William Kinnick
MSA SC 3520-17506
Biography:
William Kinnick enlisted as a private in the Seventh Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by John Day Scott, on April 14, 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.
Kinnick reenlisted on February 12, 1777 as a sergeant in the Sixth Maryland Regiment. That year, the Marylanders fought at the Battle of Staten Island, and the bloody Battles of Brandywine and Germantown, part of the Philadelphia campaign, which was an unsuccessful attempt to defend the American capital at Philadelphia. All were British victories, but John Adams considered the Battle of Germantown to be the “most decisive proof that America would finally succeed.” [4]
On September 12, 1777, Kinnick was promoted to the rank of sergeant major, which placed him at the top of the hierarchy of non-commissioned officers. It also made him assistant to the adjutant, the head of administrative duties. As sergeant major, Kinnick was to be "the most intelligent and best acquainted with the service" in order to keep accurate and detailed records of the duty of the officers, the roster and orders, as well as organizing the set-up of camp retrieval of necessities such as wood and water. These duties require reading and writing, which means Kinnick was literate. [5]
The Marylanders then fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778 and the Battle of White Plains a few months later. Kinnick was discharged on February 12, 1780 when his enlistment ended.
A man named William Kinnick passed away in Charles County in 1785, although it is unclear if this is the same Kinnick from the Seventh Company. Unfortunately, there is no other information on him.
-Natalie Miller, Maryland Society Sons of the American Revolution Research Fellow, 2017
Notes:
[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] Archives of Maryland Online, vol 18, p. 221.
[5] Joseph R. Riling, Baron von Steuben and his Regulations (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Ray Riling Arms Books Co., 1966), 134-135, 144.
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