Thomas Harwood, MSA SC 3520-16757

Biography:

Thomas Harwood's military career began on January 3, 1776 when he was commissioned as a first lieutenant of Captain John Day Scott's Seventh Company of the First Maryland Regiment.[1]

The son of Thomas Harwood Sr. and Rachel Sprigg, Thomas Harwood III was born on October 23, 1753 in Prince George's County into a prosperous Maryland family.[2] He had three sisters and one brother: Lucinda (1767-1835), Rachel (1764-?), Margaret (1753-?), and Osborn Sprigg (1760-1791).[3]

The challenge Harwood and the First Maryland Regiment faced was that almost none of the soldiers had any military experience prior to enlisting, including Harwood. As a result, it was Harwood's job to teach the new recruits military formations, how to be soldiers, and work as a cohesive unit. Harwood's company stayed in Maryland for the first half of 1776 before heading to New York that July to reinforce George Washington's army. [4]

At the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776, the Continental Army led by Washington tried to defend New York from the British. However, the British Army outflanked the Americans.[5] As one Maryland soldier recounts, "the main body of their army, by a route we never dreamed of, had entirely surrounded us".[6]

As they retreated, Harwood and his company were ambushed by a platoon of British soldiers. However, "fighting with more than Roman courage," the First Maryland Regiment forced the British back. This allowed Harwood and his company to escape across the Gowanus Creek to the fortified American lines while other companies were forced to travel up the stream. Those companies ultimately confronted and fought another British platoon. These charges by the Marylanders and the bravery they showed earned them the title of the "Maryland 400".[7]

Between August and September of 1776, the Continental Army was forced out of New York after a series of unsuccessful engagements with the British.[8] During one of these battles, at White Plains, Harwood's captain, John Day Scott, was mortally wounded, forcing Harwood to take command of the company.[9]

As a result of the casualties American forces faced during the charges against the British, the Continental Congress ordered the consolidation of the First Maryland Regiment and the creation of new regiments in the winter of 1776.[10] To fill the vacancies left by those who either died or did not reenlist, Harwood was promoted to the rank of captain in the Seventh Regiment.[11]

For the next six months Harwood was stationed in Morristown, New Jersey, during the winter encampment of 1777.[12] After his resignation on June 10, 1777, Harwood moved back to Anne Arundel County, where he was elected as Sheriff from 1779-1782.[13] During this period of time, he married his first wife Anne Whyte on October 29, 1778 and had two children, Thomas and Caroline.[14] In the early 1780's, Harwood moved to Calvert County where he owned two lots in Lower Marlboro.[15] Then after the death of his first wife, Harwood married Anne Arsenath Mayhew (b. 1762) on April 26, 1794 and had James Harwood, who became a Judge of the Orphans Court of Baltimore.[16]

Throughout his post-revolution life, Harwood borrowed heavily from a myriad of creditors to invest in over 10,000 acres in Georgia and over 1,000 acres in Pennsylvania. However, Harwood was unable to sell the land and thus, when his creditors came after him, he found himself drowning in a sea of debt and legal cases. Having to declare bankruptcy in the late 1790s, Harwood had to sell all of his possessions, including his personal belongings, to pay back his creditors.[17] As a result, "by his imprudence he had not only ruined himself but also his children."[18] Thomas Harwood ultimately died in Calvert County in 1804.[19]

[1] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 15.

[2] Robert McIntire, Annapolis Maryland Families, (Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press, 1979), 312.

[3] Joshua Dorsey Warfield, Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland, (Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1990; reprinted, 1905), 96-98; McIntire, 312.

[4] Mark Andrew Tacyn, To the End: The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution, (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 48-73.

[5] Tacyn, 48-73.

[6] Extract of a letter from New-York: Account of the battle on Long-Island, 1 September 1776, American Archives Online, series 5, vol. 2, p. 107.

[7] Tacyn, 48-73; Extract of a letter from New-York, 1 September 1776.

[8] Tacyn, 48-73.

[9] Pension of John Babbs, National Archives and Records Administration, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804 S.45241, from Fold3.com

[10] Tacyn, 104

[11] List of Regular Officers 1776, Maryland State Papers, Red Books, vol. 12, p. 66, MdHR 4573 [MSA S 989-17, 01/06/04/005].

[12] Tacyn, 104

[13] List of Sheriffs, 1777-1805, Court of Appeals, Misc. Papers, MdHR 708-1-1 [MSA S397-1, 1/64/14/32]

[14] Harrison Dwight Cavanagh, Colonial Chesapeake Families: British Origins and Decendants," Vol. 1. (Xlibris LLC, 2014.), 329.

[15] McIntire, 312; General Assembly, House of Delegates, Assessment Record, 1783, Calvert County, Lower Marlboro, 2nd District, p. 17 [MSA S 1161-3-2, 01/04/05/046]; Warfield, 96-98

[16] Joel Munsell, American Ancestry, Vol. 9. (Albany, New York: Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, 1894.), 208.

[17] Thomas Harwood, Calvert County, Case# 2621, 1799, Chancery Court, Chancery Papers, MdHR 17,898-2621 [MSA S512-2695, 1/36/2/079]

[18] Thomas Harwood, Calvert County, Case# 2621, 1799, Chancery Court, Chancery Papers, MdHR 17,898-2621 [MSA S512-2695, 1/36/2/079]; Robert H. Smith and Caroline Smith vs. Joseph Wilkinson. Calvert County, Case #5003, 1804, Chancery Court, Chancery Papers, MdHR 17,898-5003 [MSA S512-5149, 1/37/1/084].

[19] Cavanagh, 329.