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 Line
Evaluating the Maryland Officers
In late 1776, Maryland expanded its military contribution to the Continental Army from one regiment to seven. This required a great deal of planning, as each new regiment required about 50 new officers, and so many promotions required much deliberation. … Continue reading
Battle of Brooklyn Roll of Honor
On August 27, 1776, after a week of anticipation, and hours of marching, the Continental Army fought the British at the Battle of Brooklyn, the first large-scale battle of the Revolutionary War. All told, the Americans lost about 300 killed, … Continue reading
The Short Life of Capt. Daniel Bowie
Daniel Bowie had been a soldier for seven months, and a captain for just seven weeks, when he wrote out his will on August 26, 1776, the day before he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Brooklyn. We have … Continue reading
Men who “could stand cutting”: The Old Maryland Line
The famed Maryland 400 were not the only Revolutionary War soldiers hailed as heroes. Indeed, throughout the war, the Maryland Line (as the state’s contribution to the Continental Army was called) developed a reputation for skill and bravery. They were … Continue reading
Maryland’s African American Troops
Earlier, we introduced the topic of black Revolutionary War soldiers, but left unanswered the question of whether any fought as part of the Maryland 400. While a number of African Americans fought as part of the Maryland Line later in … Continue reading
African Americans in the Revolutionary War
In October, Congress gave preliminary approval to a monument on the National Mall to African American Revolutionary War soldiers. While much work remains to be done before a monument is actually constructed, this was an important step for the project, … 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 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
Finding the Maryland 400 