Robert Ross
MSA SC 3520-17707
Biography:
Robert Ross enlisted as a drummer in the Sixth Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by Captain Peter Adams, on February 15, 1776. [1]
Drummers served an important role during the Revolutionary War. They were non-commissioned officers, receiving the same pay as corporals. Music was important in regulating the lives of soldiers in the Continental Army, commanding the soldiers with standardized tunes and signals. Musicians also helped maintain discipline and efficiency within the Continental Army by sounding the signals of the day, ordering the soldiers to march, and regulating the speed of soldiers' steps.
The Sixth Company was recruited primarily from the Eastern Shore, but traveled to Annapolis in the spring of 1776 where they trained for a few months. They then moved north, making it to Philadelphia by mid-July 1776 and to New York by August 14. The company was positioned along with the rest of the First Maryland Regiment about one mile outside of New York, with orders to prepare for battle.
The Marylanders met the British at the Battle of Brooklyn (sometimes called the Battle of Long Island) on August 27, 1776, where the Continental Army, led by General George Washington, fought to defend New York. The American troops were severely outnumbered and surrounded when they were ordered to retreat. Half the regiment was able to escape the battle, however the other half, including most of the Sixth Company, was trapped by the swampy Gowanus Creek. They turned back to face the British, holding their position long enough for the rest of the Marylanders to return to safety. This heroic stand earned them the honorable name of the “Maryland 400.” [2]
The First Maryland Regiment suffered major losses. The Sixth Company alone lost 84 percent, or 58 of its men. By the end of the battle, Maryland losses totalled 256 men killed or captured. Despite the heroic actions of the Maryland 400, the battle was a defeat for the Americans. Unlike many of his companions, Ross survived the battle and was not captured. He was one of just sixteen officers and men from the Sixth Company to come out of the battle unscathed. [3]
Ross left the company some time between September 13 and September 27, three months before his enlistment should have ended. He may have deserted, or perhaps he died from injury, sickness, or in the Battle of Harlem Heights, which took place on September 16. Ultimately, his fate is unclear, and nothing else is known of his family. [4]
-Natalie Miller, Maryland Society Sons of the American Revolution Research Fellow, 2018
Notes:
[2] 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, 107.
[3] Return of the Maryland troops, 27 September 1776, from Fold3.com.
[4] Return of the Maryland troops, 27 September 1776, from Fold3.com.
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