Finding the Maryland 400

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 through the hand, two sergeants was killed; one in front of me… two corporals killed.” McMillan was taken prisoner, along with his brother Samuel. The two later escapes from a British prison in Nova Scotia and returned to fight for the rest of the war. Continue reading →

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 servant early in his life to learn the craft of shoemaking, but he came of age just in time to enter his community as it was filled with other craftsmen who could do the same work. Seeing these conditions, Brewer enlisted and fought in the Revolutionary War. A man with little means, he joined the army and fought in the Revolution from 1776 to 1780, when he was discharged. Continue reading →

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 when he was about fourteen years old. However, his height made him stand out from his peers, and his superiors gave him a rifle instead of a fife. His stepfather likely did not approve of this, and the man hired a replacement for Marle within two years of his enlistment. Continue reading →

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 crops. Instead, he lived by modest means on a small piece of land and started a family. His income was supplied by his gear-making and the pension he received, and he was successful enough to care for an orphan girl along with his own family. Watkins did not undergo a drastic social or financial change, but he improved his condition and was able to live comfortably in the years after the Revolution. Continue reading →

Levin Frazier, a farmer from Dorchester County, illustrates the possibilities of success for the veterans who chose to remain in Maryland after the war. He was born a poor man in his home county, and it is unlikely that he owned any property of value before the war began. Enlisting at twenty-two, he fought in the Revolution for several years before being discharged and returning to his home on the Eastern Shore. His decision to stay in Maryland was likely facilitated by the fact that he had married and had a child during a furlough from his service; he had no property to return to. Frazier worked as a farmer for years before being able to patent a land claim, but this plot and additional inherited land helped to substantially improve his position. He underwent a drastic transformation over his lifetime; he owned little to nothing before the war, but, at the time of his death, Frazier was one of the wealthiest men in his community. Continue reading →

Mark McPherson, a planter born in Maryland to a marginally successful family, left his home state despite having land and means in Maryland. A resident of Charles County, he inherited land from parents who died while he was still young. This land ownership did not set him apart as it would have in other places, however, and he lacked influence and success as a planter. He fought in the Continental Army for the entirety of the Revolutionary War and earned bounty land in western Maryland as a result. Even with these added acres, McPherson did not remain in Maryland for long after the war. Migrating to Lincoln County, Kentucky, he quickly acquired land, got married, and began his career as a planter in his new home. Continue reading →