Project sponsored by the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
Recent posts: Finding the Maryland 400
Exciting Project News!
I am very happy to share the news that we have recently completed the last of our biographies. They are all now complete!
The Maryland Line and The Creation of the Society of the Cincinnati
As the Revolutionary War drew to a close, Continental Army officers and their French allies wanted an effective way to preserve the values they had fought for and the intense camaraderie that they had developed throughout the war. Major General Henry Knox proposed an organization which would do exactly that in May of 1783: the […]
What’s In a Name: Military Ranks
Military terminology can be confusing. Finding the Maryland 400 has previously worked on a glossary of military units to help readers better understand the differences between companies, regiments, and battalions. Today’s post will cover a glossary of important military ranks, describing each position’s duties as explained mainly by Baron Friedrich von Steuben. Steuben, inspector general […]
Revisiting the Capture and Escape of the McMillan Brothers
Samuel and William McMillan, two brothers who enlisted in the First Maryland Regiment, fought in the Battle of Brooklyn, where Hessian soldiers captured them and decimated their company. Taken to Halifax, the two brothers were part of a group that made a daring escape, desperate to return familiar territory. Although Finding the Maryland 400 has previously discussed their […]
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Category Archives: battles
“Gate’s Defeat”: The Battle of Camden
1779 was a relatively uneventful year for the Revolutionary War. The British became tired of the stalemate, so in an attempt to finish the war, they refocused their attention to the south. The southern Continental Army was shattered after the … Continue reading
The Midnight Attack on Stony Point
While each campaign year of the Revolutionary War had its own purpose and series of events, the main focus of the campaign of 1779 was to maintain the vital lines of communication between the Eastern and Southern states. George Washington … 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 Short Fight on Hobkirk’s Hill: Surprise, Blame, and Defeat
At 10 or 11 o’clock in the morning of April 25, 1781, one and half miles from Camden, South Carolina, British troops advanced on Continental Army soldiers, commanded by Major General Nathaniel Greene, who were having their breakfast. The Continentals, camped on a … Continue reading
A Fine Fox Chase: The Battle of Princeton
At the beginning of 1777 the Americans were in an unfamiliar position; they were on the offensive. In the week after capturing Trenton they had successfully parried the attacks of General Cornwallis, but a more serious engagement was inevitable before … Continue reading
The Crossing and the Capture
“For heaven’s sake, keep this to yourself,” George Washington wrote to Colonel Joseph Reed, laying out his plan to capture Trenton. “Christmas day at night, one hour before day, is the time fixed upon for our attempt on Trenton.”[1] The first … Continue reading
The Road to Trenton
December was a desperate month for the Revolutionary cause, which badly needed a victory to turn the tide of losses. Expiring enlistments were steadily chipping away at the size of the Continental Army, and the British established a winter camp … Continue reading
“A Cursed Affair”: The Loss of Fort Washington
“But alas! we must no longer think of holds and fortresses on the North River. There are, I hear, various opinions respecting the taking [of] fort Washington, some think that it was too easily surrendered, others say our men behaved well and that it … Continue reading
The Battle of White Plains
On October 28, 1776, the Continental Army had marched north of Manhattan, withdrawing to the hills of the village of White Plains. Since the Battle of Brooklyn, General Howe had been pursuing the Continental Army in an attempt to encircle … Continue reading