Nicholas Gassaway
(1757-1806)
MSA SC 3520-17486
Biography:
Nicholas Gassaway was born on January 20, 1757 in Anne Arundel County to parents Henry and Dinah Gassaway. The Gassaways were a wealthy and prominent family in Anne Arundel County. He enlisted as a private in the Seventh Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by John Day Scott, on February 25, 1776. His brother John Gassaway (1754-1820) also served in the Maryland Line, enlisting around the same but in a different company than Nicholas. He also became one of the famed Maryland 400 and later a captain. They had yet another brother, Henry (1758-1818), who was made a sergeant in the Maryland Line in 1780 and served until 1783. [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 totaled 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.
Nicholas Gassaway survived these battles and was promoted to the rank of sergeant in the First Maryland Regiment on December 10, 1776. During this time, the Maryland Line was being reorganized and more men were being recruited, causing a greater need for officers. On April 17, 1777 Gassaway was promoted to ensign and moved to the Third Maryland Regiment. Soon after, he was promoted to lieutenant. Gassaway served through the end of the war, likely fighting with the rest of the Maryland Line in the Philadelphia and Southern campaigns. The Philadelphia campaign, which was an unsuccessful attempt to defend the American capitol, included the battles of Brandywine (September 1777) and Germantown (October 1777). They then fought at the Battle of Monmouth (June 1778). Afterwards, the Marylanders marched south to defend the southern colonies in the battles of Camden (August 1780), Cowpens (January 1781), and Guilford Courthouse (March 1781). [4]
After the war ended and Gassaway was discharged, he returned home to Anne Arundel County where on January 7, 1791, he married Amelia Israel, whose father was a prominent Anne Arundel planter. Amelia and Nicholas had three children: Hanson, John and Berry. He owned land in the Upper Fork and Bear Ground Hundreds of Anne Arundel County, where they likely lived, along with six enslaved people. [5]
At the time of his death in 1806, Gassaway owned an estate valued at $2,427.55, including eleven enslaved people and over 350 acres of land, which he left to his wife and children. [6]
-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. 16; Harry Wright Newman, Anne Arundel Gentry: A Genealogical History of Some Early Families of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, (Annapolis, MD: 1970), 179; Reiman Steuart, The Maryland Line (The Society of the Cincinnati, 1971), 83.[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] Newman, 179.
[5] Newman, 179; Marriage of Nicholas Gassaway to Amelia Israel, Anne Arundel County Court, Marriage Licenses, 1791, MdHR 4751 [MSA C 113-1, 01/01/11/027]; Federal Direct Tax, 1798, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 729, Anne Arundel County, General List of Lands Lots Buildings and Wharves, p. 42.
[6] Federal Direct Tax, 1798 [MSA SM 56].
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