The 1st Maryland Regiment (Smallwood's Regiment) originated with the authorization of a Maryland Battalion of the Maryland State Troops on the 14th January 1776, and 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.
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Major-General William Smallwood, between 1785 and 1788 - Robert Edge Pine.
Smallwood would later serve as Governor of Maryland.
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Like George Washington, William Smallwood had served as an officer during the French and Indian War, and was elected to the pre-Revolution colonial-era provincial assembly for the Province of Maryland. When the American War of Independence began, Smallwood was appointed a colonel of the 1st Maryland Regiment in 1776, and would lead the regiment in the New York and New Jersey campaign.
During the New York Campaign, the regiment would experience it's first action, distinguishing itself at the Battle of Long Island by single-handedly covering the retreat of the American forces against numerically superior British and Hessian forces, with a group of men memorialized as the Maryland 400.
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Lord Stirling leading an attack against the British in order to buy time for other troops to retreat at the Battle of Long Island, 1776 - Alonzo Chappel (1858) .
Gunpowder smoke from cannons and muskets marks where Stirling and the Maryland troops attack the British, while the rest of the American troops in the foreground escape across Brouwer's mill pond. The building pictured is the mill. |
The Battle of Long Island was fought on the 27th August, 1776, at and near the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn.
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Battle of Long Island 1776 |
The climax of the battle would see Colonel William Smallwood's Maryland battalion of about 400 men being lead by Brigadier General William Alexander (Lord Stirling) and Major Mordecai Gist engage in a masterful, yet desperate rear-guard action to stop the British advance headed by Hessians and Jaegers Corps under De Heister/Von Donop as well as the British 71st Regiment of Foot (Frasers Highlanders); this as the British attacked American defences on the Guan Heights, whilst unknown to the Rebels, Lord Howe had brought his main army around their rear and attacked their flank soon after.
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The Battle of Brooklyn, (Battle of Long Island), Smallwood's Marylanders at the Old Stone House,
August 27th 1776 - Mark Maritato |
The American army panicked, resulting in 20% losses through casualties and captures, but the stand by the 400 Maryland troops prevented a larger portion of the army from being lost, and the remainder of the army retreated to the main defences on Brooklyn Heights.
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| The front of the original Vechte–Cortelyou House (c. 1699); where the Maryland troops commanded by Lord Stirling and Mordecai Gist made two attacks against over two thousand British troops in a rear-guard action that allowed a majority of Stirling's 1,600-strong command to escape. The house was reconstructed in 1934 after a fire - Brooklyn Historical Society. |
Thereafter, General George Washington relied heavily upon the Marylanders as one of the few reliable fighting units in the early Continental Army, but in the time after the Battle of Brooklyn, the 1st Maryland were shattered from the casualties suffered (Novak records a regiment with a starting strength of some 600 men with Stirling's brigade on the Gowanus Road that August) only around 200 men remained serving with the main army.
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| Battle of Princeton, January 3rd 1777 |
The final battle of the 1776 campaign, and Washington's counterattack in the winter of 1776-77,would see some of that remaining cadre in action at Princeton, January 3rd 1777, although precise numbers seem unclear, after some men had returned home on the 30th December at the end of their enlistment for that year, whilst others agreed to serve for several weeks more as part of the American winter campaign in New Jersey.
Those that did may well have suffered the fate of those killed or captured in Brigadier General Hugh Mercer's brigade, as the British attack led by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood's two regiments, the 17th and 55th Foot, initially succumbed to a British bayonet charge that overran the American brigade seeing Mercer and Colonel John Haslet of the Delaware Regiment killed in the rout.
Pressed by Washington to create a better and more balanced army, the Continental Congress worked out a plan to reorganise the army in the autumn and winter of 1776, with the infantry regimental structure to stay the same as the November style regiments of 1775, but all enlistments were now to be for three years, or the duration of the war with increased pay and land grants used to entice prospective volunteers.
The overall size of the American army was set at 110 regiments of infantry, 3 of artillery and 4 regiments of light dragoons, with 88 regiments of infantry raised from the different states and 16 additional regiments raised by individual officers outside of the state quotas and in theory directly responsible to Washington plus an additional 6 'specialised' infantry regiments such as light infantry designed for specific tasks or roles.
The state of Maryland was tasked with raising a quota of 8 infantry regiments, and in January 1777, Smallwood's Regiment was re-organized to eight companies and was re-designated as the 1st Maryland Regiment and assigned to the 1st Maryland Brigade on the 22nd May 1777 of the main continental Army. In addition by the close of 1776 the Marylanders first colonel, General Smallwood had earned additional responsibility as a brigade commander, and John Hoskins Stone was made Colonel and commander of the 1st Maryland, leading the regiment in the Battles of Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown, where he was badly wounded but was back in active command by the Battle of Monmouth.
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Governor John Hoskins Stone of Maryland, second colonel of the 1st Maryland Regt. Rembrandt Peale |
By August 1777 the 1st and 2nd Maryland Brigades were under the command of Major-General John Sullivan in preparation for his raid on Staten Island against British forces there.
Division: Major General John Sullivan
1st Maryland Brigade: Unknown commander (William Smallwood's brigade)
1st Maryland Regiment, Colonel John Hoskins Stone
3rd Maryland Regiment
7th Maryland Regiment
1st Delaware Regiment, Colonel David Hall (250)
2nd Maryland Brigade: Brigadier General Chevalier Philippe Hubert Preudhomme de Borre
2nd Maryland Regiment
4th Maryland Regiment, Colonel Josias Carvil Hall
6th Maryland Regiment
2nd Canadian Regiment, Colonel Moses Hazen (400)
Lieutenant General William Howe had sailed with most of the British army from New York in July, and the Americans had recognized that the British position on Staten Island was vulnerable to attack.
Sullivan's Raid was well-executed, but it suffered from a shortage of boats to effect the crossing, and one of its detachments was misled by its guide to the front of the enemy position rather than its rear. As a result, Sullivan did not take as many prisoners as expected, and had about 200 of his own men taken prisoner due in part to the lack of boats. Although Sullivan was accused of mismanaging the raid, a court martial held later in 1777 exonerated him of all charges.
Effectively the first battle of the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777, Sullivan's division then marched south to join Washington's army in the defence of Philadelphia and on September 11th, 1777, the 1st Maryland Regiment, along with the rest of Sullivan's division was initially assigned the task of defending Brinton's Ferry situated just below the forks of the Brandywine Creek at the extreme right of the Continental position east of the Brandywine, where they were nearly cut off by Howe's flanking attack that afternoon.
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| Battle of Brandywine, September 11th 1777, Map 1 |
At some time after 2 p.m., a local farmer arrived at Washington's headquarters and reported that a large British force had crossed the Brandywine and were then at Jeffries Ford and marching upon Birmingham Meeting House, situated only two miles in the to the rear of the American defence line along the creek.
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| Battle of Brandywine, September 11th 1777, Map 1 |
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A message from General Sullivan confirmed the farmer's story and acting quickly to the information Washington ordered the divisions of Stirling and Stephen to march by different roads and meet the British flanking movement, whilst Sullivan was ordered to join them but having to march north along the creek in the direction of the British to recover Hall's Delaware's and Hazen's Canadians detached to cover Jones's Ford.
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| The Marylanders' uniform went through various incarnations that saw them originally outfitted in scarlet coats with buff facings after the Baltimore Cadets, then often seen depicted in hunting shirts and overalls at the Battle of Long Island, wearing tricornes from at least 1777 when they may have changed to a brown coat faced red, until changing to the regulation blue faced red seen here and thought to have been their garb when they marched south in 1780. |
At 3.30 p.m., scouting ahead of Lord Howe's and Cornwallis's flanking force, Hessian foot and mounted Jagers together with light companies from the 17th and 42nd Foot sighted American infantry of Stirling's and Stephen's Divisions above Birmingham Meeting House and in and around the nearby town, and probing further discovered Sullivan's Division marching to join them, thus Howe prepared to attack.
By 4 p.m., the British attacked. The British Brigade of Guards caught de Borre 's 2nd Maryland Brigade by surprise on the American left, before de Borre had time to fully form, and immediately sent them in to disarray, causing Sullivan's entire division to rout. Initially, Stephen's and Stirling's divisions held firm, aided by a battery of artillery on a knoll between them. However, the British light infantry battalions, aided by the Jaegers, eventually caused Stephen's division to fall back, and a bayonet charge by the British grenadier battalions, in the centre, similarly forced Stirling to retreat.
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Battle of Brandywine, September 11th 1777, Map 3
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Upon hearing the attack of Cornwallis's column, Knyphausen launched an attack against the weakened American centre across Chadds Ford, breaking through the divisions commanded by Wayne and William Maxwell and forcing them to retreat and leave behind most of their cannons.
Darkness brought the British pursuit to a standstill, and the defeated Americans retreated to Chester where most of them arrived at midnight, with stragglers arriving until morning. The American retreat was well organized, largely because of the efforts of the Marquis de Lafayette, who, although wounded, created a rally point that allowed for a more orderly retreat before being treated for his wound, and the estimates of casualties suggest just over 1200 American killed, wounded or taken prisoner, to just over 500 similar losses for the British.
After defeating the Continental Army at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11th, and the Battle of Paoli on September 20th, Howe outmanoeuvred Washington, seizing Philadelphia, the capital of the United States, on September 26th, seeing him leave a garrison of some 3,000 troops in Philadelphia, while moving the bulk of his force to Germantown, then an outlying community to the city.
On the evening of October 3rd General Washington ordered his troops, encamped at Skippack Creek on the north side of the Schuylkill River, to march 17 miles as part of a planned surprise attack on the British at daybreak.
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| Battle of Germantown, October 4th 1777, showing the advance of Sullivan's 1st and 2nd Maryland Brigades advance met by Agnew's 4th British brigade and pushed back, as the American attack collapsed. |
Washington determined to surprise the British army in camp, and his plan required a strong column under Major-General Nathaniel Greene, with the brigades of McDougall, Muhlenberg, Stephen and Scott, to attack the right wing of the British army, which comprised Grant’s and Donop’s troops. The second column, which Washington commanded, with Stirling and Sullivan, would advance down the main Philadelphia road and attack the British centre. Forces of American militia would attack each wing of the British force, formed of the Queen’s Rangers on the right, and, on the left near the Schuylkill River, Hessian Jägers and British Light Infantry.
As fog hung over the battlefield, Sullivan’s column and the Marylanders was the first to make contact, driving back the British pickets on Mount Airy. The British were so shocked to find a large force of American soldiers that some were cut off from the main body; 120 men under British Colonel Musgrave took shelter in the large stone house of Chief Justice Benjamin Chew, known as Cliveden. This fortified position would prove a thorn in the Americans’ side for the remainder of the battle, with numerous assaults being repulsed with heavy casualties. While the fighting around Cliveden raged on, Sullivan pushed his men towards the British centre.
On the left, one of Sullivan’s divisions, commanded by General Anthony Wayne, became separated in the fog. To make matters worse, Sullivan’s men were also beginning to run low on ammunition, causing their fire to slacken. The separation, combined with the lack of fire from their comrades and the commotion of the attack on Cliveden behind them, convinced Wayne’s men that they were cut off, causing them to withdraw.
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The start of the Battle of Germantown, 4th October 1777 - Xavier della Gatta
'120 men under British Colonel Musgrave took shelter in the large stone house of Chief Justice Benjamin Chew, known as Cliveden.' |
Luckily, Greene’s column arrived in time to engage the British before they could rout Wayne. Unfortunately, one of Greene’s brigades, under General Adam Stephen, also became lost in the fog, mistook Wayne’s men for the British, and opened fire. Wayne’s men returned fire. The resulting firefight caused both units to break and flee the field.
The American retreat was also aided by the onset of darkness. Washington’s Army lost roughly 700 men killed and wounded. Another 400 Americans were captured. The British suffered more than 500 casualties of their own.
Washington spent the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge rebuilding his army and defending his position against political enemies who favoured his replacement as commander-in-chief, and in February 1778, the French-American Treaty of Alliance tilted the strategic balance in favour of the Americans, forcing the British to abandon hopes of a military victory and adopt a defensive strategy, that saw General Sir Henry Clinton, now Commander in Chief of British forces following Lord Howe's resignation and departure, was ordered to evacuate Philadelphia and consolidate his army in and around New York.
In June 1778 , the Continental Army shadowed the British as they marched across New Jersey to Sandy Hook, from where the Royal Navy would ferry them to New York, and the two armies clashed on the 28th June, when the British rear-guard was attacked near Monmouth Courthouse, during which the 1st Maryland Regiment were part of Brigadier General Smallwood's 1st Maryland Brigade, under the Marquis de Lafayette, alongside the 3rd, 5th and 7th Maryland Regiments and Hall's Delaware Regiment.
On April 5th 1780, the 1st Maryland Brigade was assigned to the Southern Department under Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates, and later under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene
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| The Southern Theatre of Operations for the 1st Maryland Regiment |
On the 16th April 1780 they fought at the Battle of Camden, a major victory for the British in the Southern theatre that resulted in the British forces under Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis routing the numerically superior American forces led by Major General Horatio Gates about four miles north of Camden, South Carolina, thus strengthening the British hold on the Carolinas following the capture of Charleston.
The Continental Regulars from Maryland and Delaware, however, withstood the onslaught, and under Maj. Gen. Johann de Kalb, the Continentals remained on the field as Gates and the rest of the army fled. Nearly surrounded and overwhelmed many joined their comrades in the retreat. Among Gates's casualties were de Kalb, who mortally wounded, died several days later in Camden.
On the 17th January 1781 Brigadier General Daniel Morgan gained a victory against Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina, when his force, estimated at 2,000 regulars and militia, defeated 1,000 British and American Loyalist troops, and included a 300 men battalion of Continental infantry under Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard, with one company from Delaware, one from Virginia, and three from the famous stalwart "Maryland Line" regiment, each with a strength of 60 men.
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The Battle of Guilford Court House (March 15, 1781) from Soldiers of the American Revolution by
H. Charles McBarron.
"[General Nathaniel] Greene observed as the veteran First Maryland Continentals threw back a British attack and countered with a bayonet charge. As they reformed their line, William Washington's Light Dragoons raced by to rescue raw troops of the Fifth Maryland who had buckled under a furious assault of British Grenadiers and Guards." |
While Cowpens was a setback, the British were far from defeated, and from January to March 1781, Greene and Cornwallis fought a war of skirmish and manoeuvre, with Greene steadily withdrawing farther into North Carolina. This phase, known as the “Race to the Dan,” the Dan River being a crucial water barrier in the region, helped wear down Cornwallis’ army, and separate the British from their supply lines. The Race culminated at the Battle of Guilford Court House was fought on the 15th March 1781, where Cornwallis was able to drive the Americans from the field, but with heavy casualties: a classic Pyrrhic victory.
After the Battle of Guilford Court House, Cornwallis's force was spent and in great need of supply. He therefore moved his army towards Wilmington, North Carolina where he had previously ordered supplies to be sent. Greene pursued the British force for a short time before deciding to take his forces into South Carolina.
When Cornwallis did not pursue the Continental Army, Greene chose to reduce the British garrisons scattered throughout South Carolina in order to force the British back into Charleston, and to this end, Greene started his army of 1,450 men, made up of four Continental regiments, which included the 1st Maryland Regiment, Lee's Legion, Washington's Cavalry and Campbell's Riflemen, as rapidly and secretly as possible towards Camden, which was at the centre of the British line of posts in South Carolina.
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| The Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, 25th April 1781 |
Upon arrival on April 20th, 1781 at Camden, it was apparent that the Continentals had lost the element of surprise as Lord Francis Rawdon's and the Camden garrison were prepared on all fronts, and being unable to storm the town or surround the entire circle of fortifications, Greene chose to encamp his army about a mile and a half away on a small elevation called Hobkirk's Hill, blocking Great Waxhaw Road, hoping to draw Rawdon into an attack on the position, and organizing his camp so that battle positions could be taken quickly in the event of an alarm.
Hobkirk's Hill, was attacked by the British troops led by Francis Rawdon, and after a fierce clash, Greene retreated, leaving Rawdon's smaller force in possession of the hill.
During the advance of the 1st Maryland on the British left, Captain William Beatty Jr., who was in command to the right of the 1st Maryland regiment, was killed causing his company to stop their advance. Their colonel, John Gunby ordered his men to stop their advance and fall back with the intention of reforming their line. At this time, Benjamin Ford of the 5th Maryland was mortally wounded, which threw his troops into disorder.
When the Continental flank began to fall apart, Lord Rawdon and the Volunteers of Ireland (Rawdon's Personal Regiment) charged. The Maryland troops rallied briefly to fire a few rounds and then fled. Lord Rawdon, although outnumbered nearly two to one, and without artillery, took the field, however despite the victory, Rawdon soon fell back to Camden and two weeks later found it necessary to abandon Camden and withdraw toward Charleston, South Carolina.
In poor health, Rawdon sailed for England in late August, leaving Charleston under the command of Colonel Alexander Stewart, and by July of 1781 Greene had moved his army, exhausted by many days of marching and combat, to a campsite on the High Hills of Santee, allowing his main force to rest while awaiting reinforcements, and toward the end of August, he led his army out of their refuge intent on engaging a British force under Stewart.
The armies collided on September 8, 1781 at the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Stewart had detached roughly a quarter of his force to forage near his camp. Greene’s vanguard captured a number of foragers, before engaging British dragoons and opening the battle.
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The Battle of Eutaw Springs 8th September 1781.
The 1st and 2nd Maryland Regiments are shown on the American left flank in the second line |
Greene deployed his infantry in three lines, militia in front of regulars, and advanced towards the camp. Greene steadily drove the British back to their camp where Stewart made a stand at a brick mansion and adjacent palisaded garden. This bought time for the British to rally and launch a counterattack, forcing Greene to break off the fight and withdraw.
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Colonel William Washington is unhorsed during bitter fighting at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, S.C. 1781 - Don Troiani
The last major battle of the American Revolution in South Carolina took place at Eutaw Springs. The battle demonstrated that the Americans continued to contest British control of the Carolinas. While the British held the field at the end of the engagement, they eventually abandoned their position and withdrew to Charleston. |
The American army lost 579 men killed, wounded and captured, whilst the British lost 882 men and the Battle of Eutaw Springs, was the last major engagement of the war to be fought in the Carolinas, that would see both sides claiming a victory.
My hard fighting 1st Maryland Regiment are depicted in the 1779 regulation uniform as they may have appeared in the Southern theatre using the plastic Continental Infantry from Perry Miniatures and Colours from GMB Designs finished off with my low profile sabot bases from Supreme Littleness Designs.
Next up His Majesty's 37th (North Hampshire) Foot.
More anon
JJ
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