Project sponsored by the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
Recent posts: Finding the Maryland 400
Help Support the Maryland 400!
In August 1776, a group of soldiers—the Maryland 400—helped hold back the British Army at the Battle of Brooklyn, allowing the rest of the Americans to escape the field. The Marylanders lost a quarter of their men that day, but their stand saved the Continental Army, allowing it to live and fight another day. For […]
Revolutionary Book Review: George the Drummer Boy
The first book I ever read about the American Revolution was a children’s book called George the Drummer Boy, by Nathaniel Benchley, with illustrations by Don Bolognese. It tells the story of a drummer in the British Army who is stationed in Boston in 1775. His unit is chosen to march out of Boston to […]
A New Podcast Tells the Story of the Maryland Line
We are excited to share that a new podcast about the Revolutionary War, and Maryland’s soldiers, has been launched by Mission History. The series tells the story of the events that brought two armies, including nearly 2,000 soldiers from Maryland, to Camden, South Carolina in August 1781. The battle fought at Camden was one of […]
A Beating in Baltimore: Communal Violence during the Revolution
Today’s post comes from Marshall Cooperman of St. John’s College in Annapolis, who was part of the Maryland State Archives’ intern class of 2023. Marshall’s project team worked on cataloging a large collection of Revolutionary-era correspondence, and he came across the letters that tell this story while doing that work America in 1776 was a […]
Category Archives: Maryland 400
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
David Plunket: A Radical Rebel
As Second Lieutenant of the Fifth Maryland Regiment at the time of the Battle of Brooklyn, David Plunket fought bravely and resolutely amidst heavy cannon and mortar fire to hold off the British Army, while the body of the Continental … Continue reading
The Fate of the Fifth Company
As mentioned in my last post, I am researching the lives of soldiers who fought in the Fifth Company at the Battle of Brooklyn. We have several accounts of the battle by members of the Fifth Company and other members … Continue reading
Taira’s Introduction
Hello Readers, My name is Taira Sullivan and I am this summer’s intern for the Finding the Maryland 400 project. I am a senior History major at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. While I enjoy studying history in its entirety, … 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
Revolutionary Veterans IV: The Tragic Fate of James Marle
James Marle, a young man who enlisted as a fifer but was instead given a musket, shows the other reality that many veterans faced when they left Maryland. Originally from Baltimore County, Marle joined the military to be a musician … Continue reading
Revolutionary Veterans III: Leonard Watkins, gearmaker
Leonard Watkins decided to permanently return to his home in Montgomery County, Maryland, after the Revolution ended. Being a craftsman, Watkins did not face the same struggles that many of his fellow soldiers dealt with in acquiring land or growing … Continue reading
Finding the Maryland 400 