Edward De Coursey, MSA SC 3520-325

Biography: Son of William Coursey (d. 1769) and his second wife, Rachel Clayton. Stepson of Clement Sewell. Brother of Henry (d. ~1815), Mary Downs, Rachel, and Sarah. Half-brother of William Coursey, Maria Sewell, Mary Sewell, and Charles Smith Sewell. Married Ann Nicols. Father of William Henry De Coursey (d. 1848), Edward (~1791-1822), and Henrietta. Died April 6, 1827 in Queen Anne’s County.

Edward De Coursey was the son of William Coursey and his second wife Rachel, and was probably was born in Queen Anne’s County.[1] Sometime following William’s death in 1769, Rachel married Clement Sewell. Clement and Rachel had two daughters, Maria and Mary (Polly), who married Samuel Turbutt Wright, the second lieutenant in the Seventh Independent Company.[2] Little is known about De Coursey’s life before the war but both his father and step-father owned large pieces of land and likely worked as planters.

On January 2, 1776 the Convention of Maryland commissioned De Coursey the third lieutenant in the Seventh Independent Company, a unit largely composed of men from Kent and Queen Anne’s counties.[3] While the Maryland Council of Safety used the nine regular companies of William Smallwood’s First Maryland Regiment to guard Annapolis and Baltimore, they deployed the seven independent companies throughout the countryside to prevent a possible British seaborne invasion from the Chesapeake Bay.[4] To help cover this vast amount of territory, the Seventh Independent Company was divided in two, with half the company quartering in Chester Town, Kent County, and the other half on Kent Island.[5] Lieutenant De Coursey remained with Captain Veazey and his half of the company stationed at Chester Town.[6]

Although the Council of Safety intended to use the independent companies for the defense of Maryland, the Council was sympathetic to the shared needs of all the colonies and answered the Continental Congress’ plea for more soldiers early in the summer of 1776.[7] On July 7, 1776 the Council ordered the Seventh Independent Company (along with Smallwood’s Regiment, and the Fourth and Fifth Independent companies) to travel to Philadelphia and then to New York to reinforce the Continental Army under the command of General George Washington.[8] Shortly after arriving in New York the Marylanders engaged with the British at the Battle of Brooklyn.

Fought on August 27, 1776, the Battle of Brooklyn was the first combat experience for the men of the First Maryland Regiment. Unfortunately for the Continental Army and the Marylanders, the battle was a major tactical and strategic defeat. The British Army under the command of General William Howe outflanked the Americans, forcing them to flee to their defensive fortifications atop Brooklyn Heights.[9] The men of the First Maryland Regiment fought extremely well throughout the engagement despite their inexperience. The British flanking maneuver cut off the Marylanders’ path of retreat and left them with little choice but to attack the numerically superior British force. The assault resulted in numerous casualties among the regiment but delayed the British advance and allowed the rest of the army to successfully retreat. The First Maryland Regiment’s sacrifice prevented the calamitous capture of the entire Continental Army and earned the regiment the name “Maryland 400.”

As a junior officer De Coursey would have fought alongside the enlisted soldiers, leading and encouraging them during the battle. De Coursey’s responsibilities likely increased as the battle progressed, especially after the death of Captain Veazey early in the fighting which altered the command structure of the company.[10] De Coursey managed to survive the battle but became a prisoner of the British at some point during the engagement. Casualties in De Coursey’s company were high; on September 27, 1776 the company’s reported strength included only thirty-six men out of an original force of approximately 100 men.[11]

Details about De Coursey’s captivity are few, but captured officers typically received better treatment than their enlisted comrades. The British likely detained De Coursey and other prisoners aboard ships before moving them to Manhattan in October.[12] On November 10, 1776 Colonel Samuel Miles of the Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment wrote to General Washington about a possible prisoner exchange for himself and other captured American officers, including Lieutenant De Coursey.[13] Although the British did not formally exchange De Coursey until September 27, 1777, he received a parole sometime between Miles’ letter and April 1777.[14]

Prior to his parole, De Coursey received a promotion to first lieutenant in the Maryland Line.[15] On January 13, 1777 De Coursey received a promotion to captain in Colonel John Patton’s Additional Continental Regiment, a newly created unit composed of soldiers mostly from Pennsylvania.[16] Commanding officers of “additional regiments” were largely able to select their subordinate officers, so De Coursey was likely hand-picked by Patton. While Patton’s reasons for selecting De Coursey are unknown, De Coursey knew Patton’s former commanding officer, Colonel Samuel Miles, from their time as prisoners. As a company commander in Patton’s Regiment, De Coursey likely participated in the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777-1778. De Coursey resigned from the Continental Army on August 5, 1778.[17]

Following his resignation from the army, De Coursey returned home to Queen Anne’s County. De Coursey was active in his post-war career and was a well connected and respected member of his community. From 1781-1784, De Coursey represented Queen Anne’s County in the Maryland House of Delegates.[18] In June 1794 De Coursey obtained the rank of major in the Thirty-Eighth Regiment of Maryland Militia, based in Queen Anne’s County, a post he held until he resigned in April 1795; the regiment's commander was Samuel Turbutt Wright, who had been a lieutenant with De Coursey in 1776.[19] Throughout the 1790s and early 1800s De Coursey also took an active role in the proceedings of St. Paul’s Parish, serving at various times a vestryman.[20] On multiple occasions the parish vestry also elected De Coursey to represent the parish at the Protestant Episcopal Church State Convention.[21] Aside from his public service, De Coursey most likely made his living as a planter, indicated by his possession of large amounts of lands and ownership of numerous livestock and slaves.

De Coursey married Ann Nichols sometime prior to April 1786.[22] Together they had two sons, Edward and William Henry, and one daughter Henrietta. Edward graduated from Princeton University in September 1811.[23] De Coursey seems to have withdrawn from public service later in life and likely retired to his plantation. In the years preceding his death De Coursey sold much of his livestock and farming equipment and gifted most of his estate to his son William Henry.[24] Edward De Coursey died in Queen Anne’s County after a “lingering illness,” on April 6, 1827.[25]

Notes:

[1] The spelling of Edward De Coursey’s last name varied throughout his life, with sources using some variation of either “De Coursey” or “Coursey,” (Edward also used the two interchangeably). Some secondary sources claim that in his will, Edward documented his desire for the family to use “De Coursey.” These sources quote Edward as supposing that the name was changed to avoid sounding too French at a time when the French and British were hostile toward one another. However, there is no will or any other probate records on file for Edward.

[2] Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789 vol. 1 (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985), p. 259.

[3] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 28.

[4] Mark Andrew Tacyn, “‘To the End:’ The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution” (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 33.

[5] “March 14,” American Archives, series 4, vol. 5, p. 1544-1545.

[6] Descriptions of men in Capt. F. Veazey’s Independent Comp, Maryland State Papers, Revolutionary Papers [MSA S 997-15-36].

[7] Tacyn “The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution,” 43.

[8] Journal and Correspondence of the Maryland Council of Safety, July 7:December 31, 1776, A rchives of Maryland Online vol. 12, p. 4.

[9] Henry P. Johnston, The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn (Brooklyn: 1878, reprint, New York: Da Capo Press, 1971), p. 191.

[10] “Extract of a letter from an officer in the Maryland Battalion,” American Archives, series 5, vol. 1, p. 1195.

[11] Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, p. 92, from Fold3.com.

[12] Edward Burd, “Extracts from the Diary of Captain John Nice,” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 16, no. 11 (Jan. 1893) p. 404.

[13] George Washington to Colonel Samuel Miles, 25 November 1776, Founders Online, National Archives.

[14] Archives of Maryland Online vol. 18, p. 616; Edward Coursey to James Hollyday, 12 April 1777, Hollyday Papers, 1677-1905, MS. 1317, Manuscripts Department, Maryland Historical Society. In the letter De Coursey mentions traveling from Maryland to Philadelphia and trying to decide whether or not to remain in the army.

[15] List of Regular Officers by Chamberlaine, Maryland State Papers, Red Books,, vol. 12, no. 66 [MSA S 989-17].

[16] Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, folder 145, p. 44, from Fold3.com; Robert K. Wright, Jr. The Continental Army (Washington D.C.: Center of Military History United States Army, 1983) p. 100.

[17] William De Courcy Papers, 1754-1871, Library of Congress Manuscript Division Washington, D.C..

[18] Papenfuse, et. al, p. 259.

[19] Adjutant General, Militia Appointments, Vol. 2, 1794-1816, p. 94 [MSA S 348-2].

[20] St. Paul's Church, St. Paul's Parish, Protestant Episcopal, Queen Anne's County, Centreville: Vestry Minutes 1762-1819, p. 96, 101, 104, 112. [MSA SCM 940-1].

[21] Frederic Emory, Queen Anne’s County Maryland (Baltimore: The Maryland Historical Society, 1950), p. 187-188.

[22] Caroline County, Court, Land Records, Land Record Abstracts, 1786-1795, p. 7 [MSA C522-1].

[23] Trenton Federalist (Trenton, NJ), 30 September 1811, p. 3.

[24] “Public Sale,” Easton Gazette (Easton, MD), 25 October 1823, p. 3. Queen Anne’s County, Courts, Land Records, TM 3, p. 95 [MSA C1426-33].

[25] “Mortuary Notice,” Easton Gazette (Easton, MD), 7 April 1827, p. 3.