Aquilla Taylor (?-1778)
MSA SC 3520-17753
Biography:
Aquilla Taylor enlisted as a private on January 23, 1776 in the Eighth Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by Captain Samuel Smith. However, Taylor had already proven his desire to fight: in late 1775 he had enlisted in an independent militia company raised in Baltimore County by Jehu Howell. Howell's company was not formally recognized by the state, and Taylor was one of at least three men who left it to join the First Maryland instead. [1]
The Eighth Company was recruited primarily from Baltimore, although Taylor was probably from neighboring Harford County. The troops trained in Baltimore 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.
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. [2]
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 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 tragic 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, and the First Maryland suffered greatly. [4]
Taylor survived the battle, and reenlisted on December 10, 1776, when the Maryland Line was reorganized. He likely fought in the revitalizing victories at Trenton and Princeton in the winter of 1776-1777. The Continental Army’s luck soon ran out when they fought at the Battle of Staten Island in August 1777, and the bloody battles of Brandywine and Germantown within the next few months. All three battles were British victories, although John Adams considered the Battle of Germantown to be the “most decisive proof that America would finally succeed.” [5]
Taylor was injured or fell ill around the time of those battles; whether he was wounded during the fighting is not known. By October 1777, he had returned to Annapolis, and then traveled "to his Friends in Harford County." Sadly, Taylor died on January 1, 1778. Unfortunately, nothing else is known of his life. [6]
-Natalie Miller, Maryland Society Sons of the American Revolution Research Fellow, 2018
Notes:
[3] 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.
[4] Extract of a letter from Head-Quarters to a gentleman in Annapolis: Shall give the enemy a genteel drubbing in case the Yankees will fight, 17 September 1776, American Archives Online, series 5, vol. 2, pg. 370; Henry P. Johnston, The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn ( New York: Da Capo Press, 1971), 256.
[5] Archives of Maryland Online, vol 18, p. 168; John Adams to James Lovell, 26 July 1778, Founders Online, National Archives.
[6] Archives of Maryland Online, vol 18, p. 168; Account of Francis Ware, 1783, Maryland State Papers, Series A, box 48, no. 6/4, MdHR 6636-48-6/4 [MSA S1004-67-10840, 1/7/3/57].Return to Aquilla Taylor's Introductory Page
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