Frederick Hambright
MSA SC 3520-17749
Biography:
Frederick Hambright enlisted on January 23, 1776, as a sergeant in the Eighth Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by Captain Samuel Smith. The Eighth Company was recruited primarily from Baltimore, where it trained with two other Maryland companies that spring and summer. In July, the First Maryland Regiment was ordered to travel to New York in anticipation of a British attack. During the march, four men deserted from the Eighth Company, the first of many who would desert that summer. [1]
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. After a mild initial attack, the British covertly maneuvered to the rear, where they attacked and outflanked the unexpecting Americans. About half of the First Maryland Regiment became trapped by the swampy Gowanus Creek, and turned back 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 Eighth Company escaped, losing approximately six out of 70 or so men. 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. [2]
Frederick Hambright appears to have survived the battle, as the Eighth Company had all four sergeants present in the beginning of September. However, just a few weeks later, the company only had three sergeants. It is unknown which left the company, and why. [3]
There is no record of Frederick Hambright after early September, and unfortunately nothing else is known of his life.
-Natalie Miller, Maryland Society Sons of the American Revolution Research Fellow, 2018
Notes:
[2] Return of the Maryland troops, 27 September 1776, from Fold3.com; 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.
[3] Return of the Maryland troops, 13 September 1776, from Fold3.com; Return of the Maryland troops, 27 September 1776, from Fold3.com.
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