National Literacy Day, today we will explore the literacy rates of Colonial America and how they affected the men of the Maryland Line.
Upcoming Maryland 400 Lecture
On Saturday, September 9, Finding the Maryland 400 project director Owen Lourie will give a lecture at Belair Mansion in Bowie, Maryland. He will talk about the Maryland 400 at the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776, and highlight the stories of several soldiers from the Bowie area. The lecture will be part of a day-long […]
Category Archives: Revolutionary Veterans
A “little groggy”: the deputy sheriff of Baltimore and his “bowl of toddy”
On December 21, 1776, Sergeant John Hardman of the Edward Veazey‘s Seventh Independent Company arrived at a public prison in Baltimore Town with captured British soldiers. [1] He was there escorting the British prisoners from Philadelphia. That night, Hardman ordered a “bowl of … Continue reading
Sickened Marylanders and the Philadelphia Bettering House
On April 13, 1777, John Adams described the spread of disease in Philadelphia and the fate of the sick soldiers in that city in a letter to his wife, Abigail Smith. In his letter, he mentioned a local institution, called the … Continue reading
“The misfortune which ensued”: The defeat at Germantown
On the morning of October 4, 1777, Continental troops encountered British forces, led by Lord William Howe, encamped at Germantown, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia’s outskirts. George Washington believed that he had surprise on his side. [1] He had ordered his multiple divisions to march twenty … Continue reading
British “masters of the field”: The disaster at Brandywine
On the night of September 10, 1777, many of the soldiers and commanding officers of the Continental Army sat around their campfires and listened to an ominous sermon that would predict the events of the following day. Chaplain Jeremias (or Joab) Trout … Continue reading
A “dull place” on the Patapsco: Baltimore and the Marr Brothers
In May 1776, the Revolution had been raging for almost a year with skirmishes between the British imperial army and the rag-tag revolutionaries. William Marr, probably with his brothers Nicholas and James, enlisted in the Continental Army in Capt. Nathaniel Ramsey’s … Continue reading
“He had never gave them an inch before he found that he had nothing left to keep them off with”
In late August 1777, the American Army planned a raid on Staten Island. Intelligence available to the Americans suggested that the British forces there were primarily American Loyalist militia rather than British regular troops. Furthermore, the inexperienced Tories were stealing … Continue reading
Col. Gaither: Seven years on Georgia’s frontier
A new biography expands on previous writing on this blog about Henry Chew Gaither, a Revolutionary War captain of the First and Fourth Maryland Regiments. On the eve of the Battle of Brooklyn, he served as a witness for Daniel … Continue reading
Revolutionary Veterans VI: The Long and Eventful Life of William McMillan
Regular readers of Finding the Maryland 400 will already know about William McMillan. As a 20 year old sergeant at the Battle of Brooklyn, McMillan survived a battle where “My captain was killed, first lieutenant was killed, second lieutenant shot … Continue reading
Revolutionary Veterans V: Thomas Stockett Brewer of Annapolis
Thomas Stockett Brewer also remained in his home state after the war. Brewer hailed from Anne Arundel County and likely lived in Annapolis before the war, where he was surrounded by patriotic sentiment. He likely worked as an apprentice or … Continue reading
