On July 6, 1776 the Convention of Maryland ordered Colonel William Smallwood to march his 6 Companies stationed in Annapolis and the 3 Companies in Baltimore to Philadelphia. Joining them would be three of the Independent Companies, specifically those under the command of Captains Edward Veazey, John Allen Thomas, and James Hindman. 237 Years ago today, Smallwood’s Battalion departed for New York by way of Philadelphia. Soon after leaving, Thomas’ and Hindman’s companies were ordered to halt and return to Annapolis in order to fend off potential attacks from Lord Dunmore on the Chesapeake.¹ The Nine Companies of Smallwood’s Battalion and Veazey’s Company continued north, reaching Philadelphia on July 16th, where they continued by boat to New Jersey. Thomas’ and Hindman’s company departed at the end of July after the threat from Lord Dunmore passed, catching up with Smallwood on or around August 9th.

Being the 237th anniversary of Smallwood’s departure, July 10th marks the beginning of the First Maryland Regiment’s participation in the New York and New Jersey Campaign. This campaign would prove to be devastating for the Regiment with several companies being all but decimated at the Battle of Long Island, where Maryland troops made their famous stand, for which this blog exists. The pay abstract from an earlier post gives us an idea of how many men were captured or killed during the battle. Ideally, the full strength of one of the regular companies would be 76 men and 100 men for one of the Independent companies.* Thus far, strength reports for the period directly before the battle have not been uncovered, making a precise calculation of casualties somewhat difficult. However, it is immediately evident from the pay abstract which companies made the largest sacrifices:

Captain Lucas’ Company: 27 Men
Captain Bowie’s (formerly Ewing’s) Company: 15 Men
Captain Adams’ Company: 19 Men
Captain Ford’s (formerly Stricker’s) Company: 36 Men
Captain Veazey’s (KIA at Long Island) Independent Company: 36 Men

To further diminish the ranks of the First Maryland Regiment, the Battle of White Plains inflicted even more casualties, taking the life of another Captain of the Independent Companies, Captain Bennett Bracco. Many of the survivors of this campaign went on to reenlist when the army was reorganized in December, forming a combat tested and reliable core of the new First Maryland Regiment.

1. Journal and Correspondence of the Maryland Council of Safety, July 7 – Dec. 31 1776. Archives of Maryland Online vol. 12 p. 50.
*Due to desertion and sickness, the companies were almost certainly not at full strength
                                                                                                                                                   

Since we never want to miss an opportunity to show off original documents I have attached images of the marching orders decided upon in the Convention of Maryland to send to William Smallwood.

-Daniel