"Maryland Continental regiment 1776" Topic

A friend's sister was doing some genealogy research, and came up with an ancestor who joined a Maryland Continental regiment on Jan 6, 1776.

Can anyone help pinning down which regiment this might be? was there only one Maryland regiment?

I recently did a commission for an AWI unit.

I used a commercially available flag and it was for 2nd Maryland.

So there may have been more than one.

According to Wikipedia, 2nd Maryland was authorized on Jan 14, 1776 and raised after that. link
Assuming this is correct, your chap should be a member of the 1st Maryland (Smallwood/Gist). He hopefully missed the stand at the Battle of Long Island/Brooklyn.

In 1777 Maryland was tasked with raising 8 regiments, later reduced to 5.

Wikipedia entry for 1st Maryland:

>The 1st Maryland Regiment (Smallwood's Regiment) originated with the authorization of a Maryland Battalion of the Maryland State Troops on 14 January 1776. It was organized in the spring at Baltimore, Maryland (three companies) and Annapolis, Maryland (six companies) under the command of Colonel William Smallwood consisting of eight companies and one light infantry company from the northern and western counties of the colony of Maryland.<

There were not any Maryland Continental units on Jan 6, 1776. I imagine it was Smallwood's Maryland Battalion, which later became the 1st Maryland.

He probably enlisted in Smallwoods's while it was a state guard/militia unit. After January 14th it was folded into a Continental unit.

Do you think she could be referring to the German Regiment/Brigade? I think I have a book at home that refers to it as the Maryland/Pennsylvania German Regiment. I am old and forgetful so I may be making that part up.

Sorry John, ignore my post. If the internet is to be believed the German Regiment was not authorized until May of 1776.

According to the "Encyclopedia of Continental Army Units" by Berg, the German Battalion was authorized on June 27, 1776.

The Maryland line in early 1776 consisted of the battalion under Smallwood's command, which was supposedly raised in Annapolis and Baltimore, and a number of independent companies. Commanders of independent companies at various times in 1776 included Thomas, Watkins, Veazey, Hindman, Woolford, Beall, Gunby and Barrett. This may not include rifle companies. At least some of the independent companies served with the Continental army in New York or New Jersey. Later in 1776 Maryland also organized volunteers from the militia to serve in the Flying Camp. Information is from Archives of Maryland volume 11.

Thanks. I passed this information along.
Hope it's helpful.

The book Washington's Immortals' is a regimental history of the Maryland line. Some here didn't like it but I thought the research documentation decent. Don't let the overly dramatic cover title put you off. If there is any interest I recommend the book. Readily available.

-1st Maryland: Authorized on 14 January 1776 from Maryland State troops as the Maryland Battalion. It was organized in the spring of 1776 to consist of nine companies. Assigned to the main army on 6 July 1776. Adopted into the Continental Army on 17 August 1776.

-2d Maryland Regiment: Authorized 14 January 1776 from Maryland State Troops as seven independent companies. Organized from 7-14 March 1776 at various locations along Chesapeake Bay. Assigned to the main army between 6 July and 15 August 1776. Adopted into the Continental Army on 17 August 1776. In January 1777 the companies were reorganized and redesignated the 2d Maryland Regiment of eight companies.

3d Maryland Regiment: Authorized on 16 September 1776 as the 3d Maryland Regiment and organized on 27 March 1777 with eight companies.

4th Maryland Regiment: Authorized on 16 September 1776 as the 4th Maryland Regiment and organized on 27 March 1777 to consist of eight companies.

5th Maryland Regiment: Authorized on 16 September 1776 as the 5th Maryland Regiment and organized on 27 March 1777 to consist of eight companies.

6th Maryland: Authorized on 16 September 1776 as the 6th Maryland Regiment and organized on 27 March 1777 to consist of eight companies.

7th Maryland Regiment: Authorized on 16 September 1776 as the 7th Maryland Regiment and organized on 27 March 1777 to consist of eight companies.

The Maryland Brigade, with the attached Delaware Regiment, were largely destroyed at Camden in August 1780. The survivors were organized as the 1st Maryland Regiment and the two surviving Delaware companies were attached to the regiment, with one, Kirkwood's, becoming an elite light infantry company. The new 2d Maryland was organized and sent south to Greene and its first action was at Guilford Courthouse in March 1781 where it promptly ran away, being constituted most of new recruits.

For the battles around New York in 1776 there was one Maryland regiment organized and employed. The seven companies that eventually became the 2d Maryland Regiment were still independent companies.

The veteran 1st Maryland, however, attacked and nearly destroyed the 2d Battalion of Guards, along with William Washington's 3d Continental Light Dragoons.

A friend's sister was doing some genealogy research, and came up with an ancestor who joined a Maryland Continental regiment on Jan 6, 1776.
Can anyone help pinning down which regiment this might be? was there only one Maryland regiment?

There are two books that are valuable in researching the Maryland Line:

-Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution 1775-1783 taken from the Maryland Archives.

-The Maryland Line by Rieman Steuart.

If you need any more help on this let me know.

Kevin, what is your source indicating the Maryland independent companies were organized into a separate unit while serving with Washington in 1776?

I had read that years ago. More recent readings indicate three of the independent companies accompanied Smallwood's regiment when it went north, and served with him at Long Island. In reading Washington's comments on his army in New Jersey in November 1776 the only Maryland units he refers to are Smallwood's, the German bttn and the remnants of Rawlins rifle regiment. I have not been able to identify when the remaining four independent companies went north. Assuming the arrived after Long Island it is possible they were integrated into Smallwood's command rather than being a separate unit.

The enlistments of both Smallwood's regiment and the independent companies seems to have expired at the end of 1776. One pension application I've seen does refer to a member of Veazey's independent company reenlisting in the same unit which was then a part of the Second Maryland. This does suggest that the Second Maryland was built in part around the remnants of the independent companies.

The information is in the unit lineages in Robert Wright's The Continental Army, pages 277-282. There's also a bibliography for the section on the Maryland Regiments.

This is noted is Steuart's The Maryland Line, page 1:

'By a resolve of Congress on 14 June 1775, several companies of riflemen were called for, two from Maryland…These two companies comprising 130 men…arrived before Boston in August…In 1776 they were incorporated in Smallwood's Maryland Battalion and in Stephenson's Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment.'

The two companies were commanded by Captain Michael Cresap and Captain Thomas Price, 1st and 2d Companies respectively.

On page 2 the Maryland Convention resolved, among other things, that on '14 January, Resolves were passed which authorized the [Maryland] troops to consist of a battalion of 9 companies, 7 independent companies, 2 companies of artillery, and 1 company of Marines…'

On page 3 it is noted that Smallwood's Battalion was considered 'regular troops' in January 1776. That being the case, it appears that Smallwood's Maryland Battalion was a Continental unit.

The book Washington's Immortals' is a regimental history of the Maryland line. Some here didn't like it but I thought the research documentation decent. Don't let the overly dramatic cover title put you off. If there is any interest I recommend the book. Readily available.

I disagree.

Here's how I reviewed the book, based on twenty years' research on the subject:

'This volume was a great disappointment. I've been a student of the War of the American Revolution for over 50 years and an admirer of the Maryland Line and the Delaware Regiment. However, this volume is akin to the Powder River-an inch deep and a mile wide.

And the subtitle is somewhat misleading, for there was not only one Maryland Continental regiment during the war, but seven which eventually composed the Maryland Division with the inclusion of the single regiment of Delaware Continentals. Orignally a single battalion commanded by William Smallwood, the battalion was reorganized as the 1st Maryland Regiment in January 1777. The Maryland Battalion's performance at Long Island was indeed distinguished, but the Maryland Division, which included the Delaware Regiment, achieved their undying fame for their stand at Camden in August 1780 where the Maryland regiments along with the Delaware regiment incurred very heavy casualties and had to be reformed and reorganized.

The Maryland survivors were reorganized as the 1st Maryland Regiment and had an attached Delaware company commanded by Captain Jacquet, the other surviving Delaware company being commanded by Captain Robert Kirkwood. The Delaware losses were so heavy at Camden that they could only reform two companies. Kirkwood's company became an elite light infantry company and the reformed 1st Maryland was the best regiment in the southern army commanded by Nathaniel Greene.

This volume seems to rush through the service of the Maryland Line and too much is left out of the story. Too much interesting detail is seemingly left out of the narrative and to my mind too many superlatives are used in describing the major personalities of the Maryland Line. The case for them is overstated repeatedly instead of letting their accomplishments speak for themselves. This enthusiasm takes precedence over important detail that has been left out of the book.

The most important history of the Maryland Line and the Delaware regiment belongs to their service in the southern army and the battles of Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk's Hill, and Eutaw Springs, as well as the siege of Ninety-Six. This minor epic is only covered by 120 pages in the narrative, while over 200 pages covers the rest of the Maryland Line's history during the war. That is a shame, as the southern campaign was the decisive campaign of the war, and the mauling Cornwallis received at Guilford Courthouse in March 1781 led directly to Yorktown.

There is no bibliography. I did find it strange, that some excellent source material was not used, such as Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse by Lawrence Babits and Joshua Howard, which is the best volume on that pivotal battle yet written.

This could have been a definitive study of the Maryland Line in the Revolution. It was a great opportunity, but that opportunity was missed. And opportunity missed is opportunity gone forever.

Because of the problems with this volume, it cannot be recommended as a reference for the subject. And that is a real shame.'

Most of the Marylanders died at Long Island in 1776. Was her ancestor killed there? The 400 men there reminds me so much of the Alamo and Thermopylae.

Do you have the casualty listing? Killed, captured, wounded, etc?

The Maryland Line by Steuart on page 155 gives the Maryland losses at Long Island as 256 killed, wounded, or captured.

There is a good amount of information on the Marylanders at Long Island on this website. msamaryland400.wordpress.com While the nine companies of Smallwood's regiment and two or three independent companies were at Long Island, most of the casualties were incurred by 4 companies of Smallwood's regiment and Veazey's independent company.