On 6 July 1776 the Maryland Battalion was assigned to the main Continental Army. On 12 August 1776 it was assigned to Stirling's Brigade and five days later (17 August 1776) adopted into the main Continental Army. On 31 August the Maryland Battalion was re-assigned from Stirling's Brigade to McDougall's Brigade. On 19 September 1776 the Maryland Independent Companies were assigned to the Maryland Battalion. This element was relieved from McDougall's Brigade on 10 November 1776. From 10 December 1776 to January 1777 the element was assigned to Mercer's Brigade. In January 1777 this element was re-organized to eight companies and was re-designated as the 1st Maryland Regiment and assigned to the 1st Maryland Brigade on 22 May 1777 of the main continental Army. On 12 May 1779 the regiment was re-organized to nine companies. On 5 April 1780 the 1st Maryland Brigade was re-assigned to the Southern Department. On 1 January 1781 it was re-assigned to the Maryland Brigade of the Southern Department. The regiment would see action during the New York Campaign, Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth, Battle of Camden and the Battle of Guilford Court House. The regiment was furloughed 27 July 1783 at Baltimore and disbanded on 15 November 1783.
The Maryland Battalion distinguished itself at the Battle of Long Island by single-handedly covering the retreat of the American forces against numerically superior British and Hessian forces, with a group of men memorialized as the Maryland 400. Thereafter, General George Washington relied heavily upon the Marylanders as one of the few reliable fighting units in the early Continental Army. For this reason, Maryland is sometimes known as "The Old Line State." [1] The lineage of this unit is perpetuated by the 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard.
1st Maryland Ranker
1st Maryland Officer
