Maryland Line's Sacrifice at Long Island

# The Maryland Line's Sacrifice at Long Island

In the summer of 1776, the American Revolution was still young and desperately fragile. The Declaration of Independence had been signed only weeks earlier, in July, and the Continental Army — still more a collection of militias and volunteers than a professional fighting force — faced the daunting reality of defending its ideals against the most powerful military on earth. General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental forces, had moved his army to New York City, anticipating that the British would target the strategically vital harbor and its surrounding territory. He was right. By August, General William Howe had landed a massive force of approximately 20,000 British regulars and Hessian mercenaries on the southwestern shore of Long Island, setting the stage for one of the earliest and most consequential engagements of the war — and for an act of selfless courage that would define an entire state's identity for generations.

The Battle of Long Island, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle following the Declaration of Independence, and it was nearly a disaster for the American cause. Washington had divided his forces between Manhattan and Brooklyn, positioning troops along a series of fortified ridges and passes on the western end of Long Island. However, Howe, aided by skilled reconnaissance and local Loyalist intelligence, exploited a critical gap in the American defenses. A flanking column of British troops marched through the lightly guarded Jamaica Pass overnight and struck the Continental lines from behind at dawn. The American position rapidly collapsed. Regiments broke and scattered. Panic spread through the ranks as soldiers found themselves surrounded, with the East River at their backs and the British closing in from multiple directions. Washington's entire army, and perhaps the Revolution itself, stood on the edge of annihilation.

It was in this desperate moment that approximately 400 soldiers from Maryland, part of a regiment commanded by Colonel William Smallwood and led on the field that day by Major Mordecai Gist, rose to meet the crisis. While the bulk of Washington's retreating forces scrambled toward the relative safety of the fortified positions at Brooklyn Heights, these Maryland Continentals executed a rearguard action of extraordinary valor. Rather than retreating with the rest of the army, they turned and charged directly into the advancing British and Hessian lines — not once, but repeatedly. They attacked a strong position near the Vechte-Cortelyou House, a stone building that the British had fortified, throwing themselves against disciplined volleys of musket fire and professional bayonet formations. Each charge bought precious minutes for the larger army to escape encirclement.

The cost was staggering. Of the roughly 400 Marylanders who fought in the rearguard action, approximately 250 became casualties — killed, wounded, or captured. The unit was effectively shattered in a single afternoon. Washington himself, watching the carnage from a vantage point near Brooklyn Heights, is reported to have said, "Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose." His words captured both his anguish and his recognition that these men were purchasing the survival of his army with their lives.

Their sacrifice worked. Washington's forces reached Brooklyn Heights and, two nights later, executed a masterful nighttime evacuation across the East River to Manhattan, saving the Continental Army to fight another day. Had the Marylanders not held the line, the retreat might have become a rout, and the war could have ended before it truly began.

The men who fought and died that day became known as the "Maryland 400," and their stand at Long Island became foundational to Maryland's Revolutionary identity. The state embraced the nickname "The Old Line State" in their honor, a tribute that endures to this day. The event also carried broader significance for the Continental Army as a whole. It demonstrated that American soldiers, though outmatched in numbers, training, and equipment, could display a courage and discipline equal to any professional army in the world. In a war that would demand years of endurance, setback, and sacrifice before ultimate victory, the Maryland Line's stand at Long Island offered an early and powerful proof that the cause of independence would not be surrendered lightly. Their bravery became not merely a Maryland story, but an American one — a reminder that the Revolution was preserved, in its most vulnerable hours, by ordinary men willing to give everything.