Nathaniel Ramsey (1741-1817)
MSA SC 3520-1029
Biography:
Nathaniel Ramsey was born on May 1, 1741 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to James Ramsey and his wife, Jane Montgomery. His father was an Irish immigrant who established a successful farm in the colonies. Ramsey had an older brother, William (1732-1789), and a younger brother, David (1749-1815). All three of them attended Princeton University. After graduating, William Ramsey became a Presbyterian clergyman, David Ramsey became a physician and historian, and Nathaniel Ramsey became a lawyer. [1]
Ramsey eventually established a law practice in Cecil County, Maryland, and for a time in Northampton County, Virginia as well. There, he married Margaret Jane Peale in 1771. Margaret Jane Peale was the beloved sister of Charles Willson Peale, the famed portrait artist who captured the likenesses of many crucial historical figures. Margaret Jane, often called “Jenny,” was born in 1743 in Chestertown, Maryland. Prior to marrying Ramsey, she was the wife of merchant James McMordie, who died in 1767. Ramsey forged a deep friendship with his brother-in-law Charles Willson Peale that lasted for the rest of their lives. [2]
In the spring of 1775, Ramsey was chosen as one of Cecil County’s delegates to the Maryland Convention. The Convention was the state's self-declared legislative body, which began meeting after Robert Eden, the colonial governor, dissolved the old assembly in an effort to stop the independence movement. As a member, Ramsey discussed and debated the British colonial policies that would soon catalyze a revolution, and signed the Association of Freemen, a precursor to the Declaration of Independence. While the signers held out hope for reconciliation with England, they recognized, just a few months after the battles of Lexington and Concord, "that it is necessary and justifiable to repel force by force, [and] do approve of the opposition by Arms to the British troops." [3]
When war broke out, Ramsey was quick to answer the call of liberty. On January 2, 1776, he was given a commission as captain of the Fifth Company of Maryland troops in Colonel William Smallwood’s battalion. James Peale, Margaret Jane’s younger brother, was made an ensign in another company. Ramsey’s company was stationed in Baltimore initially, where it trained until receiving orders to march to the aid of the Continental Army in New York in the summer of 1776. Just a few weeks after their arrival, the first major battle of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Brooklyn, took place on August 27, 1776. [4]
The battle was a disaster for the Continental Army. It was quickly outflanked and driven back in disarray. The Continental Army and George Washington himself faced annihilation as a result of the situation on the battlefield. They were saved, however, by the courage of a group of soldiers who came to be known as the Maryland 400. In the midst of the frenzied retreat, the Maryland 400 launched a daring counterattack and held off the British long enough for Washington and his army to escape. Two hundred and fifty-six Maryland soldiers were either killed or captured as a result of their bravery.
Despite being “within 100 yards of the enemy’s muzzles, when they were fired on,” Ramsey and his company were relatively unscathed during the fighting. Still, their retreat through the swampy Gowanus Creek under heavy fire, was a harrowing one. Many men drowned while crossing the marsh, but Ramsey had a lucky advantage: he was six feet three inches tall, among the tallest men on the battlefield. As he recounted, “My height was of use to me, as I touched [the bottom] almost all the way” across the creek, though according to Peale, Ramsey “was obliged to hold up his chin to keep the water from running into his mouth.” A few weeks earlier, Peale had teased his brother-in-law about his height, “remark[ing] that his heigth was much against him, being a fine Mark for a shot...but it so turned out that his heigth had saved him.” [5]
When Ramsey’s wife, Margaret Jane, heard of the catastrophe at Brooklyn, she could no longer bear the anxiety of her husband being in such peril so far away. She decided to “be with the army whatever might be her suffering, than be at a distance and so much tormented, for if she was near the army in case of misfortunes she possibly might be aiding to help those most dear to her.” [6]
In September 1776, Margaret Jane began following the Continental Army. It was not unusual for soldiers to bring their wives, or even whole families with them, although Margaret Jane’s experience as the high-status wife of a captain--later lieutenant colonel--was surely different from many of them. She traveled behind the army in her own carriage and, when possible, found lodging with families living near the Continental Army camp. Her presence was often a boon to these families. As the wife on an officer, she was able to protect them from plundering, destruction, and abuse that too often accompany war, using her position as an upper-class woman. One of her hosts “entreated her to stay… for you can aid me in my many difficulties, for every body seems to pay more regard to what you say than I have ever seen before… oh! do not leave me.” [7]
In December 1776, Ramsey was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the newly-formed Third Maryland Regiment. Around that time, Ramsey was probably back in Maryland, where he was involved in the formation of the Whig Club, a radical and militant Revolutionary secret society in Baltimore. The Whig Club’s members were the city’s fiercest supporters of American independence, dedicated to rooting out “artful villains” and “Tories.” The club’s members were a remarkable mix of upper-class gentlemen like Ramsey and his lieutenant David Plunket, as well as a number of the city’s tradesmen. The Whig Club targeted prominent Loyalists in the city, threatening violence unless they left. The club’s activities were largely cloaked with secrecy, which makes it hard to gauge Ramsey’s participation, but he was well known as a member. [8]
During 1777, Ramsey and his regiment fought at the major battles of the Philadelphia Campaign, Brandywine (September 1777) and Germantown (October 1777), both significant defeats. That winter, he and his wife went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, in a comfortable log hut (or cabin), where “all the Maryland officers in camp spent many agreeable hours,” until Ramsey and his men were ordered to Wilmington, Delaware later that winter. [9]
A year later, on June 28, 1778, Ramsey led the Third Maryland Regiment at the Battle of Monmouth, where they performed quite well. In the course of the battle, American general Charles Lee panicked and withdrew his men. As the Americans sought to recover from that move, Ramsey’s regiment was used to fill the space vacated by Lee’s men. This they did with great bravery, even as Ramsey himself was captured. As Otho Holland Williams, another Maryland officer and friend of Ramsey wrote:
[Ramsey] killed the first man [who attacked] with his sword, but finding himself hewed at all quarters with their Broad Swords and receiving the full charge [of] powder &c of a pistol aslant his right cheek, surrendered [as a] prisoner of war. [10]
The Americans were able to fight the British back well enough to claim the battle as a victory, and Ramsey’s men fought with ferocity. George Washington himself “sent...his compliments to Col. Ramsey. [11]
The exact details of Ramsey’s injury are not known for certain. Some accounts report that he was wounded in the leg, while others say he was wounded in--or lost--his eye, although Williams’s account makes the latter more likely than the former. Legend has it that a British soldier found Ramsey on the battlefield and decided not to bayonet him after noticing his Masonic ring. It is equally possible that, as a senior commander, Ramsey represented a high-value prisoner for the British. After recovering from his injuries, Ramsey was sent to Long Island, where captive American officers were held. [12]
Ramsey’s captivity was not harsh compared to that of most other soldiers. Margaret Jane was permitted to join him in New York, and the couple bought a house, where they frequently hosted parties and dinners. Ramsey was also able to bring his some of his slaves with him, including one unnamed woman who Ramsey said he had “not the most distant idea of parting with [since] I bought her not to sell, but for my own use ... for a kitchen wench.” [13]Although his imprisonment was relatively luxurious, Ramsey still desperately desired his freedom. His brother-in-law and dear friend Charles Willson Peale wrote to George Washington himself to encourage his exchange. Washington usually preferred to conduct exchanges on a national scale based upon rank and duration of captivity, but he made an exception for Ramsey. On November 11, 1780, Ramsey was finally exchanged for British lieutenant colonel John Connolly. Ramsey notified Washington of his release personally and insisted that he had “no wish or request to make for a furlough, but on the Contrary will esteem myself obliged and honored in being ordered to any duty in any place which will give me an opportunity of being active in the service of my Country.” Washington replied that Ramsey’s desire of “instantly entering into an activity of service, and rendering every possible assistance in the defence of [his] Country, is too laudable to be passed by unnoticed.” [14]
Despite Ramsey’s eagerness to resume his post, he never returned to active duty. The Maryland Line was decimated at the Battle of Camden in August 1780, and had only enough men to form a single regiment. After it was consolidated, a number of officers were left without a command, including Ramsey. While some were officers were offered new positions, Ramsey was instead declared supernumerary (or surplus officer), and retired from the army on January 1, 1781. Although Ramsey was unhappy to leave, he found solace in the knowledge that he was replaced by officers with more eagerness to serve than he had. That Ramsey had been out of service for more than two years, and may have been seriously wounded, could have influenced the decision. [15]
Still wanting to contribute to the patriot cause after returning home, Ramsey applied to be a one of Maryland's commissioners of confiscated British property on February 22, 1781. Just four days later, he was given the job, overseeing the sale of land formerly owned by Loyalists, now being sold by the state to finance the war effort. While filling this position, Ramsey became the subject of a scandal. He was accused of purchasing a tract of confiscated property without paying for it properly by using a military pay certificate instead of hard currency. [16]
At the time of the purchase, a law had recently been passed granting soldiers specie certificates for depreciation pay. Ramsey intended to use his certificates for the purchase, which the other commissioners and Attorney General deemed legal. Shortly after the sale, however, the General Assembly decided that the first payment made on a purchase must be made with real specie. The sales made with certificates were thus made null and void. Ramsey insisted that he then tendered his specie certificates and thus legally bought the property, but some doubts still existed in the community. Ramsey, in response to criticism for his actions, gave his assurance that he had “in every instance wherein [he] [had] been intrusted by the publick, endeavored to serve them as well as [he] [knew] how,” and that “an approving conscience whispers to [him] at the midnight hour and affords [him] a consolation which neither the misrepresentations or malice of [his] enemies can ever destroy.” He continued to serve as a commissioner until his resignation on September 13, 1784. [17]
Ramsey continued his service to the public for the duration of his life. In 1785, he served as a member of the House of Delegates from Cecil County. Late that year, he was also elected to be a representative to Congress. He was reelected to Congress in 1787, but could only go to a few sessions due to health issues. Ramsey also served as a justice of Cecil County Court, and as a justice of the peace from 1785-1789. In February of 1786, Ramsey was offered a position as magistrate. Although he declined, it serves to show his prominence in the community. In early 1789, Ramsey received a handful of votes in the Congressional election. The same year, he was elected to the House of Delegates, but declined to serve. Instead, George Washington honored him with an appointment as U.S. Marshal for Maryland. In 1794, Ramsey was also appointed a naval officer for the district of Baltimore. He served in this capacity for the remainder of his life. [18]
In March of 1786, Ramsey bought a tract of land called Carpenter’s Point on the eastern side of the Chesapeake Bay in Cecil County. There, he established a very successful fishery known for its bountiful supply of shad, herring, and ducks. By 1790, he owned twenty-six slaves. In 1788, Margaret Jane Peale died of unknown causes at Carpenter’s Point at the age of forty-five. [19]
Ramsey remarried on January 4, 1790 in Cecil County. His new wife was named Charlotte Hall. The couple had four children together. Their first-born son, Montesquieu, died very young. They then had another son, William, born in 1793 and two daughters, Sophia Hall and Charlotte Jane, born in 1794 and 1797. [20]
In the latter part of his life, Ramsey began to experience violent bouts of illness. His long-time friend and brother-in-law, Charles Willson Peale remarked in 1815 that “his attacks of disease of late has been so frequent & so severe that I greatly fear that he cannot last long.” Ramsey managed to survive his battle with illness for another two years, before passing away on October 24, 1817. At his death, Ramsey owned more than 3,600 acres of land in Maryland, as well as several lots in Baltimore City, and 500 acres of federal bounty land, earned through his military service. [21]
“His family and numerous friends,” wrote Charles Willson Peale after Ramsey, “suffer[ed] anguish to part with him. He possesses a noble heart and a great mind- an enlarged mind- such as few men possess.” [22]
Jillian Curran, Explore America Research Intern, 2019
Notes:
1. James McLachlan, Princetonians 1748-1768: A Biographical Dictionary (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976), 617-621.
2. Charles Willson Peale, The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and his family Volume 1, Charles Willson Peale: Artist in Revolutionary America, 1735-1791, ed. Lillian B. Miller, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1983), xlv; Charles Willson Peale, The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and his family, Volume 5: The Autobiography of Charles Willson Peale, ed. Lillian B. Miller and Sidney Hart (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000), 121-122.
3. Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., eds, A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1635-1789. Vol II. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985), 671-672; Proceedings of the Conventions of the Province of Maryland, 1774-1776, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 78, p. 17.
4. Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 13; Reiman Steuart, The Maryland Line (The Society of the Cincinnati, 1971), 118.
5. "Battle of Long Island," Maryland Historical Magazine 14:2 (Jun 1919), 113; Peale, vol. 5, 123; [Nathaniel Ramsey], “Extract of a Letter From an Officer in the Maryland Battalion, Dated Long-Island, Wednesday Morning, Daybreak, August 28, 1776,” American Archives, vol. 5, ser. 1, p. 1195.
6. Peale, vol. 5, 123.
7. Peale, vol. 5, 124.
8. Steuart, 15; Charles G. Steffen, The Mechanics of Baltimore: Working and Politics in the Age of Revolution, 1763-1812 (Chicago: University of Illinois, 1984), 64-72. For more about the Whig Club's activities and connections to the First Maryland Regiment, see "The Whig Club: Judge and Jury in Baltimore," on the Maryland State Archives research blog, Finding the Maryland 400.
9. Peale, vol. 5, 125.
11. Williams to Thomas, 29 June 1778, Williams Papers, MHS
12. Peale, vol. 1, 415n4; Peale, vol. 5, 125-126, an account which aligns with Williams's.
13. Nathaniel Ramsey to Otho Holland Williams, 20 August 1779, Williams Papers, MHS.
14. Peale, vol. 1, 350n1; Nathaniel Ramsey to George Washington, 11 November 1780, Founders Online, National Archives; George Washington to Nathaniel Ramsey, 18 November 1780, Founders Online, National Archives.
15. Steuart, 15; Nathaniel Ramsey to Otho Holland Williams, 4 August 1781, Williams Papers, MHS.
16. Nathaniel Ramsey to Gov. Thomas Sim Lee, 22 February 1781, Maryland State Papers, Red Books, vol. 32, no. 54, MdHR 4603-54 [MSA S989-4687, 1/6/4/35]; Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, 1780-1781, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 45, p. 326.
17. Nathaniel Ramsey to Printers, Maryland Gazette, 1781, Maryland State Papers, Series A, box 34, no. 124, MdHR 6636-34-124 [MSA S1004-45-22141, 1/7/3/47]; Journal and Correspondence of the State Council, 1781-1784, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 48, p. 539.
18. Papenfuse, et al., 671; Peale, vol. 1, 456, 472n8; Journal and Correspondence of the State Council, 1784-1789, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 71, pps. 16, 79, 164, 232, 309; Nathaniel Ramsey to Gov. William Smallwood, 20 February 1786, Maryland State Papers, Series A, box 59, no. 26, MdHR 6636-59-26 [MSA S1004-81-20183, 1/7/3/63]; McLachlan, 620; U.S. House of Representatives, Maryland, 1789, A New Nation Votes; Nathaniel Ramsey to George Washington, 12 November 1789, Founders Online, National Archives; Peale, vol. 1, 89n3. Ramsey probably was not a declared candidate, and simply received a few votes from interested individuals.
19. McLachlan, 620; Peale, vol. 1, xlv, 415.
20. Cecil County Court, Marriage Licenses, 1777-1840, p. 61 [MSA C632-1, 1/11/6/38]; McLachlan, 620; Charles Willson Peale, The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and his family Volume 2, Part 2, Charles Willson Peale: The Artist as Museum Keeper, 1791-1810, ed. Lillian B. Miller, (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 817, 822n.
21. Charles Willson Peale, The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and his family Volume 3, The Belfield Farm Years, 1810-1820, ed. Lillian B. Miller, (Yale University Press, 1991), 873, 547n; Papenfuse, et al., 672
22. Peale, vol. 3, 546.
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