Maryland Not Known For Its Signers but For Its Soldiers Who Fought in Continental Army

Maryland Not Known For Its Signers but Its Soldiers

Who Fought in the Continental Army

The signers of the Declaration of Independence from Maryland are not known for stirring much enthusiasm.  Out of the 56 signers, the Maryland ones are generally in the bottom half for consideration.  What does excite audiences is the contribution of the soldiers from Maryland.  The Continental Army battalions from Maryland, starting at the battle of Brooklyn, received General Washington’s respect as the “go-to guys.”  Many times when Washington was in a pinch, he would look for Maryland troops.

Brooklyn is not usually thought of as a battlefield.  How many people have visited Gettysburg in contrast to those who have visited Brooklyn as a battlefield?  The Declaration of Independence was signed on July2/4, 1776 but the price tag paid by Maryland soldiers on August 27 was huge.  At Brooklyn, Marylanders charged ten times against larger forces and gave the rest of the Continental Army time to get away.  From a distance, Washington saw their sacrifice and cried out these words: “Good God, what brave men this day I have lost!”  That made a deep impression on Washington.  When we fought  at Kip’s Bay and Harlem Heights,  Washington would call on Maryland. 

When the battle theater shifted from the Northern colonies to the South, Maryland played a huge role.  Imagine marching down to South Carolina from Maryland.  Our generation is weary from riding that distance in a car; think about the march for them.  They had to hunt and forage on the way down there.  On the trip down, they received news that Charleston South Carolina had fallen. The consequences of that were that all the Virginia battalions were captured.  Leadership fell on the Marylanders. 

Continental Congress had appointed General Gates to be the Southern commander.  General Dekalb had led the Maryland and Delaware forces down south but Gates took control just before the battle of Camden.  DeKalb’s advice to follow the route where supplies and new militia could be obtained was overridden by the “Johnny come lately.”  Not only did Gates’s strategy fail, he fled his post.  He travelled ninety miles in five days.  DeKalb and his Maryland troops stayed and fought because they were given no orders to surrender or retreat.  About 800 Marylanders died with DeKalb and you can see a statue dedicated to his bravery and sacrifice outside the Annapolis Maryland State Capitol.

It did not end there for the Marylanders.  They regrouped at Hillsboro, North Carolina and fought well at Guilford Courthouse (near Greensboro).  There is a monument there for the Marylanders and Delawareans that fought there. As a Marylander that lives near the Delaware border, it gave me an awesome awareness of the immense sacrifice that these men gave in the service to the new nation.