Alexander Allen
MSA SC 3520-16789
Biography:
Alexander Allen, the son of William Allen, enlisted in the Third Company of the First Maryland Regiment in February 1776. The regiment was Maryland's first contingent of full-time, professional troops, and distinguished itself that summer, gaining fame as the "Maryland 400." [1]
Allen and his company, under the command of Captain Barton Lucas, joined in Bladensburg, Prince George's County, Maryland, and traveled to Annapolis in the spring, where they spent the next few months training. In early July, the regiment received orders to march to New York, in order to defend the city from an impending British attack. The Marylanders arrived in New York in early August, where they joined with the rest of the Continental Army, commanded by General George Washington. On August 27, 1776, the Americans faced the British Army at the Battle of Brooklyn (sometimes called the Battle of Long Island), the first full-scale engagement of the war. The battle was a rout: the British were able to sneak around the American lines, and the outflanked Americans fled in disarray.
During the retreat, the Maryland troops fought their way towards the American fortifications, but were blocked by the swampy Gowanus Creek. Half the regiment was able to cross the creek, and escape the battle. However, the rest, including Allen, were unable to do so before they were attacked by the British. Facing down a much larger, better-trained force, this group of soldiers, today called the "Maryland 400," mounted a series of daring charges, which held the British at bay for some time, at the cost of many lives, before being overrun. They took enormous casualties, with some companies losing losing nearly 80 percent of their men, but their actions delayed the British long enough for the rest of the Continental Army to escape. In all, the First Maryland lost 256 men, killed or taken prisoner. [2]
Allen was wounded and taken prisoner during the battle, one of at least 22 men from his company to be captured. In all, only 27 men from the escaped death or captivity, just 35 percent. Sick and unable to lead his men in battle, Lucas "became deranged as a consequence of losing his company," and left the army not long after. [3]
Allen was likely released on parole in October 1776, and returned to Maryland. Prisoners on parole were permitted to leave captivity, but could not serve in the army until they were formally exchanged. While he was at home, Allen married Winifred Tuel (or Tool). In December, Allen reenlisted in the First Maryland Regiment, and served until the end of 1779. During that period, he saw likely saw combat at major battles like Brandywine (September 1777), Germantown (October 1777), and Monmouth (June 1778), as well as the harsh 1777-1778 winter encampment at Valley Forge. As a member of the light infantry corps, Allen may have participated in the daring attack at Stony Point, New York in July 1779, where an elite light infantry force captured a British fort in a nighttime bayonet attack. [4]
After resuming civilian life, Allen and his wife lived in Montgomery County, where Alexander mustered with the militia in 1780. It is likely that Alexander and Winifred lived in the portion of Montgomery County which later became part of Washington, DC, and by 1784 he was working as a tailor in Georgetown. They had at least one daughter, and possibly several others. [5]
During the early parts of his life, Allen never attained great wealth. He owned one slave in the 1790s and early 1800s, but little other property. He inherited 77 acres of land from his mother, which he sold in 1807. An Alexander Allen served in the Montgomery County Militia as an ensign in the 18th Regiment from 1797-1799, and as a lieutenant 1799-1808; it is likely that this was the same man who served in the Revolutionary War, but not absolutely certain. Officer positions were patronage appointments, and holding a commission in the militia indicated connections to the county's and state's political leaders. [6]
Alexander Allen died on March 15, 1815, in Washington, DC. His wife Winifred applied for a pension from the Federal Government in 1831, and received $80 per year until her death in 1838, at the age of 87. [7]
Owen Lourie, 2015
Notes:
[2] Return of the Maryland troops, 27 September 1776, from Fold3.com; Mark Andrew Tacyn, "'To the End:' The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution" (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 48-73. For more on the experience of the Marylanders at the Battle of Brooklyn, see "In Their Own Words," on the Maryland State Archives research blog, Finding the Maryland 400.
[3] Pension of Winifred Allen (Alexander Allen), National Archives and Records Administration, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, W 15524, from Fold3.com; Pension of John Hughes. National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land-Warrant Application Files, S 5954, from Fold3.com.
[4] Allen pension. Winifred recalled that they were married in October while Alexander was home on "furlough," in either 1776 or 1777, but other details in her account and in his military service record point to 1776 as the more likely scenario. An October return date is earlier than many other Maryland prisoners, who remained in captivity until late 1776 or early 1777; Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, NARA M881, from Fold3.com; Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 78, which incorrectly lists his enlistment date as December 10, 1778 instead of 1776.
[5] Allen pension; Montgomery County Commissioners of the Tax, Assessment Record, personal property, First District, 1793, 1 [MSA C1110-1, 1/18/14/17]; personal property, First District, 1804, 166 [MSA C1110-2, 1/18/14/18]; U.S. Census Bureau, Census of 1790, Montgomery County, Maryland; S. Eugene Clements and F. Edward Wright, The Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War (Silver Spring, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1987), 205.
[6] The 1800 census shows an Alexander Allen living in Montgomery County who owned 22 slaves, which was a high number, but it is not clear if this is the same person; indeed, the head of household is shown as Alexander Allen, but there are no adult white males living there, so many questions remain about this record. The records of the 1810 census from Washington DC were destroyed in a fire, making it difficult to determine further information about Allen. See U.S. Census Bureau, Census of 1800, First District, Montgomery County, Maryland; General Assembly, House of Delegates, Assessment Record 1783, List of Paupers, Montgomery County, Middle Potomac, Lower Potomac, and Georgetown Hundreds, p. 1 [MSA S1161-8-3, 1/4/5/51]; Deed, Alexander Allen to Joseph Elgar, Jr., 1807, Montgomery County Court, Land Records, Liber N, p. 221 [MSA CE148-14]; Adjutant General, Militia Appointments, vol. 2, 1794-1816, 18th Regiment, 25, 120 [MSA S348-2, 2/6/5/10].
[7] Allen pension; "Death." Daily National Intelligencer (Washington, DC), 27 April 1838.
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