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Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War

The list is organized by county and is intended to cover all of the (re)organizations during the Revolution. Named militia battalions (or, in a few cases, smaller units) from all of the (re)organizations are shown with their name. The numbered units of the 1776-1777 era are paired with the named units that they briefly designated.

When a unit is the successor or predecessor of another unit, that is shown in the notes. In particular, Montgomery and Washington counties were formed during the war from Frederick lower district and upper district, respectively, and records might show either the predecessor or successor county. For example, Montgomery Upper Battalion is equated with Battalion 16; one might also find records that refer to Frederick Battalion 16, the predecessor.

Identifying a unit, in general, requires both the county name and the battalion name because some battalion names were generic, e. g. upper/middle/lower.

Some of the higher-ranking officers are listed in the fourth column. On the county rows are listed brigadiers (from the 1776 organization), “county lieutenants” (from the 1777 organization) and a few colonels (presumably battalion commanders) whose records do not indicate a specific battalion. Battalion commanders--Colonels and Lt. Colonels--are listed in the battalion rows. (The rationale for listing Lt. Colonels is two-fold: (1) Because of turn-over of colonels, Lieutenant Colonels would sometimes have held interim command; (2) Colonels schooled in British doctrine during the French and Indian War would have learned that colonels stay at headquarters and their lieutenant colonels lead the battalion in the field.) Finally, for horse troops and independent companies, captains are listed.

Suffixes such as “Jr” have been omitted because they are recorded inconsistently in the original records. The years listed do not indicate tenure; they are simply the dates of the records that mention the person, sometimes well after the fact. These records are tabulated in Clements, ^[1] Appendix A, which is the source of most of this data.

Note that there are some common but mistaken ideas about the Maryland Militia. So if you don't find what you want in the table, take a look at the text following the table.

It must be noted that the data in the following table has been selected and copied from a publication of a tabulation of data selected from an OCR-transcription of a publication of a transcription of hand-copied records. That provides abundant possibilities for error, so the table should be used as a starting point for research, not the conclusion.

Note ESB : The Eastern Shore Battalion of Jan-Feb 1776 consisted of two companies of Minutemen from Kent and Queen Anne’s counties, commanded by Capt. James Kent and Capt. William Henry, respectively. A third company from Dorchester, commanded by Capt. James Robson was also ordered to join but was unsuccessful in gathering the needed arms.

Avoiding Mistakes re Maryland Militia

1. During most of the Revolution, Maryland required all able freemen with only a few exceptions to serve in the militia. So when one reads the records, the term "militia" often refers to the organized militia units; however, it sometimes refers to the state's population of men fit to be warriors. Sometimes one sees both meanings in the same sentence!
2. There were three main categories of Maryland warriors--Continentals, militia, and state troops. In addition to full-time soldiers, the state troops included a navy and a small contingent of Marines. (At this time, WikiTree has not yet dealt with state troops.) "Minutemen" and "Select Militia" were part of the militia.
3. Maryland's portion of the Flying Camp were not militia; they were Continentals. The custodians of the Maryland Archives have made a statement on this matter.^[2]
4. The two companies that Maryland provided to the Eastern Shore Battalion in 1776 were militia. However, the later regiment stationed on the Eastern Shore, under Col. Richardson, were Continentals.
5. The 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Maryland Line were actually organized several months before being authorized by Congress as a part of the Continental Army, so can be regarded as state troops during that period. A similar situation applies to the Maryland Artillery companies of the Continental Army.
6. The two Maryland Rifle Companies that served in the siege of Boston, under the command of Michael Cresap and Thomas Price, were Continentals.

Sources

The principal sources used in preparing this table were the following:

1. ↑ Clements, S. Eugene and Wright, F. Edward, The Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War, Westminster, MD : Heritage Books, 2006.
2. ↑ "Understanding Maryland Records Militia in the Revolution," Maryland State Archives Guide to Government Records, ( http://guide.msa.maryland.gov/pages/viewer.aspx?page=militia : viewed 17 Jan 2022).

Related Articles

An overview of all of Maryland's warriors during the Revolution -- militia, state troops, Continentals:

Maryland's Warriors of the Revolution

An overview of Maryland militia organization during the Revolutionary War and suggestions of research resources:

Brief History of Maryland Militia and Research Resources

An overview of Maryland's state troops during the Revolutionary War:

Maryland State Troops

Maryland's navy and marines have not yet been studied in detail.