Hugh Armstrong
MSA SC 3520-17425
Biography:
Hugh Armstrong was born in Ireland around 1757. He stood at five feet and six inches tall, the average height for foreign-born soldiers, with a fair complexion and long black hair. He immigrated to America, probably as an indentured servant, and enlisted as a private in the Seventh Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by John Day Scott, in January 1776. [1]
The Seventh Company began their military career by training in Annapolis for six months. They then marched north, reaching Philadelphia by mid-July 1776 and New York by August 14. They positioned themselves about one mile outside of New York with orders to prepare for battle. According to William Sands, a sergeant in the Seventh Company, they “had lost a great many of [their] troops [which] deserted from...Philadelphia and Elizabethtown, and a great many [were] sick in the hospital,” so the regiment was weakened before entering combat. [2]
The Seventh Company first met the British at the Battle of Brooklyn (Battle of Long Island) on August 27, 1776, where the Continental Army, led by General George Washington, fought to defend New York. American troops were severely outnumbered and surrounded when they were ordered to retreat. While the Seventh Company was withdrawing, they were again ambushed by British troops. About half of the First Maryland Regiment stayed behind to fight off the British long enough for the rest of the Americans to safely escape. Casualties were extreme, but so was the heroism that earned them the honorable name of the “Maryland 400.” Fortunately, the Seventh Company escaped without immense casualties, losing fewer than ten out of approximately 75 troops. Maryland losses totalled 256 men killed or captured, but without the Maryland 400, even more would have been lost. Despite their courageous actions, the battle was a defeat for the Americans. [3]
The Maryland Regiment helped secure America’s first victory at the Battle of Harlem Heights in September 1776 where they were praised for their “gallant behavior” and “splendid spirit and animation.” They fought again at the Battle of White Plains in October where, despite the Maryland troops’ immense improvement, there was no clear victory. Unfortunately, the First Maryland Regiment suffered greatly, including the loss of John Day Scott, the captain of the Seventh Company.
Armstrong re-enlisted on December 10, 1776 but deserted on July 2, 1777 from New Hanover, New Jersey. An ad was posted in Baltimore newspaper for him claiming he was “much addicted to liquor,” and offered a $70 reward for his return. There is no evidence to show that he ever rejoined his company, and there is no definitive record of him after this time. [4]
-Natalie Miller, Maryland Society Sons of the American Revolution Research Fellow, 2017
Notes:
[1] "Seventy Dollars Reward," Maryland Journal (Baltimore, Maryland), 6 December 1777; Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 16.
[2] William Sands to John and Ann Sands, 14 August 1776, Maryland State Archives, Special Collections, Dowsett Collection of Sands Family Papers [MSA SC 2095-1-18, 00/20/05/28].
[3] Mark Andrew Tacyn, "To the End: The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution," (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 48-73; Extract of a letter from New-York: Account of the battle on Long-Island, 1 September 1776, American Archives Online, series 5, vol. 2, p. 107.
[4] "Seventy Dollars Reward."
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