Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Joshua Nailor (1751-1835)
MSA SC 3520-17545

Biography:

Joshua Nailor was born in 1751. He enlisted as a private in the Seventh Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by John Day Scott, on February 10, 1776, among the state's early volunteers to fight in the Revolutionary War. Nailor was the son of Mary and Samuel Nailor (d. 1792), and had six brothers: Benjamin Turner; James; Isaac Jones; George; Nicholas; and Alexander. Nicholas and Alexander served together in the Ninth Company, another part of the regiment, whixh was Maryland's first contingent of full-time, professional soldiers raised to be part of the Continental Army. [1]

The soldiers of the Seventh Company began their military career by training in Annapolis for six months; some time during this training, Nailor briefly became sick. 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, one of the company's sergeants, 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.

The Marylanders remained in New York until being forced out by the British and retreating through New Jersey. It is possible that Nailor participated in the revitalizing victories at Trenton  and Princeton during the winter of 1776-1777.

When his nine-month enlistment ended, Nailor left the service. However, he reenlisted in the summer of 1777, this time as a corporal in the Fourth Maryland Regiment. In 1777, 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.” The Marylanders then fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. While the next year was mostly without combat as the war settled into stalemate, Nailor was part of the elite Light Infantry Corps that captured the British fort at Stony Point, on the Hudson River. The Americans launched the assault at night, and attacked without ammunition, using only their bayonets. [4]

Nailor was discharged when his enlistment ended in May 1780. He returned home to Prince George’s County, Maryland, where he married Martha Nutwell on January 17, 1781. It is unclear if they had any children. Martha died, perhaps soon after they were married, and Nailor moved to Randolph County, North Carolina, possibly some time before 1782. Nailor married a woman named Morning Stoggins on June 11, 1782, and they lived together in Montgomery County, North Carolina. They had at least five children: George, Wade Hampton, Joshua, Jamima, and Adelpha. [5]

In 1820, Nailor applied for a pension as a veteran of the Revolutionary War. His application was approved, and he received $8 per month until his death [6]

Joshua Nailor died on June 24, 1835 and is buried at Lanes Chapel Church Cemetery in Montgomery County, North Carolina. After his death, Morning applied to receive Nailor’s pension as his widow. Widows could not apply for their husbands’ pensions unless they were married before January 1794. Although they were not together during the war, Morning testified that she and Joshua were married before the cut-off date, and she was therefore awarded the pension. She lived to be at least ninety-six years old. [7]

Natalie Miller, Maryland Society Sons of the American Revolution Research Fellow, 2017. Special thanks to Joseph Doyle for generously sharing his research.

Notes:

[1] 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] Archives of Maryland Online, vol 18, p. 147; Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, NARA M881, from Fold3.com; Pension of Joshua Nailor, National Archives and Records Administration, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA M804, S 41,914, from Fold3.com.

[5] Nailor pension; Prince George's County Court, Marriage Licenses, 1777-1797, p. 16 [MSA CM783-1, CR 50230]. It is also possible that Nailor did not move to North Carolina until the 1790s. In her application for a widow's pension, his second wife Morning said they were married in Randolph County, North Carolina in 1782, but there is a record of a Joshua Nailor and a woman named Morning getting married in North Carolina in 1799. Rutherford County, North Carolina, Marriage Bonds, 1779-1868, Vol. N, from Ancestry.com.

[6] Nailor pension.

[7] Nailor pension; Joshua Nailor on FindAGrave.

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