William Blanch
MSA SC 3520-18142
Biography:
William Blanch enlisted as a private in Maryland's Fourth Independent Company on February 4, 1776 under Captain James Hindman. Hindman’s company originally played a role in the Maryland Council of Safety's plan to protect the Chesapeake Bay from potential British invasions. At first stationed at Oxford in Talbot County, Hindman's company travelled to New York to reinforce the Continental Army in preparation for a British invasion. The Fourth Independent Company arrived in New York by mid-August 1776. [1]
On the morning of August 27, 1776, American forces faced British troops at the Battle of Brooklyn (otherwise known as the Battle of Long Island). While several companies engaged the British Army on the Gowanus Road and the nearby Gowanus Creek, taking severe losses in the process, the Fourth Independent Company suffered only three casualties. Hindman defended his actions during the battle to the Council of Safety, arguing that rumors referring to the Fourth Independent Company’s “very ill” behavior were unfounded. Hindman instead declared that “the company [he] had the honor to command...behaved themselves as well as in the service, notwithstanding the dark insinuations...thrown out to their prejudice.” The Fourth Independent Company later fought at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776. William Blanch survived the Battle of White Plains, despite heavy American losses. One Hessian volley alone wounded and killed ninety-two soldiers during the battle, and forty soldiers of the Maryland Line were killed, captured, or wounded in total. [2]
After his enlistment in the Fourth Independent Company ended in the winter of 1776, Blanch enlisted in Maryland's Fifth Regiment as a private under Captain William Frazier—Blanch’s former lieutenant—on December 10, 1776. Along with several other soldiers, including James Mead and Richard Snook, Blanch became involved in an incident in which he enlisted in two different regiments. Although Blanch was "taken by prior enlistment" on September 1, 1777, his exact whereabouts for nearly a year after that are unknown. Blanch returned to the Fifth Maryland Regiment on August 15, 1778. Despite these issues with his enlistment, Blanch continued to serve in the Fifth Maryland Regiment until his discharge in January of 1780. During this time, Blanch participated in battles at Staten Island, Brandywine, and Germantown. His superiors rewarded his service by promoting him to corporal towards the end of his enlistment. [3]
Not much is known about William Blanch's later life. Although he married a woman named Lydia Kirby in 1817 and lived in Talbot County, few records of his life exist otherwise. [4]
-James Schmitt, Maryland Society Sons of the American Revolution Research Fellow, 2019
Notes:
[1] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 24; Mark Andrew Tacyn, “‘To the End:’ The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution” (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), pp. 33-34, 44-45.
[2] Tacyn, pp. 52-67; Journal and Correspondence of the Maryland Council of Safety July 7, 1776 to December 31, 1776, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 12, pp. 345-346; David Hackett Fischer, Washington’s Crossing (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 111.
[3] "List of Bounty, Subsistence, and Pay due," 10 May 1777, Maryland State Papers, Red Books, 16:99 [MSA S989-24, 01/06/04/11]; Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, pp. 185, 274; Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army during the Revolutionary War, NARA M881, from Fold3.com. Although Blanch is listed as a corporal, the exact date of his promotion is unknown.
[4] Deed, William Blanch et al to John Corkall, 1822, Talbot County Court, Land Records, Liber JL no. 44, p. 341 [MSA CE90-47]; Will of Lydia Kirby, 1799, Caroline County Register of Wills, Wills, Liber JR no. B, p. 429 [MSA C577-3, 1/3/1/8]. Lydia Kirby provided Lydia Blanch, daughter of Martha Kirby, with 50 acres of land in her will. William and Lydia Blanch later sold this land in 1822.
Return to William Blanch's Introductory Page
|
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|