Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Richard Elwood
MSA SC 3520-17483

Biography:

Richard Elwood enlisted as a private in the Seventh Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by John Day Scott, on March 1, 1776. [1]

The Seventh Company began their military career by training in Annapolis for six months.  They then moved north, making it to Philadelphia by mid-July 1776 and to 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...troops [who] 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, and Second Lieutenant Thomas Goldsmith who was fatally shot while attempting to save a soldier's life.

There is no documentation of Elwood’s life between 1776 and 1778, but it is likely that he reenlisted on May 3, 1778 into the Fourth Maryland Regiment. The Maryland Line went on to fight in the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, where Elwood was likely a participant. [4]

In the spring of 1780, surviving Maryland veterans and new Maryland recruits were part of the American Army that was ordered to march south to defend the colonies after the southern army had been almost entirely captured by the British.  American troops had a continuous shortage of supplies, food, and clothing, and morale was extremely low.

On August 16, 1780,  American troops led by American General Horatio Gates, including the Maryland Line, met the British, at Camden, South Carolina.  American militia forces fled immediately at the start of the battle, causing the Maryland Line to become separated from their leader General Smallwood. General Gates also abandoned the American troops and fled while combat was still raging. Despite the chaos, the Marylanders stood ready for battle.  Their colonel, Otho Holland Williams, bravely took command and led the Marylanders into hand-to-hand combat with the British. Despite their valiant efforts, the American line crumbled and the army fled in disarray.

The American troops were crushed by the British. The Marylanders alone suffered 591 losses, or 40 percent of their troops. Among those losses was Richard Elwood who was taken prisoner. Another tragic casualty was that of American General Johann de Kalb, who was wounded eleven times and died a few days later. [5]

There is no definitive record of Richard Elwood after his capture at Camden.

-Natalie Miller, Maryland Society Sons of the American Revolution Research Fellow, 2017

Notes:

[1] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 17.

[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] Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, NARA M881, from Fold3.com.

[5] Tacyn, 225; Johan de Kalb from Esther Mohr Dole, Maryland During the American Revolution (n.pl.:1941), p. 155. 

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