In April of 1780 General George Washington released two brigades of continentals to aid in the defense of the Southern front which was being threatened by the actions of British General Sir Henry Clinton, who was bent on making the South a pro-crown area. The two brigades were the 1st and 2nd Maryland Brigades, veterans who has taken part in nearly every one of the Main Army's campaigns. These troops would help form the backbone for Horatio Gates', and later Nathanial Greene's Southern Army.

The organization of these regiments throughout 1780-81 is not an easy one to follow. The 1st Maryland Brigade when it was sent south was formed from the following regiments:

1st Maryland - recruited from northern and western Maryland. Strength: 158 men.
3rd Maryland - recruited from Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, Talbot, Harford, and Somerset counties. Strength: 272 men.
5th Maryland - recruited from Queen Anne, Kent, Caroline, and Dorchester counties. Strength: 162 men.
7th Maryland - recruited from Frederick and Baltimore counties. Strength: 181 men.

The 2nd Maryland Brigade also included the Delaware Regiment, and was organized as follows:

2nd Maryland - recruited from eastern Maryland. Strength: 186 men.
4th Maryland - recruited from Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Somerset counties. Strength: 225 men.
6th Maryland - recruited from Prince Georges, Frederick, Cecil, Harford, Queen Anne, and Anne Arundel counties. Strength: 223 men.
Delaware Regiment - recruited from entire state. Strength: 220 men.

The two brigades were under the command of Johann von Kalb, one of the many foreign soldiers who fought for the fledgling nation. The strength of the 1st Maryland Brigade was 773 men, and the 2nd Brigade 854 men, giving a total of 1,627 men present for duty when sent south.

The command fought under this organization at the debacle at Camden, the 1st Brigade having a strength on the field of 680 men, and the 2nd Brigade had a strength of 710 men. The Maryland regiments each averaged 170 men, and the Delaware Regiment a strength of 200. These numbers are arrived at after considering desertions, illness, and the 100 men which were detached shortly before the battle.

After Camden the two Brigades were re-organized into a single regiment, called the 1st Maryland, which had two battalions, each battalion being formed from the same units which had formed the brigades. Therefore the 1st Battalion had the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th Maryland, and the 2nd Battalion had the 2nd, 4th, 6th Maryland and the Delaware Regiment. Strength after Camden was 869 present for duty. Also, light , infantry companies were organized and assigned to the Corps of Light Troops.

In late 1780 another re-organization took place. Each battalion was ordered to provide another company of infantry to the Corps of Light Troops, and the seven existing Maryland regiments were organized into five. However, the realities on the field were far different than the paper organizations, and there remained jwo battalions of Maryland line, the 1st formed from the old 1st Brigade, and the 2nd formed from the old 2nd Brigade, as well as the Maryland-Delaware Light Infantry battalion, which was part of the Corps of Light Troops.

The Delaware Regiment was also affected by these changes. After Camden the regiment was formed into two over-sized companies, one assigned to the 2nd Maryland Battalion, the other to the Corps of Light Troops. The strengths of each of these two companies was around 90 men.

The organization of the Maryland and Delaware line at Camden (fought August 16th, 1780) therefore would be as follows:

1st Maryland Brigade - Smallwood
1st Maryland Regiment 170 men
3rd Maryland Regiment 170 men
5th Maryland Regiment 170 men
7th Maryland Regiment 170 men

2nd Maryland Brigade - Gist
Delaware Regiment 200 men
2nd Maryland Regiment 170 men
4th Maryland Regiment 170 men
6th Maryland Regiment 170 men

At the beginning at 1781, the Maryland and Delaware line were organized as follows:

Maryland-Delaware Light Infantry Battalion 400 men
1st Maryland Regiment (old 1st Brigade, old 1st Battalion) 320 men*
2nd Maryland Regiment (old 2nd Brigade, old 2nd Battalion) 320 men
* Includes one Delaware company.

Concerning the Maryland-Delaware Light Infantry Battalion, it appears that during the Cowpens Campaign there was one Maryland light infantry company, two Maryland line companies, one Delaware light infantry company, and one Virginia light infantry company. After rejoining Greene's army, these companies returned to their parent formations. Shortly thereafter the battalion was reformed and consisted of the Delaware company, the Virginia company, and one company from each of the two Maryland regiments.

The organization of the Maryland-Delaware Light Infantry Battalion at Cowpens (fought January 17th, 1781) consisted of the following:

One Maryland Light Company 70 men
Two Maryland Line Companies 140 men
One Delaware Light Company (Kirkwood's) 70 men
One Virginia Light Company 70 men

At Guilford Court House (March 15th, 1781) the Maryland-Delaware Continentals were organized in the following manner (note that the Maryland companies that were part of the Light Infantry Battalion have rejoined their parent formations):

Maryland Brigade: Colonel Otho Williams
1st Maryland Regiment 360 men*
2nd Maryland Regiment 360 men
Serving with Washington's Legion:
Kirkwood's Company of Delaware Continentals 110 men**
*-includes Jaquett's Company of Delaware Continentals.
**-includes one company of Virginia Light Infantry.

At Hobkirk's Hill (April 25th, 1781) the Maryland-Delaware units were as follows:

Maryland Brigade: Colonel Otho Williams
1st Maryland Regiment 300 men
2nd Maryland Regiment 300 men
Kirkwood's Delaware Company 80 men

And, at Eutaw Springs (September 8th, 1781) the units were down to the following strengths:

Maryland Brigade: Colonel Otho Williams
1st Maryland Regiment 150 men
2nd Maryland Regiment 150 men
Kirkwood's Delaware Company 80 men

Also, a word about the experience level of the Continental regiments: Many historians believe that the 1st Maryland Regiment was the only veteran unit in Greene's army and that the Virginia regiments along with the 2nd Maryland were mainly recruits. This was not the case. Both of the Maryland regiments (battalions) were formed around the remnants of the veterans from the original two brigades that were sent south in 1780. Any recruits that were added would have been mixed into the existing formations. Therefore, although the performance of the 2nd Maryland (called ' by some incorrectly as the 5th Maryland) at Guilford C. H. might lead one to state that the unit was untried and filled mainly with recruits, one could also say that about the 1st Maryland's performance later at Hobkirk's Hill when it fled in the face of British fire. Of all the units in the Continental Line, it is undoubtedly without question that the Marylanders and Delawares were the best troops the Continental Army had, and it was for this reason that Washington sent this small but highly tested force south.

One side note: Robert Kirkwood of Delaware fought in over 33 engagements but never made it above the rank of captain as there were only two companies of Delaware troops in the South after 1780. Kirkwood later served with the 2nd American Regiment, a newly recruited unit which was wiped out at the Battle of the Wabash on November 4th, 1791. This battle was the worst military defeat ever inflicted on an United States army by American Indians and it was fought in Ohio, at present day Fort Recovery. Kirkwood fell leading his raw troops in the same way he lead his Delawares: at the front.

Sources:
Bell, Chris. The British Are Coming. Tempest Games, 1990.
Novak, Greg. Rise and Fight Again. Friekorps 15, Northern Ireland.
Van Trees, Robert. Banks of the Wabash. Daring Books, Dayton, 1986.
Ward, Christopher. The War of the Revolution. MacMillan Company, New York, 1952.