Peter Hardcastle
MSA SC 3520-18123
Biography:
Peter Hardcastle was born to Robert Hardcastle and his second wife in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. Robert Hardcastle, a wealthy planter, immigrated to Maryland in 1730 from Yorkshire, England.
Robert's first wife, Elinor, died in 1736. He then married Peter’s mother, whose name is unknown. Peter’s mother died sometime before 1756, when Robert married his third wife, Samson. From all of his father’s marriages, Peter had eight siblings and three half- or step-siblings: Thomas, John, Robert, Ann, Solomon, Elizabeth, James, William, Richard London, James London, and Rebecka London.[1]
Hardcastle’s father died in 1760 when Peter was very young. Although he was born into an affluent family, Peter Hardcastle’s own fortune was limited. As one of many children, Peter inherited a slave and £50 from his father. Most of the Hardcastle estate went to the eldest son, Thomas. [2] Peter was also given a remaining part of his father’s estate, along with his siblings John, Solomon, Elizabeth, and William.
Similar to other young men who sought to improve their standing by serving in the army, Hardcastle enlisted as a sergeant in 1776 in the Fourth Independent Company under Captain James Hindman. [3]
During his first summer as a soldier, Hardcastle and his company received orders to march to New York to support the Continental Army at the Battle of Brooklyn (also known as the Battle of Long Island), the first full-scale engagement of the war. It was at this battle that Hardcastle and his fellow soldiers distinguished themselves the title of the “Maryland 400."
On August 27, 1776, the American forces were surrounded by the British, and attempted to retreat through Gowanus Creek under heavy fire. Now faced with a larger force, the remaining Maryland troops mounted a series of charges to hold the British at bay. Despite the loss of 256 men who were killed or captured, the Marylanders delayed the British long enough for the rest of the Continental Army to escape. [4]
Hardcastle was present at the Battle of Brooklyn, where his company saw relatively little combat, and came under fire for their alleged non-participation. Hindman defended his company, and blamed their orders for preventing them from taking a more active role: “I have had the vanity to think the company I have had the honor to command have behaved themselves as well as in the service, notwithstanding the dark insinuations that have been thrown out to their prejudice.” [5]
Hardcastle reenlisted around the end of 1776. After the New York campaign of 1776, Congress required Maryland to raise eight new regiments as part of the force of 88 regiments of the Continental establishment. [6] To fill the new regiments for Maryland, soldiers were recruited from the nine companies of Colonel William Smallwood's battalion and the independent companies. Hardcastle became an ensign in the Seventh Maryland Regiment, commanded by Colonel John Gunby, on February 10, 1777.
During 1777-1778, the British and American troops vied for control over the American capital at Philadelphia. As part of the Seventh Regiment, Hardcastle fought at the battles of Brandywine (September 1777) and Germantown (October 1777), both American losses.
By the end of 1777, Hardcastle was promoted to second lieutenant. He continued to fight with the Seventh Maryland Regiment at the Battle of Monmouth (June 1778). A few months after the Battle of Monmouth, Hardcastle was promoted once again to first lieutenant. He continued his service in the Seventh Regiment until the Battle of Camden (August 1780). Following the battle, Hardcastle was transferred to the Fourth Regiment. [7]
The Marylanders took particularly heavy casualties at the disastrous Battle of Camden -- approximately one-third of their troops. Some of the regiments, including the Third and Fourth Regiments, had to be rebuilt. [8] By the beginning of 1781, the Third and Fourth Regiments were still being outfitted and would not depart for the Battle of Yorktown until that August. [9]
Hardcastle fought at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, and remained with the Fourth Regiment until he resigned in mid-1782.
Not much else is known about Hardcastle’s life after his resignation. His older brother Thomas had a son named Peter Hardcastle, who was likely close in age. Both Peter Hardcastles were active in the time period, and while most of the records seem to refer to Peter Hardcastle of Thomas, it is hard to tell two Peters apart.
Cassy Sottile, Explore America Research Intern, 2019
Notes:
[1] Edward C. Papenfuse, Alan F. Day, David W. Jordan, and Gregory A. Stiverson. A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature, 1653-1789, Volume 1: A-H (Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979), 410.
[2] Queen Anne’s County Register of Wills, Wills, Robert Hardcastle, 1760, Liber WHN 1, p. 222 [MSA C1495-3, 2/2/4/21]
[4] Return of the Maryland troops, 13 September 1776, Revolutionary War Rolls, NARA M246, folder 35, p. 85. From Fold3.com.
[5] Journal and Correspondence of the Maryland Council of Safety, July 7 to December 31, 1776, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 12, p. 346.
[6] Mark Andrew Tacyn, “‘To the End:’ The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution” (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), p. 104.
[7] Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, NARA M881, from Fold3.com.
[8] Tacyn, 216-225.
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