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 […]
Tag Archives: Maryland Line
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 … Continue reading
The Maryland 400’s Veterans
The mission of Finding the Maryland 400 is to pay tribute to Maryland’s Revolutionary War veterans. Today, however, we want to focus on the members of the First Maryland Regiment who were already veterans before the unit’s first battle in … Continue reading
A “little groggy”: the deputy sheriff of Baltimore and his “bowl of toddy”
On December 21, 1776, Sergeant John Hardman of the Edward Veazey‘s Seventh Independent Company arrived at a public prison in Baltimore Town with captured British soldiers. [1] He was there escorting the British prisoners from Philadelphia. That night, Hardman ordered a “bowl of … Continue reading
Victory at Yorktown!
On October 19, 1781, British General Charles, Lord Conwallis surrendered his army of more than 8,000 men to George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia. Cornwallis’s action brought an end to a siege which had lasted nearly two weeks. It was also … 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
Which Private Smith is the Right Private Smith?
Piecing together service records of Revolutionary War soldiers can be complicated. No one got a DD 214 when they were mustered out. Many soldiers had their service records compiled by the Federal Government in the late nineteenth century, and applications for … Continue reading
The political climate of Baltimore in 1776
Baltimore Town was more than a diverse and pre-industrial port town that sat on the Patapsco River. It had numerous sentiments, ranging from the pro-revolutionary, some of which were militant in their beliefs, to support for the British Crown. This article continues the series … Continue reading
“Games of Exercise” During the American Revolution
With the Olympics in full swing, this is a good time to talk about the athletic pastimes of American soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Active campaigning took a relatively small part of the year during the American Revolution, and as … 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
“Anxious of showing my zeal for the love of my Country, I entered myself as a Cadet…”
When Maryland put together its regiment as directed by the Continental Congress in 1776, it needed officers to command the troops. The regiment had nine companies, as well as seven independent companies. Each company had a captain and three lieutenants, … Continue reading
Finding the Maryland 400 