Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)
Leonard Watkins (1754-1828)
MSA SC 3520-16801
Biography:
Leonard Watkins was born in Frederick County, Maryland, to John and
Esther Watkins in 1754. He returned to his home after the war, though
at the time of his return it would be in a different county; Montgomery
County was created out of the southern portion of Frederick in 1776
while he was serving in New York. Montgomery was in a part of Maryland
that was not the first choice for many settlers in the early decades of
the eighteenth century: it was forested and overgrown, and it was not
easily accessible by road or river. Tobacco farmers, looking for open
land to plant on, had to strenuously work the land to get it to a state
suitable for growing. Even so, migration to the area eventually picked
up, and Frederick became the most populous county in Maryland in the
years leading up to the Revolutionary War.[1]
As more people
moved into the area that would become Montgomery County, more labor was
available to convert the land. Tenants were key contributors to this
transformation as they provided labor and a quick return on profits for
the landowners. Many large landholders found it easier to lease to
tenants and have them do the work as small units than to hire their own
laborers and develop large plantations. As a result, the area was
cleared to make room for tobacco, and it became a major supplier of the
crop to both the American colonies and England and Scotland. The
Potomac River turned into a hub for tobacco trade, despite not being
easily navigable in a number of places. Georgetown was established on
its banks after the passage of the Maryland Tobacco Inspection Act in
1747, and the town quickly became a primary mover of tobacco for the
state. Because of the work necessary to create a profitable farm in the
area, small farmers did not have much success in the business. The land
policy in Maryland was also more favorable to landowners with larger
holdings. A majority of the population in the area held no land,
rented, or could only manage small farms.[2]
The Watkins family
may or may not have been tenants of a large landowner in the county,
but, in either case, Leonard was exposed to the struggles of the small
planter during the time he grew up there. It was also likely that he
became well acquainted with the military during his childhood years;
from his birth until the time he was nine, colonial and British troops
often marched through his home county to fight against their foes in
the French and Indian War. It was common for families to give refuge to
colonists fleeing from villages that had been raided and burned by the
opposing forces. A family story says that Leonard's father, John, was a
soldier during the war, but this cannot be confirmed.[3]
In January of 1776, Watkins enlisted as a private into the First Maryland Regiment, joining Capt. Barton Lucas' Third
Company, mustering at Bladensburg, Maryland; he was likely influenced
to take up arms against the British by a number of events that had
transpired in the years leading up to the war. There was strong
opposition to the Stamp Act and the closing of Boston Harbor in
Frederick County. When the first Maryland Convention was held there, it
ordered a stop of the importation of British goods and attempted to
work with Virginia and North Carolina to halt exports to the oppressor
as well. Georgetown, the blossoming tobacco port, turned into a center
of military supply.[4] Despite the existence of pacifist population
groups, such as the Quakers, rebellious attitudes emerged. A document
known as the Hungerford Resolves was issued in 1774, and it made clear
how the area's representatives felt:
Resolved,
unanimously, That it is the opinion of this meeting that the Town of
Boston is suffering in the Common Cause of America.
Resolved,
unanimously, That every legal and constitutional measure ought to be
used to all America for procuring a repeal of the Act of Parliament for
blocking up the Harbour of Boston.
Resolved, unanimously, That it is
the opinion of this meeting that the most effectual means for the
securing of American Freedom will be to break off all Commerce with
Great Britain and the West Indies until the said act be repealed and
the right of taxation given up on permanent principles. . . .[5]
Watkins
left this strongly patriotic home to join the Continental Army. Just a
few months after his departure, Montgomery was formed as its own
county. It was named for the first general to be killed in the struggle
against Britain, Richard Montgomery, further showing how strong
patriotic sentiment was in the area.[6]
During the summer after
his enlistment, Watkins marched from Annapolis to New York with his
company and fought at the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776. The
third company had a great number of casualties in the battle, something
that his captain, Barton Lucas, had trouble dealing with in its
aftermath. Lucas had been sick on the day of the battle, but hearing
how his men had fared took such a toll on him that he was unable to
continue as their captain afterwards; another soldier under his
command, John Hughes, remembered the event well: “Capt. Barton Lucas
became deranged in consequence of losing his company . . . all of whom
except seven were killed or taken prisoner.”[7] This number was likely
an exaggeration, but a great number were lost in the battle. Still
listed as ill on a subsequent return of Smallwood's Regiment, Lucas was
sent home to deal with his illness as well as his grief. He resigned on
October 11, 1776, and his remaining men, including Leonard Watkins,
were transferred to other companies.[8]
Watkins received a wound
to his right foot during the Battle of Brooklyn, but he recovered
enough to be involved in the battles at York Island and White Plains
later in 1776. He also participated in the New Jersey campaign and
fought at the Battle of Monmouth. After serving in the First Maryland
Regiment for two years Watkins was given a furlough, but he reenlisted
in the army at its expiration, joining the Fourth Maryland Regiment in
December of 1777. Joshua Miles, a captain of the Sixth Regiment,
appointed him to be sergeant of his company in May of 1778. Watkins
accepted the position and joined this new regiment as they camped at
Valley Forge for the winter. After serving for close to eighteen months
in this role, he was discharged from the service in 1780 while
stationed in Frederick, Maryland.[9]
Although post-Revolution
Montgomery offered a greater opportunity to acquire land in the area
than there had been in the years preceding the war, many of the same
struggles still persisted. Despite resurgence in the demand for tobacco
and the rise of wheat as a desirable crop, unsteady agricultural prices
and a depression turned many away from the prospect of farming in the
county. The process of land transformation and poor farming practices
had also left the land exhausted in some areas. These issues would
plague the county for decades, with periods of relief being few and far
between. Montgomery County saw a decline in population as a result;
farmers began to look south and west for better opportunities.[10]
These factors played a role in the departure of other veterans from the
state, such as those discussed in the previous chapter, but Leonard
Watkins did not leave. He stayed in his home through the hard times,
although he did not face the economic struggles as a planter.
Watkins
stated in his pension that he worked as a gear maker in Montgomery
County after the war.[11] This being his occupation, he likely supplied
the mechanisms that were used in many of the mills in the county. These
mills were often powered by a waterwheel and functioned to produce
food, shelter, clothing, and a source of power for the residents; grist
and saw mills were common, but fulling mills (used in wool production)
also existed. “The mills operated by the mill wheel turning a shaft
which turned other cogged wheels in the mill,” notes Eleanor M. V.
Cook. “The arrangement was ingenious. By going from larger to smaller
gears, for instance, a millstone could be turned over a hundred times
every minute while the water wheel turned only seven.”[12] Watkins
lived in the town of Poolesville after the war, and the town and its
surrounding areas contained at least six such mills during that time.
Transportation became a popular project in the decades after the war;
it is also possible that some of his gears were used to build and
operate canals in the county. Another major project in the area that
may have called for his product was the construction of Washington,
D.C., which required stone to be quarried along with other
work-intensive materials.[13]
In 1783 Watkins owned very
little taxable property. His total property's value was assessed at
nine pounds; he owed three shillings in taxes. This was a very small
amount in comparison to many of the other property holders in
Montgomery County.[14] However, his term of enlistment meant he was
unable to accumulate wealth from the beginning of his service until he
was discharged in 1780; most of the others assessed had not served in
the Revolution and had been able to work throughout the war. The next
assessment Watkins appears in was taken in 1813 and showed an increase
in wealth, though not by a great amount. Thirty years after he first
had enough property to be assessed for taxes, he owned fifty-seven
dollars’ worth of taxable property. While this was an increase from the
previous assessment, his position in his community had not noticeably
changed. Watkins lived in the third district of Montgomery County,
which was not as wealthy or populated as some of the other districts.
Even so, he ranked in the bottom twenty percent of the 309 property
owners assessed in the district in terms of property value for that
year.[15]
After working as a gear maker for most of his life,
Watkins held a position in the political sphere; he ran for and was
elected to the Maryland House of Delegates as a representative of
Montgomery County in 1816. His success in the election came at a time
of strained political relations in the county, despite the strongly
Federal attitude of Montgomery. All of the candidates on the ballot,
including Watkins, were Federalists, but the Party had split into
“moderates” and “violents” as a result of political maneuvering that
attempted to keep certain candidates out of office. Running as a
moderate Federalist, Watkins led the election with 845 votes, though it
was recorded that most of his electors were Democratic-Republicans.[16]
Interestingly, there is no record of him running for a position again,
either successfully or unsuccessfully.
In 1781, the year
following his discharge, Watkins married a woman named Mary Higdon.
Their family grew to include six children in the decades after the war.
In addition, the Watkinses took in and supported an orphaned girl named
Sarah Smith.[17] Although there is very little information about her,
the fact that they could afford to support another child who was not
their own relation shows that Leonard had prospered in the years since
he left the military. This prosperity could not be represented on a tax
assessment, but he certainly knew the difference between having
nothing, such as before the war, and having enough to support himself
and his family. Leonard Watkins died in 1828 at the age of
seventy-four, not a wealthy man, but a richer man than he had been
before the Revolution.[18]
Notes:
Return to Leonard Watkins' Introductory Page
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