In April of 1780 General George Washington released two brigades of Continentals to aid in the defense of the Southern Department which was being threatened by the actions of British General Sir Henry Clinton, who was bent on making the southern colonies a pro-crown area. The two units that Washington sent were the 1st and 2nd Maryland Brigades, veterans who had taken part in nearly every one of the Main Army's campaigns. These troops would help form the backbone of Horatio Gate's and later Nathanial Greene's Southern Army. The organization of these brigades throughout the southern campaigns 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: 158men. 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 republic. The strength of the 1st Maryland Brigade was 773 men, and the 2nd Brigade contained 854 men, giving a total of 1,627 men present for duty when sent south. The command fought under the above organization at the debacle at Camden, the 1st Brigade having a strength on the field of 680 men, and the 2nd having 710 men. The Maryland regiments each averaged 170 men, and the Delaware Regiment had strength of 200. These numbers are arrived at after considering desertions, illness, and the 100 men that were detached shortly before the battle. After Camden the two brigades were 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 previous brigades. (Also, light infantry companies were organized at this time and assigned to the Corps of Light Troops.) Therefore the 1st Battalion had the old 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th Regiments, and the 2nd Battalion had the old 2nd, 4th, and 6th Maryland Regiments along with the Delaware Regiment. Strength after Camden was 869 men present for duty. To make things even more confusing, these battalions were also often referred to as regiments. In late 1780 another reorganization took place. Each battalion (regiment) was ordered to provide another company of infantry (this time being line companies) to the Corps of Light Troops, and the seven existing Maryland regiments [1] were reorganized into five, dropping the 6th and 7th regimental designations. However, the realities in the field were far different than the paper organizations, and there remained two battalions (regiments) of Maryland line, the Ist Battalion formed from the old Ist Brigade, and the 2nd Battalion from the old 2nd Brigade, as well as the Maryland-Delaware Light Infantry Battalion, which was a part of the Corps of Light Troops. The Delaware Regiment was also affected by these changes. After Camden the regiment was reformed into two over-sized companies, one assigned to the 2nd Maryland Battalion, the other to the Corps of Light Troops. The strengths of these companies was around 90 men each. 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 from each line battalion), one Delaware light infantry company, and one Virginia light infantry company. After rejoining Greene's army, these companies were returned to their parent formations. Shortly thereafter the light battalion was reformed and consisted of the Delaware company, the Virginia company, and one company from each of the two Maryland battalions/regiments. Also, a word about the experience level of the Continentals after Camden: Many historians believe that the I st Maryland Battalion (Regiment) was the only veteran Maryland unit in Greene's army, and that the Virginia regiments along with the 2nd Maryland Battalion (Regiment) were mainly recruits. This was not the case. Both of the Maryland battalions (regiments) were formed around the remnants of the veterans from the original two brigades that were sent south in 1780 and both units received drafts of new recruits. Therefore, although the performance of the 2nd Maryland (called incorrectly by some as the 5th Maryland) at Guilford Court House might lead one to state that the unit was untried and filled mainly with recruits, one could also say that about the Ist 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. Battle Organizations Camden (August 16th, 1780) 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 Cowpens (January 17th, 1781) Maryland-Delaware Light Infantry Battalion 1st Maryland Company (one platoon each from the 1st and 7th Regiments) 60 men 2nd Maryland Company (from the 2nd, 4th, and 6th Regiments) 60 men 3rd Maryland Company (from the 3rd and 5th Regiments) 60 men One Delaware Light Company - Kirkwood 60 men One Virginia Light Company 60 men One North Carolina Company 30 men One Virginia State Company 50 men South Carolina State Troops 60 men Guilford Court House (March 15th, 1781 [2] Maryland Brigade - Williams 1st Maryland Battalion/Regiment 360 men [3] 2nd Maryland Battalion/Regiment 360 men Serving with Washington's Legion Kirkwood's Company of Delaware Continentals 110 men [4] Hobkirk's Hill (April 25th, 1781) Maryland Brigade - Williams 1st Maryland Battalion/Regiment 300 men 2nd Maryland Battalion/Regiment 300 men Kirkwood's Delaware Company 80 men Eutaw Springs (September 8th, 1781) Maryland Brigade - Williams 1st Maryland Battalion/Regiment 150 men 2nd Maryland Battalion/Regiment 150 men Kirkwood's Delaware Company 80 men One final interesting fact: Robert Kirkwood of Delaware fought in 33 engagements but never made it about the rank of captain as there were only two companies of Delaware troops in the South after 1780. Kirkwood, after the Revolution, 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 little known battle was the worse military defeat ever inflicted on the United States Army by an American Indian force and it was fought in Ohio, at present day Fort Recovery, Kirkwood's final resting place. Kirkwood fell leading his raw troops in the same way he lead his Delawares: at the front. Sources Babits, Lawrence E. A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. UNC Press, Chapel Hill, 1998. Bell, Chris. The British Are Coming. Tempest Games, 1990. Novak, Greg. Rise and Fight Again: The War of Independence in the South. Rue Sans Joie Press, Bangor, no date. Van Trees, Robert. Banks of the Wabash. Daring Books, Dayton, 1986. Ward, Christopher. The War of the Revolution. MacMillan Company, New York, 1952. Wright, Jr., Robert K. The Continental Army. Center of Military History, Washington, 1986. [1] Even though the seven Maryland and one Delaware regiments that fought at Camden were later formed into a single (two-battalion) regiment, the units that formed these battalions still went by their previous regimental designations. 'Note that the Maryland companies that were part of the Light Infantry Battalion have rejoined their parent formations. [2] Includes Jaquett's Company of Delaware Continentals. [3] Includes one company of Virginia Light Infantry. [4] Also known as St. Clair's Defeat. Back to MWAN #114 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2001 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com