Solomon Harris
MSA SC 3520-18186
Biography:
On February 5, 1776, Solomon Harris enlisted as a private in the Fourth Independent Company of Maryland troops.[1] In July of 1776, the Fourth was one of many companies sent to join the Continental Army in New York in preparation for a major British attack. Just a few weeks after arriving, Harris and his fellow soldiers faced the British on the battlefield for the first time in the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776.
The battle was a disaster for the Continental Army. It was quickly outflanked in the course of the battle and soldiers were forced to retreat by swimming through Gowanus Creek under relentless enemy fire. The entire Continental Army and George Washington himself faced imminent destruction as a result. They were spared, however, by the bravery of a group of soldiers who came to be known as the Maryland 400. In the midst of the frantic retreat, the Maryland 400 launched a daring counterattack and held off the British long enough for Washington and his army to escape annihilation. Two hundred and fifty-six Maryland soldiers were either killed or captured in the process.
Harris survived the ordeal at Brooklyn and risked his life for his country again at the battles of White Plains, Trenton, and Princeton. At the beginning of 1777, the issue of expiring enlistments came to call. Despite witnessing three gruesome battles and suffering the privations of an ill-supplied army, Harris decided to reenlist in the Continental Army. The independent companies then combined to form the Second Maryland Regiment.
In the summer of 1777, Harris fought at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. On December 17, 1777, Harris deserted his regiment and returned home for the winter. He rejoined his unit on March 20, 1778.[2] A few months later, Harris saw major combat for the final time at the Battle of Monmouth. He was discharged from the army on January 16, 1780 after completing his three-year term.[3]
In July of 1780, a few months after returning home to Maryland, Harris joined the Talbot County militia.[4] The militia may have participated in some battles or skirmishes in the Southern Campaign.
After the colonies won their independence, Harris remained in Maryland. On January 28, 1796, he married Elizabeth Troy in Talbot County.[5] Harris may have had a second marriage on August 18, 1803 to a woman named Margaret Wheeler in Dorchester County.[6]
Harris’s occupation after the war is unknown, but by 1812, Harris required the support of the state. Maryland awarded Harris an annual sum equal to half the pay of a private delivered in quarterly installments.[7]
Harris’s later life is a mystery. No record of him can be found following his state pension in 1812.
Jillian Curran, Explore America Research Intern, 2019
Notes:
[2] Muster Rolls of Soloman Harriss, National Archives, Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, NARA M881, p. 1-9, from Fold3.com
[3] Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 119.
[4] S. Eugene Clements and F. Edward Wright, The Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War, (Maryland, Family Line Publications, 1987), 231.
[5] Maryland Compiled Marriages, 1655-1850.
[6] Dorchester County, Marriage Licenses, License Book no.1, p. 82.
[7] “Solomon Harris-Pay”, Index 48 Pension Records, Revolutionary War 1778-1861, accessed via Maryland State Archives.
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