Benedict Woodward, MSA SC 3520-17143

Benedict Woodward was born in 1754, most likely in Frederick County, Maryland.[1] On February 3, 1776 at the age of twenty-two, Woodward enlisted as a corporal in the Third Company in the First Maryland Regiment.[2] It is likely that Woodward was with the regiment when it left Maryland for New York in July 1776 to reinforce the Continental Army under General George Washington.

Fought on August 27, 1776, the Battle of Brooklyn was the first combat experience for the men of the First Maryland Regiment. The Marylander’s performed well, but the battle resulted in a major defeat for the Continental Army. The British Army under the command of General William Howe outflanked the Americans and routed them from the field, forcing them to retreat to their defensive fortifications at Brooklyn Heights.[3]

Howe’s flanking maneuver cut off the Marylander’s path of retreat to Brooklyn Heights. Rather than surrender the Marylander’s made a desperate charge against the numerically superior and well trained British Regulars. The regiment suffered very high casualties as a result of the assault, but they also slowed the British advance, enabling the rest of the army to retreat and later withdraw to Manhattan. The First Maryland Regiment’s sacrifice helped save the Continental Army from complete destruction and earned the regiment the name “Maryland 400.”

The Third Company sustained high losses during the battle; out of a force of seventy-four men, only twenty-nine appear on a list of troop strength on September 27, 1776.[4] Furthermore, only one of the company’s commissioned officers, Ensign Peter Brown, made it back to the safety of the defensive fortifications at Brooklyn Heights. Captain Lucas was sick and missed the battle and near destruction of his company, a fact that haunted him.

Woodward managed to survive the battle and made it back to the fortifications at Brooklyn Heights. Perhaps affected by the terrible realities of combat, Woodward did not reenlist in the Continental Army. In 1777 Woodward returned home to Maryland and joined the Montgomery County militia.[5] On December 15, 1778, Woodward married Elizabeth Scissell in Prince George’s County.[6]

Throughout the 1780s Woodward resided in the town of Bladensburg in Prince George’s County. During this time Woodward’s financial situation steadily declined. In 1791 he placed an advertisement in the Maryland Journal stating that “various causes and misfortunes” had rendered him incapable of paying all of his debts.[7] Woodward’s situation continued to worsen and in 1792 the Chancellor of Maryland ordered him to execute a deed to an appointed trustee of Woodward’s creditors for all of his “property, debts, rights, and claims excepting the necessary wearing apparel of himself and family.”[8]

Woodward continued to reside in Prince George’s County during the 1790s despite his financial troubles. By the mid-1790s, Woodward’s financial situation had moderately improved. According to county tax assessments from this time, Woodward did not own any land or “real property,” but did own two slaves and other personal property which was valued at approximately seventy-eight pounds.[9] While far from wealthy, Woodward’s economic situation had stabilized and he was again able to own personal property.

After appearing in the 1796 Prince George’s County Tax Assessment, Woodward does not appear in any other records from the county. It is likely that Woodward moved westward, possibly to escape poverty. Unfortunately Woodward could not escape his financial burdens. An 1808 newspaper advertisement placed by the Alleghany County Commissioners of the Tax indicated that Woodward owed taxes on land he owned there, although he was not a resident of the county at that time.[10] It is likely that Woodward eventually left Maryland; he does not appear in any records from the Maryland counties he had previous connections to.

- Sean Baker, 2015

Notes:

[1] Council of Safety, Census of 1776, FR, Lower Potomac Hundred, 13 [MSA S 961-9].

[2] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online vol. 18, p. 9.

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

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

[5] S. Eugene Clements and F. Edward Wright, The Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War (Silver Spring, MD: Family Line Publications, 1987), 199, 204.

[6] Prince George’s County, Marriage Licenses, 1777-1797, 7 [MSA C 1260-1].

[7] “Advertisement,” Maryland Journal (Baltimore, MD), 7 Oct. 1791.

[8] Prince George’s County, Court, Land Records, 1791-1793, Liber JRM 1, 210 [MSA C 1237-34].

[9] Prince George’s County, Commissioners of the Tax, Assessment Record, 1796, Personal Property, 46 [MSA C 1162-23].

[10] “Advertisement,” Republican Star (Easton, MD), 29 March 1808.