Philip Jenkins
MSA SC 3520-17423
Biography:
Philip Jenkins of Montgomery County enlisted into the Continental Army’s First Maryland Regiment on January 31, 1776 and was a private within Captain Patrick Sim’s Second Company at the time of the Battle of Brooklyn (otherwise known as the Battle of Long Island) on August 27, 1776. Although the battle was a defeat for the Americans, the valiant defense by Jenkins and the other soldiers of the “Maryland 400” held off the British long enough to allow much of the trapped American army to escape. Jenkins was one of the few soldiers of the second company who was captured at the battle, but he was released soon after. [1]
After the Battle of White Plains, the Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of Princeton, Jenkins was one of the many who reenlisted on December 10, 1776. After the reestablishment of a restructured First Maryland Regiment, these Marylanders went on to participate in every main battle fought by the Continental Army until 1780, including the battles of Staten Island, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. In these battles, the new recruits to Maryland’s forces were provided with a hardened core of experienced soldiers like Jenkins who were able to provide them with stability, strength, and the experience of prior confrontations. This helped with the campaign of 1777, where the First Maryland Regiment acted as a crucial aspect of Washington’s offensive force. Jenkins served until he was captured for the second time on September 16, 1778 during an unknown skirmish. [2]
After being exchanged at some point and discharged on December 12, 1779, Jenkins went back to what is now Rockville in Montgomery County and became a farmer. He married Sarah Knott soon after in mid-1780, and later had seven children with her: Thomas, Francis, Eleanor, James, Jason, Josiah, and Anne. [3]
In 1781, Jenkins reenlisted into one of the two battalions of militia raised to serve in the Continental Army. After a large amount of enlistments ended in 1779-1780, the army was facing a shortage of men to help defend the South from British advances. Every free male over the age of sixteen without a family who had not served prior to this was considered a candidate for enlistment, and was offered the choice to either serve until December 10, 1781 or enlist for three years. The men raised here aided those that were invaded in the south, becoming part of their defensive lines. Although he had already served for three years towards the beginning of the war, Jenkins decided to serve again and was discharged in late November of that year. [4]
After his service in the war, Jenkins returned to Montgomery County to his wife and farm. While living in Rockville, Jenkins served as the captain of the 44th Regiment of Maryland Militia. At the time, this position was seen as similar to a political office; to be promoted to it, Jenkins most likely had connections within the Federalist Party. He held this position from 1790 until he moved to Anne Arundel County on September 21, 1801. Jenkins died in September of 1803. [5]
Sarah Jenkins remained a widow and moved to Baltimore City to be near her children, where the Jenkins family were respected citizens of the city. She applied for, and received, a Federal widow's pension in 1832. In her pension request, neighbors and family wrote on her behalf to speak of the love she and Philip had shared prior to his death. [6]
-Taylor Blades, 2017
Notes:
[1] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 8; Jenkins was listed on a roster of soldiers who were prisoners of war released for cash. From this list, most were released in Late '76-Early '77 after being held in New York; Account of Cash Paid to Soldiers. Maryland State Papers, Revolutionary Papers, 1776-1794. [MSA S997, 1/7/3/11].
[2] Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 125; Pension of Philip Jenkins, W. 9486, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, from Fold3.com
[3] Jenkins Pension; Assessment Records, 1783, General Assembly House of Delegates, Montgomery County, Sugarland and Upper Potomac Hundred, p. 5 [MSA S1161-8-4, 1/4/5/51]; U.S. Federal Census, 1790.
[4] Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 409; Mark Andrew Tacyn “’To the End:’ The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution” (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 286; Jenkins Pension; S. Eugene Clements and F. Edward Wright. The Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War (Silver Spring, MD: Family Line Publications, 1987), 29; Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 373-375.
[5] Jenkins Pension; Militia Appointments, 1794-1804, Adjuntant General, p. 39 [MSA S348, 2/8/3/13].
[6] Jenkins Pension.
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