The "Maryland Line" was a formation within the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, formed and authorized by the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

, meeting in the "Old Pennsylvania State House" (later known as "

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of ...

") in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania, in June 1775.

Background

Colonel

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, delegate and formerly of the Virginia Regiment of the colonial militia, served as commander-in-chief of the colonial forces. Washington assumed command at

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, of the various units from several of the American colonies which surrounded

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, laying siege to the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in June 1775. Washington's previous military experience had been during the late

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

(1754–1763). Not all Continental infantry regiments raised in a state were part of a state quota. On December 27, 1776, the

gave commanding General Washington temporary control over certain military decisions that the Congress ordinarily regarded as its own prerogative. These "dictatorial powers" included the authority to recruit and raise 16 additional Continental infantry regiments at large. Forman's, Gist's, Grayson's, and Hartley's Regiments were partially drawn from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Other Continental infantry regiments and smaller units, also unrelated to a state quota, were raised as needed for special or temporary service. MordecaiGist

History

Under the assumption that paid soldiers furnished with rations and suits of clothes would be better soldiers, on January 18, 1776, the Maryland Provincial Convention established the Maryland Line as a regiment of uniformed regulars. According to Maryland state archivist Ryan Polk, what distinguished the Maryland troops from other colonial levies was the time they spent drilling before joining the ranks of the

. This resulted in a disciplined, cohesive unit. The term "Maryland Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Maryland at various times by the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. These, together with similar contingents from the other 12 colonies, formed the "Continental Line". The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state. General William Smallwood SC-000580

The "Maryland Line" was assigned a quota of eight regiments in 1777, which was reduced to five in 1781. The regiments of the line were: * 1st Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 * 2nd Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 * 3rd Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 * 4th Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 * 5th Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1783 * 6th Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1781 * 7th Maryland Regiment, disbanded in 1781 * German Battalion (counted as half a regiment against the quota), disbanded in 1781 * Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment (counted as half a regiment against the quota), disbanded in 1781 * 2nd Independent Maryland Company – Somerset County absorbed into the 2nd Maryland Regiment in 1781 According to popular tradition, Washington expressed his high esteem for the Maryland Line after their heroic stand at the Battle of Long Island.Polk, Ryan. "The Origin of the 'the Old Line State'", Maryland State Archives, 2005
/ref> Because of the long service of the high quality regiments, Washington referred to the Maryland units as his "Old Line", giving the state of Maryland one of its nicknames as "The Old Line State".

Action

The Maryland Line protected the evacuation of Washington's troops across the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

at the Battle of Long Island. On August 27, 1776, members of the 1st Maryland Regiment under the command of Major Mordecai Gist repeatedly charged a numerically superior British force, allowing Washington to successfully evacuate the bulk of his troops to Manhattan. Of the approximately 270 men of the so-called

Maryland 400 The Maryland 400 were members of the 1st Maryland Regiment who repeatedly charged a numerically superior British force during the Battle of Long Island during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, sustaining heavy casualties, but al ...

, fewer than a dozen made it back to the American lines. Two months later at the Battle of White Plains, William Smallwood's 1st Maryland Regiment, along with regiments from New York and Delaware, reinforced Chatterton's Hill, covering the retreat of other troops across the Bronx River. In the Battle of Camden, South Carolina, on August 16, 1780, Major General Horatio Gates, a former British officer, placed Gist's 2nd Maryland Regiment on the right flank, in traditional British deployment, the place of honor. The 1st Maryland Regiment under Smallwood was held in reserve. One hundred eighty Marylanders saw action at the January 17, 1781,

Battle of Cowpens The Battle of Cowpens was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot forces, estimated at 2,000 militia and reg ...

.Babits, Lawrence E. (1998). A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Notes

Sources

Polk, Ryan. "Holding the Line: The Origin of 'the Old Line State'"
Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, 2005 * Wright, Robert K. - ''"The Continental Army"'', Washington, D.C.:

United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...

, 1983. Available on internet website
online
* Steuart, Rieman. ''A History of the Maryland Line in the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783.''

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

of Maryland. 1969

External links

* ''"Bibliography of the Continental Army in Maryland"'', Washington, D.C.: compiled by the

. Available on internet website:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maryland regiments of the Continental Army Maryland regiments of the Continental Army