Matthew Garner
MSA SC 3520-17829
Biography:
Matthew Garner (or Gardiner) was the son of Joseph and Martha Gardiner. Matthew grew up on his father’s 195 acre estate, known as William’s Purchase, with six brothers, Benjamin, William, Joseph, Jr., Francis, Hezakiah, and Charles; and two sisters, Elizabeth and Sarah. The Garner family was a family of means in Charles County. Unfortunately for Matthew, his father died in 1774, right about the time that Matthew reached adulthood. However, his father graciously left Matthew behind over half of William's Purchase to help establish himself as a wealthy colonial farmer. Instead, on January 25, 1776, Matthew left behind his modest estate and enlisted as a private in the First Maryland Regiment's First Company, underneath the leadership of Captain John Hoskins Stone. [1]
Garner was a native of Port Tobacco, located in Charles County, Maryland, where the First Company primarily recruited their soldiers. Although the company originated in Charles County, they relocated to Annapolis to train their troops until the summer of 1776. That July, Maryland’s First Regiment marched north to rendezvous with the Continental Army outside of New York. There, the Maryland Line experienced the bitter taste of war for the first time. [2]
The Battle of Brooklyn (or the Battle of Long Island) erupted on August 27, 1776, and was the first major battle that followed the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The British troops, totaling nearly 15,000 men, and the British Royal Navy arrived with the intention of ending the war with this single battle. Meanwhile, General George Washington was determined to defend New York. Ultimately, between Washington’s inferior army and the poor intelligence he referenced, the Battle of Brooklyn ended in a Continental retreat and a crippling loss. [3]
The Maryland 400 earned their heroic title during the peak of the conflict at Brooklyn. The First Maryland Regiment split into two separate wings, stretching in a continuous line from the Gowanus Road to the Continental artillery stationed upon a ridge. Under the command of Major Mordecai Gist, the Marylanders fought off the first wave of advancing British troops. The British eventually retreated a few hundred feet, giving the impression that the Continental Army had successfully stopped the invasion. After the first wave of British troops receded, the Marylanders were in a state of disarray as another larger group of British soldiers snuck up on their rear and threatened to surround them. Quickly, the Continental Army’s confidence culminated into fear, their line broke, and the companies retreated. [4]
During the retreat, the Marylanders found themselves unfortunately positioned between enemy fire and the Gowanus Creek. About half of the Marylanders, counting the First Company, attempted to cross the creek and reach their allies. The other half of the Maryland regiment had no other option but to turn back and face the enemy, allowing their fellow countrymen to reach safety. That day, 256 of the First Marylanders who stood on the Gowanus Road were killed or made prisoners. Fortunately, the majority of the men in Stone’s company made it to the Gowanus Creek and successfully swam across. After the retreat, 77 percent of the First Company was accounted for, including Matthew Garner. [5]
Garner served until the end of his first enlistment and fired his musket in the battles of White Plains and Fort Washington in the fall of 1776. Following these Continental losses, the survivors retreated south to New Jersey. On December 10, 1776, Garner re-enlisted in the First Regiment as a sergeant. That same winter, he fought in the Continental victories at Trenton and Princeton. On April 17, 1777, although enlisted men were typically not commissioned as officers in General Washington's Army, Garner was promoted from a sergeant to an ensign. Following his promotion, Garner fought in the devastating losses at Brandywine and Germantown in the fall of 1777. Germantown was likely the last major engagement of Garner’s military career. As an officer, he had the right to resign from service, unlike the non-commissioned officers who either stayed until the end of their enlistment, or faced possible corporal punishment. Matthew Garner resigned from duty in March 1778 as an ensign. [6]
After he left the Maryland Line, Garner returned to Port Tobacco. It is likely that he left the First Maryland Regiment to manage his estate. By 1783, he held five enslaved people on his 128 acres of land and lived a comfortable life in Charles County. Although he had a modest amount of land and the ability to financially support a family, Garner never married or had children of his own. By 1787, Matthew sold his 128 acres of William's Purchase to his brother, Hezekiah, who owned the other 97 acres of William's Purchase located adjacent to Matthew. After Matthew sold his land, it is unclear what became of him until his death in 1803. [7]
-Elizabeth Cassibry, Washington College Explore America Research Intern, 2018
Notes:
[1] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 6; Prerogative Court, Wills, 1635-1777, vol. 39, p. 614, MdHR 1321 [01/11/02/006, S538-57].
[2] Mark Andrew Tacyn, “‘To the End:’ The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution” (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 21.
[3] Tacyn, 23-30.
[4] Tacyn, 30-60.
[5] Tacyn, 30-60; Return of the Maryland troops, 27 September 1776, from Fold3.com.
[6] John Dwight Kilbourne, “A Short History of the Maryland Line in the Continental Army,” (Baltimore: The Sons of the American Revolution, 1992), 11-25; Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 112.
[7] Charles County Register of Wills, Inventories, 1777-1782, p. 211, MdHR 7288-2 [MSA C665-7, 01/08/10/008]; Charles County, Register of Wills, Wills, 1801-1808, p. 119, MdHR 7293 [MSA C681-13, 01/08/10/13]; Matthew Garner, Charles County, Seventh District, General Assembly House of Delegates, Assessment Record, 1783[MSA S 1161-5-4, 1/4/5/48]; Deed to William's Purchase to Hezekiah Garner, 1787, Charles County Court, Land Records, liber. 9, no. 4, p. 94 MdHR 8117-2 [MSA C67-4, 01/06/07/004]; Steven Sarson, "Yeoman Farmers in a Planters' Republic." Journal of the Early Republic, vol. 29, no. 1 (Spring 2009), p. 83-84.
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