George Rex Leonard
MSA SC 3520-17883
Biography:
George Rex Leonard enlisted as a drummer in the Third Company of the First Maryland Regiment, led by Captain Barton Lucas, on January 22, 1776. Just three days later, a man named John Rex Leonard enlisted in the same company. The two men were presumably related, and were likely brothers. [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 Third Company was recruited primarily from Prince George’s County, Maryland, but traveled to Annapolis in the spring of 1776 to train for several months. That July, the company received orders to march north, making it to Philadelphia by mid-July and to New York a month later. It was positioned 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 Third 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 daring stand earned them the honorable name of the “Maryland 400.” [2]
Despite the heroic actions of the Maryland 400, the battle was a defeat for the Americans, and the First Maryland Regiment suffered greatly. By the end of the battle, Maryland losses totalled 256 men killed or captured. As for the Third Company, only 27 men, just 35 percent of the company, escaped death or captivity. Of the remaining 65 percent, an astonishing 22 men, or 29 percent, were taken prisoner. Sadly, the rest of the company remains unaccounted for. On the day of the battle, Captain Lucas was sick and unable to lead his men. He "became deranged as a consequence of losing his company," and left the army not long after. [3]
Unfortunately it is unclear if George Rex Leonard survived the battle. Only one of the company’s musicians was present after the battle, but it is not possible to determine if this was Leonard or the fifer, Joshua Saffell. Saffell survived the Revolutionary War, but he may have been absent at the Battle of Brooklyn for various reasons. Saffell may have also been captured or wounded and could have been counted among the 256 casualties. The same fates could have befallen Leonard, but no records of his post-war life exist.
-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," 1 September 1776, American Archives, series 5, vol. 2, 107-108.
[3] Return of the Maryland troops, 27 September 1776, from Fold3.com; Pension of John Hughes, National Archives, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land-Warrant Application Files, S 5954, from Fold3.com.
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