Project sponsored by the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
Recent posts: Finding the Maryland 400
250 Years Ago in Brooklyn, New York…
…the Maryland 400 made a desperate last stand that held back the British and helped save the American army. The Battle of Brooklyn, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle of the Revolutionary War, and a terrible defeat for the Americans.The British overwhelmed the Continental Army commanded by George Washington. As the […]
Finding the Maryland 400 Book For Sale
Finding the Maryland 400, the book chronicling Maryland’s Revolutionary War soldiers, is now for sale! The price is $40 (plus $9 shipping & handling). It can be purchased online here: The book is also available in person at the Maryland State Archives. Finding the Maryland 400 tells the stories of the soldiers who fought heroically […]
Maryland 400 Podcast, Episode Three: The Meaning of the Maryland 400
This is the final episode of the Maryland 400 podcast, exploring Maryland and the American Revolution, from journalism professor Tom Moore of CUNY York College. The series concludes by discussing the meaning of the Maryland 400. Who were these soldiers, and what did they do? What can be learned about them? It features Assistant State […]
Maryland 400 Podcast, Episode 2: Maryland’s Black Patriots
This is episode two of the Maryland 400 podcast, exploring Maryland and the American Revolution, from journalism professor Tom Moore of CUNY York College. This week’s episode focuses on Maryland’s Black soldiers, who are often overlooked but were a critical part of the Continental Army. Maryland enlisted Black soldiers as early as the summer of […]
Author Archives: Finding the Maryland 400
In Their Own Words: An Oral History of the Battle of Brooklyn
Next week marks the 238th anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn. Beginning Friday, we will be provide updates of the battle as it unfolded. In preparation for that, over the next two days, we are publishing a compilation of several … Continue reading
A History of Service
By May of 1776, 28 year old David Congleton enlisted as a private in the Fifth Company of the First Maryland Regiment, where he would serve during the Battle of Brooklyn. Following his initial one year service agreement, Congleton reenlisted … Continue reading
Demographics in the First Maryland Regiment
A former member of the Fifth Company who fought at the Battle of Brooklyn, John Burgess was described as a slender, 42-year-old man, with light brown hair, a “swarthy” complexion, and a height of five feet eleven inches, who was … Continue reading
So We Meet Again
During the Battle of Brooklyn, the First Maryland Regiment lost approximately one third of their total troop strength.[1] Casualties were substantially higher in the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh Independent, and Ninth Companies who were forced to make a last stand … Continue reading
Brothers in Arms
During the Revolutionary War, it was not uncommon for multiple men of the same immediate family to enlist. Some brothers, like Samuel and William McMillan, enlisted in the same company, while other sets of siblings dispersed and entered separate companies … Continue reading
The Last Will and Testament of Edward Sinclair
As a sergeant in the Fifth Company during the Battle of Brooklyn, Edward Sinclair was among those men who heroically covered the retreat of the Continental Army, thus saving the American forces from destruction.[1]
Francis Reveley: Insults and Injury
Francis Reveley, the subject of our most recent biography, served the entirety of the Revolutionary war, beginning in 1776, when he enlisted as a sergeant in Nathaniel Ramsey’s Fifth Company. It was there that Reveley saw action at the Battle … Continue reading
John Brady: Sergeant Turned Fifer
On this day in 1776, the First Maryland Regiment began its trip to New York. Among the men leaving from Baltimore was John Brady, the subject of our most recent biography.
Persistence is Key: Petitions of John Gassaway
John Gassaway, of the prominent Gassaway family in Anne Arundel County, was a tenacious man whose persistence served him well both during and after the Revolutionary War. As soon as it became evident that the colonists were going to war … Continue reading
Welcome to Finding the Maryland 400
Welcome to Finding the Maryland 400, a website dedicated to Maryland’s first Revolutionary War soldiers, who saved the Continental Army in 1776. This project is a partnership between the Maryland State Archives and the Maryland Society of the Sons of … Continue reading
Finding the Maryland 400 