Edward Prall
MSA SC 3520-13928
Biography:
Likely a native of New Jersey, Edward Prall took up residence in Harford County, Maryland, and by the mid-1770s, showed himself to be an outspoken advocate of American independence, with sufficient social standing to take on a leadership role. He was among the signers of the Bush River Declaration in March 1775, a proclamation by a group of Harford County men who proclaimed their support for the people of Boston and the boycott of British goods, writing "we do most solemnly pledge ourselves to each other, and to our country, and engage ourselves by every tie held sacred among mankind, to perform the same at the risque of our lives and fortunes." [1] He was a member of the Harford County Committee of Safety in 1774 and 1775. During this period, Prall also served as a lieutenant in the county militia, a position indicating his political connections and social standing. [2]
While Prall's membership in the county militia did not necessarily demonstrate interest in American independence, his early entry into the First Maryland Regiment in January 1776 certainly did. The regiment was created to fulfill Maryland's obligation to provide troops for the Continental Army. While the militia's job was home defense, the men of the First Maryland were regulars--full-time, professional troops, preparing to fight the British. Prall initially received a commission as an ensign, the lowest commissioned rank, charged with carrying the unit's flag, but quickly was promoted to second lieutenant of the Fourth Company. [3] The company, drawn mostly from Prall's native Harford County, spent the first part of 1776 training in Baltimore, departing for New York in July to counter British attempts to capture that city. [4]
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, Prall and the rest of the Maryland troops fought their way towards the American fortifications, but were blocked by the swampy Gowanus Creek. While half the regiment was able to cross the creek, the rest, Prall's company among them, were unable to do so before they were attacked by the British. Facing down a much larger, better-trained force, the Marylanders mounted a series of daring charges, which held the British at bay for some time, at the cost of many lives, before being overrun. One of the Fourth Company's sergeants, William McMillan, described what happened:
My captain was killed, first lieutenant was killed, second lieutenant shot through the hand, two sergeants was killed; one in front of me…my bayonet was shot off my gun...My brother [Sergeant Samuel McMillan] and I and 50 or 60 of us was taken…The Hessians broke the butts of our guns over their cannon and robbed us of everything we had, lit their pipes with our money…gave us nothing to eat for five days, and then [only] moldy biscuits…blue, moldy, full of bugs and rotten. [5]
All told, the company lost 80 percent of its men, killed or captured like McMillan. Only the company's drummer, a dozen privates, and a sergeant made it back to the American lines. The Marylanders took enormous causalities, with other companies losing nearly as many men as the Fourth, but their action had delayed the British long enough for the rest of the Continental Army to escape, earning themselves the moniker "Maryland 400." Prall, the second lieutenant McMillan said was shot in the hand, was among those taken prisoner. [6]
Based on the experience of other Maryland prisoners from the Battle of Brooklyn, Prall was probably held on a prison ship initially, then brought to Manhattan sometime in late 1776, after the British push the Americans out of the city. While his conditions were probably better than what the enlisted prisoners like William McMillan faced, it was likely still unpleasant. During his captivity, Prall was promoted to first lieutenant in the First Maryland Regiment in December 1776, and to captain in June 1777. Unusually, he was not released until April of 1778, well after most officers captured at the Battle of Brooklyn had already been exchanged. [7]
After being released, Prall returned to the army on active duty at least for the rest of 1778 and 1779. After that time, he appears to have largely stayed in Maryland recruiting new soldiers, instead of traveling to the Carolinas with the rest of the Marylanders, and it is possible that he did not rejoin the army again until the very late days of the war. However, he remained in the service until he retired in January 1783. [8]
Returning to civilian life, Prall maintained his position of community leader, and was active in local politics. He served in the House of Delegates from 1791 to 1793, and again in 1796; he also ran unsuccessfully in 1790, 1799, and 1800, losing badly each time. Prall's personal political views are unknown, but Harford had a reputation as a center of opposition to Maryland's dominant Federalist party, and to ratification of the Federal Constitution. [9]. He was also a justice of the peace from 1790 until his death in 1803 [10].
Prall never accumulated significant amounts of wealth during his lifetime, although he war far from poor. There is no record that he ever owned any slaves, and he owned fewer than 50 acres of land, located near Lower Cross Roads (present-day Churchville, Maryland). While his occupation is unknown, he probably was not a farmer, as his land was unimproved, and his probate inventory showed no farming equipment. [11]
When he died in 1803, Edward Prall had apparently never married or had children. His estate was worth only $73.21, and a desk, a bed, and a cow made up half of that amount. In 1812, nearly a decade after he died, Prall's relatives in New Jersey sold his land, and finally settled his estate. [12]
Owen Lourie, 2015
Notes:
1. Read more about the Bush River Declaration here.
2. S. Eugene Clements and F. Edward Wright, The Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War (Silver Spring, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1987), 112, 170.
3. Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 11; Reiman Steuart, The Maryland Line (The Society of the Cincinnati, 1971), 120.
4. The experience of the Fourth Company is described in the pension of William McMillan, one of the company's sergeants. See Pension of William McMillan, National Archives and Records Administration, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, S 2806, p. 33-35, from Fold3.com.
5. McMillan pension.
6. 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. There is no other record of Prall being wounded at the Battle of Brooklyn, although McMillan's account is known to be very accurate.
7. The experience of Marylanders taken prisoner at the Battle of Brooklyn is based on several accounts, including William Sterrett and Charles Riely. Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, pps. 150, 482, 616; General William Smallwood to George Washington, 8 April 1778, Founders Online, National Archives.
8. Auditor General, Journal, 1779-1781, Army Journal 1, pps. 1a, 3a, 4a, 11a, 12a, 17a, 21a, MdHR 1388 [MSA S150-3, 1/1/4/11]; Auditor General, Ledger, 1778-1791, Army Ledger 2, p. 113, MdHR 1373 [MSA S151-9, 1/1/4/7]; order to pay and receipt, 1778, Maryland State Papers, Revolutionary Papers, box 5, no. 2-7, MdHR 19970-5-2/7 [MSA S997-5-19, 1/7/3/11]; order to pay and receipt, 1781, Maryland State Papers, Revolutionary Papers, box 5, no. 2-17, MdHR 19970-5-2/17 [MSA S997-5-29, 1/7/3/11]; Maryland State Papers, Red Books, vol. 26, no. 76 [MSA S989-38, 1/6/4/26], published in Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 45, p. 38-39; Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 482.
9. Norman Risjord, Chesapeake Politics, 1781-1800 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1978), 282, 286-287; election information from A New Nation Votes.
10. Governor and Council, Commission Record, 1777-1798, pps. 117, 217 [MSA S1080-6, 2/26/3/15]; Commission Record, 1777-1827, pps. 112-114 [MAS S1080-7, 2/26/3/16].
11. "Eight Dollars Reward," Maryland Journal, 26 December 1786; 1798 Federal Direct Tax, Harford County, General List, land, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 729, p. 1686; Deed, George Vandergrift to Prall, 1800, Harford County Land Records, Liber JLG no. P, p. 396; Deed, John Archer, et al. to Prall, 1800, Harford County Land Records, Liber JLG no. P, p. 398; Deed, Prall's heirs to John Logan, Harford County Land Records, 1812, Liber HD no. W, p. 413. It is somewhat unclear how much land Prall ever owned. In the 1798 assessment, he was recorded as owning 22.5 acres, but appears not to have purchased any land until 1800, when he recorded a pair of deeds to 22.5 acres near Lower Cross Roads, where he had lived since the mid-1780s. When Prall's heirs settled his estate, they sold only that land. Harford County Register of Wills, Estate Papers, Edward Prall, no. 835, box no. 6 [MSA T2757-6, 0/52/1/6].
12. Estate Papers.
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