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 […]
Tag Archives: Maryland 400
Feeding an Army
The struggles of the Revolution can seem remote to generations living over two centuries later. However, the enjoyment of food and the challenges of feeding an army are both relatable themes to modern Americans as Thanksgiving approaches.
“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
An Interactive View of the Maryland 400
In honor of Veteran’s Day next Monday, we are doing this blog entry a little differently to give you a closer look at what we know about the First Maryland Regiment. Click on the image above to see the latest … 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
Taking Names
We recently dug up a document that lists several of the men who were taken prisoner at the Battle of Brooklyn. The list was written by Lieutenant James Peale, brother of the famed painter, Charles Willson Peale (you can read … Continue reading
The Resurrection of William Sterrett
An anonymous poet composed the following eulogy for nineteen-year-old lieutenant William Sterrett. It was published in the Maryland Gazette on September 12, 1776, just over two weeks after the Battle of Brooklyn: On the death of Mr. WILLIAM STERET, who … Continue reading
The Peale Family: Picturing the Maryland Line
When the Maryland line was ordered to retreat from the Battle of Brooklyn, they were forced to ford a marsh. Many men were shot down in the quagmire and many more drowned. Two men related by marriage were part of … Continue reading
The Trial of Lieutenant Steward
On September 23, 1776, Lieutenant John Steward of Maryland stood before a court martial on the Heights of Harlem. He had slapped a sergeant from Connecticut for cowardly behavior and then argued with, some would say threatened, a colonel who … Continue reading
Finding the Maryland 400 