Christopher Beale (1753-1831)
MSA SC 3520-16827
Biography:
Christopher Beale enlisted as a private in the Third Company of the First Maryland Regiment on January 20, 1776. The company, under the leadership of Captain Barton Lucas, was raised in Prince George’s County, and was part of Maryland’s first contingent of full-time, professional troops. Its men distinguished themselves that summer as the “Maryland 400.” [1]
In early July, the regiment received orders to march to New York to defend the city from an impending British attack. The Marylanders arrived in August and joined with the rest of the Continental Army, whom they would fight alongside in the Battle of Brooklyn (also known as the Battle of Long Island) on August 27, 1776, the first full-scale engagement of the war.
Under the command of their major, Mordecai Gist, the Maryland troops were positioned on the far right of the battlefield. In the course of the battle, the Americans retreated. However, the Gowanus Creek, which stretched from where the British landed to Brooklyn, blocked many of the Marylanders from escaping. Facing a larger force, the remaining Maryland soldiers mounted a series of charges to hold the British at bay. Despite the loss of 256 men killed or captured, the Marylanders delayed the British long enough for the rest of the Continental Army to escape. [2]
Although Beale lived through the battle, he was among the unfortunate soldiers taken prisoner that day. His company lost 60 percent of its men, including at least twenty-three who were captured. The British held their prisoners in terrible conditions, and many Americans died in make-shift jails or prison ships around New York in the winter of 1776-1777. Beale, however, survived his captivity and was released in a prisoner exchange around the end of 1776. By February 1777, he had returned to Maryland and reenlisted in the First Maryland Regiment, for a three-year term. [3]
During 1777-1778, the British and American troops vied for control over the American capital at Philadelphia. As part of the campaign, the American troops suffered two losses at Brandywine (September 1777) and Germantown (October 1777), and a limited victory at Monmouth (June 1778), all battles in which Beale fought.
In 1779, Beale was selected to be a part of the elite Light Infantry Corps, which attacked the British fort at Stony Point on the Hudson River. The fort's position allowed it to control traffic on the river, and thus communication between the Eastern and Southern states. While the Americans were victorious, nothing came out of Stony Point’s capture. It was too large to defend adequately, and Americans abandoned it soon after. [4]
Beale was discharged after three years of service on December 27, 1779, while the troops were encamped near Morristown, New Jersey. [5]
Following the war, Beale worked as a laborer. He was married, though there is no record of his wife’s name, and he and his wife had six children. The family traveled frequently, perhaps in search of employment, living in Southern Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C. [6]
In 1818, after many years of economic hardship, Beale applied for a pension from the federal government for Revolutionary War veterans. His application was approved, and as a former private he was granted eight dollars per month. He received his pension until he died on July 17, 1831, outliving his wife and two of his children. [7]
Cassy Sottile, 2019
Notes:
[1] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 9; Pension of Christopher Beale, National Archives and Records Administration, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,, NARA M804, S 34649, from Fold3.com.
[2] Return of the Maryland troops, 13 September 1776, Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, folder 35, 85, from Fold3.com.
[3] Payroll and return certification of Long Island Prisoners, Maryland State Papers, Revolutionary Papers, Box 19, no. 3, MdHR 19970-19-03 [MSA S 997-19-3, 01/07/03/15]; Compiled Service Record of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, National Archives, NARA M881, from Fold3.com; Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 81.
[4] Beale pension. For more information on the Battle of Stony Point, see “The Midnight Attack at Stony Point” on the Finding the Maryland research blog.
[5] Beale pension; List of receipts of soldiers who were paid upon discharge, 27 December 1779, Maryland State Papers, Revolutionary Papers, box 3, no. 7-21, MdHR 19970-3-7/21 [MSA S997-3-94, 1/7/3/9].
[6] Beale pension.
[7] Beale pension.
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