Ezekiel Abbott
MSA SC 3520-18120
Biography:
Ezekiel Abbott enlisted in the Fourth Independent Company of Maryland troops on January 23, 1776.[1] The force was raised in order to protect Maryland in the event of a British attack. The nine companies of Colonel William Smallwood’s battalion were stationed in the major cities of Baltimore and Annapolis while the independent companies were split between the Eastern and Western shores to protect key commercial centers. Abbott and the Fourth Independent were placed at Oxford in Talbot County under the command of Captain James Hindman.[2]
In the summer of 1776, the concerns of these troops broadened to include not only Maryland, but all of the colonies. On July 6, Maryland was asked to come to the aid of the Continental Army in New York in anticipation of a British attack.[3] Smallwood’s battalion and three of the independent companies, including the Fourth, were sent. The independent companies arrived in New York near the end of July.[4]
Shortly after arriving in New York, on August 3, Abbott deserted.[5] It seems that he did not get very far away, however, for he was either discovered and taken back into the service or returned of his own will just two days later.[6] A few weeks after his failed escape attempt, Abbott fought at the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776. There, Abbott and his comrades would go down in history as the Maryland 400.
In the course of the battle, American forces were outflanked by the British and risked complete annihilation. Troops scrambled in retreat, swimming across Gowanus Creek under enemy fire. The survival of Washington and the rest of the Continental Army was made possible by the Maryland troops who launched a daring counterattack to buy their fellow patriots some much-needed time. Two hundred and fifty-six of Abbott’s fellow soldiers were killed or captured as a result of their bravery.
In the remainder of 1776, the Fourth Independent company saw action at the Battles of White Plains and Trenton. In 1777, Abbott deserted again. A reward of eight dollars was offered to whoever could find Abbott, who was described as “5 feet 2 ¼ inches high, well set, short hair, bred to the sea, and supposed to have engaged in the marine service in the Pennsylvania state.”[7] Abbott could have deserted for a variety of reasons. Misunderstandings regarding length of enlistments were common in the Revolutionary War. A term of one to three years or the length of the war was often recorded in muster rolls. Soldiers often insisted that the one to three years was their actual term, while their officers insisted that they had agreed to serve for the remainder of the conflict. It was also common for soldiers to leave during harvest and planting seasons to tend their own farms and then return to the army afterwards.
Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding Abbott’s desertion and the details of his life afterwards are unknown. Abbott cannot be found in any records after 1777.
Jillian Curran, Explore America Research Intern, 2019
Notes:
[2] Mark Andrew Tacyn, “‘To the End:’ The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution” (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 34.
[3] Tacyn, 43.
[4] Tacyn, 44.
[5] Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 25.
[6] Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 25.
[7] Archibald Anderson, “Twenty-Four Dollars Reward,” Pennsylvania Journal (Philadelphia, PA), 12 March 1777, 3.
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