William Arnold
MSA SC 3520-17710
Biography:
William Arnold enlisted as a drummer in the Eighth Company of the First Maryland Regiment on January 12, 1776. The regiment was Maryland's first contingent of full-time, professional soldiers raised to be part of the Continental Army. As a musician, Arnold had an important role in the company, for which he was paid the same wages as a corporal. Fifers and drummers played music to communicate orders during battle and in camp, and to help pass the time on long marches. [1]
The Eighth Company, commanded by Captain Samuel Smith, was raised in Baltimore in early 1776, and trained there that spring and summer. Two other companies from the regiment were in Baltimore as well, while the rest were stationed in Annapolis. In July, the regiment was ordered to march north to New York, to protect the city from invasion by the British. The Eighth Company lost four men who deserted along the march, a problem which plagued the regiment that summer. [2]
On August 27, 1776, the Americans faced the British Army at the Battle of Brooklyn (sometimes called the Battle of Long Island), the first full-scale engagement of the war. The battle was a rout: the British were able to sneak around the American lines, and the outflanked Americans fled in disarray. As the Maryland troops fought their way towards the American fortifications, they were forced to stop at the swampy Gowanus Creek. Half the regiment, including the Eighth, was able to cross the creek and escape the battle. However, the rest were unable to do so before they were attacked by the British. Facing down a much larger, better-trained force, this group of soldiers, today called the "Maryland 400," mounted a series of daring charges. They held the British at bay for some time before being overrun, at the cost of many lives, losing 256 men killed or captured. Because the Eighth was able to escape the battle early, it only lost about six men. [3]
While Arnold survived the Battle of Brooklyn, the rest of his time with the Marylanders in 1776 was short and tempestuous. About two weeks after the battle, Arnold was arrested, along with Samuel Clark, another man from his company, and a Pennsylvania soldier. The three were accused of "plundering the House lately occupied by Lord Stirling," the American General who commanded the Marylanders. Arnold and Clark were acquitted, although the Pennsylvanian was convicted and received thirty-nine lashes as punishment. The next week, Arnold became ill, and was transferred to the army's hospital. A week after that, on September 27, he was reported as a deserter, although it is conceivable that he actually left the regiment because of his illness. What became of Arnold after that time is entirely known, although he eventually recovered from his illness and returned to Maryland. [4]
In January 1780, Arnold reenlisted in the First Maryland Regiment as a drummer, with no consequence becasue of his previous departure. He joined the Marylanders as they traveled south to help counter new British threats in the Carolinas. They arrived in South Carolina that summer, and in August took catastrophic casualties at the Battle of Camden, losing some 600 men--about one-third of their troops. Arnold survived that battle, and was with the regiment until the end of the year. After that time, however, nothing further is known about his life. [5]
Owen Lourie, 2018
Notes:
[1] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 640; Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, NARA M881, from Fold3.com.
[2] "Eight Pounds Reward." Philadelphia Evening Post, 10 August 1776; 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; Return of the Maryland troops, 13 September 1776, Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, folder 35, p. 85, from Fold3.com; For more on the experience of the Marylanders at the Battle of Brooklyn, see "In Their Own Words," on the Maryland State Archives research blog, Finding the Maryland 400.
[4] "General Orders, 11 September 1776," Founders Online, National Archives; Return of the Maryland troops, 13 September 1776, Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, folder 35, p. 85, from Fold3.com; Return of the Maryland troops, 20 September 1776, Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, folder 35, p. 87-88, from Fold3.com; Return of the Maryland troops, 27 September 1776, Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, folder 35, p. 93-94, from Fold3.com.
[5] Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 78; Tacyn, 216-225; Muster Roll, First Company, Maryland Battalion [formerly First Maryland Regiment], 1 November 1780, Maryland State Papers, Revolutionary Papers, box 15, no. 31, MdHR 19970-15-31 [MSA S997-15-38, 1/7/3/13].
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