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James  Walter  Thomas 


Date  August  1925 


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I 


CHRONICLES 

OF 

COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS 


BY 

JAMES  WALTER  THOMAS 

Member  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society 


THE  EDDY  PRESS  CORPORATION 
CUMBERLAND,   MD. 


Copyright  1913 

James  Walter  Thomas 

All  rights  reserved 


/^7 


A 


\ 


PREFACE 

'pHIS  work  may  be  classified  as  an  historical  review  of  Maryland 
anterior  to  and  during  the  American  Revolution,  though  its  Author  be- 
stows upon  it  the  more  modest  title- Chronicles  of  Colonial  Maryland. 
H.s  chief  object  has  been  to  explore  and  develop  historic  fields  which  have 
hitherto  either  been  wholly  neglected,  or  have  received  but  scant  notice  at 
the  hands  of  historians.  This  does  not  apply  to  the  first  chapter,  the  ob- 
ject of  which  was  to  re-locate  a  cherished  landmark,  "once  known  but 
forgotten  -the  historic  island  of  Saint  Clement 's-and  thus  rescue  from 
obhvion,  the  spot  consecrated  as  the  first  landing  place  of  the  Marvland 
colonists;  as  well,  also,  to  identify  the  e.xact  point  of  landing  at  the  place 
of  Its  permanent  settlement.  The  Author,  while  conscious  of  the  laborious 
research  and  painstaking  care  bestowed  upon  it,  fully  realizes  that  a  work 
.'■o  largely  one  of  original  research,  is  inevitably  not  without  imperfections' 
In  submitting  it,  therefore,  to  the  public,  he  does  so  with  the  assuring  hope 
that  the  learned  and  generous  will  appreciate  the  difficulties  attending  the 
undertaking,  and  will  accord  consideration  and  justice  to  the  motiv^e  which 
animated  this  humble  tribute  to  his  native  State. 

J.  VV.  T. 
Cumberland,  Maryland, 

March  27th,  1913. 


Contents 


CHAPTER  I. 

}'LACE    OF    LANDING    OF    THE    jMARVLAND   COLONISTS. 

Place  of  first  landing  named  Saint  Clement's — lmf)ressions  of  the 
Colonists  on  seeing  the  Country — First  Mass  celebrated  in  Maryland — 
Identity  of  Saint  Clement's  Island  rescued — Place  of  Permanent  Settle- 
ment selected — Place  of  Landing  identified — View  of — Name  bestowed 
on  first  Maryland  Town — Natives — Origin  of  certain  Indian  Names,  9-18 , 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE    FIRST    CAPITAL    OF    iMARVLAND. 

'Location — Beauties  of  Situation — Baltimore's  Instructions  concern- 
ing it — Character  of  Improvements — Fort  Saint  Mary's — Location  of 
principal  Streets — Lots,  and  Houses — State  House — Jail — "Old  Mul- 
berry"— Copley  Vault — Taverns — First  Water  Mill — Roman  Catholic 
Church — Protestant  Church — Baltimore's  Home — "The  Castle".  .   19-47 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE  FIRST  CAPITAL  OF  MARYLAND — Continued. 

First  General  Assembly — Organization  of — Early  struggles  for  po- 
litical freedom — Character  of  Legislatiod — Ingle's  Rebellion — Religious 
freedom — Death  of  Governor  Leonard  Calvert — Life  and  character  of — 
His  Descendants — Battle  of  the  Severn — Puritan  reign — Fendall's  Rebel- 
lion— Effort  to  have  Capital  removed — Maryland  Coin — Protestant  Rev- 
olution— Royal  Government — Removal  of  Capital — Downfall  of  Saint 
Mary's — Calvert  Monument — An  historic   spot 48-68 

CHAPTER   IV. 

RELIGIOUS    TOLERATION    IN    COLONIAL    MARYLAND. 

Religious  Toleration  established  from  the  date  of  the  settlen"ient — 
A  Cornerstone  on  which  the  state  was  founded — Its  Rigid  Enforce- 
ment— Maryland  the  first  home  of — The  Act  concerning  Religion — 
Its  scope  and  purpose — How  passed — The  Religious  Toleration  of 
Rhode  Island — Roger  Williams,  its  supposed  patron 69-76 


CHAPTER    V. 

SEPARATION    OF   CHURCH    AND   STATE    IN    COLONMAL    MARYLAND. 

It  fell  to  the  destiny  of  Maryland  to  work  out  this  great  problem — 
How  it  was  accomplished — Baltimore  encountered  the  opposition  of 
his  church — How  he  met  it — Had  no  confidence  in  Jesuits — A  great 
principle  in  political  economy  and  in  the  development  of  civiliza- 
tion   77-82 

CHAPTER   VI. 

LAND    TENURE    OF    COLONIAL    MARYLAND. 

Maryland  a  Palatine — Rights  and  Powers  of  a  Court  Palatine — 
Character  of  Tenure — ^How  Land  could  be  obtained — To  whom,  and 
in  what  quantity  granted — Nature  of  the  grants — Statutes  of  Mortmain 
— Remnants  of  Feudal  Tenure — Fealty — Escheats — Fines — Relief — Quit- 
rents — The  latter  a  large  source  of  revenue  to  Proprietary — Difficulties 
in  their  payment — Confiscation  of  Proprietary  rights — Contest  among 
Heirs  of  last  Proprietary — Curious  data  from  Land  Office 83-99 

CHAPTER   VII 

LAND   TENURE   OF   COLONIAL    MARYLAND. 

Methods  of  transferring  Land — Livery  of  Seisen — Indentures — 
Deeds  of  Conveyance — Acknowledgments — Descent  of  Land — Manors — 
Primogeniture — Entailment — Influence  in  shaping  Institutions,  and  hab- 
its of  people — Its  tendency  aristocratic   ioo-t  10 

CHAPTER  VIII 

JUDICIAL    SYSTEM    OF   COLONIAL    MARYLAND. 

,  Gradual  development  of  the  system — Justices  of  the  Peace — County 
Court — Manorial  Courts — Prerogative  Court — Chancery  Court — Admir- 
alty  Court — Assize   Courts    111-136 

CHAPTER    IX. 

JUDICIAL    SYSTEM    OF   COLONIAL    MARYLAND. 

Provincial  Court — Origin  of— Justices  of — Jurisdiction  of — Chief 
Judicial  Tribunal — Court  of  Appeals — Appeal  to  King  and  Council — 
Early   Reports — Characteristics  of  Provincial  Judiciary    I37-I53 

CHAPTER   X.     '. 

CHARACTERISTICS     OF     MARYLAND     ESTABLISHMENT. 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Early  Maryland — Became  estab- 
lished Church — Nature  of  Establishment — Parishes — English  ecclesias- 
tical law  not  in  force — Induction,  its  uses  and  abuses — Church  tax — 
Contest  over — Abolished — Glebes- — Church  Wardens — Clerks  —  Regis- 
trars        154-189 


CHAPTER    XI 

St)ME   OK    MAKVI.ANU'S     EARLY    I  HIKCHES. 

Division  of  Province  into  Parishes— Number  in  each  County— Wil- 
liam and  Mary  Parish— King  and  Queen— All  Faith— Saint  Andrew's— 
Prince  George's— Marriage  Records  of  Latter— Newtown  Church— Saint 
Inigoe's— Saint  Joseph's— Sacred  Heart— Saint  Aloysius— Saint  John's, 
•  ■ : 190-222 

CHAPTER   XH. 

THE   GREAT   SEAL   OF    MARYLAND   AND    HER    FLAG. 

Great  Seal  unique — Heraldic  in  design — Description  of — Those  in 
use  before  the  Revolution — Those  after — Lesser  Seals  at  arms— Impres- 
sions of  on  Money— Present  Great  Seal— Origin  of  Flag— Design  of— 
Early  uses  of— Beauty  of— Great  Seal  of  United  States— Origin  of  The 
Stars   and    Stripes    jjj-2::- 

CHAPTER  XHL 

FORCE  AND   VALUE  OF  THE   MARYLAND  LINE   IN   THE  AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

Formation  of  the  Maryland  Line— Well  appointed  and  organized- 
Commanded  by  Colonel  William  Smallwood — Maryland  Rifle  Com- 
panies—Maryland Line  ordered  to  New  York — Made  part  of  the  Divis- 
ion of  Brigadier-General  Stirling — In  Battle  of  Long  Island — Its  Hero- 
ism— Its  terrific  charges — Saved  the  American  Army — ^Covered  Wash- 
ington's Retreat  from  Long  Island — At  advance  posts  at  Harlem—Or- 
dered to  cover  retreat  from  New  York,  after  failure  of  other  troops — 
In  battles  of  Harlem  and  White  Plains — Destruction  of  enemy  by  Mary- 
land and  Virginia  riflemen  at  Fort  Washington — Maryland  Line  cov- 
ered Washington's  retreat  through  New  Jersey — Crossed  the  Delaware 
with  Washington— In  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton — Badly  thinned 
and  shattered  by  end  of  the  season. 

CAMPAIGN    OF    l^^^ . 

The  Maryland  Line  re-enforced  and  increased  to  eight  battalions — 
Divided  into  two  brigades — Commanded  by  Brigadier-General  Small- 
wood  and  Brigadier-General  De  Boore— Part  of  General  Sullivan's 
Division — In  Battle  of  Brandywine — In  Battle  of  Germantown — Drove 
British  Light  Infantry  from  the  field — In  winter  quarters  under  Small- 
wood,  at  Wilmington  to  protect  the  State  of  Delaware — Captured  val- 
uable prizes. 

CA.MPAIGN     OF    1 778. 

Maryland  Line  again  re-enforced — In  Battle  of  Monmouth — Held 
back  enemy  until  Washington  could  form — Ordered  up  to  secure  the 
day — Marched  to  Middlebrook  to  protect  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 


CAMPAIGN    OF    1779- 

Maryland's  quota  for  campaign  of  i779^Depreciation  in  currency 
compelled  General  Smallwood  to  ask  that  better  provision  be  made  for 
support  of  the  Maryland  Line — Ordered  to  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey — 
Major  Stewart  of  Maryland  Line  in  capture  of  Stony  Point — The 
Maryland  Line  at  Paulus  Hook  (Jersey  City) — Formed  right  wing 
of  army  at  Morristown. 

CAMPAIGN    OF     I780. 

Maryland  asked  to  furnish  1400  additional  men — Maryland  Line 
sent  South  to  re-enforce  Southern  department,  under  General  Baron 
DeKalb — Its  passage  through  Maryland — The  folly  of  Gate's  line  of 
march — Battle  of  Camden — Terrific  charge  of — Whole  British  force 
brought  against  it — Flight  of  Gates — Fall  of  DeKalb — Loss  to  line  heavy 
— Smallwood  in  command — ^Gist  hurried  to  Maryland  for  recruits. 

CAMPAIGN    OF    1 78 1. 

General  Nathaniel  Greene  superseded  Gates  in  command  of  South- 
ern department— Smallwood  promoted  to  Major-General — Was  retained 
as  second  in  command — The  Maryland  Line  under  command  of  Colonel 
Otho  Holland  Williams — The  Maryland  Line  at  the  battle  of  Camden — 
Colonel  John  Eager  Howard  a  hero — Greene's  masterly  retreat — Wil- 
liam's splendid  strategy  in  covering  it — Battle  of  Guilford  Court  House 
— Other  strongholds  of  the  South — Eutaw  Springs — Maryland  Line 
charges  the  Buff's — Desperate  struggle — Won  the  admiration  of  the 
enemy — Smallwood  in  Virginia  with  Lafayette — Yorktown — Maryland 
line  turns  its  face  homeward — ^Disbanded — An  essential  factor  in  the 
war  for  Independence — Justly  treated  by  a  grateful  State  ....  238-302 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    WESTERN    RESERVE    AND    MARYLAND'S    PART    IN    IT. 

A  vast  domain — Grasping  claims  of  Virginia,  New  York,  Connec- 
ticut and  Massachusetts — Maryland  rose  to  the  occasion — ^Her  position 
towards  it — Resolute  way  in  which  she  pursued  it^ — Her  claim  ultimately 
sustained — An  immense  folkland  thus-  obtained  for  the  new  Confeder- 
ation— Its  acquisition  speedily  led  to  far-reaching  results — Cornerstone 
of   the    American    Republic    303-314 

CHAPTER   XV. 

CHRONICLES    OF    SAINT    MARY'S    COUNTY. 

Oldest  County  organization-^Theatre  of  Maryland's  early  struggles 
—Beauties  of— Resources  of — Boundary  of — Early  civil  divisions- 
County  seat— Other  early  towns— Ports  of  Entry — Roads — First  mail 
route — Historic  value  of  Will  Records — Traditions — Early  School  Sys- 
tem—Charlotte   Hall— Revolution— Civil    Officers    3I5-.547 


CHAPTER  XVI.       • 

CHRONMCLES    OF    SAINT    MARY's    COUNTY. 

Historic  places— Character  of  improvements — Governor  Calvert's 
^Manors — Cross  Manor — Mattapany — Susquehanna — Sotterly — Fenwick's 
Manor— De  La  Brooke— Trent  Hall— The  Plains— Calvert  side  of  Pa- 
tuxent— Deep  Falls— Bashford—Notley  Hall— Brambly  —  Bushwood — 
Saint   Clement's    Manor — Tudor    Hall — Portohello 348-377 

APPENDIX. 

Letter,  1799,  giving  account  of  opening  of  "Copley  Vault,"  at 
Saint  Mary's  City— Topographical  Map  of  Maryland's  First  CapitaK 
showing    location    of    principal    lots    and    house    .  . .' 379-381 


Illustrations 


Page 

Chancellor's  Point   ^7 

Saint   Mary's   Blufif,   site   of   First    State   House 29 

Maryland's  First  State  House  3i 

Great  Seal  of  Maryland  under  the  Proprietary  Government....        227 
Reverse  of  the  Great  Seal  used  by  Cecelius,  Lord  Baltimore.  ..  .       228 

Lesser  Seal  at  Arms  229 

Plate  for  Stamping  Seal  on  Money  230 

Present    Great    Seal    of    Maryland    233 

The   Maryland   Flag    237 

Map  of  Leonard-Town   •  •  325 

Map  of  Saint  Mary's  City   Appendix 


Colonial  Maryland 

CHAPTER  I 
Place  of  Landing  of  the  Maryland  Colonists 

QX  the  5th  of  March.  1634,  the  Ark  and  the  Doz'e,  bearing 
the  representatives  of  the  two  great  principles — "politi- 
cal freedom  and  religious  peace",  for  which  Maryland  became 
renowned — after  a  long  and  eventful  voyage  from  the  old  to 
the  new  world,  entered  the  Potomac  River.' 

Charmed  with  the  genial  climate,  picturesque  landscape 
and  majestic  waters  that  greeted  them.  Governor  Leonard 
Calvert  and  his  companions  began  naming  the  places  as  they 
passed,  calling  the  southern  part,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
Saint  Gregory'  (now  Smith's  Point)  and  the  northern  poim 
(now  Point  Lookout)   Saint  Michael's/ 

Sailing  up  the  river  amid  the  consternation  of  the  Indians, 
and  by  the  "light  of  their  council  fires,  which  blazed  through 
the  land,"  they  anchored  at  an  island  which  they  named  Saint 

^  "Relatio  Itineris  in  Marylandiam."  —  The  Report  of  Father 
Andrew  White,  one  of  the  Maryland  Colonists,  to  his  superiors  at 
Rome,  April,  1634;  discovered  by  Rev.  Wm.  McSherry  in  the  archives 
of  the  "Domus  Professa,"  and  published  by  the  Maryland  Historical 
Society;  "Relation  of  Maryland,"  dated  Saint  Mary's,  May,  1634,  pulj- 
lished  in  London,  1634,  and  republished  as  "Shea's  Early  Southern 
Tracts,"  No.  i  ;  "Relation  of  Maryland,"  published  in  London,  in  1635. 
and  republished,  with  map  of  the  country,  by  Joseph  Sabin,  of  New 
York. 

Mbid.     . 

■''  The  pleasing  impressions  which  the  Maryland  Colonists  formed 
of  their  new  country  and  surroundings,  may  be  gathered  from  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  Father  White's  report  of  the  voyage  and  landing: 
"The  country  is  not  without  such  things  as  contribute  to  prosperity  and 


lo  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Clement's.'  This  island,  as  described  at  the  time,  was  thickly 
wooded  with  cedars,  sassafras  and  nut  trees,  and  abounded  in 
herbs  and  flowers,  but  had  such  a  sjoping  shore  that  a  landing- 
could  only  be  effected  by  wading/  It  is  twenty-six  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Potomac,  lies  directly  above  Saint  Clement's 
Bay,  and  half  a  mile  from  the  Maryland  shore/ 

Leaving  the  Ark  and  the  greater  part  of  the  colonists 
there,  Governor  Calvert  spent  some  days  exploring  the  coun- 
try and  treating  with  the  Indians,  ascending  the  river  as  high 
as  Piscataway,  nearly  opposite  Mount  Vernon.  During  his 
absence  "a  court  of  guard"  was  kept  at  Saint  Clement's,  while 
others  of  the  colonists  were  occupied  in  putting  together  a 
barge,  the  parts  for  which  they  had  brought  with  them,  and 
in  getting  out  material  for  a  palisado.''  On  his  return,  prepa- 
rations were  made  for  religious  ceremony,  and  on  the  25th  of 

pleasure."  "The  soil  seems  remarkably  fertile,  is  dark  and  not  hard,  to 
the  depth  of  a  foot,  and  overlays  a  rich,  red  clay."  "Fine  groves  of  trees 
appear,  not  chocked  with  briars  or  bushes  and  undergrowth,  but  grow- 
ing at  intervals,  as  if  planted  by  the  hand  of  man."  There  are  "straw- 
berries, vines,  sassafras,  acorns,  and  walnuts;"  also,  "deer,  beavers, 
and  squirrels,"  and  "an  infinite  number  of  birds  of  various  colors,  such 
as  eagles,  crows,  swans,  geese,  turkeys,  partridges,  and  ducks."  "Nu- 
merous springs  furnish  a  supply  of  water."  "Never  have  I  beheld  a 
larger  or  more  beautiful  river  (than  the  lower  Potomac).  The  Thames 
seems  a  mere  rivulet  in  comparison  with  it ;  it  is  not  disfigured  with 
swamps,  but  has  firm  land  on  each  side."  The  Saint  George's  (Saint 
Mary's)  River  "has  two  harbors,  capable  of  containing  three  hundred 
ships  of  the  largest  size."  "The  natives  are  very  tall,  and  well  propor- 
tioned ;  their  skin  is  naturally  rather  dark,  and  they  make  it  uglier  by 
staining  it,  generally  with  red  paint,  mixed  with  oil  to  keep  off  the  mos- 
quitoes." "The  soles  of  their  feet  are  as  hard  as  horn,  and  they  tread 
on  thorns  and  briars  without  being  hurt."  "The  race  are  of  a  frank  and 
cheerful  disposition,  and  understand  any  matter  \vhen  it  is  stated  to 
them ;  they  have  a  keen  sense  of  taste  and  smell,  and  in  sight,  too,  they 
surpass  the  Europeans.  They  live  for  the  most  part,  on  a  kind  of  paste,, 
which  they  call  Pone  and  Omini,  both  of  which  are  made  of  Indian 
corn,  and  sometimes  they  add  fish,  or  what  they  have  procured  by  hunt- 
ing or   fowling.     They  are  especially  careful  to  refrain   from  wine  or 

Mbid.  'Ibid. 

"Relation    of    Maryland,    1634. 


THE   LAXDING-  ii 

jMarcli  ("the  day  of  the  Annunciation  of  the  X'irgin  Mary), 
1634,  among  the  trees  and  flowers,  -rhey  celebrated,  at  Saint 
Clement's,  the  first  'mass  in  Maryland^  They  then  erected  a 
great  cross,  "hewn  out  of  a  tree,"  as  a  "trophy  to  Christ." 
and  as  an  emblem  of  Maryland's  christian  faith.'  After  this, 
with  solemn  ceremonies,  they  took  formal  possession  of  the 
country  for  "our  Saviour  and  for  our  Sovereigne  Lord  the 
King  of  England."' 

It  should  here  be  "noted  that  it  is  singularly  unfortunate 
that  historians  have  fallen  into  the  grave  error  of  asserting 
that  the  Island  of  Saint  Clement's,  thus  consecrated  as  the 
landing  place  of  the  pilgrims  of  Maryland,  has  long  since 
yielded  to  the  ravages  of  the  insidious  and  relentless  surf,  and 
has  almost  disappeared — an  error  resulting  apparently  from 
a  misapprehension  of  the  location  of  the  island  and  the 
assumption  that  it  was  the  same  as  Heron  Island,  nearby,  but 
more  inland  and  immediately  at  the  mouth  of  Saint  Clement's 
Bay,  and  which,  well  authenticated  tradition  says,  for  more 
than  a  century  and  a  half  has  been  practically  washed  away. 
The  pioneer  Maryland  historian,  Bozman,''  left  the  matter  in 
doubt.  Later,  Dalrymple.  in  his  valuable  annotation  of  "The 
Relatio  Itineris  in  Marylandiam",  and  who  appears  to  have 
made  it  the  subject  of  personal  investigation,  concluded  that  it 

warm  drinks,  and  are  not  easily  persuaded  to  taste  them."'  "They  run 
to  us  of  their  own  accord,  with  a  cheerful  expression  on  their  faces,  and 
offer  us  what  they  have  taken  in  hunting  or  fishing,"  sometimes  bringing 
"oysters,  boiled  or  roasted."  "They  cherish  generous  feelings  towards 
us,  and  make  a  return  for  whatever  kindness  you  may  have  shown 
them."  "They  live  in  houses  built  in  an  oblong,  oval  shape.  Light  is 
admitted  into  these  through  the  roof,  by  a  window  a  foot  and  a  half 
long,  this  also  serves  to  carry  off  the  smoke,  for  they  kindle  the  fire  in 
the  middle  of  the  floor,  and  sleep  around  it.  Their  Kings,  however,  and 
chief  men,  have  private  apartments  of  their  own,  and  beds,  made  by 
driving  four  posts  in  the  ground  and  arranging  poles  above  them  hori- 
zontally." "One  of  these  cal)ins  has  fallen  to  me."  "It  has  been  fitted 
up"  as  a  temporary  place  of  worship,  "and  you  may  call  this  the  first 
chapel  of  Maryland." 

^  Relatio    Itineris. 

"Relation  of   Maryland,    1634. 

^  Bozman's   History  of   Maryland,  p.  27. 


12  COLONIAL    .MARYLAND 

was  Heron  Island  on  which  the  landings  was  made  and  to  which 
the  name  of  Saint  Clement's  was  affixed.  As  recorded  by 
him,  "the  name  has  disappeared  and  almost  the  whole  of  the 
island  has  been  washed  away  by  the  river.  *  *  ''"  All  that  is 
left  of  it  is  a  sand  bank  of  about  ten  acres".'  Still  later 
authors,  aniong^  them  Scharf.  Bryant,  and  even  the  carefui 
and  painstaking  Brown  have  united  in  the  confounding-  of 
Heron  Island  with  Saint  Clement's,  and  thus  recording  it  as 
a  lamentable,  but  nevertheless  an  historical  fact,  that  the  spot 
on  which  the  colonists  of  Maryland  first  set  foot  upon  her 
soil,  and  proclaimed  the  right  of  sovereignty  over  her  domain. 
— than  which  none  slioidd  be  more  .sacred  to  the  memory  of 
her  [K'ople — no  longer  exi.sts  either  in  fact  or  in  name.'' 

They  are  not  one  and  the  same.  A  chronicle  of  the  land- 
ing says,  "they  sayled  up  the  river  till  they  came  to  Heron 
Island  (so-called  from  the  large  number  of  birds  there  of 
that  name)  which  is  about  14  leagues,  and  there  came  tu 
anchor  under  an  island  near  unto  it  which  they  called  Saint 
Clement's"".'"  A  map  of  that  time,'  and  also  one  of  later  date," 
as  well  as  the  early  land  grants  of  the  land  nearest  these 
islands,'  not  only  confirm  this  as  to  the  separate  identity  of 
the  two,  but  show  that  their  relative  position  at  that  day  was 
the  same  tliat  the  renniant  of  Heron  Island  bears  to-day  to  the 
undiminished  proportions  of  Saint  Clement's.  In  name  only 
has  it  changed.  The  first  grant  of  Saint  Clement's  Island  was 
to  Dr.  Thomas  Gerrard  in  i63»).  when  it  was  included  in  the 
grant  of  Saint  Clement's  Manor.  JM-om  him.  through  inter- 
marriage (.f  liis  (laughter  Elizabeth,  with  Colonel  Nehemiah 
Blackiston,  it  j)as>e(l  to  the  IHackistons.  and  from  long  posses- 
sion in  -tlu'iu.  it  came  to  be  called  Blackiston's  Island,  the 
name  it  bears  to-day.     It  is  true.  Father  White  and  tlie  Rela- 

^Rclatio  Itineris,  Dalrymple's  note,  p.  104. 

"Scharf.  History  of  Marj'IancI,  i.  p.  74;  Brown.  History  of  Mary- 
land,  p.  2.?;    Hryant.   History  of  United   States,   i,  p.  492. 

'  Relation    of    Maryland.    1634. 

'  .Map  in  Relation  of  Maryland,  16:35.      "Maps,  1070.  Shea,  p.  45. 

'  Patents  U,  VVni,  Uritton  for  Little  Rritton.  and  Thomas  Gerrar>i 
for  Saint  Clenient\s  Manor,  l6.Vj  in  Land  DUicc,  .Viin.ipolis. 


THE   LAX  1)1  XG  13 

tion  of  1634,  the  authorities  perhaps,  by  which  Maryland  his- 
torians have  been  misled,  say  the  landing  was  made  on  the 
first  one  of  the  groiip  called  Heron  Islands  which  the  colonists 
reached,  but  they  clearly  meant  the  first  one  of  the  three 
islands  which  lie  in  the  Potomac,  between  Saint  Clement's  Day 
and  the  Wicomico  River,  and  known  as  Saint  Clement's. 
(Blackiston's)  Saint  Katherine's,  and  Saint  Margaret's. 

The  Relation  of  1634,  indeed,  practically  establishes  the 
identity  of  these  islartds  as  being  the  same .  as  those  above 
mentioned.  It  says,  "the  first  of  those  islands-  we  called 
Saint  Clement's;  the  second,  Saint  Katherine's,  and  the  third 
Saint  Ceceha's,"  now  Saint  Margaret's.  It  is,  happily,  a  fact 
that  Saint  Katherine's  Island  has  always  retained  the  name  first 
bestowed  upon  it.  At  the  time  they  were  named,  it  was  the 
second  in  the  trio,  and  lay  above  Saint  Clement's — to-day  its 
position  is  second,  and  it  lies  next  above  Blackiston's  Island. 
It  would  therefore,  have  been  a  physical  impossibility  to  have 
named  the  islands  in  the 'order  in  which  they  stand,  and  to 
have  placed  Saint  Katherine's  second  in  the  line,  without  the 
island  now  known  as  Blackiston's  being  the  first  in  that  course, 
and  the  one  lying  next  below  it.  Again,  in  1678,  a  new 
patent  was  issued  for  Saint  Clement's  Manor,  and  the  three 
islands,  in  the  language  of  the  patent,  "lying  in  the  Potomac 
River,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wiccocomoco  River,  called  by  the 
names  of  Saint  Clement's  Island,  Saint  Katherine's  Island, 
and  Saint  Margaret's  Island,"  were  included  in  the  grant,' 
which  three  islands  are  there  to-day,  and  known  as  P.lackis- 
ton's.  Saint  Katherine's,  and  Saint  Margaret's. 

It  should  be  noted  that  Heron  Island — how  scarcely  dis- 
cernible— which  lies  nu)rc  inland,  and  somewhat  out  of  the 
direct  course  in  sailing  uj)  ihc  river,  was  most  likely  very 
diminutive  and  practically  valueless  even  at  that  date,  as  no 
patent  appears  ever  to  have  been  issued  for  it.  It  \vas  also, 
apparently,  deemed  too  insignificant  for  a  new  name  when 
liestowing  names  upon  the  three  lying  further  out  in  the  river. 


Lil)er  20,  u.  5.  Land  Office. 


14  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

and  it  to-day  retains  its  first  name — Heron — the  one  by  which 
the  entire  group  was  originally  known. 

The  records  also  of  the  devises  and  alienations  of  the  island 
covering  a  period  of  more  than  a  century,  refer  to  it  alternately 
as  Blackiston's  or  Saint  Clement's  Island,  which,  with  a  direct 
chain  of  title  from  the  Lord  Proprietary  to  the  present  time, 
incontestably  establishes  the  fact,  that  the  beautiful  Black- 
iston's Island  of  to-day,  gracefully  slumbering  upon  the  bosom 
of  the  lower  Potomac,  is  the  historic  Saint  Clement's  Island 
of  the  past.' 

It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  Saint  Clement's  has  passed 
into  history  as  possessing,  at  the  time  of  the  landing,  an  area 
of  four  hundred  acres,  the  result,  perhaps,  of  an  error  in  the 
copy  of  Father  White's  report  at  Rome,  the  authority  for  the 
statement."  By  the  return  of  the  Surveyor  General,  in  1639, 
five  years  only  after  the  narrative  was  written,  it  contained 
eighty  acres,*  which  is  about  its  size  today.  Father  White 
most  probably  said  it  contained  four  score,  and  not  four  hun- 
dred acres. 

-before  the  colonists  left  England,  Lord  Baltimore  sent  to 
Governor  Leonard  Calvert  a  set  of  instructions  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony  upon  their  arrival  in  Maryland,  in  which 
he  urges  him  in  selecting  the  place  of  settlement,  that  his 
chief  care  be  "to  make  choice  of  a  place  first,  that  is  probable 
to  be  healthfull  and  fruitfull ;  next,  that  *it  be  easily  fortified, 

'  Patent  to  Thomas  Gerrard,  1639  Liber  i,  p.  48,  and  Justinian  Ger- 
rard,  1678,  Liber  20,  p.  5,  Land  Office;  judgment  in  suit,  Nehemiah 
Blackiston  vs.  Justinian  Gerrard,  1686,  Provincial  Court  Records,  Liber 
D.  S.  A.,- p.  532;  will,  Elizabeth  (Blackiston)  Guibert,  Liber  14,  p.  224, 
Annapolis;  wills,  John  Blackiston,  Liber  i,  p.  352,  and  Nehemiah 
Blackiston,  Liber  3,  p.  435,  both  of  Saint  Mary's  County;  deeds,  John 
Blackiston  to  R.  H.  Miles,  Liber  F,  vol.  i,  p.  8,  and  R.  H.  Miles  to  J.  M. 
Goldsmith,  Liber  F,  vol.  J.  p.  328,  Land  Office;  deeds,  G.  W.  Morgan, 
sherifT.  to  B.  G.  Harris,  B.  G.  Harris  to  J.  L.  McWilliams,  R.  C.  Combs, 
attorney,  to  I'.  A.  Denison.  F.  A.  Dcnison  to  Mary  E.  Swan,  Saint 
Maiys  County. 

'  Relatio   Itiucris,  p.   32.  'Old   ^L■l^ylanll    M.mors,   p.   29. 


THE  LANDING-  15 

and  thifdly,  that  it  be  convenient  for  trade  both  with  the 
English  and  savages'*^ 

Following  these  instructions,  and  deeming  it  imprudent 
to  locate  high  up  the  river,  where  retreat  would  be  difficult  in 
the  event  of  attack.  Governor  Calvert,  already  impressed  witli 
the  superior  advantages  of  that  section  of  the  province  border- 
ing on  the  lower  Potomac  for  the  Maryland  settlement,  con- 
cluded to  visit  next  the  Indian  village  of  Yaocomico.  This  he 
was  also  induced  to  do  by  Captain  Henry  Fleet,  an  Indian 
trader,  whose  familiarity  with  the  country  gave  his  opinion 
importance  and  weight,  and  who  represented  that  section  of 
it  in  glowing  terms  and  as  being  well  adapted  in  every  way  to 
their  purpose. 

Leaving  both  ships  at  Saint  Clement's  Island,  and' accom- 
panied by  Captain  Henry  Fleet  and  a  small  body  of  men,  he 
sailed  in  his  barge  down  the  river  about  sixteen  miles  to  a 
bold,  deep  tributary  flowing  into  the  Potomac  from  the  north, 
and  which  they  named  Saint  George's  (now  Saint  Mary's) 
River.  Ascending  this  river,  and  naming  its  two  "great 
harbors,"  the  one  Saint  George  (now  Saint  George's  River), 
and  the  other,  more  inland,  Saint  Mary  (still  Saint  Mary's), 
and  between  Church  Point  and  Chancellor's  Point,  he  an- 
chored at  Yaocomico,  situated  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river, 
and  about  five  miles  from  its  mouth. 

He  sought  interview  with  Mng  Yaocomico.  and  informed 
him  of  the  object  of  his  coming,  to  which,  says  the  Relation, 
"he  made  but  little  answer,  as  is  their  manner  to  any  new  or 
sudden  question,  but  entertained  him  and  his  company  that 
night  in  his  house,  and  gave  him  his  own  bed  to  lye  on — 
which  is  a  mat  laid  on  boards — and  the  next  day  went  to  show 
him    the    country".'' 

'  The  original  draft  of  this  paper,  jn  Baltimore's  own  handwriting, 
and  the  original  document,  except  the  Charter,  belonging  to  Mary- 
land's early  history,  has  only  very  recently  been  discovered,  and  is  now 
in  the  Maryland  Historic-al  Society.  It  has  also  been  published  by 
Brown,  '"Makers  of  America,"  p.  45. 

-  Relation   of   Maryland,    1634. 


i6  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

The  Governor  was  convinced  of  the  superior  fitness  of  the 
place,  and  that  his  entry  there  could  be  safely  made,  and 
to  avoid  "every  appearance  of  injustice,  and  to  afiford  no 
opportunity  for  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  he  waived 
all  question  of  right  or  superior  power  in  the  premises,  and 
agreed  to  buy  their  town  and  territory.  The  Yaocomicos 
having  previously  resolved  to  move  higher  up  the  country,  to 
avoid  the  Susquehanocks,  a  more  powerful  tribe,  and  their 
enemy,  this  was  accomplished  without  difficulty,  and  for  cloth, 
axes,  hatchets,  rakes,  hoes,  and  knives,  they  agreed  that  the 
colonists  should  occupy  a  part  of  their  town  and  land,  reserv- 
ing a  part  for  themselves  until  their  corn  could  be  gathered, 
when  the  whole  should  be  surrendered!  It  was  further  mutu- 
ally agreed,  that  the  two  nations  should  live  peaceably  together, 
and  that  if  any  injury  was  done  on  either  side,  the  ofifendin^ 
party  should  make  reparation.' 

Much  historical  encomium  has  been  lavished  i;pon  William 
Penn,  for  his  famous  treaty  with  the  Shackamaxon  Indians 
for  the  land  ui)on  which  the  city  of  Philadelphia  stands,  but 
neither  the  annals  of  Pennsylvania,  or  of  any  other  American 
colony,  present  a  more  conspicuous  example  of  humanity  and 
justice  towards  the  Aborigines,  than  is  portrayed  in  the  spirit 
which  animated  Maryland  on  that  occasion,  and,  indeed, 
throughout,  in  that  regard,  and  it  sliould,  with  equal  justice. 
adorn  the  pages  of  her  history.' 

The  ships  dropping  anclior  in  Saint  Mary's  harbor,  the 
colonists  landed  on  the  "right  hand  side",  or  southern  arm 
of  the  harbor  (Chancellor's  Point),  and,  walking  about  a  mile 
around  the  riyer  bank,  came  to  the  place  selected  for  their 

VRcIatio  Itineris;  Relation  of  Maryland,  1634. 

"Speaking  of  the  religion  of  the  Indians  found  in  and  around  Saint 
Mary's,  the  Rehition  of  1634  says:  "First,  they  acknowledge  one  God 
nf  I  leaven,  which  they  calLour  God ;  and  cry  a  thousand  shames  upon 
those  christians  that  so  lightly  offend  so  good  a  God.  But  they  give  no 
rxttrnal  hf)nour  unto  Him.  but  use  all  their  might  to  please  an  Okee 
(fir  frantic  spirit),  for  fear  of  harm  from  him.  They  adorq<  also  Wheat 
and  l'"ire,  as  two  gods,  very  hcncfici.-il  unto -man's  natures.  In  the  Macli- 
icomoco,  or  Temple  of   Patuxcut,  liicrc  was  scaiiv  l)y  our  traders   this 


n 


f     '^:    -- 


v>*'j 


^•*ii 


THE   LANDING  17 

permanent  settlement,  and  laid  out  the  plan  for  the  first  town 
in  ^Maryland. 

Father  White's  report  (the  most  valuable  record  of  the 
times,  and  the  only  one  that  attempts  to  detail  this  feature  of 
the  landing)  says :  "The  left  side  of  the  river  was  the  abode 
of  King  Yaocomico.  We  landed  on  the  right  hand  side,"  and 
about  a  mile  from  the  town/  This  clearly  means  Saint  Mary's 
harbor,  and  not  the  rirer  and  identifies  with  certainty,  Chancel- 
lor's Point  as  the  place  of  landing.  The  town  of  Yaocomico  and 
the  place  of  landing  could  not  have  been  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  river,  for  the  colonists  walked  from  one  place  to  the  other, 
which  could  only  have  been  accomplished,  if  on  opposite  sides, 
by  going  around  the  head  of  the  river — a  journey  not  of  one 
mile  only,  but  of  at  least  twenty.  The  two,  however,  could 
have  been  on  opposite  sides  of  the  harbor — a  deep  indentation 
made  by  the  two  long  headlands,  now  known  as  Church  Point 
and  Chancellor's  Point. 

The  Indian  town,  it  is  conceded,  occupied  the  northern 
or  Church  Point  arm,  which  placed  it  on  the  left  side  in  sailing 
up,  thus  making  the  southern,  or  Chancellor's  Point  arm,  the 
right  hand  side  in  entering  the  harbor;  the  southern  extremity 
(Chancellor's  Point)  of  this  arm,  being  also  about  a  mile  dis- 
tant from  the  town  they  laid  out — Saint  Mary's. 

The  event  of  landing  and  unloading  the  ships  was  made 
with  as  much  formality  as  circumstances  would  permit,  and 

ceremony.  Upon  a  day  appointed  all  the  Townes  mett,  and  a  great  fire 
being  made;  about  it  stood  the  younger  sort,  and  behinde  them  againe 
the  elder.  Then  taking  a  little  deer  suet,  they  cast  it  into  the  fire, 
crying,  Tabo,  Tabo,  and  lifting  their  hands  to  heaven.  After  this,  was 
brought  before  them  a  great  Bagg,  filled  with  a  longe  Tobacco  pipe  and 
Poake,  which  is  the  word  they  use  for  our  Tobacco.  This  was  carried 
about  the  fire,  the  youth  following,  and  singing  Tabo,  Tabo,  in  very 
good  tune  of  voice,  and  comely  gesture  of  body.  The  round  cnd-.M,  one 
comes  reverently  to  the  Bagge,  and  opening  it,  takes  out  the  Pipe,  and 
divides  the  Poake,  from  one  to  one.  As  every  one  tookc  his  draught, 
hee  breath'd  his  smoke  upon  the  limbs  of  his  own  body,  as  it  weit  to 
sanctifie  them  by  this  ceremony,  to  tlie  honour  and  service  of  their 
God,  whomsoever  they  meant." 
'  Relatio  Itineris. 


i8  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

was  done  under  military  escort,  parade  under  colors  and  arms, 
and  firing  of  musketry  and  cannon.' 

Then  and  there,  Governor  Calvert,  on  the  27th  of  March, 
1634,  with  appropriate  ceremonies,  proclaimed  formal  posses- 
sion of  Maryland,  and  named  its  first  town  Saint  Mary's. 
Then  and  there,  says  a  distinguished  historian,"  "landed  the 
Pilgrims  of  Maryland,  and  then  and  there  were  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  the  old  city  of  Saint  Mary's  and  of  our  present 
State." 

"The  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  of  New  England,  has  been 
the  burden  of  many  a  story,  and  the  theme  of  many  an  oration. 
The  very  rock  upon  which  their  feet  were  first  planted,  is 
consecrated  in  the  estimation  of  their  descendants,  and  its 
relics  are  enshrined  as  objects  of  holy  regard.  They  were 
freemen  in  search  of  freedom ;  they  found  it,  and  transmittefl 
it  to  their  posterity.  It  becomes  us,  therefore,  to  tread  lightly 
upon  their  ashes.  Yet,  while  we  would  avoid  all  invidious 
contrasts,  and  forget  the  stern  spirit  of  the  Puritan,  which  so 
often  mistook  religious  intolerance  for  holy  zeal ;  we  can  turn 
with  exultation  to  the  Pilgrims  of  Maryland,  as  the  founder? 
of  religious  liberty  in  the  new  world.  They  erected  the  fir^yt 
altar  to  it  on  this  continent ;  and  the  fires  first  kindled  on  it 
ascended  to  Heaven  amid  the  blessings  of  the  savage." 

May  the  memory  of  the  spirit  and  character  of  Mary- 
land's Pilgrim  fathers  be  sacredly  cherished  and  zealously 
guarded  forever  by  their  descendants,' 

*  Bozman,  11,  p.  30.  "  McMahon,  p.  198. 

'  The  following  definitions  of  Indian  terms  used  in  this  chapter  are 
taken  from  Maryland  Historical  Society  Pub.  No.  7.  Potomac  (Boto- 
meg)  a  "fiver  full  of  swarms  of  small  fry — where  fishes  spawn  in 
shoals."  (Kerchival.  History,  Valley  of  Virginia,  ,145^  and  149.  says:  the 
Potomac  above  its  c<mfluence  with  the  Shenandoah,  was  called  Cohong- 
oronta.)  Piscatowa,  (Biskatowe)  "one  who  has  his  hair  plaited  up 
sideways  and  backwards."  -  Anacosta,  (Nanakoita)  "one  who  prepares 
himself  for  defence,  to  resist  attack."  Yaocomico,  (A(i)ago-nio-ago) 
"he  that  is  floating  on  water,  tossed  to  and  fro."  Susquehanocks, 
(Saskweonag)  "those  who  live  in  a  place  where  the  surf  is  heard  beat- 
ing (grating)  on  the  shore."  Patuxent,  (Portuxcnd)  "the  place  where 
grows  portu  (tobacco)." 


CHAPTER  II 
The  First  Capital  of  Maryland 


gAINT  MARY'S  CITY/  the  first  Capital  of  .Maryland,  was 

situated  on  the  east  side  of  the  Saint  George's '(now  Saint 
Mary's)  River,  a  tributary  of  the  Potomac,  about  five  miles 
from  its  mouth,  and  sixteen  miles  from  Point  Lookout,  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  western  shore  of  Maryland. 

A  gentle  slope  from  the  eastern  hills,  then  a  spacious 
plateau  of  singular  beauty,  elevated  about  forty  feet  above  the 
water,  and  terminating  in  a  bold  blufif  between  two  broad 
expanses  of  the  river,  formed  the  site  of  the  City. 

A  crescent  shaped  indentation,  made  by  this  blufif''  and  a 
long  headland  about  a  mile  lower  down  the  river,'  gave  the  City 
a  capacious  harbor. 

The  river  skirted  two  sides  of  the  town,  afforded  depth 
and  security  of  navigation,  and  adding  beauty  and  grandeur 
to  its  other  attractions,  made  the  situation  of  Saint  Mary's  one 
of  surpassing  loveliness. 

A  river  possessing  more  enchanting  scenery  than  the 
Saint  Mary's  may  not  easily  be  found,  and  at  no  place  along 
its  banks  is  this  displayed  to  greater  advantage  than  at  the  site 
of  old  Saint  ^Mary's.  Looking  from  thence,  either  towards 
the  north,  where  its  clear  and  glittering  waters  are  first  seen 
winding   down   the   blue   vista   of   the   distant   hills,   with    its 

^  Much  of  the  material  in  this  chapter  was  incorporated  in  an  ad- 
dress entitled  The  First  Capital  of  Maryland,  and  delivered  by  the 
Author  on  the  occasion  of  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  re- 
moval of  the  Capital  of  Maryland,  from  St.  Mary's  to  Annapolis,  and 
which,  together  with  other  addresses  on  that  occasion,  was  published  by 
the  State  of  Maryland  in  memorial  volume  entitled  "Removal  of  the 
State  Capital."  ^ 

'  Church   Point.  '  Chancellor's   Point. 


20  COLOXIAL    MARYLAND 

sloping  banks,  and  intercepted  by  its  long,  narrow  capes  and 
jutting  cliflfs;  or  towards  the  south,  where  its  waters,  growing 
bolder  and  deeper,  with  its  high,  grassy  banks,  upland  slopes, 
abrupt  declivities,  white,  winding  beach,  pebbly  shore,  and 
(as  seen  from  the  direction  of  its  mouth)  its  interlocking 
promontories,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  series  of  lakes, 
rather  than  a  stream  of  regular  width,  it  presents  a  picture 
of  rare  and  exquisite  beauty. 

/Saint  Mary's  City  occupied  the  site  of  the  Indian  village 
of  "Yaocomico,''  at  which  place  the  Maryland  colony  was  in- 
duced to  settle  by  the  glowing  description  of  Captain  Henry 
Fleet,  son  of  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Company,  whose 
familiarity  with  the  country  gave  his  opinion  importance  and 
weight  and,  who  described  it  as  a  location,  desirable  alike  for 
its  commanding  commercial  advantages  and  its  safety  of 
defense,  as  well  as  for  its  temporary  improvements  and  its 
natural  beauty  and  attractiveness;  or,  in  his  own.  language, 
"a  spot,  indeed,  so  charming  in  its  situation  that  Europe 
itself  can  scarcely  show  one  to  surpass  it" ;  and,  having  first 
purchased  the  Indian  title  thereto  (the  details  of  which  are 
given  in  the  preceding  chapter),  J^overnor  Calvert,  on  the 
27th  of  March,  1634,  assumed  formal  possession,  and  named 
the  first  town  of  Maryland — Saint  Mary'sj 

^Cnder  the  instructions  of  Baltimore,  containing  the  details 
and  rules  for  the  government  of  the  colonists,  they  were 
directed,  after  having  selected  a  suitable  place  for  their  perma- 
nent settlement,  "to  sea,te  a  towne",  in  which  they  were  "to 
cause  streets  to  be  marked  out",  and  to  require  the  buildings 
to  be  erected,  "in  line"'  with  such  streets,  and  "neere  adjoin- 
ing one" to  another":  all  the  houses  to  be  built  in  as  "decent 
and  uniform  a  manner"  as  circumstances  permitted,  the  land 
in  the  rear  of  the  houses  "to  be  assigned  for  gardens  and  such 
uses".  The  first  choice  of  lots  was  to  be  for  a  "fitt  place  and 
a  competent  quantity  of  ground  for  a  Fort",  and  "within", 
or  "neerc  unto"  this  lot,  a  site  was  to  be  chosen  for  "a  con- 
venient  house,   and   a   church   or  chappel   adjacent",   for   the 


Relatio  Itineris,  p.  35. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  21 

'•seate'of  his  Lordship,  or  his  Ciovernor  or  other  Commis- 
sioners", the  two  latter  buildings  to  be  completed  only  so  far 
"as  is  necessary  ifor  present  use",  and  not  "in  every  part  a> 
fine  as  afterwards  they  may  be".  He  also  directed  that  a  i)lnt 
of  the  town,  its  situation  and  surroundings,  be  made  by  the 
Surveyor  General,  and  sent  to  him  by  the  first  opportunity.' 
^  The  next  official  notice  with  reference  to  laying  out  of  the 
town  of  Saint  Alary's,  is  the  following  order,  from  Baltimore 
to  Governor  Calvert,  dated  Warden  Castle,  England,  August 
29th,  1636: 

"I  would  have  you  pass  in  freejiold  to  every  of  the  first 
adventures  that  shall  claim  or  desire  it,  and  to  their  heirs, 
ten  acres  of  land  within  the  plats  assigned  or  to  be  assigned 
for  the  town  and  fields  of  Saint  Mary's,  for  every  person  tiiat 
any  of  said  adventurers  transported  or  brought  into  Mar\  land, 
according  to  the  conditions  first  published ;  and  five  acres  of 
land  to  every  other  adventurer  for  every  other  person  which 
he  hath  or  shall  transport  thither  since  the  time  of  the  first 
plantation,  until  the  13th  day  of  August,  which  shall  be  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1638,  and  for  so  doing,  this  shall  be  \our 
warrant".* 

In  1684,  another  grant  of  land  was  made  to  Saint  Mary's. 
to  be  divided  into  lots  of  one  acre  each,  and  of  sufficient  quan- 
tity to  make,  with  those  already  there,  one  hundred  lot< 
withinlKe  hmits  oi  the  tOWn.'     • 

Undisturbed  for  several  years,  either  by  domestic  factions 
or  external  dissensions,  Saint  Mary's,  for  a  colonial  town, 
grew  with  considerable  rapidity.  Brick  and  other  builders' 
supplies  were  imported,  whicli.  with  the  home  products  avail- 
able for  the  purpose,  afiforded,  from  an  early  period,  abundant 
building  material. 

•  While  Virginia,  as  late  as  1638,  was  making  its  laws  in 
an  ale  house,"  and,  indeed,  in  1716,  Jamestown,  its  first  capi- 
tal, contained  only  "a  church.  Court  House  and  four  other 
buildings",'  Saint  Mary's,  in  a  comparatively  short  time  after 

instructions,  Nov.   13,  1633.     In  Maryland  Historical  Society. 
*Kilty,  p.  33.  'Archives   (Ass.  Pro.   1684)   p.  iiQ. 

*Streeter  Papers,  p.   i5-  'Lodge,   p.  51. 


22  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

its  settlement,  had,  besides  the  home  of  Lord  Baltimore,  a 
church,  a  pretentious  State  House,  a  jail  and  other  pubHc 
offices,  and  about  thirty  houses.'  Soon  thereafter,  it  had 
sixty  houses  (which  number  it  never  much  exceeded),'  pro- 
tected by  two  forts.  Saint  Mary's  and  Saint  Inigoes,  each  well 
mounted  with  the  ordnance  of  that  day. 

As  the  place  for  holding  the  General  Assemblies,  the  seat 
of  the  Provincial  Court,  and  the  port  where  all  ships  trading 
with  the  Province  had  first  to  resort,  Saint  IMary's  soon 
became  a  place  of  importance,  and,  in  1668,  it  was  by  letters 
patent,  incorporated  and  erected  into  a  city,  with  privileges 
and  immunities  above  and  beyond  any  other  place  in  the 
Province.  Its  officers  consisted  of  a  Mayor,  Recorder,  six 
Aldermen,  and  ten  Councilmen,  and  among  its  special  prerog- 
atives were  those  of  a  "Weekly  Market"  and  an  "Annual 
Fair".' 

In  1 67 1,  Saint  Mary's  received  a  new  accession  to  its  pre- 
rogatives, that  of  sending  two  representatives  to  the  General 
Assembly,'  the  first  being  Mr.  John  Morecroft  and  the  Honor- 
able Thomas  Notley.° 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  chart  of  the  City  of  the  Cal- 
verts  was  made  before  it  had  disappearcd^-except  in  name  and 
in  memory — from  the  banks  of  Saint  Mary's ;  but  from 
original  surveys  and  grants,  ancient  transfers,  and  re-surveys, 
together  with  the  many  natural  boundaries  and  landmarks  still 
visible,  the  map  shown  in  the  appendix  was  platted.     By  this 

'Archives  Ass.  Pro.  1641  and  1676;  Scharf,  i,  p.  294. 
Baltimore,  in  his  report  in  1677,  to  the  committee  of  Trade  and 
Plantation  in  England,  stated  that  the  houses  at  Saint  ]\Iary's  "excepting 
my  own  home  and  the  l)uildings  wherein  the  Piihlic  offices  are  kept," 
did  not  exceed  thirty,  Iniilt  at  considerable  distance  from  each  other, 
and  the  most  of  them  after  tin-  nianniT  of  the  smaller  farm  lioiiscs  of 
England. 

'  McMahon,  p.  250. 

"This,  the  first  municipal  charter  granted  in  Maryland,  may  be 
fonnd  in  Liber  F.  F.  p.  645,  etc.,  in  Land  Office,  Annapolis.  The  Town 
Ordinances  adopted  for  Saint  Mary's  City  may  be  seen  in  Ai-chives, 
Council  Proceedings,  1685,  p.  418-422. 

'McMahon,  p.  251.  '  ^' . Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1671)  p.  311. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  23 

data,  obtained  through  laborious  and  exhaustive  research,  and 
appHed  with  painstaking  care,  the  outHnes  of  the  City,  and 
the  location  of  its  public,  as  well  as  its  more  prominent  private 
lots  and  buildings,  have  thus  been  happily  preserved. 

The  plain  upon  which  the  City  of  Saint  Mary's  stood, 
was  about  a  mile  square,  the  limit  prescribed  by  its  charter, 
with  a  water  front  made  extensive  by  the  many  and  acute 
meanderings  of  the  river.  This  plain  was  broken  by  two 
creeks  making  into  it  from  the  river — Saint  John's  and  Key's 
(the  latter  now  a  small  ravine) — and  upon  the^  peninsular 
plateau  which  they  formed,  and  bounded  on  the  northeast  and 
southwest  respectively,  and  which  contained  about  one  hun- 
dred acres,  were  erected  the  public  buildings  of  the  Province, 
and  it  became  the  more  thickly  settled  part  of  the  town.  On 
this  plateau  the  houses,  which  "passed  through  the  various 
stages  of  architectural  transition",  from  the  log  cabin  to  the 
substantial  frame  and  l)rick  building,  were  scattered  irregu- 
larly, the  lots  being  unsymetrically  arranged,  of  irregular  size, 
and  large,  none  of  them  being  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  acre, 
and  many  of  them  large  enough  for  extensive  grounds,  and 
gardens  sufficiently  capacious  to  supply  the  needs  of  the 
household. 

II  may  be  proper  to  preface  a  more  detailed  account  of  the 
improvements  at  Saint  Mary's,  with  the  general  statement 
that  they  consisted  of  its  fort,  or  palisado,  which,  though  a 
rude  structure  compared  with  those  of  more  modern  date,  was 
solidly  built  and  well  enough  mounted  to  protect  the  inhabi- 
tants against  the  warfare  of  that  day ;  its  massive  and  dignified 
State  House,  with  its  thick  walls,  tile  roof,  and  paved  floors ; 
its  stout  jail,  with  its  iron-barred  windows;  its  market  house, 
warehouses,  and  several  ordinaries;  its  unique  brick  chajjel, 
the  victim  of  the  Roman  Catholic  persecution  of  later  times; 
its  quaint  Protestant  church;  its  pretentious  and  fortress-like 
executive  mansion ;  which,  with  its  offices,  private  houses,  and 
shops— of  varied  architectural  design— numbering,  it  is  said, 
about  sixty,  and  scattered  over  the  elevated,  but  level  plain, 
studded,  we  are  told,  with  primeval  forest  trees,  constituted 
the  picturesque  little  metropolis  of  early  Maryland. 


24  COLO  X  I  A  L    M  A  R  Y  L  A  X  D 

In  16^)4,  an  Act  was  passed  under  which  all  houses  there- 
after erected,  had  to  be  not  less  than  twenty  feet  square,  and 
two-and-a-half  stories  high,  with  brick  chimneys/ 

Of  the  streets  which  traversed  the  town,  but  two  have 
been  definitely  located,  which,  with  the  broad  river  beach. 
seem  to  have  formed  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  the  City — 
the  one  running  northwest  and  southwest  from  the  State  House 
to  Saint  Inigoe's  Creek,  and  known  as  "Middle  Street" :  the 
other,  northeast  and  southwest  from  "Saint  Mary's  Hills'" 
to  the  southwestern  extremity  of  the  town,  and  known  as 
•'Mattapany  Street"." 

The  first  improvement  of  a  public  character  made  at 
Saint  Mary's  (excepting  the  temporary  buildings  designed  for 
storing  the  common  supplies  of  provisions  for  the  colonists), 
was  "Saint  Mary's  Fort".  It  was  erected  in  1634,  and  w:as 
located  on  a  small  bluflf,  at  the  mouth  of  "Key's  Creek",  or 
branch,  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek,  and  immediately  be- 
tween Governor  Leonard  Calvert's  lot  and  the  chapel  land.' 
This  location  indicates  that  it  was  intended  as  a  place  of 
rendexvous  and  protection  against  Indian  invasions,  rather 
than  as  a  fortification  of  the  town  against  naval  attacks,  it 
being  guarded  from  incursions  of  so  formidable  a  character  by 
"Fort  Saint  Inigoe's",  situated  a  short  distance  below.  The 
colonists,  at  the  time  the  fort  was  built,  were  in  the  midst  of 
erecting  their  houses,  but  becoming  alarmed  by  the  war-like 
attitude  of  the  Indians  (excited  by  the  intrigues  of  Clayborne), 
they  ceased  building,  and  at  once  set  to  work  to  erect  a  fort 
for  their  better  security,  which,  it  is  recorded,  they  completed 
in  about  six  weeks  * 

'Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1664)  p.  539. 

■See  grant  to  Mary  Throughton,  Liber  i,  p.  67;  Robert  Carvile,  ct 
ai.  Liber  20.  p.  269;  Elizabeth  Raker  to  Charles  Carroll.  Council  Book, 
11.   I^  No.  2,  p.  150. 

Mt  has  been  stated  that  it  stood  on  the  bluff  on  the  south  side  of 
Key's  Creek.  This  is  an  error.  See  patent  to  Leonard  Calvert.  Liber  i ; 
p.  117;  and  deed  from  Thomas  Copley  to  C.  Fenwick.  Liber  1,  p.  iji  ; 
-ee  also  Archives  (Ass.  Pro.   1638)   ji.  78. 

*  Relation,   16.14. 


T  II  E    [<  I  R  S  T    C  A  i'  I  T  A  L  -5 

Governor- Leonard  Calvert  described  it  as  "a  pallizado  of 
one  hundred  and  tvventie  yards  square,  with  fower  flankes", 
mounted  with  one  piece  of  ordnance  and  six  murderers,  placed 
in  parts  most  convenient — "a  fortification  sufficient,  we  think, 
to  defend  against  any  such  weake  enemies  as  we  have  reason  to 
expect  here",^  but  the  Relation,  1634,  says,  they  had  "ftnir 
murderers  and  seven  pieces  more  to  mount  forthwith"/ 

The  manner  of  its  construction,  the  records  have  left  in 
obscurity.  Traditionary  history,  however,  says,  it  consisted 
of  a  large,  log  block-house  and  magazine,  protected  by  stock- 
ades and  ramparts  of  earth.  Intrenchments,  still  visible, 
indicate  that  this  may  be  correct  as  to  the  earthen  parapets, 
and,  since  the  colonists  were  engaged,  while  at  Saint  Clement's, 
in  "cleaving  pales  for  a  palisado",  it  is  not  improbable  that 
the  stockade  was  also  a  feature  of  it.  That  the  building 
within  was  of  considerable  size,  is  sustained  by  the  fact,  that  in 
it  most  of  the  public  business  of  the  Province  was  transacted, 
prior  to  1638,  and  that  tlie  first  three  sessions  of  the  General 
Assembly  were  held  there,  one  of  which  contained  ninety 
members. 

In  1638,  an  Act  was  passed  for  the  building  of  a  "town 
house"  at  Saint  Mary's.  Of  the  style  and  location  of  this 
building  (if  erected),  nothing  is  known,  and  it  is  merely  re- 
ferred to  as  illustrating  the  method  deemed  most  available  at 
that  time,  of  getting  whatever  buildings  of  a  public  nature, 
which  the  colony  needed.  Th'e  Act  provided,  that  ."every 
housekeeper  should  be  contributory  to  said  building,  either 
in    stuff,    workmanship,    labor,   or   tobacco,    in    such    manner 


*  'Maryland  Historical  Society  Fund  Pub.  No.  35.  P-  21. 
"  Among  the  papers  recently  purchased  by  the  Maryland  Historical 
Society,  from  Mr.  John  Roland  Phillips,  is  a  letter  from  Governor 
Leonard  Calvert  to  his  London  partner.  Sir  Richard  Lech  ford,  dated, 
Point  Comfort.  May  30th,  1634,  and  which  is  of  special  value  as  show- 
ing the  dimensions  of  Fort  Saint  Mary's— a  fact  liitherto  unknown.  As 
described  by  him,  it  was  "one  hundred  and  twentie  yards  square,  with 
fower  flankes,"  and  was  mounted  with  "one  piece  of  ordnance''  and  six 
"murderers."  Another  paper  in  the  above  mentioned  collection  of  much 
general  historic  interest,  is  "A  brief  relation  of  the  voyage  unto  ^L-lry- 
land,"  supposed  to  have  been  written  by  Father  White,  and  which  was 


26  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

and  after  such  rates  proportionally  to  each  man's  personal 
estate".' 

Adjoining  the  Fort,  on  the  south  and  east,  was  "Saint 
Mary's  Chapel  yard",  while  on  the  north  and  west  was  the 
land  of  Governor  Leonard  Calvert.'  The  latter,  when  first 
laid  out,  was  a  large  lot,  known  as  "Governor's  Field",  and 
embraced  a  considerable  part  of  the  little  plateau  before  men- 
tioned.' 

After  the  death  of  Governor  Calvert,  Margaret  Brent,  his 
executrix,  assumed  to  make  sale  of  this  property  to  Governor 
William  Stone,  who  occupied  it  as  his  residence  while  Gover- 
nor of  the  Province;  but,  in  1659,  William  Calvert,  son  and 
heir  of  Governor  Leonard  Calvert,  and  in  England  at  the 
time  of  his  father's  death,  through  proceedings  in  the  Provin- 
cial Court,  recovered  possession  of  the  house  of  his  father  at 
Saint  Mary's.*     Subsequently  the  lower,  or  northern,  part  of 

sent  as  a  supplement  to  the  above  letter.  Both  of  the  documents  de- 
scribe the  location  of  Saint  Mary's  as  being  half  a  mile  from  the  river. 
The  fact  that  the  first  Provincial  Capital  was  immediately  on  the  river, 
the  State  House  lot,  indeed,  being  bounded  on  two  sides  by  it,  leaves  no 
room  for  doubt,  that  what  was  meant' was,  that  the  site  of  the  town  was 
that  far  distant  from  the  place  of  landing,  just  as  the  Relation  must 
have  referred  to  the  place  of  landing,  rather  than  the  place  of  settle- 
ment and  to  Saint  Mary's  Harbor,  rather  than  the  river,  when  it  stated 
that  the  village  of  Yaocomico  was  on  one  side  of  the  river,  and  the 
Maryland  settlement  on  the  other — a. physical  impossibility,  since  the 
site  of  Yaocomico  and  Saint  Mary's  were  one  and  the  same.  The  dis- 
tance from  the  place  of  landing  to  the  site  of  the  town,  as  given  in  these 
two  documents,  is  just  half  of  that  which  it  was  stated  to  l)e  in  the 
Relatio  Itineris.-  They  were,  probably,  all  rough  estimates  only,  as 
was  the  estimate  of  the  acreage  of  Saint  Clement's  Island,  as  stated  in 
Rflatio  Itineris,  for  the  cnrroctinn  nf  which  sec  page  12,  see  also' 
page  20. 

'.Archives    (Ass.  Pro.  1638)   \i.  78;  Bozman.  p.  ,y. 

'  Liber    t,    p.    1 19-121.  - 

'The  patent  for  this  land  was  dated  August  1,3,  1O41.  It  was 
bounded  on  the  west  by  the  River,  on  the  north  by  the  Bay,  on  tlie  east 
by  Mill  (Saint  Johns)  Creek  to  a  distance  oi  47  perches  above  the  Alill. 
and  where  Saint  Peter's  and  the  Chapel  land  meet  and  on  tlie  south  by 
a  line  drawn  from  thence  to  the  River.     Liber  i,  p.    121. 

'See    Note.- Chapter   111. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL 


27 


this  lot  came  into  the  possession  of  Huo;h  Lee,  and  at  a  hiter 
date  it  was  purchased  by  the  Province  of  Maryland. 

Of  the  architecture  of  the  Calvert  House,  but  little  is 
known.  In  the  inventory  of  his  estate,  however,  it  is  de- 
scribed as  a  "large  frame  building",  and  the  site  it  occupied 
is  still  pointed  out.  This  places  it.  about  one  hundred  yards 
from  the  Fort,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the 
river,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  Middle  Street,  on 
which  it  fronted.' 

Lower  down  the  plateau,  on  the  same  side  .of  Middle 
Street,  and  nearly  adjoining  the  Calvert  lot  on  the  northwest, 
was  the  Lee  Residence  before  mentioned,  and  which  embraced 
the  whole  of  the  lower  end  of  the  plateau.  In  1662,  this 
property  was  purchased  by  the  Province,  for  a  "Government 
House",  at  a  cost  of  twelve  thousand  pounds  of  casked 
tobacco,'^  and  was  used  as  such  until  1676,  when  new  public 
buildings  were  erected.  This  was  the  first  real  estate  ever 
owned  by  the  Province  of  ^Maryland,  and  that  part  of  the  lot 
known  as  "Saint  Mary's  Bluff",  became  the  site  of  its  first 
State  House  and  other  public  buildings.  The  house  (in 
accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  times)  was  used  also  as  an 
"ordinary".''  The  lessee  was  Lieutenant  William  Smith,  and 
one  of  the  conditions  of  the  lease  was,  that  he  plant  on  that 
part  of  the  lot  set  apart  for  him,  three  acres,  "forty  apple  or 
pear  trees".^  It  was  known  ^s  "Smith's  Town  House".* 
(Jf  this  building,  prominently  as  it  was  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  times,  nothing  remains  except  the  depression 
which  marks  the  spot  where  once  it  stood — about  three  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  river — and  a  few  scattered,  moss-covered 
bricks,  the  more  durable  fragments  of  its  historic  ruins. 

That  part  of  the  "Country's  lot"  which  lay  between 
Smith's  Town  House  and  Middle  Street,  was  the  residence  of 
Mark  Cordea.-    On  the  lot  he  also  appears  to  have  had  a  shoe 

^  In  1707,  this  property  was  in  the  possession  of  George  Parker,  in 
right  of  his  children,  hy  his  wife,  then  deceased,  the  daughter  of  Gabriel 
Parratt.     Rent  Rolls,   Saint  Mary's. 

"Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1662)  p.  455.  '' Ibid.  1666.  p.  2q. 

*  Kilty,  p.  220.  '  Ibid. 


28  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

shop.  This  property  subsequently  became  the  residence  of 
Colonel  William  Digges,  Secretary  of  the  Province.  Adjoin- 
ing it  on  the  northwest,  and  fronting  on  Middle  Street,  was 
the  residence  of  John  Baker,  and  subsequently  of  Attorney 
General  Charles  Carroll.  The  lot  contained  one  and  a  quarter 
acres,  and  in  the  house,  when  owned  by  John  Baker,  several 
sessions  of  the  Council  were  held.  Near  this  lot,  on  the 
northwest,  and  fronting  on  the  same  street,  was  the  "\an 
Sweringen  Tavern",  owned  by  Garrett  Van  Sweringen. 
Northwest  of  this  lot,  fronting  on  the  same  side  of  this  street, 
were  the  Law  Chambers,  owned  by  Robert  Carvile,  Christo- 
pher Rousby,  and  Robert  Ridgely.  The  lot  contained  one 
acre,  and  was  granted  in  1679 ;  it  was  called  "Triple  Con- 
tract". Between  this  and  the  State  House  lot,  on  the  same 
side  of  the  street,  were  the  lots  of  Nicholas  Painter  and  Cap- 
tain John  Quigley ;  the  latter,  lying  nearest  the  State  House, 
being  one  of  the  taverns  of  the  town.  Each  of  them  con- 
tained one  acre. 

JiOrdering  on  the  river,  and  running  up  to  the  three  last 
mentioned  lots,  was  the  lot  on  which  stood  the  Secretary's 
Office,  Council  Chamber,  and  "Saint  Mary's  Room".  This 
was  one  building;  it  was  erected  in  1664,  and  at  a  later  period 
was  referred  to  as  the  "Old  Court  House".  In  the  Council 
Chamber  the  first  General  Assembly  under  the  royal  govern- 
ment in  Maryland  was  prorogued  in  May,  1692,  after  which 
it  repaired  to  the  State  House.  Bordering  on  the  river,  also. 
and  lying  between  the  Secretary's  Office  and  Smith's  Town 
House,  was  the  home  of  Daniel  S.  Jenifer,  Clerk  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Court..  The  lot  contained  four  acres,  and,  as  directed 
by  the  order  for  the  grant,  was  not  to  be  "layed  out  soe  neare 
the  Ordinary  House  or  Secretary's  Office  as  to  prejudice  evthcr 
the  Office  or  the  Ordinary's  orchard  or  garden".^ 

'As  the  authorities  for  the  above  have  to  be  largely  used  conjunc- 
tively, they  are  given  ifi  the  following  order:  Archives,  Pro.  CI.  1686, 
p.  .351  ;  Ibid,  1684.  p.  301  ;  Council  Book  No.  2  p.  150;  Archives,  Pro.  CI. 
1678,  pp.  178.  201,  20.^,  204,  205,  207;  Ibid,  1692,  p.  420;  Liber  No.  20,  pp. 
2rio.  269:  .Xrchivcs,  Pro.  .^ss.  1678,  p.  32;  Ibid,  1664,  p.  539;  Ibid.  1666. 
I).  34;  ll>id.  1676,  p.  482^  Archives,  Pro.  Q.  1678,  p.  174;  Archives,  Pro. 
.\ss.  1692,  p.  349;  Ibid,  1666,  p.  123;  Resurvey  of  "Governor's  Field." 
in  1754,  now  in  possession  of  the  author. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  29 

At  the  end-  of  Middle  Street  was  the  State  House  lot, 
called  "Saint  Mary's  Bluff",  containing  about  three  acres, 
and  which  embraced  \he  entire  end  of  the  plateau  forming  the 
northwestern  extremity  of  the  town.  The  bluff,  by  an  abrupt 
descent  of  about  twenty  feet,  terminates  in  a  broad,  sandy  flat, 
and  thence  into  a  long  point,  on  which  stood,  it  is  said,  the 
town  wharf  and  warehouses,  the  latter  occupying  the  flat 
immediately  below  the  bluff,  and  between  it  and  the  wharf. 

About  ninety  feet  from  the  summit  of  the  bluff  stood  the 
State  House.  It  was  a  strikingly  beautiful  situation,  and 
commanded  an  extensive  view  of  the  town,  the  river,  and  the 
surrounding  country;  and  to  those  approaching  the  City, 
either  by  land  or  water,  it  formed  a  prominent  and  picturesque 
feature  of  the  landscape. 

The  Act  under  which  the  State  House  was  erected,  was 
passed  in  1674,  and  the  building  was  completed  in  October, 
1676.  The  contractor  was  Captain  John  Quigley,  and  the 
contract  price  for  it,  and  a  jail,  was  330,000  lbs.  of  tobacco,  of 
which  Saint  Mary's  City  contributed  100,000  lbs.  The  State 
House  was  forty-five  feet  long  and  fifty  feet  deep.  An  en- 
closed two-story  "porch"  in  front,  "12  by  16  feet  in  the 
clear"  and  a  corresponding  wing  in  the  rear  for  the  stairwav. 
"16  by  16  feet  in  the  clear",  gave  it  a  cruciform  shape.  The 
main  building  was  two-and-a-half  stories  high ;  the  porch  and 
stairway  wing  being  two  stories  only.  It  was  all  built  of  dark, 
red  vitrified  brick,  with  walls  twenty-eight  inches  thick  to  the 
"water  table",  which  was  three  feet  high  and  "shelving", 
and  twenty-four  and  nineteen  inches  thick  in  the  first  and 
second  stories,  respectively,  with  steep  roof,  covered  with  tile, 
from  the  centre  of  which  shot  up  an  iron  spire,"  with  ball, 
supporting  near  its  top  a  vane,  on  which  was  inscribed, 
"1676",  the  date  of  its  erection.  The  lower  floor  of  the 
main  building,  contained  at  first,  no  divisions,  and  is  referred 
to  as  "Saint  Mary's  Hall".  The  floor  of  this  hall  was  'paved 
with  brick;  its  ceiling  was  twelve  feet  high,  and  entrance  to 

'  Captain  Randolph  Jones,  anthor  of  "The   Buccaneers,"  and   who 
died  a  few  years  since  at  an  advanced  age,  informed  the  author  that  lie 


30 


COLONIAL    MARYLAND 


it  from  the  porch,  was  obtained  through  a  door  ten  feet  high 
and  five  feet  wide.  The  second  story  contained  three  rooms, 
and,  in  1682.  the  lower  floor  was  divided  by  a  brick  partition, 
into  two  halls  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Houses  of  Assembly. 

The  first  and  second  stories  were  lighted  by  eight  win- 
dows, with  "double  lights  and  transoms",  those  below  being 
"eight  feet  high  and  four  feet  wide",  and  those  above,  "five 
feet  high  and  two-and-a-half  feet  wide".  The  openings  in 
the  porch  consisted  of  a  central  arch  "six  feet  wide  and 
eleven  feet  high"  (extending  from  the  "keystone"  to  the 
floor),  and  two  smaller  arches  on  the  "sides  above  the 
bentles",  the  second  story  having  one  window  immediately 
over  the  central  arch.  The  opposite  wing  contained  an  oak 
"half  pace"  stairway,  that  extended  to  the  "attic",  and 
which  had  a  window  upon  each  "half  pace  of  the  stairs". 

By  a  singular  coincidence,  the  State  House  was  erected 
without  chimneys,  owing  to  a  controversy  over  the  proposition 
to  allow  it,  in  conformity  with  the  custom  of  the  times,  to  be 
used  as  an  Ordinary,  or  eating-house,  the  opposing  and  pre- 
dominant faction,  in  order  to  make  this  impracticable,  caused 
them  to  be  omitted  altogether.  In  1678,  however,  three  out- 
side chimneys  were  put  up:  one  at  each  gable  end,  and  one 
at  the  rear  of  the  stairway  wing,  and  which,  with  a  partition 
in  the  stairway  wing,  cost  20,000  tbs.  of  tobacco.  In  1682, 
outside  wooden  shutters,  and  suitable  furniture  (tables  and 
formes)  for  the  building,  were  ordered  to  be  purchased.^  The 
year  previous,  in  order  to  avoid,  the  expense  of  maintaining  a 

distinctly  remembered  this  old  spire,  and  its  dismal  creek  and  twang. 
It  was  about  twelve  feet  high,  and  the  hollow  ,irou  ball,  which  was  near 
the  centre  of  the  spire,  was  about  two  feet  in  diameter.  After  the  State 
House  was  pulled  down,  this  ancient  structure  lay  for  some  time  unpro- 
tected in  the  Church  yai-d,  at  Saint  Mary's.  It  ultimately  disappeared, 
most  likely  by  the  hands  of  the,  "iron  speculator,"  and  has,  probably, 
long  since  been  "scattered  by  the  thousand  winds  of  trade."  O !  ye 
sons  of  the  times,  where  slept  your  vigils? 

'Archives  ,(Ass.  Pro.  1674),  p.  404';  Ibiii,  1678,  pp.  27  and  ,^j ;  Ibid, 
1682,  pp.  299  and  300. 


<J 


w« 


(■■V 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  31 

Drummer  for  the  convening  of  the  Assembhes  and  Provincial 
Courts,  a  "public  bell'"  was  ordered  for  the  State  House.' 

In  1688,  the  northwest  wing  was  ordered  to  be  made  five 
feet  deeper,  and  the  fireplace  ten  feet  wide  in  the  first  story, 
and  eight  feet  wide  in  the  second,  each  to  be  provided  with  a 
white  oak  mantel." 

The  accompanying  picture  of  the  State  House,  at  Saint 
Mary's,  which  the  author  of  this  work  is  happily  able  to  here 
present,  was  reproduced  from  one  in  his  possession,  and  which 
it  is  believed,  is  the  only  one  extant,  or  indeed,-  which  ever 
existed  of  this  old  memorial  of  colonial  times,  and  which,  at 
the  time  it  was  built,  was  not  only  the  "architectural  glory" 
of  Maryland,  but,  perhaps,  the  finest  specimen  of  architecture 
in  America.  The  engraving  was  taken  from  a  mechanical 
drawing,  made  from  actual  measurements  of  its  earth-covered 
foundation,  but  excavated  for  the  purpose,  and  from  the  spec- 
ifications set  out  in  the  Act  of  Assembly*  authorizing  the 
building  to  be  erected,  defining  its  dimensions,  character,  and 
style,  and  which  was,  in  effect,  the  contract  between  the  Prov- 
ince and  the  builder — Captain  John  Quigley.  The  iron  spire 
was  not  a  part  of  the  original  contract,  and  its  size  could 
only  be  approximately  determined  from  an  early  written  de- 
scription of  it,  and  from  data  obtained  from  persons  who  dis- 
tinctly remembered  it,  both  while  it  was  on  the  building  and 

^  This  is  probably  the  bell  at  Georgetown  College,  and  which  is 
supposed  to  have  belonged  to  the  little  chapel  at  Saint  Mary's.  The 
State  House  bell  is  the  only  one  of  the  kind,  which  the  records  mention 
as  being  at  Saint  Mary's,  and  the  one  at  Georgetown,  bearing  the  date 
of  the  purchase  of  the  State  House  bell,  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
is  the  same  one.  The  tone  of  the  bell  is  exceedingly  sweet,  and  the 
appliances  for  hanging  and  ringing  it,  very  curious.  The  handsome 
English-walnut,  elliptical-shaped  table,  known  as  -the  "Council  table," 
and  which  stood  in  the  Council  room  in  the  State  House,  is  also  at 
Georgetown  College,  where  it  was  taken  a  few  years  ago,  from  Saipt 
Inigoe's  Manor.  It  is  well  preserved,  and  is  an  exceedingly 'interesting 
relic. 

=  Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1681)   p.  144.  'Ibid.  1688,  p.  223. 

*  Archives    (Ass.  Pro.   1674)    p.  404. 


32  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

after  the  latter  was  pulled  down/  This  picture  has  never 
before  been  presented  to  the  public,  except  that,  in  1894,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  two  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  removal  of  the  Capital  from  Saint  Mary's  to  Annapolis, 
permission  was  given  the  Baltimore  Sun  to  print  a  wood  cut 
of  it  in  connection  with  its  account  of  those  ceremonies. 

On  the  "State  House  Square",  about  seventy,  feet  dis- 
tant, stood  the  historic  "Old  Mulberry"  tree,  under  whose 
broad,  spreading  branches  the  first  colonists  of  Maryland 
assembled,  and  under  which,  also,  traditionary  history  says, 
the  first  mass  at  Saint  Mary's  was  celebrated,  and  the  treaty 
between  Governor  Calvert  and  the  Yaocomico  Indians  was 
made.  Of  this  venerable  tree,  whose  mass  of  foliage  con- 
tinued for  two  hundred  years  afterward  to  crown  the  State 
House  promontory,  it  is  further  recorded,  that  "on  it  were 
nailed,  the  proclamations  of  Calvert  and  his  successors,  the 
notices  of  punishments  and  fines,  the  inventories  of  debtors 
whose  goods  were  to  be  sold,  and  all  notices  calling  for  the 
public  attention."  Within  comparatively  recent  years  even, 
curious  relic  hunters  were  able  to  pick  from  its  decaying  trunk, 
the  rude  nails  which  there  held  the  forgotten  State  papers  of 
two  centuries  and  more  ago.' 

I  This  aged  tree  had  watched  over  the  City  in  its  infancy ; 
in  its  development  and  prosperity,  and  in  its  pride  and  glory, 
as  the  metropolis  of  Maryland ;  it  had  seen  it  stripped  of  its 
prestige  and  its  honors,  and  lose  its  importance  and  its  rank ; 
it  had  witnessed  its  battle  with  adversity  and  its  downfall  and 
decline,  and  it  had  mourned  the  departure  of  nearly  every 
symbol  of  its  existence  and  memorial  of  its  glory,  which, 
under  the  winning  game  of  time,  had  one  by  one,  faded  and 
passed  away ;  and  still  it  stood — stood  as  a  "silent  sentinel  of 
time,  whose  watchword  is  death" — stood  "daily  distilling  the 
dews  of  Heaven"  upon  the  sacred  ground  around  it — stood, 
sheltering  the  generations  of  men  who  were  buried  beneath  its 

*  The  late  Doctor  Alexander  Jones,  in  Leonardtown  Herald,  in  1840, 
and  the  late  Doctor  John  M.  Bromc.  and  Captain  Randolph  Jones. 

*  Bryant,   p.    504. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  33 

luxuriant  shade — stood  telling  the  story  of  the  first  Capital  of 
Maryland,  and  marking  the  spot  where  once  it  was — stood 
until  1876,  when,  like  the  almost  forgotten  City — the  compan- 
ion of  its  prime — its  time-worn  and  shattered  trunk  laid  down 
to  rest.    I 

About  fifteen  feet  northeast  of  the  State  House,  stands 
what  is  called  the  "Calvert  Vault",  and  which  is  said  to  con- 
tain the  remains  of  Governor  Leonard  Calvert,  Lady  Jane 
Calvert,  wife  of  Charles  Lord  Baltimore,  and  Cecelius  Calvert, 
their  oldest  son,^  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  it  is  the  Copley 
and  not  the  Calvert  vault.  The  tradition  is  certainly  incorrect 
as  to  Lady  Jane  Baltimore,  who  died  in  England  and  was 
buried  at  "Saint  Giles",  on  the  24th  of  January,  1701,*  and 
from  the  fact  that  no  allusion  was  made  to  it  as  the  place  of 
Governor  Calvert's  interment,  or  even  to  the  existence  of  a 
vault,  at  the  time  the  lot  on  which  it  stands  was  purchased 
for  State  purposes  (fifteen  years  after  his  death),  it  is  fair  to 
assume  that  he,  also,  is  not  buried  there.  It  is,  however,  a 
matter  of  record,  that  the  first  Royal  Governor  of  Maryland, 
Lionel  Copley,  and  Lady  Copley,  his  wife,  are  both  buried  at 
Saint  Mary's,  and  in  a  vault  which  was  built  by  order  of  the 
State,  at  the  State's  expense,  and  presumably,  upon  the  State's 
property. 

On  July  27th,  1694,  it  having  been  made  known  "to  his 
Excellence,  that  the  bodies  of  the  late  Governor  Copley  and 
his  Lady,  deceased,  lye  still  at  the  Great  House",  and  "con- 
fessing it  was  expected  an  order  would  have  been  received  for 
carrying  them  by  some  man-of-war  to  England",  it  was  or- 
dered by  the  Council,  "that  they  be  interred  in  a  vault,  to  be 
built  for  the  purpose,  at  Saint  Mary's,  and  that  the  ceremony 

'Stanley,  in  Pilate  and  Herod,  p.  16  says:  "About  thirty  or  more 
years  ago  (1823),  (for  I  write  from  memory  of  a  vestry  record,  and  a 
verbal  explanation  or  statement,  made  to  me  by  a  then  vestryman  of  the 
Parish,  the  late  Richard  Thomas,  of  Saint  Mary's,  a  worthy  man)  some 
young  men,  while  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  broke  into  this  vault, 
forced  open  a  leaden  coffin,  and  discovered  the  corpse  of  a  lady,  sup- 


Genealogist,  vol.  I. 


34 


COLONIAL    AI  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 


be  performed  by  the  next  Provincial  Court,  with  all  the  decency 
and  grandeur  the  Constitution  and  circumstances  of  affairs  will 
admit  of,  and  that  three  brass  guns,  being  all  that's  to  be  had. 
be  in  readiness,  and  also  the  militia  of  adjoining  parts"/  Pur- 
suant to  this  order,  the  interment  took  place  October  5,  1694.' 

On  the  north  side  of  the  State  House  lot,  and  on  the 
declivity  facing  Saint  John's  Creek,  stood  the  jail.  It  was 
erected  in  1676;  was  two  stories  high,  twenty- four  feet  long 
and  fifteen  feet  wide,  in  the  clear,  with  ceilings  nine  feet  high, 
and  was  built  of  brick,  with  tiled  roof  and  paved  floor.  It  had 
three  windows,  each  having  "three  iron  bars  upright  and  two 
across",  into  which  the  upright  bars  were  wrought.^  Below 
the  jail  was  "Gallows-green",  the  property  of  Richard  May. 
Chief  Clerk  to  the  Secretary,  and  which,  as  first  granted,  says 
the  record,  extended  beyond  the  "gallows",  and  across  the 
plateau  as  far  as  the  "great  white  mulberry  tree".*  This, 
however,  subsequently  became  a  part  of  the  State  House  lot. 

On  the  northeast  side  of  Middle  Street,  adjoining  the 
Siate  House  lot,  and  extending  through  it  to  Saint  John's 
Creek,  was  the  lot  on  which  stood  the  famous  hostelry,  known 
as  "Jellie's  Tavern"."  It  was  built  of  brick;  was  about 
thirty-five  by  forty-five  feet,  and  was  two-and-a-half  stories 
high.  The  walls  and  chimneys  of  this  building  were  standing 
within  the  recollection  of  a  few  very  old  people  living  up  to  a 
recent  period,  and  its  site  is  still  pointed  out,  near  that  of  the 
present  rectory  of  Trinity  Church.  It  was  owned  and  operated 
by  Robert  Jellie,  and  from  the  following  proceedings  taken 
against  it,  by  the  Council,  in  1686,  it  may  be  inferred  that  in 

posed  to  be  Lady' Ann  Calvert,  adorned  with  trinkets  of  gold  and  such  a 
dress  as  denoted  her  rank."  It  may  be  added  that  these  young  men 
were  most  proba1)ly  influenced  by  curiosity,  rather  than  drink,  as 
would  appear  from  tlie  following  interesting  letter  written  only  a 
few  days  after  the  occurrence,  by  one  of  the  participants.  It  should 
also  be  noted,  that  Lady  Ann  Calvert  was  never  in  Maryland.  She- 
died  in  London,  in  1649. 

'  CI.  Pro.  H.  D.  2,  p.  43.  '  Ibid,  p.  65. 

Governor  Copley  left  three  children,  two  sons  and  one  daughter. — 
Ibid,  p.  98. 

'Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1674)   P-  406.    ^, 

*  Liber   16,  p.   504,   Land  Office.  ''Re-survey,   1723. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  35 

its  latter  day's,  its  reputation  for  order  and   sobriety  became 
somewhat  tarnished : 

"It  is  considered  by  this  Board,  that  the  House  wherein 
Robert  JelHe  keeps  Ordinary  at  the  City  of  Saint  Mary's,  is 
very  inconvenient  and  prejudicial  to  the  public,  for  that  at  the 
time  of  Provincial  Court,  the  Jury,  attorneys  and  suitors  are 
at  said  House  often  detained  and  disordered,  *  *  *  and  said 
House  being  also  near  the  State  House,  wherein  the  Public 
Offices  of  the  Province  are  kept,  the  Clerks  of  said  offices  are 
often  found  to  frequent  said  House,  by  which  means  there  is 
great  occasion  to  suspect  that  the  public  affairs  of  the  Province 
are  much  impeded  by  reason  of  said  Ordinary.  *  *  *  This 
Board  does,  therefore,  represent  the  same  as  a  Public  grievance 
to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  said  City,  in  order  to  have  the 
same  suppressed".^ 

In  the  ravine,  below  this  tavern,  was  located  the  "Town 
Spring". 

Adjoining  the  tavern  lot  on  the  east,  fronting  on  Middle 
Street,  and  extending  through  to  Saint  John's  Creek,  was  the 
residence  of  Philip  Lynes,  Mayor  of  Saint  Mary's  City  at  the 
time  of  the  removal  of  the  Capital  to  Annapolis,"  and  adjoin- 
ing it  on  the  east,  was  the  traditional  site  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal    Church.     It    is    alleged    that    Trinity    Church,    on 

^Archives  (CI.  Pro.)  pp.  494,  498. 
Among  the  tavern  keepers  at  Saint  Mary's,  from  time  to  time,  may 
be  mentioned,  William  Smith,  Robert  Ridgely,  John  Baker,  Garrett  Van 
Sweringen,  and  John  Quigley,  the  two  latter  being  partners.  Ordinaries 
were  regularly  licensed,  and  were  subject  to  stringent  laws,  both  as  to 
accommodations  and  rates.  At  Saint  Mary's,  each  innkeeper  was  re- 
quired to  have  at  least  twelve  feather  beds,  and  to  provide  stable  room 
for  at  least  twenty  horses,  and  was  limited  to  the  following" charges: 
Lodging  in  bed  with  sheets,  12  pence ;  diet,  i  shilling  per  meal ;  brandy, 
malaga,  and  sherry,  10  shillings  per  gallon;  canary,  12  shillings;  French, 
Renish,  Dutch,  and  English  wines,  6  shillings;  Mum,  3  shillings;  plain 
cider,  25  and  boiled  cider,  30  tbs.  tob.  per  quart.  Archives  (Ass.  Pro. 
1666-1676)  pp.  295,  40;,  554,  and  Ibid,  1682,  p.  429;  Archives  (CI.  Pro. 
1672)   p.   118,  and  Ibid,  1692,  p.  420. 

"Re-survey,  1723;  Scharf,  i,  p.  347. 


36  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Trinity  (Smith's)  Creek,  six  miles  below,  erected  in  1642,^ 
and  probably  the  first  Protestant  church  built  by  the  Maryland 
colonists,  was  moved  to  Saint  Mary's,''  and  located,  according 
to  tradition,  in  the  "Creek  lot",  close  by  the  old  graveyard, 
now  crowned  with  cedar  and  holly  trees.  It  being  most  prob- 
ably a  wooden  structure,  and  the  State  House  at  an  earl> 
date  having  been  dedicated  to  Protestant  worship,  the  history 
of  this  little  church  appears  to  have  passed  away  with  its 
usefulness.  That  there  was,  however,  a  Protestant  church  at 
Saint  Mary's  at  an  early  period,  is  clearly  established,^  and  of 
its  architecture,  it  is  also  known  that  it  had  an  "arched  ceil- 
ing", after  the  design  of  which  the  State  House  ceiling  was 
subsequently  modeled.* 

Adjoining  the  church  lot  on  the  east,  stood  the  residences 
of  John  Llewelyn  and  Philip  Evens.  Of  these  houses  little  is 
known ;  the  records,  as  well  as  tradition,  being  silent,  both  as 
to  their  character  and  size,  except  that  the  former  furnishes  a 
scant  notice  of  the  home  of  Clerk  of  the  Council,  John  Llew- 
elyn," from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  it  was  a  house  of 
comfortable  proportions. 

A  little  further  east,  and  near  the  point  where  ^^lill  Creek 
falls  into  Saint  John's,  stood  the  town  water  mill,  erected  in 
1635.  The  mill  site  and  lot  contained  nine  acres.  It  was 
built  by  Thomas  Cornwaleys,  who  having  completed  it,  pro- 
ceeded, as  he  said,  to  "build  a  house  to  put  my  own  head  in". 
In  1723,  it  had  ceased  to  be  operated,  and  the  "old  dam", 
remains  of  which  are  still  visible,  was  all  that  was  then  left  of 
its  ruin." 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  this  was  not  only  the  first 
water  mill  set  up  in  Maryland,  but  was  one  of  the  earliest  in 

^  Allen,  Who  Were  the  Early  Settlers  of  Maryland. 

•  Butler,  p.  23. 

'See  statement  of  Governor  Seymoure  in  trial  of  Father  Brooke, 
Scharf,  i,  p.  369. 

*See  Extracts  from  William  &  Mary  Parisli  Records,  in  Whitting- 
ham  Library,  by  Allen. 

"Archives    (CI.    Pro.    1684)    p.   308;    Re-survey,    1723. 

"Relation,    1635;    McSherry,    p.    57 ;  ^Re-survey,    1723. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  37 

America,  and  was  one  of  the  few  in  the  country  whicli  was 
erected  as  a  private  enterprise,  rather  than  by  public  contri- 
bution.* 

In  1639,  the  Assembly  authorized  another  mill  to  be  built 
at  Saint  Mary's,  the  cost  not  to  exceed  20,000  lbs.  of  tobacco, 
to  be  raised  by  general  taxation."  As  the  assessment,  how- 
ever, for  this  mill  appears  not  to  have  been  made,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  it  was  never  erected. 

The  records  also  speak  of  a  "wind  mill"  at  Saint 
Mary's,  the  property  of  Major  General  Edward  Gibbons, 
and  purchased  by  Lord  Baltimore,  in  1656,  for  iioo  sterling, 
and  which,  he  directed,  should  be  specially  cared  for  and 
improved.^ 

Between  the  mill  lot  and  Middle  Street  was  the  traditional 
site  of  "Market  Square".  Under  the  charter,  a  "market" 
was  to  be  held  weekly ;  the  town  officers  also  being  authorized 
to  hold  an  "Annual  Fair",  to  which  the  ancient  Court  of 
"Piepoudrea"*  was  to  be  ^n  incident. 

On  the  south  and  east  side  of  the  Fort  was  the  "Chapel 
land".  It  extended  from  Key's  Creek,  across  the  plateau  to 
the  fresh  of  Saint  John's  (above  tide-water,  called  MillJ 
Creek.  The  Chapel  itself,  stood  near  the  intersection  of 
"Middle"  and  "Mattapany"  Streets,  fronting  northeast,  and 
on  the  former  street.  It  was  a  brick  building,  and,  judging 
from  its   foundation   lines    (visjble  until   a   recent  period),   it 

'  Improvements  of  this  character  were  of  slow  growth  at  that  time. 
The  first  water  mill  in  Massachusetts  was  built  in  1633,  five  years  after 
the  colony  had  settled.  The  same  year  a  saw  mill  was  erected  near 
London,  but  it  was  deemed  a  machine  which  would  deprive  the  laboring 
people  of  employment  and  it  was  demolished. — Bozman. 

''Bozman,  p.  156.  'Archives  (Pro.  CI.)  p.  3^6. 

*The  lowest— and  at  the  same  time  the  moste.xpeditious  Court  of 
Justice  known  to  the  law  of  England,  is  the  Court  of  Piepoudrea,  curia 
pedis  pulveri  cati,  so  called  from  the  dusty  feet  of  the  suitors,  or  accord- 
ing to  Sir  Edward  Coke,  because  justice  is  there  done  as  speedily  as  dust 
can  fall  from  the  foot.  It  was  held  at  markets  so  that  attendants  on  the 
markets  might  have  their  causes  heard  and  determined  expeditiously, 
and  thus  no  loss  of  time  by  the  delays  of  the  law.  Blackstone.  vol. 
III.  p.  31. 


38  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

was  about  eighteen  by  thirty  feet.  Over  the  altar,  was  a 
carved  representation  of  clouds/  and  of  the  flames  of  Pente- 
cost.* The  exact  date  of  its  erection  has  not  been  ascertained, 
but  it  was  prior  to  1638,^  and  it  was  undoubtedly  (barring  the 
little  wigwam  fitted  up  by  Father  White,  and  called  by  him 
the  "first  Chapel  in  Maryland")  the  first  church  built  by  the 
Maryland  colonists. 

It  has  been  suggested,  in  proof  of  the  harmony  and  con- 
cord existing  between  the  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  in 
^Maryland  at  that  time,  that  this  Chapel  was  built  by  their 
joint  contributions,  and  used  in  common  between  them,  where 
"each  at  his  appropriate  hour  might  offer  up  his  sacrifice  to 
the  Most  High"* — a  theory  which  seems  to  be  sustained  by 
the  records  of  the  times. 

That  "the  Chapel''  was  the  early  place  of  worship  for 
the  Protestants  in  and  around  Saint  Mary's  Ci*:y,  is  clearly 
established  by  the  records  in  the  proceedings  against  William 
Lewis,  showing  the  complainants  on  their  way  to  "the 
Chapel,  July  ist,  1638,  to  procure  the  signatures  of  the 
Protestants  there  assembled,  to  their  petition  asking  for 
protection  and  redress";"*  and  also  by  the  case  against 
Doctor  Thomas  Gerrard,  for  "taking  away  the  key  of  the 
Chapel",  and  removing  the  books  there  used  in  Protestant 
worship."  It  is  equally  clear,  that  this  Chapel  was  also  the 
Roman  Catholic  place  of  worship  during  the  same  period. 
Apart  from  the  fact  that  the  church  and  lot  belonged  to  the 
Jesuit  Priest  in  charge  at  Saint  Mary's,'  the  Roman  Catholic 


^  Bryant,  p.  498. 

"  Fragments  of  this  altar  piece  may  still  be  seen  at  Georgetown  Col- 
lege ;  the  altar  stone,  chalice,  and  paten  are  at  Woodstock  College. 

^See  proceedings  against  Lewis.  'Day  Star,  p.  34. 

'Archives  (Pro.  Ct.  1638)   p.  35. 

"Archives   (Ass.   Pro.   1^42)   p.  119. 

'The  Chapel  lot  was  first  surveyed  for  Mr.  I'erdinand  Poulton,  a 
Jesuit  Priest,  officially  known  as  Father  Brock,  and  who  was  accidently 
shot  while  crossing  the  Saint  Mary's  River.  The  patent,  however,  was 
obtained  by  Mr.  Thomas  Copley,  a  Jesuit'  Priest,  known  officially  as 
Father  Philip  Fisher.     It  contained  twenty-five  acres,  and  was  bounded 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL 


39 


graveyard  there  was  "ye  ordinary  burying  place  in  Saint 
Mary's  Chapel  Yard".^ 

If,  however,  the  Protestants  acquired  any  rights  to  the 
use  and  occupation  of  this  Chapel  by  reason  of  having  con- 
tributed to  the  cost  of  its  construction  or  otherwise,  they  were 
relinquished  at  an  early  date,  and  it  became  exclusively  a 
Roman  Cathohc  Church. 

In  April,  1641,  the  Chapel  lot  and  buildings  were  pur- 
chased by  Governor  Calvert,  for  the  Proprietary,  for  £200 
sterling.*  Why  this  purchase  was  made,  is  one  of  the  many 
mysteries  and  obscurities  in  Maryland's  early  history,  which 
the  records  fail  to  elucidate. 

In  1683,  the  Proprietary,  having  disposed  of  a  part  of  the 
Chapel  land,  ordered  that  such  quantity  as  was  deemed  neces- 
sary for  the  "Chapel  and  burying  place  at  the  City  of  Saint 
Mary's",  be  supplied  from  some  other  of  his  Lordship's  land 
lying  contiguous  thereto.* 

By  the  Act  of  1704,  to  "prevent  the  growth  of  Popery  in 
Maryland",  the  celebration  of  mass  in  this  Chapel,  in  common 
with  other  Roman  Catholic  churches  in  the  Province,  was 
prohibited.  In  September  of  that  year,  two  priests,  Robert 
Brooke  and  William  Hunter,  were  arraigned  before  Governor 
Seymour,  on  the  charge  of  holding  service  in  Saint  Mary's 
Chapel,  contrary  to  law.  It  being,  says  the  record,  their 
"first  ofifence",  they  were  "dishnissed  with  a  mere  repri- 
mand", but  one,  it  should  be  said,  which  was  singularly  con- 
spicuous for  its  arrogant  tone  and  intolerant  spirit.  By  advice 
of  the  Council,  the  Governor  at  the  same  time  issued  an  order, 
directing  the  sheriif  of  the  county  to  lock  up  the  "Popish 
Chapel   at    the   City   of    Saint   Mary's"   and    "keep   the    key 

as  follows;  "on  the  east  by  Saint  Peter's;  south  by  Gile's  Brent's  land; 
west  by  Key's  Branch,  and  north  by  a  line  drawn  from  Key's  Branch,  at 
the  'Vayle,'  to  the  brook  where  Saint  Peter's  ends,  being  about  forty- 
five  perches  above  the  Mill."— Liber  i,  pp.  32  and  117;  Shea,  .pp.  .^'^ 
and  55. 

*Will  of  John  Loyd,  1658;  Day  Star,  p.  34. 

"Archives  (Pro.  CI.)  pp.  136  and  143;  Ibid,  (Pro.  Ct.)  pp.  217.  243, 
263  and  266. 

''Kilty,  p.    123. 


40  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

thereof",  "and  that  no  person  presume  to  make  use  thereof 
under  any  pretense  whatever".'  Thus,  under  this  order, 
issued  September  19th,  1704,  this,  the  first  church  erected 
by  the  Pilgrims  of  Maryland,  was  forever  closed  to  public 
worship. 

While  the  American  Revolution  swept  away  the  legisla- 
tion of  the  times  against  the  Roman  Catholics  the  title  to  this 
property,  had,  in  the  meantime,  become  vested  in  others,  and 
the  "Chapel  land  at  Saint  Mary's",  where  stood  the  first 
Church  of  Rome,  in  Marylafid,  was  forever  lost  to  the  object 
and  purpose  of  its  dedication.  The  Chapel  building  and  fur- 
niture, however,  were  taken  to  Saint  Inigoe's,  and  the  manor 
house,  erected  in  1705,  under  the  auspices  of  Father  Ashby, 
was  built  of  the  bricks  taken  from  the  old  Chapel  at  Saint 
Mary's.' 

It  is  stated  that  further  inland,  in  the  littie  ravine  above 
"Governor's  Spring",  "the  first  burial  ground  of  the  colony 
was  made,  and  where  the  Jesuit  fathers  placed  the  black  cross 
at  the  head  of  every  christian  grave".'  Be  this  as  it  may, 
certain  it  is,  that  the  "Chapel  yard"  was  "ye  ordinary  bury- 
ing place"  for  Roman  Catholics,  as  early  as  1658' — an  entirely 
different  location. 

y  •  On  the  east  side  of  Mattapany  Street,  and  near  the  head 
of  "Governor's  Run",  stood  what  was  probably  the  most 
pretentious  residence  at  Saint  Mary's.  It-  was  called  the 
"Governor's  Castle".  The  lot  on  which  it -stood  was  granted 
in  1638,  to  Thomas  Cornwaleys,  and  was  called  "Saint 
Peter".  The  situation,  while  not  as  picturesque  perhaps,  as 
some  others,  was  nevertheless,  an  attractive  one.  The  house 
fronted  the  west,  and  commanded  a  pleasing  view  of  both  the 
land  and  water.  The  records  speak  of  this  house  as  early  as 
1639,"  and  in  1640,  its  substantial  character  and  superior  style 
of  architecture  were  deemed  worthy  of  special  note.* 


'  Scharf,  I,  p.  369;   Shea,  p.  354. 

'  Bishop  Fenweck's  Maryland ;  Shea,  p.  370. 

'  Bryant,  p.  505.  *  Will,  John  Loyd,   1658 ;  Day  Star,  34. 

M.il.cr   I,  p.  67.     ,  s,  "Bryant,  p.  505. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL 


41 


In  1664,  It  was  owned  by  Philip  Calvert,  and  later  by 
Lord  Baltimore/  hy  whom  it  was  probably  embellished,  if 
not  enlarged.  Even  within  the  present  century,  the  walls, 
chimneys,  and  tiled  cellar  floor  of  this  early  colonial  mansion, 
were  still  partly  standing,  and  the  site,  covered  with  frag- 
ments of  brick  and  tile,  is  still  clearly  discernible. 

It  was  built  of  dark  red  brick,  ornamented  with  black, 
vwas  square  in  general  shape  (about  forty  feet  each  way), 
was  two  stories  high,  with  arched  brick  porch  in  front,  and 
two  large  chimneys,  which  were  near  the  centre  of  the  build- 
ing. A  cellar,  which  extended  under  the  whole  structure, 
was  paved  with  square  tile.  A  massive  and  high  brick  wall 
enclosed  the  building  and  court,"  which,  while  adding  doubt- 
less to  its  imposing  appearance,  must  have  given  to  it  much 
the  aspect  of  a  fortification. 

An  eminent  Maryland  author,'  in  1838,  from  details  fur- 
nished by  living  witnesses,  of  a  time  when  this  building  and 
its  surroundings,  while  not,  perhaps,  in  their  pristine  glory, 
were  still  standing,  wrote  the  following  description  of  them: 
''A  massive  building,  of  dark  brick,  two  stories  in  height, 
and  penetrated  by  narrow  windows  looking  forth,  beyond  the 
fort,  upon  the  river,  constituted  the  chief  member  or  main 
body  of  the  mansion.  This  was  capped  by  a  wooden  balus- 
traded  parapet,  terminating,  at  each  extremity,  in  a  scroll, 
and  in  the  middle,  sustaining  ah  entablature  that  rose  to  a 
summit  on  which  was  mounted  a  weathercock.  From  this  cen- 
tral structure,  right  and  left  a  series  of  arcades  and  corridors 
served  to  bring  into  line  a  range  of  subordinate  buildings.  *  * 
In  the  rear  of  the  buildings,  a  circular  sweep  of  wall  and  pail- 
ing  reached  as  far  as  a  group  of  stables  and  sheds.  Vanward. 
the  same  kind  of  enclosures,  more  ornate  in  their  fashion,  shut 
in  a  grassy  court.  *  *  *  Ancient  trees  shaded  the  whole  mass 
of  dwelling-houses,  court  and  stables,  and  gave  to  the  place 
both  a  lordly  and  comfortable  aspect.  It  was  a  pleasant 
groupe  of  roof  and  bower,  of  spire  and  tree  to  look  upon  from 

'Rent  Rolls. 

"  Bryant,  p.  505.  '  Kennedy,  Rob  of  the  Bowl. 


42  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

*  *  *  the  fair  village — city,  studding  the  level  plain  with  its 
scattered  dwellings." 

This  building  may  have  been  occupied  by  Charles,  Lord 
Baltimore,  during  the  latter  years  of  his  residence  in  Mary- 
land, but  it  does  not  appear  to  have  been  the  "executive 
mansion"  of  the  Province,  until  the  establishment  of  the 
Royal  Government  in  jMaryland,  when  it  was  used  as  such  by 
Sir  Lionel  Copley,  the  first  Royal  Governor,'  and  his  suc- 
cessors, and  when  it  was  probably  given  the  name,  by  which 
it  was  afterwards  known,  "Governor's  Castle". 

About  twenty  yards  below  the  house  was  a  spring,  which 
is  still  known  as  "Governor's  Spring",  and  noted  for  its 
abundant  flow  of  pure,  clear  water. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  ravine  from  the  "Governor'^s 
Castle",  was  the  Throughton  house,  said  to  have  been  one -of 
the  finest  private  residences  at  Saint  Mary's.  The  lot  was 
granted  in  1639,^  and  was  improved  by  a  capacious  brick 
building,  one-and-a-half  stories  high,  with  steep  roof  and  dor- 
mer windows.  This  house  was  occupied  by  the  Mackalls,  and 
later  by  the  Bromes,  until  the  early  part  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, when  it  was  destroyed ,  by  fire.  The  chimneys  and 
gables  of  the  building  now  there  are  said  to  be  constructed  of 
material  saved  from  the  ruin  of  its  predecessor. 

Adjoining  Mrs.  Mary  Throughton's  lot,  on  the  east,  was 
"Courtney's  Fancy",  the  residence  of  Thomas  Courtney, 
while  still  further  inland  were  "Saint  Mary's  Hills",  and 
"Paris  and  Galloway",  owned  respectively,  by  Major  Nich- 
olas Sewall,  and  Attorney  General  Robert  Carvile.'' 

On  the  opposite,  or  northerly,  side  of  Mattapany  Street, 
and  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  its  intersection 
with  Mill  Creek,  was  "Saint  Barberry",'. the  home  of  Attor- 
ney General  Robert  Carvile,  and  subsequently  of  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Cecelius  Butler.- 

Adjoining  "Saint  Barberry"  on  the  north,  was  the  resi- 
dence of  John  Lewger,  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Province.    It 

'Archives    (Pro.    CI.   1692)   p.  382.  ''Liber  i,   p.  67. 

•''  Rent  Rolls.  ,  ^.  *  Resurvey,   1723. 


THE    FIRST    C  A  I'  i  T  A  L  43 

was  called  "SaiiH  John",  and  stood  on  the  bluff  formed  by 
the  union  of  Saint  John's  Creek  with  Saint  Mary's  Bay — a 
commanding  and  singularly  beautiful  situation.  The  warrant 
for  "Saint  John"  was  issued  in  1637,  and  the  patent  in  1639. 
As  early  as  the  nth  of  February,  1638,  the  records  speak  of 
"our  Secretary's  house  at  Saint  John",  and  on  the  25th  of 
the  same  month,  the  General  Assembly  adjourned  at  Fort 
Saint  Mary's  to  meet  at  the  "mansion  house"  there,^  which 
'  from  that  time,  continued  to  be  the  place  at  which  most 
of  the  public  business  of  the  Province  was  transacted,  until 
the  "Government  House",  heretofore  mentioned,  was  pur- 
chased. 

W'lien  Mr.  Lewger  returned  to  England,  "Saint  John" 
was  sold  to  Richard  Bennett.  In  1650,  John  Lewger,  Jr., 
who  remained  in  Maryland,  and  who,  in  1648,  when  but 
twenty  years  of  age,  was  Clerk  of  the  Assembly,  secured  the 
historic  home  of  his  father,  at  Saint  Mary's.*  It  was  subse- 
quently sold  to  Lord  Baltimore,  who  ordered  a  large  area  of 
adjacent  land,  lying  within  and  beyond  the  limits  of  Saint 
Mary's,  to  be  added  to  it,  the  whole  to  be  erected  into  a 
manor,  and  to  be  granted  to  his  son,  Charles  Calvert,'  then 
Governor  of  the  Province.  "Saint  John"  was  the  home  of 
Charles,  Lord  Baltimore,  for  about  twenty  years,  and  for  a 
period  quite  as  long,  nearly  all  of  the  meetings  of  the  Council 
of  State  were  held  there.*  In  1684,  when  he  visited  Eng- 
land, destined  never  to  return  to  Maryland,  the  "mansion 
house,  orchard,  and  garden"  were  put  in  charge  of  William 
Smith,  of  Saint  Mary's." 

Of  this  building,  no  traces  are  left  to  indicate  its  style  or 
character,  except  the  still  visible  outlines  of  its  cellar,  and  the 
broken  brick  and  tile  which  are  commingled  with  the  soil 
around  it.  But  repeated  instances  are  furnished  in  which 
Baltimore,  during  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly  and  Courts. 


'  Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1638)  pp.  28  and  32. 
'  Archives  (Pro.  Ct.  1650)  pp.  66  and  70;  Neil's  Maryland,  p.  72. 
'Kilty,  p.  95.  'Archives   (Pro.  CI.  1662-1684.) 

*  Kilty,  p.  220. 


44  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

entertained  there,  for  weeks  at  a  time,  a  large  number  of  per- 
sons/ from  which  it  may  be  inferred,  that  it  was,  at  least,  a 
building  of  no  inconsiderable  proportions. 

The  residence  of  Speaker  of  the  House,  Kenelm  Chesel- 
dine,  was  called  "East  Saint  Mary's".  The  house  stood  on 
the  north  side  of  Chancellor's  Creek,  on  a  site  now  crowned 
with  trees  and  remnants  of  its  ruin,  and  a  little  southeast  of 
the  present  dwelling  on  the  property,  which  still  bears  its 
original  name.  This  building,  which  was  standing  less  than 
fifty  years  ago,  was  about  thirty  by  thirty-five  feet,  was  built 
of  brick,  and  was  one-and-a-half  stories  high,  with  steep  roof 
and  sharp  dormer  windows.  "East  Saint  Mary's",  was  in 
1639,*  patented  to  Nathaniel  Pope.^  It  was  subsequently 
owned  by  Lord  Baltimore,  and  later  by  Kenelm  Cheseldine, 
for  several  years  Speaker  of  the  Lower  House  of  Assembly. 
During  the  greater  part  of  the  time  it  was  owned  by  Baltimore, 
it  was,  by  order  of  the  Council,  constituted  the  place  of  gen- 
eral rendezvous  for  the  militia,  and  was  the  "Port  of  Entry" 
for  Saint  Mary's  City.*  "East  Saint  Mary's"  is  also  historic 
as  the  place  at  which  the  sessions  of  1669  and  1671,  of  the 
General  Assembly  were  held.° 

"The  residence  of  Deputy  Governor  Giles  Brent,"  stood 

^As  an  illustration  see  Archives   (Ass.  Pro.   1674)   P-  432. 
"Liber  i,  p.  54. 

"  His  daughter,  Ann,  married  Colonel  John  Washington,  the  great- 
grandfather of  General  Washington. — William  &  Mary  Quarterly,  1893. 

*  Archives    (2   Pro.   CI.)   pp.  23,  31,  and  93. 

*  Archives  (2  Ass.  Pro.)  pp.  156  and  239. 

*  Giles  Brent  came  to  Maryland  in  1639 ;  was  appointed  Treasurer, 
and  during  the  visit  of  Governor  Calvert  to  England,  in  1643,  w^as  com- 
missioned Deputy  Governor  of  the  Province.  He  was  the  son  of  Richard 
Brent,  of  Gloucester,  England.  He  had  a  brother,  Fulk  Brent,  and  sis- 
ters Margaret.  Mary,  Catherine,  Elizabeth,  Eleanor,  Jane,  and  Ann.  Of 
these,  Mary  and  Margaret,  and  his  brother  Fulk,  came  to  Maryland  with 
him.  It  was  this  Mistress  Margaret  who  was  such  a  prominent  figure  in 
early  Maryland  history.  She  was  the  executrix  of  Governor  Leonard 
Calvert,  and  represented  Lord  Baltimore  in  various  important  matters  of 
State,  in  all  of  which  she  displayed  marked  talent,  courage,  and  ability. 
She  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having  begn  the  first  woman  in  America 


THE    FIRST    CAJMTAL  45 

on  the  cliff  on"  the  south  side  of  "Key's  Branch".  The  lot 
was  patented  to  him  in  1639,  and  fronted  eighty  perches  on 
the  river.  It  was  beautifully  situated  and  was  called  the 
"White  House"/ 

Adjoining  this  lot  on  the  south,  was  "Brent's  Foi^e"" 
while  still  further  south  was  the  residence  of  Mistress  Mar- 
garet and  Mary  Brent.  The  latter  lot  was  patented  in  1639,' 
and  was  called  "Sisters'  Freehold"/ 

Adjacent  to  this  property  on  the  south,  was  the  residence 
of  Governor  Thomas  Green."  It  was  patented  in -1639,  and 
was  called,  at  first,  "Green's  Rest'',"  and  later,  "Saint 
Ann". 

All  of  these  houses  stood  near  the  river,  and  were  located 
in  what  is  now  known  as  the  "Rectory  Field".  The  site  of 
each,  as  well  as  the  graded  slope  from  the  houses  to  the  river, 
can  still  clearly  be  seen. 

The  house  of  Governor  Green — a  two-story  frame  build- 
ing, with  brick  gables,  was  occupied  as  late  as  1820,'  and  its 

(and,  perhaps,  in  the  world,  if  we  accept  the  ingenius  Portia,  of  dra- 
matic fame),  who  exercised  the  rights  of  an  attorney  at  law.  The  rec- 
ords furnish  repeated  instances  in  which  she  appeared  before  the  Courts 
in  that  capacity.  She  was  also  a  strong— and  perhaps,  the  earliest— ad- 
vocate of  woman's  suffrage,  having  demanded,  not  only  a  seat  in  the 
General  Assembly  of  Maryland,  but  a  vote  therein,  both  in  her  indi- 
vidual capacity,  and  as  the  representative  of  the  estate  of  Governor 
Leonard  Calvert.  Two  votes  to  one  woman,  however,  was  more  than 
even  the  gallantry  of  the  sons  of  early  Maryland  could  accord.  Could 
the  wife  of  Governor  Leonard  Calvert— whose  identity  is  still  shrouded 
in  obscurity — have  been  one  of  the  sisters  of  this  notable  woman?  If  so, 
it  would  account  for  the  high  offices  bestowed  by  him  upon  Colonel 
Giles  Brent,  and  the  close  bond  of  intimacy  and  apparent  relationship 
which  existed  between  them. 

'Kilty,  p.  71;  Rent  Rolls.  *  Kilty,  p.  71. 

'Liber  i,  p.  32.  *Deed,  E.  Clockcr.  to  J.  Milburn.  1756. 

"It  is  said  by  Browning  that  Thomas  Green  married  Elizabeth  a 
sister  of  Governor  Leonard  Calvert.  He  had  sons  named  Leonard, 
Francis,  Thomas,  and  Robert.— Davis,  p.   182. 

"Liber  i,  p.  42;  Rent  Rolls;  Archives  (2  Pro.  Ct.)  p.  337- 

'  By  the  father  of  the  late  Doctor  John  Mackall  Brome.  To  Doctor 
Brome,  a   most  estimable   man,  and   his   venerable  mother,  both    now 


46  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

brick  chimneys  were  standing  within  the  recollection  of  many 
persons  still  living. 

In  the  same  general  locality,  but  further  inland,  and 
bordering  on  Saint  Andrew's  Creek  and  Saint  Inigoe's  Creek, 
were,  "Town  Land",  the  residence  of  Robert  Clark,  Sur- 
veyor General.'  "Lewis'  Neck",  the  residence  of  Lieutenant 
William  Lewis,  subsequently  of  Daniel  Clocker,"  "Van  Swer- 
ingen  Point",  the  residence  of  Garrett  Van  Sweringen,  subse- 
quently of  Clerk  of  Council,  Robert  Ridgely,*  "Saint  Peter's 
Key",  the  residence  of  John  Harris,  subsequently  of  William 
Goldsmith,*  and  "Cross  Neck",  the  residence  of  Elizabeth 
Baker,  who  devised  it,  in  1701,  to  William  and  Mary  (P.  E.) 
Parish." 

About  midway  between  Robert  Clark's  and  the  intersec- 
tion of  Middle  and  Mattapany  Streets,  and  near  the  latter 
street,  was  one  of  the  principal  taverns  of  the  City,  in  the 
latter  part  of  its  history.  It  was  owned  by  Garrett  Van  Swer- 
ingen, in  1671,  but  was  shortly  afterward  destroyed  by  fire. 
It  was  rebuilt,  however,  and  in  1698  was  known  as  "The 
Coffee  House".  He  also  owned,  in  1698,  the  house  at  Saint 
Mary's  called  "The  Council  Room"." 

South  of  St.  Andrew's  Creek,  and  on  the  promontory 
which  formed  the  southern  arm  of  Saint  Mary's  Harbor,  was 
the  house  of  Chancellor  Philip  Calvert.  It  was  known  as 
""The  Chancellor's  Point'" — the  name  it  still  retains.  It  was 
a  singularly  commanding  and  beautiful  situation,  but  nothing 
remains,  save  the  name  and  a  few  fragments  of  its  ruin,  to 

deceased,  whose  residence  at  Saint  Mary's  had,  together,  covered  nearly 
a  century  of  time,  and,  consequently,  had  seen  much  of  the  Old  City 
before  ft  crumbled  to  ruin,  the  author  is  indebted  for  much  valuable 
information  and  data,  which  could  otherwise  ■  only  have  been  secured, 
if  at  all,  at  the  expense  of  enormous  research  and  labor. 

'Kilty.  Mbid,  Will  of  Benjamin  Clocker. 

'Patent,  Land  Office;  Re-survey,  1710. 

'Patent,   Land   Office;   Rent   Rolls. 

'.Archives  (Pro.  CI.  1692)  pp.  395  and  420;  Re-survey;  1750;  will  of 
Elizabeth  Baker. 

"Archives  (Pro.  CI.  1692)  p.  420;  will,  Liber  P.  C.  IIL 

^  Patent. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  47 

mark  tlTe  spot  where  once  stood  the  historic  home  of  Mary- 
land's first  Chancellor. 

Adjoining  "Cliancellor's  Point"  on  the  east,  and  border- 
ing on  Saint  Inigoe's  Creek,  were  "docker's  Fancy"  and 
"Justice's  Freehold",  the  residences  respectively,  of  Daniel 
Clocker  and  William  Deakins/ 

Still  further  down  the  peninsula,  was  the  Walstenholme 
residence.  This  place  is  familiarly  known  as  the  home  of  the 
"Collector",  a  position  with  which  it  was  associated  as  late 
as  the  American  Revolution — Daniel  Walstenholme,  its  owner, 
and  son  of  his  predecessor  in  that  office — being,  until  1776, 
Collector  of  the  Potomac  District.*  The  house,  a  capacious 
frame  building,  with  brick  gables  (and  until  recent  years, 
double-roofed  and  triangularly-capped  dormer  windows),  and 
finished  with  handsomely  carved  woodwork  ornamenting  both 
ceilings  and  side  walls,  is  still  in  good  preservation.  It  stands 
'to-day,  the  only  monument  of  its  time,  and  furnishes  a  hand- 
some and  interesting  specimen  of  the  style  of  architecture  and 
interior  embellishment  of  that  day.  It  occupies  the  summit 
of  the  high,  bold  bluff  at  the  juncture  of  Saint  Inigoe's  Creek 
with  the  river,  and  commands  an  extensive  and  picturesque 
view  of  both  land  and  water,  embracing  in  its  sweep.  Saint 
George's  Island,  the  broad  Potomac,  and  the  dim,  mountain- 
like lines  of  the  distant  Virginia  shore.  It  is  now  the  man- 
sion house  of  the  beautiful  estate  called  "Rose  Croft".' 

*Deed,  Elizabeth  Clocker  to  John  Milburn,  1756. 

"This  house,  it  is  said  by  persons  in  position  to  know,  retains  its 
original  style  of  architecture,  except,  that  about  thirty  years  ago  its  pre- 
cipitous roof  and  triangularly-capped  dormer  windows  were  removed, 
and  the  present  roof  substituted.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  this 
house  is  frequently  referred  to  as  the  home  of  "Anthony  Warden,  Col- 
lector." No  such  person  ever  lived  at  Saint  Mary's,  or  ever  was  the 
Proprietary  Collector  in  Maryland.  The  name  was  first  introduced  in 
Maryland  literature,  by  Kennedy,  in  his  interesting  legend  of  Saint 
Inigoe's,  'Rob,  of  the  Bowl,'  which,  while  an  historical  novel  of  great 
value,  introduces  its  characters  through  fictitious  names.  Since  the 
above  was  written  the  Rose  Croft  house  has  been  burned. 

'Journal  and  Correspondence,  Council  of  Safety,  July.  1776;  deed, 
John  Mackall  to   A.  Livers  Lee,  1810. 


CHAPTER   III 
The  First  Capital  of  Maryland 


'T^HE  first  General  Assembly  held  in  Maryland,  met  at  Saint 
Mary's,  on  the  25th  of  January,  1637.^  The  Acts  of 
this  session,  Baltimore  refused  to  approve,  because,  as  he 
claimed,  the  right  to  originate  laws  resided,  under  the  charter, 
exclusively  in  himself;  the  power  of  the  Assembly  being 
limited  to  assent  and  dissent  to  such  as  he  propounded. 
The  freemen  of  Maryland,  convinced  that  they  possessed  equal 
and  co-ordinate  rights,  in  matters  of  legislation,  with  the 
Proprietary,  with  the  courage  of  their  conviction,  vindicated 
their  position,  by  rejecting,  at  the  next  session  of  the  Assem- 
bly, the  whole  body  of  bills  drafted  and  submitted  by  him  for 
their  adoption,  and  enacted  in  their  stead,  a  code  which  emi- 
nated  from  themselves,  though  substantially  the  same  as  the 
one  that  he  had  propounded.  After  this,  the  right  of  the 
Assembly  to  initiate  legislation  was  not  contested,  and  the 
right  of  the  Proprietary  was,  in  practice,  limited  to  his  veto. 
This  right  he  always  retained  the  privilege  of  exercising  per- 
sonally, and,  while  the  Governor  of  the  Province  was  invested 
with  the  power  of  assenting  to  or  rejecting  laws  passed  by  the 
Assembly,  his  assent  only  gave  them  efficacy  until  the  Pro- 
prietary's dissent  was  declared/ 

The  freemen,  successful  in  their  opposition  to  what  they 
deemed  an  encroachment  upon  their  charter /rights,  thus 
planted  in  Maryland,  at  the  session  of  1637,  'that  germ  of 
liberty  which  underlies  ^:he  right  of  free  self  governmenJ>^' 

*  A  Genera]  Assembly  was  held  in  February  1635,  but  no  record  of 
it  remains,  save  some  references  to  if  made  in  subsequent  statutes. 

'McMahon,  p.  145;  Brown,  pp.  35  and  44;  Jobnson's  Foundation  of 
^farvland. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL 


49 


The  Legislature  consisted  at  first  of  one  branch,  and  until 
1639,  was  composed  of  the  Council  and  all  the  freemen  in  the 
Province,  either  in  'person  or  by  proxy/  convened  by  procla- 
mation and  summons,  with  the  Governor  as  its  President.  In 
1639,  burgesses  were  elected  from  every  hundred,  who  with 
the  Governor  and  Council,  composed  the  House  of  Assembly. 
With  this  change  from  a  primary  to  a  representative  Assem- 
bly, two  curious  anomalies  still  existed — the  one  conceding  to 
the  Governor  the  right  to  summons  additional  members  at 
will ;  the  other,  the  right  of  every  freeman  who  failed  to  vote 
for  the  burgess  elected,  to  claim  representation  in  person. 

In  1650,  the  organization  of  an  Upper  and  a  Lower  House 
of  Assembly  was  established ;  the  Governor,  Council,  and 
those  summoned  by  special  writ,  constituting  the  -  Upper 
House,  and  the  burgesses  elected,  the  Lower  House.  The 
number  of  delegates  to  be  elected  was  within  the  Governor's 
discretion,  and  was  regulated  by  the  proclamation  for  the 
election,  usually  from  two -to  four  from  each  hundred  (subse- 
quently, each  county),  until  1681,  when  the  number  was 
uniformly  fixed,  and  reduced  to  two,  which  continued  until 
1692,  when  it  was,  for  the  first  time,  regulated  by  Act  of 
Assembly,  and  when  the  number  was  increased  to  four  from 
every  county — a  basis  of  representation  which  continued  until 
the   Revolution." 

It  should  here  be  said  that  the  legislation  enacted  at 
the  little  Capital  of  Saint  Mary's,  during  the  sixty-one  years 
in  which  it  was  the  seat  of  Government,  forms,  to  a  great 

^  Except  the  Jesuit  priests.  Fathers  White,  Althan  and  Copley,  who 
asked  to  be  excused  on  the  ground  of  "sickness."  In  England,  clergy- 
men were  not  eligible  to  membership  in  the  House  of  Commons,  not 
because  of  their  "clerical  6ffice,"  as  those  holy  fathers  perhaps  assumed, 
but  because  they  were  already  sufficiently  represented  through  the  liish- 
ops  in  the  House  of  Lords.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  were  subsequently 
permanently  excused  from  service  in  the.  General  Assembly  of  Maryland, 
the  Legislature  going  to  the  extent  even  of  holding  that,  "once  in  orders 
always  in  orders",  as  in  the  case  of  John  Coade  in  the  Assembly  of  1692. 
In  Maryland  no  clergyman  has  ever  sat  in  the  General  Assembly,  and 
since  1776  it  has  been  prohibited  by  constitutional  provision,  an  exclusion 
not  found  in  any  other  state  in  the  L'nion. 

'McMahon,  p.  147;  Brown,  p.  43;  Doyle,  p.  291;  Scharf,  2,  p.  28-'. 


50 


COLONIAL    M A  R  Y  L  A  X  D 


extent,  the  foundation  and  outlines  of  the  present  legal,  civil, 
and  social  structures  of  Maryland,  and  of  some  of  its  most 
cherished  institutions. 

It  was  then  and  there,  that  the  great  struggle  for  popular 
sovereignty,  between  the  bold  and  courageous  yeomanry  of 
Maryland  and  the  Lord  Proprietary  was  inaugurated,  and 
which  resulted  in  setting  upon  a  firm  foundation,  that  prin- 
ciple, which  formed  the  basis  of  Maryland's  early  system 
of  free  self-government,  and  which,  "in  process  of  time,  and 
course  of  events",  developed  into  a  reality,  the  sublime  doc- 
trine of  constitutional  liberty. 

It  was  also,  by  the  legislation  then  and  there  enacted, 
that  the  famous  "Toleration  Act",  giving  legal  sanction  to 
liberty  of  conscience,  which  shed  such  brilliant  renown  upon 
the  legislative  annals  of  Maryland,  won  for  it  the  name  of  the 
"Land  of  the  Sanctuary",  and  which  extending  to  all  who 
believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  whatever  their  form  of  worship, 
"shelter,  protection,  and  repose",  because  engrafted  by  law 
upon  its  government. 

Though  religious  toleration  had  existed,  in  practice,  in 
Maryland,  from  its  earliest  settlement,  it  had  never  been  made 
the  subject  of  legislative  enactment,  and  to  the  General 
Assembly,  of  1649,  does  this,  "the  proudest  memorial"  of 
Maryland's  colonial  history,  belong.  "Higher  than  all  titles 
and  badges  of  honor,  and  more  exalted  than  royal  nobility", 
is  the  imperishable  distinction  which  the  passage  of  this  broad 
and  liberal  Act  won  for  Maryland,  and  for  the  members  of 
that  never-to-be-forgotten  session,,  and  sacred,  forever,  be  the 
hallozvcd  spotzi'hich  gave  it  birth! 

But,  besides  being  the  historic  battle  field  of  Maryland's 
early  struggle  for  political  freedom,  and  the  scene  of  its  first 
legislative  confirmation  of  religious  peace,  Saint  Mary's  pre- 
sents in  its  history,  as  the  capital  and  metropolis  of  the  Prov- 
ince, all  "the  glowing  incidents  and  martial  virtues"  which 
characterized  and  gave  inspiration  to  that  eventful  and  heroic 
period — the  period  in  Maryland  history  which  has  truly  been 
styled,  "the  golden  age  of  its  colonial  existence":  the  period 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  51 

in  which  the  foundation  of  its  government  was  being  broadly 
and  deeply  laid ;  the  period  of  its  great  political  turmoils  and 
religious  agitations ;  the  period  in  which  were  the  defiant 
spirit  and  persistent  rebellion  of  Clayborne ;  the  artful  sedition 
and  destructive  warfare  of  Ingle ;  the  reflex  action  upon 
Maryland  of  England's  parliamentary  disturbances,  resulting 
in  the  usurpation  of  the  Proprietary  rights ;  the  turbulence 
and  ascendancy  of  the  Puritan,  whose  reign  was  so  conspicuous 
for  its  political  proscription  of  those  who  hospitably  received 
and  generously  treated  them  when  outcast  and  holneless,  and 
of  sectarian  persecution  of  those  who  did  not  worship  at  the 
altar  of  their  shrine ;  the  repeated  efforts  of  the  Proprietary  to 
reduce  them  to  subjection,  beginning  with  the  memorable 
battle  upon  the  Severn,  and  ending  only  with  the  turn  of 
affairs  in  England  wliich  took  from  them  their  moral  support ; 
the  rise  and  fall  of  the  intriguing  and  ambitious  Fendall,  the 
Cromwell  of  IMarylandj  the  introduction  of  the  printing  press, 
that  emblem  of  liberty  which  was  not  found  in  any  other 
American  colony ;  the  embroiling  designs  and  the  insurrection 
of  the  apostate  Coade;  the  Protestant  revolution,  in  1689; 
the  downfall  of  the  Proprietary  government ;  the  administration 
of  affairs  by  the  representatives  of  the  Crown,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Church  of  England,  by  law,  in  the  Province^ 
all  pass  in  review,  and  stand  in  "characteristic  light  and 
shade"^  upon  its  historic  panorama. 

The  year  1644  is  conspicuous  in  the  annals  of  Saint 
Mary's,  as  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  dissensions  in  Mary- 
land, in  which  the  Provincial  Capital  was  the  theatre  of 
action,  and  which,  with  slight  interruptions,  continued  to  dis- 
turb the  peace  of  the  Province  for  about  sixteen  years.  In 
November  of  that  year  Richard  Ingle,  who  had  shortly  before 
been  arrested  at  Saint  Mary's,  for  "treason",  and  had  es- 
caped, filled  with  revenge  and  burning  for  retaliation,,  entered 
the  Saint  Mary's  River  in  command  of  the  armed  ship  Refor- 
mation. Finding  much  disturbance  and  divided  sympathy  in 
the  colony,  over  the  contest  then  pending  in  England,  between 

*  The  Biicoaneers. 


52  C  O  L  O  N  I  A  L    M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

the  King  and  Parliament,  he  met  with  but  little  difficulty  in 
exciting  the  disaffected  to  rebellion.  This  accomplished,  he 
invaded  and  seized  the  City,  mutilated  the  records,  pilaged 
public  and  private  property,'  and  drove  Governor  Calvert  to 
Virginia.  Calvert,  however,  after  much  delay,  gathered  there 
all  available  forces,  and,  pledging  his  own  and  Baltimore's 
estates  to  pay  them,  crossed  the  Potomac,  and  after  a  short 
and  bloodless  contest,  regained  the  Provincial  Capital." 

But  he  did  not  long  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  victory. .  On 
9th  of  June,  1647,  and  at  the  early  age  of  forty,"  he  died  at 
Saint  Mary's,  where  his  remains,  it  is  said,  still  repose  under 
its  revered  and  holy  soil. 

Of  the  life  and  character  of  Leonard  Calvert,  historians 
have  said  but  little.  While  there  is  no  desire  to  detract 
from  the  unfading  lustre  which  they  have  accorded  to  the 
Proprietaries  of  Maryland,  truth  and  justice  alike,  demand 
that  of  the  pioneer  Governor  of  the  Province,  and  the 
founder  of  Saint  Mary's,  it  should  here  be  said,  that  he, 
who  left  his  native  land  to  lead  the  pilgrim  colonists  to 
Maryland ;  he  who  faced  the  perils  and  dangers,  and  stood 
the  heat  and  fire  of  storm  and  battle,  which  so  often  dark- 
ened its  early  colonial  days;  he  who  first  proclaimed  and 
laid  in  practice  those  fundamental  principles  which  underlie 
the  priceless  boon  of  liberty  of  conscience ;  he,  who,  with 
untiring  energy,  fidelity,  and  zeal,  devoted  the  best  years  of 
his  life  to  the  development  and  glory  of  Maryland,  and  to  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  its  citizens ;  he,  whose  undaunted 

^  The  case  of  Captain  Thomas  Cornwaleys,  illustrates  the  rapacity 
of  Ingle's  rule  at  Saint  Mary's,  and  the  extent  to  which  private  property 
was  pillaged.  After  Ingle's  return  to  England,  Cornwaleys  sued  him 
there  to  recover  £3000  damages,  and  alleged  in  his  declaration,  that  he 
had  a  comfortable  dwelling  house,  furnished  with  plate,  brass,  pewter, 
bedding,  and  linen  hangings ;  his  plantation,  also,  being  well  stocked 
with  horses,  cattle,  swine,  sheep  and  goats;  and  that  Ingle  took  posses- 
sion of  his  mansion,  burned  his  fences,  killed  his  swine,  carried  off  his 
horses  and  cattle,  wrenched  off  the  locks  of  his  doors,  and  otherwise 
greatly  damaged  his  property. — Scharf,  vol.  i,  p.  149. 

'  Bozman,  p.  290;  Brown,  p.  60;  Scharf,  i,  p.  149. 

•Neil,  p.  60. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL 


53 


courage,  wise  and  liberal  statesmanship,  and  mild  and  gentle 
government,  are  so  closely  associated  with  the  foundation, 
early  growth,  and  permanent  establishment  of  Maryland, 
should  stand  upon  the  pages  of  history  no  less  distinguished 
and  renowned,  as  long  as  valiant  service  to  early  Maryland 
has  an  admirer,  or  civil  and  religious  liberty  a  friend. 

From  the  fact  that  the  records  of  the  Province,  prior  to 
his  death,  make  no  mention  of  wife  or  children,  and  that  his 
brief,  nuncupative  will  did  not  refer  to  them,  Governor  Cal- 
vert has  passed  into  history  as  having  died  a  bachelor,  but 
recent  investigation  proves  this  to  be  an  error,  and  that  he 
was  not  only  married,  but  left  children/ 

^  In  Pro.  Court  Records,  1658-62,  p.  459,  etc.,  may  be  found  the  pro- 
ceedings in  the  suit  of  the  Lord  Proprietary,  guardian  of  William  Cal- 
vert (then  in  England),  son  and  heir  at  law  of  Governor  Leonard  Cal- 
vert, vs.  Thomas  Stone,  son,  and  Valinda  Stone,  widow  of  Governor 
'William  Stone,  for  the  recovery  of  Governor  Calvert's  house  and  lot, 
at  Saint  Mary's,  and  which  Stone,  in  1650,  had  purchased  of  Margaret 
Brent,  executrix  of  Governor  Calvert,  under  the  supposition  that  she 
had  the  power  to  convey  it. — Archives  (Pro.  Ct.  1650)  pp.  106  and  172 
The  verdict  was  for  the  "plaintiff  for  the  land  and  costes" — thus  estab- 
lishing the  fact  of  both  marriage  and  issue.  William  Calvert  came  to 
Maryland  about  1662,  where  he  held  many  positions  of  distinction,  among 
them  Judge  of  the  Testamentary  Court,  member  of  the  Council,  with 
rank  directly  after  the  Chancellor  and  Secretary  of  the  Province.  He 
was  drowned  in  1682.— Archives  (Pro.  CI.  1682)  p.  366.  His  widow, 
Madam  Elizabeth  Calvert,  was  living  fn  1692.— Ibid,  1692,  p.  492.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Governor  William  Stone,  and  Valinda,  his  wife,  the  sister 
of  Thomas  Sprigg,  of  Northampton,  Prince  George's  County.  William 
Calvert  left  sons  Charles,  George,  and  Richard,  and  daughter,  Elizabeth 
who  married,  in  1681,  James  Neale,  Jr.,  and  left  daughter,  ^^-lry,  born 
in  1683,  and  who  married  first  Charles  Egerton  (ancestory  of  the  Egcr- 
tons  of  "Piney  Neck"),  and  second,  Garrett  Van  Sweringen.— See  case 
Daniel  Dulaney  vs.  Charles  Calvert,  et  al.,  in  High  Court  of  Chancery 
of  Maryland,  August,  1720;  wills,  Charles  Egerton,  1698,  and  James 
Egerton,  1765,'  Saint  Mary's  County.  Governor  Leonard  Calvert  also 
left  a  daughter  Ann,  who  came  to  Maryland  in  1663.  In  September  of 
that  year,  Governor  Charles  Calvert  wrote  Lord  Baltimore  as, follows: 
"Att  the  same  time,  my  cousin  William's  Sister  arrived  here  and  is  now 
at  my  house  and  has  the  care  of  my  household  affairs.  As  yett  noe  good 
match  does  present,  but  I  hope  in  a  short  time  she  may  find  one  to  her 
own  content  and  yr.  Lspp's  desire."— Calvert  Papers,  vol.  i,  p.  224.    She 


54  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

In  1652,  the  Commissioners  of  the  English  Parhament, 
arrived  at  Saint  Mary's,  deposed  Governor  William  Stone, 
who  had  been  appointed  Governor  of  the  Province  in  1648, 
and  named  a  Board  of  Councilors,  for  the  government  of 
Maryland,  of  whom  Robert  Brooke,  of  De  La  Brooke,  was 
President,  and,  as  such,  acting  Governor  of  the  Province. 
On  the  dissolution  of  Parliament,  however.  Stone,  in  1654, 
proclaimed  Cromwell  "Lord  Protector",  and  reorganized  the 
Proprietary  government.  This  excited  the  violent  opposition 
of  the  Puritan  element  in  Maryland,  who,  with  all  available 
forces,  invaded  Saint  Mary's,  and  finding  Governor  Stone 
without  the  means  of  effectual  resistance,  removed  the  records 
to  Mr.  Richard  Preston's,  near  Saint  Leonard's,  on  the 
Patuxent  River,  appointed  from  their  own  party,  officials  for 
the  government  of  the  Province,  and  passed  laws  ignoring 
Lord  Baltimore's  territorial  rights,  disfranchising  Roman  Cath- 
olics, and  repealing  the  Toleration  Act,  of  1649,  enacting  in 
place  of  the  latter,  an  Act  concerning  religion  in  obedience  to 
the  inspiration  of  their  own  philosophy.^ 

Governor  Stone  succeeded  in  capturing  the  records  and 
restored  them  to  the  Provincial  Capital,,  as  well,  also,  the 
magazine  and  arms  designed  for  the  defense  of  Saint  Leon- 
ard's, but  in  his  effort,  through  the  memorable  battle  at  Prov- 
idence— the  first  land  engagement  in  Maryland — to  reduce  the 
insurgents   to   subjection,   he   was   overwhelmingly   defeated/ 

married,  about  1664,  Baker  Brooke,  of  De  La  Brooke,  member  of  the 
Council  and  Surveyor  General  of  the  Province.  Through  this  marriage 
she  was  the  ancestress  of  Monica  Brooke,  the  mother  of  Chief  Justice 
Roger  Bro'oke  Taney  and  Catharene  Boarman,  the  wife  of  Major  Wil- 
liam. Thomas.  Ann  (Calvert)  Brooke  married, ■  second,  Henry  Brent, 
Deputy  Surveyor  General  of  the  Province,  and  tTiird,  Colonel  Richard 
Marsham.  See  will.  Baker  Brooke,  P.  C.  No.  i,  p.  114,  Saint  Mary's 
County;  Kilty,  p.  62;  Test  Pro.  Liber  13,  Annapolis. 

*  Bozman,  11,  p.  505;  McMahofi,  p.  206. 

=  This  battle  took  place  on  the  25th  of  March,  1654.  Stone's 
"baUlc  cry"  was  "Hey,  for  *Saint  Mary's,"  while  that  of  the  Puritans 
was,  "God  is  our  strength."  Stone  has  been  criticized  for  starting  into 
this  engagement  with  such  a  small  body  qi  men— about  130  only— but  it 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL 


55 


and  they  continued  to  hold  the  reins  of  government  until  1657, 
when,  through  an  agreement,  induced  by  the  turn  of  affairs 
in  England  against  Puritans,  it  was  formerly  surrendered  and 
re-instated  at  Saint  Mary's.' 

The  year  1659,  is  noted  in  connection  with  Saint  Mary's 
for  the  attempted  rebellion  of  Governor  Josias  Fendall,  in 
which  he  made  the  unsuccessful  effort  to  "play  the  part  in 
Maryland  which  Cromwell  had  just  performed  in  England", 
by  conspiring  with  the  Assembly  to  overthrow  the  Proprietary 
government  and  establish  a  republic,  with  himself  a's  its  head.' 

While  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  enter  into  the 
details  of  this  tragedy,  it  may  be  proper  to  state,  that  the 
scheme  by  which  Fendall  expected  to  accomplish  this, -was  to 
surrender  his  commission  from  Baltimore,  have  the  Legislature 
declare  its  independence  of  the  Proprietary,  and,  as  the  direct 
representatives  of  the  people,  elect  him  Governor  of  the 
Province-  On  the  12th  of  March,  1659,  the  Lower  House 
declared  its  Independence  of  all  pozvcr,  and  denied  the  right 
of  the  Upper  House  (composed  only  of  representatives  of  the 
Proprietary)  to  sit  longer  as  a  branch  of  the  Legislature.  To 
this  Fendall,  of  course,  assented,  and,  on  the  14th  of  March, 
dissolved  the  Upper  House,  surrendered  his  commission  from 
the  Proprietary,  and  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  thus  con- 
stituted,  Governor  of  the  Republic  of   Maryland.'     After  a 

should  be  remembered  that  the  military  organization  of  the  Province 
had  been  much  neglected,  and  at  that  time  was  very  poor,  and  that  he 
was,  in  consequence,  limited  to  such  men  as  he  could  muster  in  and 
around  St.  Mary's.  After  this,  the  militia  was  put  upon  a  much 
better  footing.  The  Province  was  divided  into  military  districts,  com- 
manders appointed  for  each,  arms  and  ammunition  looked  after,  and  the 
whole  fighting  population  was  mustered  in  and  trained.  Under  such 
conditions,  the  black  and  gold  ensign  of  Maryland  would  probably  not 
have  fallen. 

^Bozman,    11,  p.   505;    McMahon,  p.  206. 

-McMahon,  p.  212;  McSherry,  p.  81. 

^  For  an  interesting  discussion  as  to  the  causes  of  this  rebellion,  see 
the  able  treatise  of  Doctor  Sparks  on  "The  Maryland  Revolution  of 
1689,"  page  30-36. 


56  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

fruitless  effort,  however,  to  enlist  public  interest  in  this 
nefarious  scheme,  Fendall  abandoned  his  government  thus 
established,  and  when  his  arrest  was  ordered,  voluntarily 
submitted  himself  to  the  mercy  of  the  Baltimore  government, 
which,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  reorganized,  with  Philip 
Calvert  as  Governor.  He  was  tried  and  convicted,  but  after 
a  short  imprisonment  was  discharged  from  all  the  penalties 
imposed  by  the  Court,  except  those  of  being  disfranchised 
and  prohibited  from  holding  public  office — humanity  which  he 
lived  long  enough  to  repay  by  an  effort,  many  years  afterwards, 
to  excite  another  rebellion  in  the  Province." 

Early  in  1662,  the  Honorable  Charles  Calvert  arrived  at 
Saint  Mary's,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  Governor  of  the 
Province.  He  subsequently  established  a  temporary  residence 
at  Mattapany,  but  about  the  time  he  became,  by  the  death  of 
his  father.  Baron  of  Baltimore  and  Proprietary  of  the  Prov- 
ince, he  resumed  his  residence  at  Saint  Mary's.  As  an 
expression  of  their  pleasure  at  his  return  to  the  Provincial 
Capital  to  live,  the  General  Assembly  presented  him  with  an 
appropriation  of  30,000  tbs.  of  tobacco." 

Charles,  Lord  Baltimore,  was,  perhaps,  more  closely 
identified  with  the  development  of  Saint  Mary's,  than  any 
other  man  connected  with  its  history.  It  was  during  his 
administration  that  it  was  incorporated  into  a  city,  and  the 
privilege  of  sending  two  representatives  to  the  General 
Assembly  was  granted;  it  was  also,  during  his  proprietorship 
that  the  State  House  and  other  public  buildings  were  erected, 
and  to  sustain  its  privileges  and  importance,  and  give  it  per- 
manency as  the  seat  of  government,  he  gave  the  City  a 
written  assurance  that  it  should  continue  to  be  the  Capital  of 
the  Province  as  long  as  he  remained  its  Proprietary.'  This 
promise  he  faithfully  observed,  and  though  efforts  were  made, 
and  inducements  offered  from  time  to  time,  to  get  the  seat  of 

'  McMahon,  pp.  213  and  214. 
"Archives   (Ass.   Pro.   1674)    p.  454. 

'  Petition  of  Mayor  and  Council  to  Governor  Nicholson,  in  Scharf 
r,  p.  345- 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  57 

government  removed,  he  firmly  resisted  them  all.  One  of 
these  propositions  came  from  the  inliabitants  of  Anne  Arundel, 
accompanied  by  the  generous  offer  to  build  at  the  Ridge,  in 
that  County,  at  their  own  expense,  a  Governor's  house,  as 
well,  also,  as  a  State  House,  jail,  and  necessary  offices,  the 
latter  buildings  to  be  paid  for  only  when  completed." 

In  1 66 1,  an  Act  was  passed  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Mint  in  Maryland  (at  Saint  IMary's)  for  the  coining  of  money 
corresponding  in  purity,  and  equal  in  value  to  English  coins 
of  similar  denominations.*  Whether  or  not  the'  Mint  was 
actually  operated,  the  records  do  not  show.  A  writer,  in 
1708,  says  it  was  established,  but  not  much  used.^  It  may  be 
of  interest  to  note  here  the  curious  method  for  getting  money 
introduced  among  the  people,  as  adopted  by  the  Act  of 
1662,  under  which  every  householder  in  the  Province  was 
required  to  buy  at  least  ten  shillings  for  every  taxable  person 
in  the  family,  paying  for  it  in  tobacco,  at  two  pence  per  pound. 

As  early  as  1689,  a  printing  pfess,  probably  the  first  in 
Maryland,* — and,  indeed,  in  America — had  been  established 
at  Saint  Mary's.  There  is,  apparently,  no  data  from  which 
the  exact  time  it  commenced  operations  can  be  ascertained, 
but  it  was  certainly  as  early  as  the  above  date,  when  the 
"Declaration  of  the  Protestant  Associators",  probably  the 
first  pamphlet  ever  printed  in  Maryland,  was  issued  from  it." 

^Archives   (Ass.  Pro.  1674)  p.  78. 

"  Specimens  of  the  coins  struck  for  Maryland,  of  about  this  date, 
are  exceedingly  rare,  but  a  few  of  them  are  preserved  in  the  Maryland 
Historical  Society.  They  consisted  of  shillings,  sixpence,  and  groats, 
their  weight  being  respectively,  66,  34,  and  25  grains  of  silver.  A  part 
of  the  legend  on  these  coins  was,  Crescite  at  Multiplicamini  and  their 
advent  into  Maryland  marks,  also,  as  far  as  the  records  show,  the  in- 
troduction of  that  motto  into  the  Province,  and  which  was  ultimately 
destined  to  become,  for  a  short  time,  the  motto  of  the  State.— See 
Crosby,  "Early  Coins  of  America,"  p.  123. 

^British   Empire   in   America,  p.   344- 

*  Chalmers,  p.  384;  Neil,  p.  I74- 

''Scharf,  vol.  i,  p.  190,  says:  A  printing  press  was  set  up  in  Mary- 
land by  the  Jesuit  Missionaries,  on  which  was  printed  Father  White's 
catechism  for  use  of  the  Indians,  and  that  it  was  destroyed  or  carried 


58  C  O  L  O  N  I  A  L    M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

The  press  belonged  to  Richard  Nuthead,  and  was  the  only 
one  in  Maryland,  of  which  the  records  speak,  until  1696,  when 
William  Bladen  took  a  press  to  Annapolis  and  became  the 
public  printer  of  the  Province/ 

Shortly  after  the  accession  of  William  and  Alary  to  the 
English  throne,  the  "religious  fever  which  had  just  shaken 
England  to  its  centre",  was  used  by  certain  leaders  in  Mary- 
land, under  color  of  religious  zeal,  as  the  instrument  for  pre- 
cipitating a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  Province.  In  April, 
1689,  an  "Association  in  arms  for  the  defense  of  the  Protest- 
ant religion  and  for  asserting  the  rights  of  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary  to  the  Province  of  Maryland",  was  formed,  and 
this  act  was  followed  by  open  revolution. 

On  the  i6th  of  the  following  July,  information  was 
received  by  the  Council,  at  Saint  Mary's,  that  companies  of 
militia  were  being  formed  in  different  parts  of  the  Province. 
An  envoy  was  at  once  dispatched  from  Saint  Mary's  to  ascer- 
tain their  movements,  but  he  was  arrested  and  held  as  a  spy. 
Learning,  however,  of  their  intended  march  upon,  and  .near 
approach  to  the  Provincial  Capital,  Colonel  William  Digges, 
of  Saint  Mary's,  prepared  for  defense.  He  mustered  in  one 
hundred  men,  and  took  position  in  the  State  House,  which 
was  to  be  the  point  of  attack.  While  these  preparations  were 
being  made  at  Saint  Mary's,  Colonel  Henry  Darnell  and  Major 
Nicholas  Sewall  went  up  the  Patuxent  and  raised  a  force  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  but  they  did  not  arrive  in  time  to 
assist  in  the  defense  of  the  Capital. 

When  the  revolutionists  reached  Saint  Mary's,  they  num- 
bered seven  hundred  men,  under  command  of  Captain  John 
Coade,  Colonel  Henry  Jowles,  Major  John  Campbell,  Mr. 
Nehemiah     Blackiston,     and     Mr.     Niniam     Beall.     Colonel 

off  in  1655;  but  1  can  find  no  authority  for  the  statement.  Same  author, 
vol.  I,  p.  362,  says :  Another  printing  press  was  set  up  in  1660.  This 
seems  to  be  based  upon  an  inference  drawn  from  the  Act  of  that  year, 
providing  for  the  publication  of  the  laws  of  that  session.  Reference  to 
the  Act,  however,  shows  that  publication  by  proclamation  only  was. 
meant,  ;md  not  by  printint;: 

•.Scharf,  i.  p.  y)_'.  '  ,.  ' 


THE    FIRST    CAIMTAL  59 

Digges,  finding  his  men  unwilling  to  fight  against  such  supe- 
rior numbers,  after  a  short  skirmish,  evacuated  the  State 
House  and  surrendered.' 

The  Council  were  driven  to  the  Garrison  at  Mattapany.'' 
which  being  also  captured,  articles  of  formal  surrender  were 
signed  on  the  ist  day  of  August,  1.689,  ^Y  which  the  "Asso- 
ciators"  were  placed  in  absolute  possession  and  control  of  the 
Province.'' 

A  full  history  of  tlie  motives  and  causes  underlying  and 
prompting  this  revolution,  which  swept  away  the  Proprietary 
government,  and,  as  events  showed,  marked  the  downfall  of 
Saint  iMary's,  \vould  involve  too  much  detail,  but  it  may  be 
proper  to  note  the  fact  that  the  records  indicate  the  uprising 
to  have  been  the  result,  not  so  much  of  the  fear  of  violence  to 
the  Protestant  religion,  as  it  was  of  the  alarm  of  physical 
danger,  produced  by  the  report  that  the  Roman  Catholics 
w^ere  conspiring  with  the  Indians  to  massacre  the  Protestants, 
kindled  and  fanned  by  a  few  captious  spirits,  who  were  emu- 
lous of  power,  at  whatever  cost,  and  fired  with  ambition  and 
expectation  of  royal  favor  from  a  Protestant  King.* 

With  the  power  in  their  own  hands,  Coade  and  his  asso- 
ciates, issued  the  famous  "Declaration  of  the  Protestant 
Associators",'  selected  a  Council  for  the  government  of  the 
Province,  of  which  Xehemiah  Blackiston.  of  "Longworth 
Point",  w-as  President,"  and  sent*  an  address  to  William  and 
^lary,  in  which  they  detailed  the  results  of  the  revolution, 
assigned  the  "defense  of  the  Protestant  religion"  as  the 
reason  for  it,  and  asked  that  the  Province  be  placed  under  the 
protection  of  the  English  Government.^ 

The  revolution  received  the  Royal  sanction  and  Maryland 
was  placed  under  a  Royal  government.  Sir  Lionel  Copley 
the  first  Governor  appointed  by  the  Crown,  arrived  at  Saint 

'Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1689)  pp.  147-163;  Scharf,  i,  pp.  310,  3U.  3i5- 
■  Mattapany — see  Chapter  on  Saint  Mary's  County. 
^McMahon,  p.  237.  'Day  Star.  p.  87;  Brown,  p.  150. 

■^Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1689)  p.  loi. 
"Ibid,  p.  206.  Mbid.  p.    108. 


6o  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Mary's,  in  1691.  His  associates  were  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence, 
Chancellor  and  Secretary,  and  Captain  John  Courtes,  Mr. 
Thomas  Brooke,  and  eight- others  as  Councilors.' 

The  first  Assembly  under  the  Royal  Government,  con- 
vened at  Saint  Mary's,  May  loth,  1692,  with  Nehemiah 
Blackiston,  President  of  the  Upper,  and  Kenelm  Cheseldine, 
Speaker  of  the  Lower  House." 

The  most  conspicuous  of  the  Acts  of  this  session,  was  the 
one  overthrowing  religious  freedom — so  long  the  pride  of 
Maryland — and  constituting  by  law,  the  Church  of  England, 
as  the  established  church  of  the  Province.* 

Governor  Copley's  residence  at  Saint  Mary's,  however, 
was  of  short  duration.  His  wife  died  there  on  the  5th  of 
March,  1692  O.  S.,'  and  he  died  on  the  27th  of  September, 
1693.' 

In  July,  1694,  Francis  Nicholson,  Esq.,  became  Governor 
of  Maryland,  and  one  of  his  first  official  acts  was  to  sound  the 
death  knell  of  Saint  Mary's.  He  summoned  an  Assembly  to 
convene  in  September,  not  at  Saint  Mary's,  but  at  Anne- 
Arundel-Town — now    Annapolis.     This    act,     "foreshadowed 

'Ibid,   1691,   p.  271.  .^Archives    (Ass.   Pro.    1692). 

'  For  the  particulars  of  this  Act,  see  Chapter  on  Some  of  the  Early 
Churches  of  Maryland.  * 

*  Archives   (CI.   Pro.   1692)    p.  479. 

"'Liber  H.  D.  No.  2,  CI.  Pro.  pp.  65  and  98. 
The  cases  of  Governor  and  Lady  Copley  furnish  strong  examples 
of  efficiency  in  the  art  of  embalming  at  that  earJy  period.  Governor 
Copley  died  about  six  months  after  his  wife — as  computed  by  the 
English  system  then  in  vogue,  the  legal  year  beginning  the  25th  of 
March — and  yet,  for  ten  months  after  his  death,  the  bodies  of  both  of 
them  lay  -in  the  "Great  House/'  at  Saint  Mary's,  awaiting  orders  to 
ship  them  to  England.  It  was  not  until  July,  1694,  that  the  Council 
ordered  a  vault  to  be  built  for  their  interment — a  ceremony  which  did 
not  take  place  until  the  following  October.  It  is  further  worthy  of  note 
that  as  late  as  1790,  when -the  only  vault  known  to  be  at  Saint  Mary's, 
and  hence,  presumably  the  Copley  vault,  was  broken  into,  the  remains 
of  the  woman  there  interred,  were  found  to  be  in  a  state  of  perfect  pres- 
ervation, until  exposed  to  the  air,  when  they  crumbled  into  dust.  For 
further  particulars  of  the  burial  of  Governor  Copley  and  Lady  Copley, 
see  pages  33  and  34.     See  also  appendix. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  61 

the  doom-'  of  Saint  Mary's,  and  at  that  session  of  the  Assem- 
bly, the  removal  of  the  Capital  was  decided  upon.' 

The  consternation  which  Saint  Mary's  felt  at  this  sudden, 
and,  to  it,  disastrous  movement  can  well  be  understood.  It 
solemnly  protested,  pathetically  appealed,  and  graciously 
offered.  Through  its  Mayor,  Aldermen,  Recorder  and 
Council,  it  sent  a  protest  to  the  Governor  and  Council,'  in 
which  the  point  was  made,  that  the  "power  of  appointing  a 
■place  for  the  Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  and  Seat  of  Gov- 
ernment" of  Maryland  was  the  special  prerogative  of  the 
Crown,  and  that  it  could  not  be  done  by  Act  of  Assembly, 
and  urged  that  they  "reject  said  bill"  until  their  Majesties' 
pleasure  could  be  ascertained."  This  they  supplemented  with 
a  lengthy  petition,  in  which,  after  dwelling  upon  the  ancient 
rights  and  privileges  of  Saint  Mary's,  sustained  by  long  enjoy- 
ment, and  confirmed  in  the  most  solemn  manner  by  the  late 
Proprietary,  and  upon  the  advantages  of  a  site  well-watered, 
with  a  commodious  harbor,  ^nd  a  healthful  and  pleasant  situa- 
tion, they  proposed  to  obviate  all  objections  as  to  want  of 
accommodations   and    the   difficulty   of   access,   by   keeping   a 

'Scharf,   i,  p.  347.  'Ibid. 

^  Those  who  signed  the  protest  and  the  petition  were,  Philip  Lynes, 
Mayor;  Kenelm  Cheseldine,  Recorder;  Henry  Dutton,  John  Lewellyn, 
Jo.  Watson,  Thomas  Beall,  Philip  Clark,  Edward  Greenhalgh,  Alder- 
men; Thomas  Wanghop,  William  Aisquith,  Thomas  Price,  Richard 
Benton,  Robert  Mason,  W.  Taylard,  Samuel  Watkins,  Common  Coiin- 
cilmen;  Wm.  Diggs,  J.  Bouye,  Clerks;  G.  Van  Sweringen,  Josh  Brod- 
bert,  Ro.  Carville,  Chas.  Caud,  Robt.  King,  George  Layfield,  John  Coode, 
Henry  Wriothesley,  W.  Bladen,  James  Cullen,  Thomas  Hebb.  James  B. 
Baker,  Stephen  Blatchford,  Daniel  Bell,  Jonathan  Clarke,  Edward  Kel- 
sey,  Abraham  Rhodes,  Joseph  Edto,  Roger  Tolle,  Henry  H.  T.  Taylor, 
James  Reckets,  John  Wincoll,  Edward  Fisher,  John  F.  Noble,  Thomas 
Hutchins,  Richard  Sowler,  Thomas  [his  X  mark]  .  Guyther,  Robert 
Denry,  Claudius  Dutitre,  Samuel  Wheeler,  Constables;  John  I.  M. 
Mackye,  Peter  Dent,  Wm.  Guyther,  John  [his  X  mark]  Janner,  John 
[his  X  mark]  Little,  Thomas  H.  Hickson,  William  Nuthead.  'Richard 
Griffin,    Isaac    Paine,    Peter    Watts,    Robert    Carse,  John    Evans,.  Wm. 

Lowry,  Anderson,  Eben  Cooke,  Zacharias  Van  Swearingcn,  Leon 

D.  Hukenett,  William  Harpenos,  Michael  Chevers,  Elias  Beech,  Thomas 
Guinurn,  John  Freeman,  and  Joseph   Doyne,  Freemen. 


62  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

coach  or  caravan,  to  run  daily  during  the  sessions  of  the 
Legislature  and  Provincial  Court,  between  the  City  and  the 
Patuxent,  and  weekly  at  other  times,  and  at  least  six  horses 
with  suitable  furniture,  for  riding  post,  etc." 

The  appeal,  however,  was  of  no  avail.  Governor  Nich- 
olson had  removed  the  Capital  of  Virginia  from  its  ancient 
seat,''  and  had  come  to  Maryland  resolved  upon  the  same 
course  towards  Saint  Mary's.'  He  went  through  the  form  of 
submitting  the  addresses  to  the  Assembly,  from  whence  they 
were  returned  to  him — whose  wishes  were  probably  well 
understood — with  a  reply,  conspicuous  only  for  its  vindictive 
spirit,  bitter  acrimony,  and  extreme  coarseness ;  in  which 
they  ridiculed  the  idea  of  being  bound  by  Proprietary  prom- 
ises, denied  the  advantages  of  Saint  Mary's,  mocked  at  its 
calamities,  and  laughed  at  its  proposals.* 

On  the  receipt  of  the  reply  from  the  Assembly,  the 
Governor  and  Council  thus  tersely  recorded  their  views  on 
the  matter:  "This  Board  concurs  with  the  said  answers 
made  by  the  House  of  Burgess".^ 

In  February,  1695,  Governor  Nicholson  issued  an  order 
for  the  removal  of  the  archives,  records,  etc.,  "from  Saint 
Mary's  to  Anne  Arundel  Town,  they  to  be  conveyed  in  good 
strong  bags,  and  to  be  secured  with  cordage  and  hides,  and 
well  packed,  with  guards  to  attend  them  night  and  day,  to  be 
protected  from  all  accidents,  and  to  be  delivered  to  the  Sheriff 
of*j\.nne  Arundel  County",  The  final  removal  was  made 
that  winter,  and  on  the  28th  of  February,  1695,  the  General 

^IMcMaliOH,  p.  252.  "Brown,  p.  187. 

"During  the  time  that  Saint  Mary's  was  the  capital  of  the  Prov- 
ince, all  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly  were  held  there,  except  that 
it  met  at  Saint  Inigoe's  from  December  29th,  1646,  to  January  2nd, 
1647,  four  days,  and  at  Saint  Leonards,  on  the  Patuxent  under  commis- 
sioners of  the  Protector7  1654,  1657  and  1658;  at  Brambly  and  Bush- 
wood,  residences  of  Thomas  Gerard  and  Robert  Slye  during  Kendall's 
rebellion,  1659,  and  at  The  Ridge,  and  Anne  Arundel -Town  in  Anne 
Arundel  County,   1683,   1694. 

*  Scharf,  i,  pp.  344-346;  Riley,  History  of  Annapolis,  p.  62. 

'■  Riley,  p.  62. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  (63 

Assembly  commenced   its  first  session  in  the  new  Capital  of 
Maryland/ 

The  reason  alleged  for  this  change,  was  that  Saint 
Mary's,  being  on  the  verge  of  the  Province,  was  difficult  of 
access  to  the  masses  of  the  people.  This  may  not  have  been 
altogether  without  weight,  but  it  was  more  probably  due  to 
the  fierce  political  struggle  and  the  bitter  sectarian  strife, 
which  existed  there  at  that  time— between  the  advocates  of 
the  Proprietary  and  the  adherents  of  the  King— between  the 
Church  of  England  and  the  Church  of  Rome. 

"It  was",  says  one  of  Maryland's  eminent  historians, 
McMahon,  "the  interest  of  the  new  government,  to  destroy, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  cherished  recollections  which  were 
associated  with  the  departed  Proprietary  power ;  arid  there 
was  no  object  so  intertwined  with  all  these  recollections,  as 
this  ancient  city,  consecrated  by  the  landing  of  the  colonists, 
endeared  to  the  natives  as  the  first  home  of  their  fathers,  and 
exhibiting,  at  every  step,  the  monuments  of  that  gentle  and 
liberal  administration,  which  had  called  up  a  thriving  colony 
out  of  the  once  trackless  wilderness.  The  Catholics  of  the 
colony  dwelt  principally  in  that  section  of  it;  and,  under  the 
joint  operation  of  these  causes,  it  had  been  distinguished  dur- 
ing all  the  troubles  consequent  upon  the  civil  wars  in  England, 
by  its  unshaken  attachment  to  the  Proprietary.  Without 
these  considerations  to  prompt  the  removal,  the  recollections 
and  the  attachments,  which  centre  the  feelings  of  a  people  in 
an  ancient  capital,  would  probably  have  contributed  to  pre- 
serve it  as  such ;  until,  by  the  denseness  of  the  population, 
and  the  increasing  facilities  for  traveling,  thereby  aflforded  to 
the  remote  sections  of  the  State,  the  objection  to  its  location 
would  have  been  in  a  great  measure  obviated ;  and  the  City 
of  Saint  Mary's  would,  at  this  day,  have  been  the  seat  of  our 
State  government.  The  excitement  of  the  moment  made  its 
claims  to  recollection,  cogent  reasons  for  its  destruction,  and 
the  public  convenience  came  in  as  the  sanction". 

After  Saint  Mary's  ceased  to  be  the  Capital  of  the  Prov- 

^  Riley,  p.  62;  Ridgely,   History  of  Annapolis,  p.  88. 


64  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

ince,  it  soon  began  to  decline.  The  removal  of  the  govern- 
ment officials,  in  itself,  seriously  diminished  its  population, 
and,  in  1708,  it  ceased  also  to  be  the  county  seat  of  Saint 
Mary's  County,  the  last  symbol  of  its  official  character.  The 
same  year,  it  lost  its  long  honored  privilege  of  sending 
delegates  to  the  General  Assembly,  and  soon  after,  lost  its 
rank  as  a  city. 

No  longer  the  commercial  emporium  of  the  Province, 
with  no  manufacturing  interests  at  that  day  to  sustain  its 
vitality,  and  completely  stripped  of  its  official  importance,  it 
was  left  without  means  of  support.  Its  population  gradually 
departed ;  its  old  fort  sank  to  the  level  of  the  earth ;  its 
houses — one  by  one — fell  to  ruin,  and,  in  a  comparatively 
short  time,  nothing  remained,  save  the  old  State  House  and  a 
few  of  the  more  durable  buildings,  the  latter  used  as  home- 
steads for  the  farms  into  which  the  site  of  the  old  city  became 
converted. 

In  1695,  permission  was  given  the  Justices  of  Saint 
Mary's  County,  to  use  the  State  House  for  a  Court  House 
and  church.  In  1708,  the  public  buildings  and  land  at  Saint 
Mary's,  were  ordered  to  be  sold.  They  were,  however,  not 
sold,  and,  in  1720,  the  General  Assembly  vested  the  old 
"State  House  and  grounds  in  the  Rector  and  Vestry  of 
William  and  Mary  Parish,  and  their  successors,  in  fee  simple, 
for  the  use  of  the  Parish,  forever".' 

The  changes  deemed  necessary  to  adapt  the  old  edifice  to 
church  purposes,  were  made  the  following  year,  the  contractor 
for  the  work  being  Joshua  Doyne.-  The  attic  and  second  story 
floors,  and  all  the  partitions  were  removed,  and  the  building 
was  ceiled  "square  with  the  top  of  the  arch  after  the  model  of 
the  old  Chapel  at  Saint  Mary's".  A  railing  was  put  across 
the  transept  of  that  arm  of  the  cross  which  originally  forced 
the  porch,  and  which  was  converted  into  a  chancel,  its  large 
central  arch  being  bricked  up  and  giving  place  to  the  altar, 
which  was  of  heavy  oak,  ornamented  with  carvings,  and 
above    it,    a    fresco    picture,    representing    ''the    flight    into 

'Act,  1695,  c.  13;  1708,  c.  3;  1720,  «.  4. 


THE    FIRS  T    C  A  P  I  T  A  L  65 

Egypt";  while  in  place  of  the  two  smaller  arches,  windows 
were  substituted,  each  eight  feet  high,  and  twenty-two  inches 
wide.  The  opposite,  or  "stair-way",  arni  of  the  cross  became 
the  vestibule  of  the  church,  and  was  made  to  correspond, 
in  design  and  appearance,  to  the  original  entrance  to  the 
building;  while  in  the  northern  and  southern  transepts, 
galleries  were  erected.  As  thus  changed,  it  would  accommo- 
date about  four  hundred  persons.' 

There  was  so  much  opposition  manifested,  it  is  said,  on 
the  part  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  to  the  old  State  House 
being  used  for  Protestant  worship,  that  the  latter,  about  the 
year  1700,  applied  to  a  British  man-of-war  for  assistance,  and 
three  canon  were  placed  there  for  their  protection,  and 
which  remained  in  the  church  yard  until  1823,  when  they 
were  removed  to  Washington^  City." 

The  old  State  House  continued  to  be  used  as  a  church 
for  more  than  a  century ;  but,  in  1829,  this  historic  old 
building  was  pulled  down,  and  its  material  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  Trinity  Church,  which  stands  nearby.  This  old 
monument  might  well  have  been  "spared  all  but  the  ravages 
of  time,"  and — had  it  been  saved  from  the  sacrilege  of  man 
— it  might  to-day  be  standing  to  "point  a  moral,"  and  "adorn 
the  history"  of  the  founders  of  Maryland." 

In  1839,  the  State  of  Maryland  purchased  from  William 
and  Mary  Parish,  the  eastern  helf  of  the  State  House  lot.  and 
to  commemorate  the  spot  where  "civilization  and  Christianity 
were  first  introduced  into  our  State",  erected  on  it  the  impos- 
ing and  classic  building,  known  as  the  "Saint  Mary's  Female 
Seminary."  It  also,  a  little  over  two  yea:rs  ago,  did  tardy 
justice  to  Maryland's  first  Governor — Leonard  Calvert — by 
erecting  to  his  memory  a  handsome  granite  shaft,  placing  it 
on  the  site  of  the  "Old  Mulberry;"  and,  at  the  same  time, 

^Allen's   MSS.;   Extracts   from   Vestry   Record. 

^Scharf,   Historical   Address,   June   1891. 

^Much  of  the  furniture  in  the  present  church  is  made  of  the  wood 
of  the  "Old  Mulberry."  Some  of  this  wood  has  also  been  worked  up 
into  "relics"  and  sold,  the  proceeds  having  been  used  to  keep  the 
cliurch  in  repair. 


66  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

in  order  to  perpetuate  the  foundation  lines  of  the  old  State 
House,  planted  at  each  of  its  twelve  corners,  a  massive  granite 
marker. 

The  shaft  is  thirty-six  feet  high,  and  six  feet  square  at  the 
base.     Above  the  inscription  blocks,  are  two  bronze  medal- 
lion  plates,   bearing   the   Coat   of  Arms   of   Maryland.      Tho 
monument  contains  the  following  interesting  inscriptions : 
To  the  Memory  of 
Leonard  Calvert, 
First  Governor  of  Maryland, 
This  Monument  is 
Erected  by 
The  State  of  Maryland. 
Erected  on  the  Site  of  the 
Old  Mulberry  Tree, 
Under  which  the 
First  Colonists  of  Maryland  Assembled 
To  Establish  a  Government 
Where  the  persecuted  and  oppressed  of  every  creed 
and  every  clime  might  repose  in  peace  and  security, 
adore   their  common   God,   and   enjoy   the   priceless 
blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 
Leonard  Calvert, 
Second  Son  of  George  Calvert, 
First  Baron  of  Baltimore, 
and  Anne,  His  Wife, 
Led  the  First  Colonists  to  Maryland, 
November  22,  1633 — March  3,  1634, 
.    Founded  Saint  Mary's,  March  27,  1634, 
Died,  June  9,  1647. 
By  His  Wisdom,  Justice,  and  Fidelity,  He  Fostered  the 
Infancy  of  the  Colony,  Guided  it  Through  Great 

Perils,  and  Dying,  Left  it  at  Peace, 

The  Descendants  and   Successors  of  the  Men 

He  Governed,  Here  Record 

Their  Grateful  Recognition  of  His  Virtues,  **    * 

November,   MDCCCXC. 


THE    FIRST    CAPITAL  67 

Tlius  did  the  ancient  City  of  Saint  Mary's  spring  into 
being,  flourish,  and  pass  away.  In  the  "very  State  to  which 
it  gave  birth ;"  in  the  State  whose  foundations  it  erected ;  in 
the  State,  many  of  whose  most  vahied  institutions,  and  more 
ancient  principles  of  organic  law  it  established,  it  to-day 
stands  almost  a  "solitary  spot,  dedicated  to  God,  and  a  fit 
memento  of  perishable  man". 

But  it  is  one,  which,  as  long  as  civilization  shall  endure 
upon  the  earth,  will  be  memorable  in  the  history  of  its  devel- 
opment. The  philosopher  and  the  statesmen,  when  tracing 
back  the  progress  of  the  political  systems  of  men,  from  the 
loftiest  heights  they  shall  ever  reach,  will  always  pause  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Saint  Mary's  to  contemplate  one  of  the 
greatest  epochs  in  their  history.  It  was  there  that,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  founders  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  the  injured 
freemen  of  England  found  a  refuge  from  the  depredations  of 
Royal  power ;  it  was  there  that  the  inherent  rights  of  man 
found  opportunity  for  growth  to  strength  and  vigor,  away 
from  the  depressing  tyranny  of  Kings ;  it  was  there  that  the 
ancient  privileges  of  the  people,  that  came  down  with  the 
succeeding  generations  of  our  fathers,  from  the  morning  twi- 
light of  Anglo-Saxon  history,  struggling  through  the  centuries 
with  varying  fortunes,  at  last  found  a  home  and  a  country  as 
all-pervading  as  the  atmosphere  around  them ;  it  was  there 
that  these  principles  and  rights  first  entered  into  the  practical 
operations  of  government ;  it  was  there  that  was  established 
the  first  State  in  America  where  the  people  were  governed  by 
laws  made  by  themselves ;  it  was  there  that  was  organized  the 
first  civil  government  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  world, 
which  was  administered  under  that  glorious  principle  of 
American  liberty — the  independence  of  Church  and  State  in 
their  relations  to  each  other ;  it  was  there,  too,  that  freedom 
of  conscience,  in  all  of  its  breadth  and  fullness,  -was  first 
proclaimed  to  men  as  their  inherent  and  inviolable  right,  in 
tones  which,  sounding  above  the  tempest  of  bigotry  and  per- 
secmion,  were  to  continue  forever,  from  age  to  age,  to 
gladden  the  world  with  the  assurance  of  practical  Christian 


68  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

charity,  and  ultimately  find  expression  in  the  political  systems 
of  every  civilized  people.' 

Such  was  the  halo  surrounding  Maryland's  early  colonial 
metropolis,  and  \et,  the  present  generation  asks  when  and 
where  it  was ;  such  the  renown  of  Maryland's  first  capital 
embodying  in  its  history,  the  germ  of  so  much  of  that  which 
gave  grandeur  and  glory,  as  well  as  inspiration  and  pride,  to 
the  later  annals  of  the  State,  and  yet,  history  has  recorded  its 
birth  without  a  smile,  and  written  its  epitaph  without  a  tear. 

In  desolation  and  ruin,  as  it  is,  and  though  its  hearth- 
stone is  buried  beneath  the  moss  of  so  many  years,  it  should 
be  revered  as  a  hallowed  spot ;  sacred  to  the  "proudest  mem- 
ories" of  Maryland ;  endeared  in  the  pride  and  in  the  affection 
of  its  sons  and  its  daughters ;  the  glory  of  every  American 
patriot;. for  it  was  the  spot  where  first  arose  the  radiant 
morning  sun  of  our  religious  freedom ;  the  spot  where  first 
broke  and  brightened  into  effulgent  daylight,  the  earlv  dawn 
of  our  civil  liberty. 

^Honorable  Richard  T.  Merrick,  Historical  Address,  1884. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Religious  Toleration  in  Colonial  Maryland 


pOR  more  than  two  centuries  and  a  half,  Maryland  has  en- 
joyed her  unique  position  in  the  matter  of  early  rehgious 
toleration.  It  is  the  keystone  of  the  great  archway  in  her  history, 
as  it  was  the  key-note  of  her  earliest  code.  Whether  for  re- 
ligious, prudential  or  commercial  reasons,  the  fact  remains — 
and  it  is  one  than  which  none  other  in  Maryland  history  is 
more  conclusively  established — that  religious  toleration,  and  in 
a  broad  sense  for  that  day,  had  practical  existence  in  Maryland 
from  the  date  of  its  settlement,  and  that  it  continued  throughout 
the  successive  administrations  of  Cecilius  and  Charles  Lord 
Baltimore,  except  when  the  Government  was  in  the  hands  of 
Cromwell's  Commissioners  and  the  Puritan  element  from  1652 
to  1657;  and,  except  also,  when  it  was  under  jurisdiction 
of  the  English  Crown  after  1692.  Injustice  to  none,  and 
Christian  toleration  and  charity  to  all,  was  a  cardinal  rule 
established  by  Cecilius,  continued  by  Charles  Lord  Baltimore, 
and  which  those  in  authority  under  them  rigorously  enforced. 
As  it  has  been  well  said,  "there  was  no  spot  in  Christen- 
dom, where  religious  belief  was  free,  and  when  even  the  com- 
mons of  England  had  openly  declared  against  toleration,  Bal- 
timore founded  a  community  where  ino  man  was  to  be  molested 
for  his  faith".  That  such  was  the  clearly  defined  intention 
of  the  founder  of  Alaryland  is  abundantly  proven  by  the 
instruction  which  he  sent  out  with  the  first  colonists  in  1634. 
which  provided,  in  order  "to  preserve  peace  and  unity"  and 
avoid  all  occasion  of  offense,  that  "all  Protestants  b'e  treated 
with  as  much  mildness  and  favor  as  justice  will  permit,  and 
that  all  Roman  Catholics  abstain  from  public  discourse  concern- 
ing matters  of  religion  and  perform  all  their  rehgious  acts  as 
privately  as  circumstances  would  permit".     It  is  also  proven 


70  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

by  his  proclamation  of  1638  for  the  suppression  of  all  "disputes 
tending  to  the  opening  of  a  faction  in  religion.  And  by  the 
rigid  oath  prescribed  for  the  Governor  providing  for  strict 
observance  of  Baltimore's  policy  of  toleration.  This  is  further 
confirmed  by  the  well-known  letter  of  Charles  Lord  Balti- 
more, of  1678,  in  which  he  says :  "that  his  father  bad  promised 
absolute  religious  freedom  to  the  first  adventurers ;  that  he  had 
done  what  he  could  to  make  good  that  assurance,  and  that  with- 
out it,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  colony  could  have  been  planted". 
The  records  also  furnish  numerous  examples  to  demonstrate 
that  these  early  instructions  of  Baltimore  were  zealously 
guarded  and  practically  maintained  by  those  whose  duty  it 
was  to  do  so,  and  that  religious  liberty  in  early  Maryland  was 
not  a  fancy,  but  a  condition — not  a  theory,  but  a  fact — and 
was  a  fundamental  principle  underlying  the  Baltimore  policy 
and  the  Maryland  Government.  This  is  proven  by  the  pro- 
ceedings against  Lieutenant  William  Lewis,  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic, who,  in  1638,  on  complaint  that  he  would  not  allow  his 
Protestant  servants  to  read  a  certain  book  of  sermons,  and 
that  he  had  spoken  disrespectfully  of  the  ministers  of  their 
Church,  was  arranged,  convicted  for  violating  the  proclamation 
as  to  religion,  fined,  and  placed  under  bond  for  his  future 
good  behavior.  It  is  also  proven  by  the  case  against  Dr. 
Thomas  Gerrard,  also  a  Roman  Catholic,  who,  in  1642,  on  com- 
plaint of  the  Protestants  against  him  for  interfering  with  their 
worship,  was,  upon  conviction,  fined  500  lbs.  of  tobacco ; 
not  only  that,  but  the  order  provided,  that  the  fine  should  be 
given  to  the  complainants  for  the  support  of  the  first  Protestant 
minister  that  they  could  obtain.  The  case,  too,  against  the  Rev. 
Francis  Fritz  Herbert,  is  in  point,  who,  while  acquitted  upon 
the  charge,  was  promptly  arraigned  and  tried  for  threat- 
ening ex-communication  of  a  member  frorn  his  Church,  un- 
less he  compelled  his  Protestant  wife,  and  children  to  attend 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  with  him.  It  is  also  established  by 
the  Protestant  declaration  of  1650,  signed  by  Governor  William 
Stone,  whose  churchmanship  and  veracity  are  not  in  doubt,  and 
by  a  large  number  of  the  leading  Protestants  of  the  Province, 
in  which  it  was  distinctly  stated  "that  according  to  an  Act  of 


c 


RELIGIOUS   TOLERATION  71 

Assembly  here,  and  several  other  strict  m junctions  and  decla- 
rations by  his  lordship  for  that  purpose  made  and  provided,  we 
do  here  enjoy  all  fitting  freedom  and  liberty  in  the  exercise 
of  our  religion,  and  that  none  of  us  are  in  any  way  troubled  or 
molested  by  reason  thereof". 

The  Protestants  so  understood  the  situation,  and  the 
Roman  Catholics  also  fully  understood  and  realized  that  it  was 
Baltimore's  settled  determination  to  make  Maryland  the  home 
of  religious  freedom ;  and  whatever  special  privileges  the  latter 
may  have  hoped  for  at  first,  it  soon  became  apparent  to  them 
that  the  cardinal  rule  in  Maryland  was  to  be  equal  rights  to 
all  and  special  privileges  to  none. 

In  addition  to  this,  there  is  the  famous  Toleration  Act, 
known  as  the  Act  concerning  religion.  Though  religious  tol- 
eration had  existed  in  practice  in  Maryland,  from  its  earliest 
settlement,  it  had  never  been  made  the  subject  of  legislative 
enactment,  and  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1649,  does  this  one 
of  "the  proudest  memorials'"  of  Maryland's  colonial  history  be- 
long.^    This  Act  has  been  the  subject  of  much  adverse  criti- 

^  Much  time  and  energ>-  have  been  expended,  both  by  Protestant 
and  Roman  Catholic  historians,  to  ascertain  the  religious  complexion 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  1649.  While  the  Governor  of  the  Prov- 
ince and  three  of  the  five  members  of  the  Council  at  that  time  were 
Protestants,  it  is  not  improbable  that  a.  majority  of  the  Burgesses 
were  Roman  Catholics,  but  at  the  session  of  the  Assembly  the  next 
year,  when  the  Act  concerning  religion,  as  well  as  many  other  Acts 
of  the  previous  session  were  re-considered  before  making  them  per- 
petual laws,  the  upper  house,  consisting  of  the  Governor  and  Council, 
was  composed  of  five  Protestants  and  two  Roman  Catholics,  and  the 
lower  house,  consisting  of  the  Burgesses,  had  eight  Protestants  and 
five  Roman  Catholics. 

The  Act  concerning  religion,  however,  was  not  treated  by  the 
Assembly  of  1649,  or  of  1650,  as  a  denominational  question,  but  it  was 
wholly  a  governmental  measure.  It  did  not  even  have  its  origin  in 
the  General  Assembly,  but  was  one  of  sixteen  laws,  looking  to  the 
strengthening  and  development  of  the  Maryland  Government,  which 
Cecilius  Lord  Baltimore  prepared  and  transmitted  to  the  Province, 
with  the  request  that  the  Assembly  pass  them.  Of  these,  the  .Assembly 
of  1649  passed  seven,  including  the  Act  concerning  religion,  but  owing 
to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  adjourned  without  passing  the  rest  of 
them.  The  Assembly  of  1650,  after  reviewing  and  considering  the  whole 
code  as  submitted  by   Baltimore,  enacted  a  substitute  for  Act  number 


72  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

cism,  because  of  the  very  severe  penalties  which  it  provided, 
and  because  the  language  m  which  it  was  couched  is  not 
as  comprehensive  as  that  which  might  be  employed  in  framing 
such  an  Act  at  this  day.  This,  however,  is  a  view  of  the  sub- 
ject which  is  largely  the  result  of  an  imperfect  conception  of 
the  scope  and  purjx)se  of  the  Act.  Penalties  at  that  time  were 
not  measured  so  much  by  the  gravity  of  the  ofTense,  as  by 
the  facilities  and  ease  for  committing  it.  The  penalty  for  petty 
larceny  at  one  time  was  death  because  of  this  fact,  a  penalty 
which  at  this  day  would  seem  wholly  unwarranted.  The  Long  i^ 
Parliament,  as  evidence  of  the  spirit  of  the  age,  in  May,  1648, 
passed  its  fearful  ordinance  against  "heresies  and  blasphemies" 
by  which  the  death  penalty  was  pronounced  against  all  who 
denied  the  belief  in  God,  the  doctri-ne  of  the  Trinity,  the  dogma 
of  predestination,  etc.  The  Toleration  Act  was  passed  with 
reference  to  the  times  and  conditions  as  they  existed  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  and  not  to  those  of  the  present 
day,  and  when  those  conditions  are  considered,  the  objections 
which'  have  been  framed  against  it  must  largely  fade  away  and 
disappear.  The  religious  troubles  of  that  time  were  between 
Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics,  and  if  peace  and  harmony 
could  be  made  to  prevail  among  them,  the  great  problem  was 
solved.  However  imperfect  it  may  be  adjudged  from  the 
standard  of  the  twentieth  century,  it  is  a  fact  that  it  did  most 
efifectually  meet  the  issues  of  that  day,  was  abundantly  compre- 
hensive for  that  purpose  and  marked  a  most  material  epoch  in 
the  history  of  civilization.  It  safeguarded  what  were  then  con- 
sidered the  most  sacred  institutions  of  the  Christian  religion, 
the  holiness  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity ; 
it  secured  the  fullest  freedom  of  worship  to  all  of  its  votaries, 

4  of  those  of  the  code  passed  at  the  previous' session,  and  formally 
adopted  the  remaining  nine  of  the  sixteen  laws  so  submitted. 

Nor  can  the  genesis  of  the  Act  concerning  religion  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  Cecilius  Lord  Baltimore  was  a  Roman  Catholic.  It  did  not 
emanate  from  Calvert  the  devoted  and  consistent  churchman,  but  from 
Calvert  the  sagacious  and   far-sighted  statesman. 

Johnson,  Foundation  of  Md.,  149:  Archives.  Ass.  Pro.,  1637-1664, 
240,  273.  77,  7S,  79  and  80. 


RELICxIO  us   TOLERATION  73 

and  it  wCnt  even  a  step  in  advance  of  the  present  time,  by 
protecting  the  feelings  of  the  people  against  the  use  of  re- 
proachful terms  in  niatters  relating  to  their  religion.  The  Act 
concerning  religion  was  not  confined,  either  by  proper  construc- 
tion or  in  its  application,  to  those  who  believed  in  Christianity 
only,  for  by  its  express  terms,  in  the  third  section  of  the  Act, 
it  protected  all  persons  whatsoever,  whether  inhabitants  of  the 
Province  or  those  only  trading  with  it,  from  approbius  epithets 
■ov  reproachful  terms  in-  the  matter  of  their  religion,  and  the 
public  records  of  the  Province,  it  is  believed,  do  not,  furnish  a 
single  instance  in  which  it  failed  to  protect  those  who  saw 
fit  to  place  themselves  under  its  provisions.  In  fact,  the  oath 
of  fidelity  to  his  lordship,  which  had  to  be  taken  by  every  one 
in  the  Province,  expressly  reserved  to  the  party  taking  it  "his 
liberty  of  conscience  in  jxjint  of  religion",  and  this  was  one 
of  the  sixteen  laws  sent  over  by  Baltimore  to  be  passed  by  the 
General  Assembly  along  with  the  Act  concerning  religion..  It 
is  charged  that  it  did  not  protect  the  Jew  or  the  Unitarian. 
They  were  not  a  part  of  the  Maryland  population  at  that 
time,  and  hence  not  an  issue,  but  when  they  came,  they  lived 
unmolested  and  in  religious  harmony  with  their  neighbors.  It 
has  also  been  charged  that  it  did  not  protect  the  Quakers,  and 
who  because  of  their  religion  were  driven  out  of  the  Province, 
but  this  is  not  true.  When  driven  out  of  Virginia,  they 
sought  admission  in  [Maryland,  and  were  granted  it.  They  re- 
fused, however,  to  take  the  oath  of  submission,  or  to  bind 
themselves  in  an\-  way  to  the  Maryland  government,  and  for 
that  reason,  just  as  would  be  done  under  like  conditions  at 
the  present  day,  they  were  ordered  to  leave  the  Province.  This 
they  did,  but  returning  later,  soon  l)ccame  a  prominent  element 
of  the  community. 

Maryland's  position  indeed,  in  the  matter  of  religious  tol- 
eration was  a  Iqng  stride  in  the  march  of  religious  freedom,  and(. 
a  most  important  factor  in  the  advancement  of  civilization.'    It 

'The  history  of  Rhode  Island,  in  the  matter  of  religious  tolera- 
tion, is  a  record,  while  broad  in  its  terms  was  very  limited  in  applica- 
tion, and  the  attitude  of  Roger  Williams  towards  it  is  indeed  unique, 
when  considered   in  connection   with  the    fact  that  he  enjoys  the  dis- 


74  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

was  an  age  of  intolerance ;  an  age  when  bigotry  was  the  bane 
of  every  religious  sect;  an  age,  as  has  been  well  said:  "when 
those  who  had  dwelt  under  oppression,  instead  of  learning  tol- 
erance by  their  experience,  had  but  imbibed  the  spirit  of  their 
oppressors".  •In  the  old  world,  whether  of  the  Church  of 
England,  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  or  the  Vatican  of  Rome,  the 
life  of  the  dissenter  and  non-conformist  was  one  of  oppression 
and  hardship.  And  in  the  new  world  conditions  were  no  bet- 
ter. In  the  North  and  in  the  South,  there  was  freedom  of 
worship,  but  only  for  themselves  and  for  those  who  would 
exercise  it  at  the  altar  of  their  particular  shrine.  In  Massachu- 
setts, the  Puritan  would  not  tolerate  the  Episcopalean,  and  in 
Virginia,  Carolina  and  New  York,  the  Episcopalean  gave  no 
quarter  either  to  the  Puritan  or  the  Roman  Catholic.    Even  in 

tinction  of  having  been  its  founder  and  patron.  In  1638,  five  years 
after  religious  toleration  had  been  established  in  Maryland,  appeared 
the  first  "compact"  for  the  government  of  Providence,  and  without 
interference  in  the  matter  of  religion.  It  was  signed  by  Richard 
Scott,  the  brother-in-law  of  Ann  Hutchinson,  whose  farcical  trial 
and  ruthless  banishment  from  Massachusetts  he  had  just  witnessed, 
and  by  twelve  others,  who  with  Scott  constituted  a  large  part  of  the 
little  colony  of  Providence.  This  "compact"  consisting  of  seventy- 
three  words  only,  in  its  original  form,  is  pasted  on  the  first  page  of  the 
fir$t  volumn  of  the  Providence  Records.  It  was  an  agreement  to  sub- 
mit in  obedience  to  all  such  orders  as  might  be  passed  for  the  public 
good  *  *  *  but  "only  in  civil  things".  It  was  the  last  four  words 
that  gave  to  the  document  a  marked  distinction  and  made  it  ring  with 
clearness  that  religious  liberty  was  the  watchword  of  the  hour.  Roger 
Williams  did  not  sign  the  "compact".  He  did  not  believe  in  a  govern- 
ment "only  in  things  civil",  but  in  a  s,tate  in  which  the  church  was  su- 
preme, and  in.  which  all  law  was  directed  from  a  spiritual  source. 
His  book,  George  Fox  Digged  Out  of  the  Burrowes,  ^nd  his  letters 
to  the  Endicotts  and  Winthropps,  still  preserved,  show  a  degree  of 
animosity  and  hatred  to  Quakers  and  heretics  that  would  make  the 
suggestion  of  religious  toleration  towards  them  a  caricature  and  a  trav- 
esty upon  words.  As  to-  them,  at  least,  his  police  regulation  must  be 
more  potent  and  far  reaching  than  that  of  a  government  "only  in 
things  civil". 

In  1643  the  first  Royal  charter  of  Rhode  Island  was  granted. 
It  was  obtained  by  Roger  Williams,  who  went  to  England  for  that 
purpose.  That  charter  did  not  contain  a  word  as  to  religion  or  a  word 
about  the  freedom  of  worship.    Later,  Jolin  Clark,  one  of  the  signers  of 


RELIGIOUS  TOLERATION  75 

Rhode  Island,  vvhere  a  higher  degree  of  freedom  is  supposed  to 
have  prevailed,  the  Roman  Cathohc  and  the  Jew,  were  deprived 
of  political  privileges  which   were  accorded  to  others. 

At  such  a  time,  and  under  such  conditions,  the  fact  that 
Maryland  unfurled  and  planted  upon  her  ramparts  the  banner 
of  religious  freedom  for  the  first  time  in  the  new  world  must 
be  accepted  by  the  impartial  historians  as  one  of  the  crown- 
ing glories  of  the  age.  for  it  was  significant  of  the  introduction 

the  "compact",  was  sent  to  England  to  obtain  a  new  charter,  and  with 
which  he  returned  in  1663.  It  fairly  bristled  with  the  spirit  of  rehgious 
toleration,  a  fact  which  seemed  to  stimulate  the  General  Assembly  of 
Rhode  Island,  of  which  Roger  Williams  was  a  member,  to  promptly 
pass  an  Act  disfranchising  Roman  Catholics  and  all  non-Christians. 
This  statute  continued  in  force  until  the  American  Revolution.'  There 
were  apparently  no  Roman  Catholics  in  Rhode  Island  to  test  the  validity 
of  this  Act;  but  some  Jews  undertook  to  do  so  in  1762,  upon  the  ground 
that  it  was  inconsistent  with  the  charter  of  1663.  The  Supreme  Court  of 
Rhode  Island,  however,  decided  that,  while  all  persons  living  in  that 
state  were  guaranteed  by  the  charter  protection  in  the  matter  of 
religion,  it  was  perfectly  competent  for  the  Legislature  to  pass  enact- 
ments which  would,  in  effect,  keep  out  of  the  state  the  votaries  of  any 
creed  which  the  people  of  Rhode  Island  did  not  want  among  them.  The 
record  of  the  court  reads:  "The  petition  of  Mess.  Aaron  Lopez  and 
Isaac  Elizar,  persons  professing  the  Jewish  religion  praying  that  they 
be  naturalized  *  *  By  the  charter  granted  to  this  colony,  it 
appears  that  the  free  and  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  Christian  Religion 
and  a  desire  of  propagating  the  same  wefe  the  principal  views  with  which 
this  colony  wa^;  settled,  and  by  a  law  made  and  passed  in  the  year 
1663,  no  person  \  who  does  not  profess  the  Christian  religion,  can  be 
admitted  free  into  this  colony.  The  Court  therefore,  unanimously  dis- 
misses this  petition  as  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  first  principles  on 
which  this  colony  was  founded,  and  a  law  of  the  same,  now  in  force." 

A  strange  religious  toleration  indeed  is  that  which  denies  civil 
liberty  because  of  religious  belief,  and  stranger  still  that  we  should 
be  taught  that  Rhode  Island  was  the  nursery  in  which  was  reared  the 
most  sublime  specimen  of  religious  liberty  which  the  world  had  ever 
seen,  and  that  Roger  Williams  was  the  great  apostle  who  nurtured  it 
to   maturity. 

Early  records  of  Providence,  vol.  i,  p.  15-20;  S.  A.  Pecka'm,  Jr., 
American  Hist.,  vol.  3,  No.  2;  Cobb,  vol.  i,  p.  4-38;  Knowles.  vol. 
3,  p.  10;  Justin  Winsor  Hist,  of  America,  vol.  3,  p.  379-80:  Rhode  Island 
Superior   Court  records,  March   Term,   1762. 


76  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

not  only  of  a  new  era  and  a  new  element  into  the  history  of 
human  civilization,  but  of  a  powerful  movement  in  the  progress 
of  its  fuller  and  higher  developments.  It  was  an  act  in  advance 
of  the  times,  and  a  new  thought  for  the  human  mind. 

And  thus  it  was,  that,  amid  all  the  religious  fermentations 
of  the  times  and  the  persecutions  of  the  age,  in  Maryland,  upon 
a  foundation  wisely  and  securely  laid,  there  rose  up,  in  majestic 
grace  and  in  matchless  splendor,  an  altar  to  religious  free- 
dom before  which  every  man  could  worship  his  God,  without 
fear  and  without  favor,  and  in  whatever  creed  he  believed 
would  best  enable  him  to  renew  his  peace  with  his  Maker  and 
his  charity  with  the  world. 

Authorities :  Baltimore's  Instructions,  1633,  Md.  Hist.  Soc.  and 
Makers  of  America,  page  46;  Archives  Pro.  Ct.  1638,  p.  35;  Ibid  38; 
Ibid  Ass.  Pro.  1642,  p.  119;  Ibid  Pro.  CI.  1648,  p.  209;  Ibid  Ass.  Pro. 
1649,  p.  244;  Bozman  2,  p.  72;  Day  Star,  35  to  66. 


CHAPTER  V 

Separation  of  Church  and  State  in 
Colonial  Maryland 


pOR  more  than  a  thousand  years  the  whole  of  Qiristendom 
had  been  governed  by  a  union  of  Church  and  State,  with  the 
result  that,  the  Church  grasping  for  more  power  and  larger 
dominion,  and  the  State  frantically  endeavoring  to  prevent 
further  encroachments  upon  its  authority,  the  world,  iv6m  time 
to  time,  had  been  convulsed  with  their  feuds  and  their  turmoil. 
The  evils  of  the  system  were  distinctly  felt,  but  how  to  avert 
or  overcome  them  seems  not  to  have  been  clearly  understood 
and  it  fell  to  the  destiny  of  ^Maryland  to  work  out  that  abstruce 
problem  in  political  economy. 

Cecilius  Lord  Baltimore,  with  keen  discernment  and  far- 
sighted  sagacity,  knew  that  the  blending  of  religion  and  poH- 
tics  was  degrading  to  the  Church  and  detrimental  to  the  State, 
and  that  it  had  been  responsible  for  the  great  political  up- 
heavals and  reHgious  fermentation  which  had  characterized  its 
existence  from  time  immemorial.  ,  Maryland  was  to  stand  upon 
a  higher  and  a  more  enlightened  plane,  and  to  that  end  in 
Maryland  there  must  be  a  complete  separation  of  Church  and 
State.  It  was  a  prodigious  undertaking,  for  it  at  once  involved 
the  positive  assertion  of  the  temporal  powers  over  ecclesiastical 
persons  and  things,  and  that,  too,  in  direct  violation  of  the 
Papal  Bull  on  that  subject,  but  it  meant  also  the  absolute  over- 
throw of  the  Canon  law  so  far  as  Maryland  was  concerned. 
The  Canon  law  was  the  law  of  the  Church  and  the  law  under 
which  the  Church  performed  its  functions  in  govemniental 
affairs.  It  not  only  asserted  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all 
ecclesiastical  persons,  property  and  things,  but  it  had  made 
such  gradual,  yet  steady  encroachment  upon  the  civil  law  that 
it  had  drawn  manv  of  the  most  important  departments  of  the 


78  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

latter  within  the  circle  of  the  ecclesiastical  authority.  It 
claimed,  among  other  things,  the  exclusive  right  over  all 
matters  testamentary  and  in  accordance  with  its  own  rules,  as 
•well  as  over  all  questions  of  marriage  and  divorce.  It  de- 
manded exemption,  both  as  to  ecclesiastical  persons  and  prop- 
erty, from  the  civil  authorities  and  the  right  of  the  Church 
to  hold  land  without  interference  by  the  civil  powers  and  free 
from  all  public  charges.  This  was  not  consistent  with  Balti- 
more's broad  policy  as  to  Maryland.  Equal  rights  to  all,  but 
special  privileges  to  none,  was  a  cardinal  rule.  The  civil  law 
alone  was  to  prevail.  It  was  to  stand  as  the  shield  and  pro- 
tector of  all  alike,  a  rule  to  which  there  was  to  be  no  excep- 
tions, either  lay  or  ecclesiastical.  The  Canon  law  was  not  to 
find  lodgment  in  Maryland,  and  to  whatever  extent  it  had  done 
so,  it  must  be  displaced.  In  Maryland  there  could  be  no  set- 
tlement of  estates  or  questions  of  marriage  and  divorce  deter- 
mined by  ecclesiastical  courts,  or  by  Canon  law  rules ;  no  leg- 
islation by  ecclesiastical  bodies  applicable  to  ecclesiastical  per- 
sons and  things  ;  no  exemption  of  ecclesiastical  persons  or  prop- 
erty from  the  temporal  authority ;  no  holding  of  lands  in  mort- 
main and  free  from  public  charges  by  ecclesiastical  persons  or 
corporations,  or  by  any  one  else  for  their  use  and  benefit;  no 
interference  in  any  way  whatsoever  by  ecclesiastical  persons,  as 
such,  with  secular  and  governmental  administration.  The 
Church  and  State  must  stand  apart,  each  away  from  the  other, 
and  each  occupy  its  appropriate  position  in  ecclesiastical  and  in 
secular  afifairs. 

Maryland,  as  yet  very  youngs  had  not  had  any  of  its  func- 
tions of  government  administered  by  ecclesiastical  persons  or 
their  tribunals,  but  the  claim  that  the.  Canon  law  was  to  pre- 
vail in  Maryland,  because  it  was  the  law  of  the  Church,  had 
been  distinctly  made,  and  the  Jesuits,  who  were  the  only  ec- 
clesiastics in  Maryland  at  that  time,  were  already  acquiring 
large  tracts  of  land  from  the  Indians  and  holding  them  for 
the  "use  of  the  society",  without  regard  either  for  Baltimore  or 
the  rules  of  his  land  office.  It  was  truly  a  momentous  issue 
and  a  critical  moment  for  the  Proprietary,  and  one  that,  unless 


SEPARATIOX  OF  CHURCH  AXD  STATK        79 

handled  with  .consummate  skill,  would  inevitably  bring  him  at 
war  with  his  Church,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  But  with  a 
grandeur  of  nature,  strength  of  manhood. and  keen  diplomacy, 
which  marked  Cecilius  Lord  Baltimore  as  one  of  the  foremost 
men  of  his  age,  he  fully  measured  up  to  the  requirements  of 
tlie  hour.  Discreetly,  but  firmly,  he  now  proceeded  to  put  into 
execution  the  plans  which  he  had  matured  for  his  policy  as  to 
^laryland.  He  did  not  issue  a  proclamation  on  the  subject, 
thus  averting  possible,  confusion  and  perhaps  alarm.  Xor  did 
he  attempt  to  cover  the  entire  subject  matter  by  one  general 
ordinance.  He  selected  and  sent  over  to  Maryland  to  carry  out 
his  policy,  Mr.  John  Lewger,  a  brilliant  scholar  and  a  strong 
man.  He  arrived  in  Maryland  in  1637,  armed  with  a  commis- 
sion as  secretary  of  the  Province.  The  same  document  also 
made  him  sole  commissioner  in  all  matters  testamentary  in 
Maryland  for  the  proving  of  wills  and  the  granting  of  adminis- 
'tration.  Mr.  Lewger  at  once  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the 
office  of  testamentary  commissioner.  Thus  did  Baltimore  clearly 
assert  and  establish  jurisdiction  of  the  temporal  authority  over 
all  matters  testamentary  arising  in  the  Province,  ecclesiastical 
persons  and  property  inclusive.  He  next  procured,  through 
Secretary  Lewger,  the  passage  of  an  Act  of  Assembly  adopting 
the  law  of  England  as  the  law  of  Maryland,  and  by  which  laws 
the  courts  were  to  try  all  persons  and  causes,  except  where 
there  was  a  law  of  the  Province  on  the  subject.  Thus  was 
the  temporal  power  over  all  laws  and  judicial  proceedings  as- 
serted and  secured,  closing  all  further  question  as  to  the  eccles- 
iastical law  and  ecclesiastical  courts  in  Maryland.  An  Act  re- 
lating to  marriage  and  divorce  was  tiext  pas.sed,  and  by  it, 
the  whole  subject  and  questions  relating  thereto,  were  brought 
directly  within  the  control  of  the  civil,  rather  than  the  ecclesias- 
tical authority.  Baltimore  now  issued  new  conditions  of  plan- 
tation, by  which  he  prohibited  churches  or  any  corporation,  ec- 
clesiastical or  temporal,  from  taking  up  lands  in  Maryland, 
or  of  holding  them  from  any  source  whatever,  for  the  use  of 
any  church,  society  or  corporation,  in  all  cases  which  were 
covered  by  the  English  statute  of  mortmain.  Thus  did  he 
effectually  put  an  end  to  the  scheme  of  building  up  in  Maryland 


8o  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

of  vast  landed  estates  for  the  use  of  religious  societies,  and  to- 
wards which  the  foundation  had  been  so  distinctly  laid.  He  next 
demanded  the  surrender  of  all  the  lands  which  the  Jesuits  had 
obtained  from  the  Indians,  and  which  they  were  holding  for 
the  use  of  the  society.  This  order,  when  complied  with,  would 
fully  round  out  and  complete  his  whole  policy  in  the  matter 
of  Church  and  State  in  Maryland,  and  place  it  upon  a  founda- 
tion as  enduring  as  he,  Secretary  Lewger  and  the  Maryland 
Legislature  could  make  it.  No  Canon  law  or  Canon  law  court ; 
no  exemptions  of  any  kind  whatsoever,  either  lay  or  ecclesi- 
astical as  to  persons  or  property  and  no  estates  to  be  held  in 
mortmain. 

By  this  time  the  Maryland  Mission  was  in  a  state  of  su- 
preme consternation  and  prepared  to  make  the  warmest  re- 
sistance to  what  it  deemed  a  burning  outrage  upon  the  "Di- 
vine rights  of  the  Church."  The  first  proposition  was  that 
Baltimore  would  enter  into  a  secret  treaty  with  the  Maryland 
Mission,  by  which  its  members  would  publicly  appear  to  be 
amenable  to  the  new  condition  of  things,  but  that  in  reality, 
they  would  not  be.  Failing,  of  course,  in  this,  they  disputed 
his  title  to  the  lands  they  had  acquired  from  the  Indians,  alleg- 
ing that  the  Indian  title  was  superior  to.  that  of  the  English 
Crown.  They  then  referred  all  that  transpired  to  Rome,  with 
the  request,  that  it  be  there  decided,  whether  they  were  not  en- 
titled to  the  Canon  law  in  Maryland  by  Divine  right ;  whether 
they  were  not  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  and  exemptions,  both 
as  to  person  and  property,  found  in  all  Roman  Catholic  coun- 
tries ;  whether  all  questions  of  marriage  and  divorce,  were  still 
not  under  Church  control,  and  all  matters  testamentary  also,  and 
particularly  whether  a  Roman  Catholic  executor  would  still  not 
be  entitled  to  pay  out  from  the  estate  of  the  deceased,  his  spirit- 
ual obligations  before  paying  his  legal  debts-,  and  finally,  whether 
the  whole  proceeding  was  not  null  and  void,  and  would  not  the 
attempt  of  Baltimore  to  enforce  it  clearly  subject  him  to  the 
penalty  of  excommunication.  Baltimore,  however,  was  not 
resting  on  his  oars.  As  soon  as  his  policy  had  taken  definite 
shape,  he  submitted  the  whole  matter  to  Father  Henry  Moore, 
the  provincial  of  England,  who  in  turn  laid  it  before  the  author- 


SEPARATION  OF  CHURCH  AND  STATE        8i 

ities  af  Rome.  It  was  promptly  decided  that  there  was  nothing 
in  the  conditions  of  plantation  which  would  in  any  way  render 
Baltimore  liable  to  the  censure  of  ex-communication.  It  was 
also  held,  that  Baltimore  was  entitled  to  have  all  the  lands 
surrendered  to  him  which  the  society  had  obtained  from  the 
Indians,  or  from  any  other  source,  for  the  Use  of  the  Church, 
and  as  the  provincial  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  England,  he 
executed  to  Cecilius  Lord  Baltimore,  a  deed  conveying  the 
estate  of  INIattapany;  the  manors  of  the  Imrnaculate  Concep- 
tion and  Saint  Gregory,  as  well  as  any  and  all  other  lands  in 
Maryland,  which  the  society  had  obtained  from  the  Indians 
and  from  all  other  sources  for  the  use  of  the  society.  There 
was  also  a  renunciation  of  all  claims  to  exemptions  from  the 
operations  of  the  civil  law,  and  an  acknowledgment  of  the 
power  of  the  temporal  authorities  to  have  exclusive  jurisdic- 
tion over  matters  testamentary  amd  matrimonial.  Beyond  this 
the  records  do  not  disclose  how  the  Canon  law  question  and 
that  of  temporal  or  eccle\siastical  supremacy,  were  settled,  but 
it  all  seems  to  have  been  suddenly  abandoned  and  nothing  more 
is  heard  of  it.* 

'  Cecilius  Lord  Baltimore,  while  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  one  whose 
churchmanship  is  not  in  question,  entertained  a  great  dislike  to  the 
Jesuits.  He  did  not  trust  them.  "T  am  satisfied",  he  wrote  Governor 
Leonard  Calvert  "that  they  do  design  my  destruction,  and  I  have  too 
good  cause  to  suspect  that,  if  thej»  cannot  make  or  maintain  a  party 
by  degrees  among  the  English  to  bring  their  ends  about  they  will  en- 
deavor to  do  it  by  the  Indians,  by  arming  them  against  all  those  that 
shall  oppose  them,  and  all  under  pretense  of  God's  honor  and  the 
propagation  of  the  Christian  faith,  which  shall  be  the  mask  and  vizor 
to  hide  their  other  designs  withal".  He  informs  Governor  Calvert  that 
another  of  them  "hath  by  a  schleight  got  aboard"  and  had  started  for 
Maryland.  He  wants  him  intercepted  and  sent  back  at  once,  but  should 
he  "escape  your  hands",,  then  "do  not  fail  to  send  Mr.  Copley  away  from 
thence  by  the  next  shipping".  Thomas  Copley,  the  leader  of  the  Mary- 
land Mission,  had  been  a  troublesome  factor  and  a  disturbi.ng  element 
in  the  community,  and  to  have  the  two  in  the  Province  at  the  same 
time,  was  more  than  he  deemed  it  wise  to  permit.  Baltimore  did 
not  designate  them  as  Jesuits,  but  contemptuously  refers  to  them  as 
"those  of  the  hill  of  St.  Inigoe's",  that  being  the  name  of  the  place  at 
which  the  order  was  founded  by  Inigoes  Lopez,   Saint  Ignatius.     He 


82  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Thus  it  was  that  this  important  corner  stone  to  the  state- 
hood of  Maryland,  was  securely  laid,  and  thus  was  organized 
the  first  civil  g-overnment  in  the  history  of  the  Christian 
world  which  was  established  upon  the  distinctive  basis  of 
independence  of  Church  and  State  in  their  relations  to  each 
other.  This  great  principle,  however,  was  slow  in  taking  root 
elsewhere,  owang  to  the  opposition  of  the  Church,  and  of  what- 
ever church  happened  to  be  the  established  church  of  the  land. 
But  it  came.  Its  voice  was  heard  again  when  Maryland  framed 
her  bill  of  rights ;  it  flashed  anew  when  the  time  came  to  formu- 
late the  Federal  Constitution,  and  its  echoes  have  been  heard 
again  and  again,  when,  from  time  to  time,  within  the  last  two 
hundred  years,  the  glad  tidings  of  advancing  humanity,  have 
been  wafted  to  us  from  lands  beyond  the  sea,  until  today,  the 
adoption  of  that  great  principle  of  true  statehood  to  which 
Maryland  gave  birth  and  nurtured  to  maturity,  is  almost  co- 
extensive with  civilization  itself. 

orders  the  Governor  under  no  conditions  to  allow  them  to  take  up  any 
more  land  in  Maryland.  In  1641,  Baltimore  asked  that  a  Prefect  and 
Secular  Priest  authority  be  granted  for  Maryland.  This  was  done, 
and  permission  was  given  Baltimore  to  remove  the  Jesuits.  Don  Ros- 
setti,  Arch  Bishop  of  Farus,  was  desigriated  to  take  charge  of  Maryland. 
He  did  not,  however,  come  and  the  Jesuits  were  not  removed.  Johnson 
Foundation  of  Maryland  64;  Calvert  Papers  No.  1-216. 

References :  Johnson,  Foundation  of  Maryland,  p.  58;  Maryland 
Historical  Society,  F.  P.  number  18,  P.  56-63;  Archives,  Pro.  CI.  p.  58; 
Archives,  Ass.  Pro.  p.  82-97 ;  Stoneyhurst  Mss. ,  Anglia  No.  108- A, 
vol.  4;  Calvert  papers,  vol.  i,  p.  157-166,  Md.  His.  Soc.  F.  P.  number 
9,  p.  249;  Stoneyhurst  Mss.  Anglia,  vol.  4,  p.   108. 


CHAPTER  VI 
The  Land  Tenure  of  Colonial  Maryland 


gY  the  Maryland  Charter,  the  Baron  of  Baltimore  was 
made  the  "true  and  absolute  Lord  and  Proprietary"  of 
Maryland,  and  invested  with  all  the  "rights,  prerogatives 
and  immunities"  that  had  ever  been  enjoyed  by  the  Bishop 
of  the  County  Palatine  of  Durham — than  which,  no  higher 
grant  was  ever  made  to  an  English  subject. 

Of  the  Counties  Palatine  (so  called,  because  in  a  Palatio, 
.the  owner  was  the  supreme  power,  as  fully  as  was  the  King 
in  his  palace),  Durham,  was  the  only  one  in  England  at  that 
time,  which  was  held  by  a  subject,  and  hence,  the  one  named 
in  the  Charter/ 

As  the  "ruler  of  the  Province  and  the  owner  of  its  soil", 
Baltimore  was  also  expressly  authorized  and  empowered  to 
dispose  of  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  premises,  or  of  any 
estate  or  interest  in  its  lands,  for  such  time,  and  on  such  terms 
as  to  him  might  seem  most  expedient.  The  Charter  also 
invested  him  with  the   right  to*  introduce  in   Maryland,  the 

'  Kilty,  Landholder's  Assistant,  p.  12. 

But  the  juro  regatio,  which  attached  to  the  person  of  the  King, 
did  not  attach  to  Lord  Baltimore.  He  did  not  have  the  incidental  pre- 
rogatives of  the  King,  and  only  such  of  the  direct  ones  as  were  ex- 
pressly granted  by  the  Charter. — 2  H.  &  J.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  250. 

The  Proprietor  had  even  more  power  than  any.  Bishop  of  Durham 
ever  had.  Within  the  Province  of  Maryland,  the  Proprietor  had  legal 
power.  It  was  *his  justice  that  was  administered  in  the  courts,  and  all 
writs  and  warrants  were  issued  in  his  name.  These  courts 'were  ap- 
pointed by  him,  and  he  determined  their  jurisdiction  and  manner  of 
proceeding.  In  them  he  had  the  laws  executed,  and  passed  sentences 
amounting  even  to  confiscation  and  death.  He  likewise  had  the  royal 
power  of  pardon,  and  had  admiralty  jurisdiction.  The  Proprietor 
could  erect  towns,  boroughs,  cities,  and  ports  of  entry  and  departure. 


84  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

feudal   system,    which   had   then   been   practically   broken    up 
in  England,  and  further  provided  that  the  statute  of  "Quia 

From  the  Proprietor  all  land  was  held.  He  received  all  escheats 
and  fines  for  alienations,  and  had  sovereign  title  to  all  mines,  wastes, 
forests,  and  chases.  He  could  erect  manors  with  court  leet  and  court 
baron.  The  Proprietor  could  raise  troops  and  levy  defensive  warfare, 
even  pursuing  enemies  without  the  limits  of  the  Province.  He  could 
impose  duties  upon  ships  and  merchandise.  He  could  establish  churches 
and  chapels,  and  have  them  consecrated  according  to  the  ecclesiastical 
laws  of  England.  He  held  their  patronage  and  advowsons.  Only 
through  the  Proprietor  could  the  King  do  anything  in  the  Province. 
All  these  powers  belonged  to  the  Palatine  of  Durham,  and  all  except 
the  ecclesiastical  were  exercised  by  the  Proprietor  of  Maryland. 

In  the  matter  of  legislation  there  is  a  difference.  There  was  no  pro- 
vision in  Durham  for  the  assembling  of  the  people  to  make  laws.  H 
the  Palatine  wanted  any  new  laws,  they  were  passed  by  his  Council, 
which  was  composed  of  the  chief  men  of  the  county.  The  Proprietor, 
however,  had  the  right  to  call  assemblies  of  the  freemen  and  enact  laws 
with  their  assent.  But  the  colonists  insisted  on  their  right  to  propose 
and  enact  laws  with  the  assent  of  the  Proprietor.  This  right  was  ob- 
tained. The  Proprietor  retained  his  right  to  initiate  some  legislation 
but  not  all.  Maryland  laws,  like  those  of  Durham,  were  published  in 
the  courts.  The  Proprietor  was  not  obliged  to  submit  these  laws  to 
the  Crown  for  approval.  In  addition,  the  Proprietor  could  publish  ordi- 
nances not  extending  to  life,  member,  or  property.  This  has  been  aptly 
designated  as  a  police  power.  Again,  the  Proprietor  possessed  an  ad- 
vantage over  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  in  that  cases  between  the  Bishop 
and  his  subjects  could  be  appealed  to  the  Court  of  Exchequer  in  Lon- 
don, whereas  cases  between  the  Proprietor  and  his  subjects  were  finally 
settled  in  the  Proprietor's  courts,  from  which  there  was  no  appeal  to  the 
King.  Parliament  levied  taxes  on  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  and  these 
were  collected  by  his  officers,  as  taxes  'were  collected  in  Maryland  by 
the  Proprietor's  officers,  but  Parliament  had  no  power  to  tax  the  Pro- 
prietor of  Maryland,  and  the  Charter  exempted  him  from  royal  taxation. 
The  administrative  machinery  of  the  Proprietary  Government  bears 
some  likeness  to  that  of  the  Durham  Palatinate.  The  Governor  of 
Maryland  was  its  administrative  head.  He  had  the  highest  judicial 
jurisdiction,  and  presided  over  the. Court  of  Chancery.  Thus  he  resem- 
bled the  Chancellor  of  Temporalities  of  the  Bishopric  of  Durham.  In 
l)oth  governments  are  seen  the  Receiver  General.  In  both  the  Sheriff 
was  the  executive  officer  of  the  Palatine,  collected  the  revenue,  and  was 
responsible  to  the  Palatine  alone.  The  Seneschal  of  Durham  bore  some 
resemblance  to  the  Surveyor  General  of^  Maryland,  and  Bailiff  to  the 


THE    LAND    T  E  X  L  R  !•  85 

Emptoris"/  fntended  to  prevent  subinfeudation,  and  which 
had,  in  effect,  aboh-hed  the  manorial  system  in  England, 
should  be  dispensed  with,  and  conferred  upon  him  the  privi- 
lege of  erecting  manors  in  Maryland,  with  all  the  manorial 
rights  which  had  been  incident  to  such  estates  in  England— 
thus  making  the  Baron  of  Baltimore  the  sole  tenant  of  the 
crown,  and  at  the  same  time  securing  to  him.  as  the  exclusive 
landlord  of  the  Province?  all  escheats,  fines,  and  forfeitures." 
The  Maryland  grant  was  to  be  held  by  Baltimore  of  the 
"Kings  of  England,  *  =•'  in  free  and  common  socage,  by  fealty 
only  for  all  services,"  and  subject  to  the  annual  render  of  "two 
Indian  arrows  from  those  parts",  to  be  delivered  at  Windsor 
Castle  on  Tuesday  of  Easter  week  in  every  year,  and  also, 
the  fifth  part  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  found  within  the 
Province.* 


'Constable.  The  Bishop's  Council  had  its  counterpart  in  the  Proprietor's 
Council,  which,  while  it  had  less  legislative,  had  more  judicial  power, 
and  also  retained  great  influence  in  legislation. 

The  division  of  the  Courts  into  County  Courts  and  Halmote  Courts, 
was  followed  in  the  powers  given  to  the  Provincial,  Chancery,  Admi- 
ralty and  Council,  and  to  the  County  Courts.  While  allegiance  to  the 
King  was  reserved,  the  oath  of  fidelity  was  taken  to  the  Proprietor,  and 
all  writs  ran  "in  the  year  of  our  dominion."  In  the  period  now  to  be 
considered,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Proprietor  had  vastly  more  power  in 
Maryland  than  the  King  had  in  England,  and  freely  exercised  his 
power.  In  no  other  American  colony.was  there  such  despotic  authority. 
In  none  was  such  absolute  government  ever  established  as  existed  in 
Maryland  in  this  period. — Causes  of  The  Maryland  Revolution  of 
1689,  pp.  27-29.  Sparks. 

^  The  statute  "Quia  Emptoris,"  enacted  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I, 
directed  that  in  all  sales  or  feoffments  of  land,  the  purchaser  of  the  land 
should  not  hold  of  his  immediate  feoffer,  but  of  the  chief  lord  of  the 
fee.  The  aim  of  the  statute  was  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  King, 
and  to  prevent  the  intermediate  lords  from  subinfeudating  their  lands. 
This  great  lanc^  law,  marking  an  epoch  in  the  constitutional  history  of 
England,  enacted  in  1290,  was  virtually  set  aside  by  Charles  I,  after  an 
interval  of  three  and  a-half  centuries,  and  the  privilege  denied  the  great 
feudal  barons  of  England  was  bestowed  in  all  its  fullness  upon  the 
young  Irish  peer. — Local   Institutions  of  Maryland,  p.   13,  Wilhelm. 

-The  Charter:  Kilty,  p.  28;  Ground  Rents  in  Maryland,  pp.   ii-i.V 

•■'  Maryland   Charter. 


86  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

By  a  species  of  tenure  similar  to  that  under  which  he 
held  the  Province,  Baltimore  granted  land  to  the  Maryland 
Colonists.  The  fact  that  his  lands  would  be  unproductive 
unless  they  were  occupied,  prompted  him  at  once  to  adopt 
and  publish  a  general  land  system.  It  proved  a  good  one, 
not  only  as  a  means  of  producing  a  constantly  increasing 
revenue  to  himself,  but  in  its  results  upon  the  economic 
welfare  of  the  community  and  the  material  development  of 
the  Province.^ 

To  encourage  persons  to  come  and  bring  their  dependents 
and  servants  with  them,  his  lands  were  offered  on  the  most 
generous  terms.  These,  it  is  true,  were  less  liberal  at  a  later 
period  than  at  first,  but  they  were  always  sufficiently  so  to 
stimulate  the  growth  of  the  Colony,  and  at  the  same  time, 
afford  a  source  of  lucrative  revenue  to  the  Proprietary.  The 
conditions  upon  which  land  could  be  obtained,  and  the  terms 
and  character  of  the  grant,  were  fully  set  forth  in  proclama- 
tions, or  "Conditions  of  Plantation",  as  they  were  called, 
issued  by  the  Proprietary  from  time  to  time. 

Under  the  first  "Conditions  of  Plantation",  every  free- 
man who  came  to  Maryland  to  "inhabit  and  plant"  was 
entitled,  without  cost  or  charge,  except  the  annual  quit  rent, 
to  one  hundred  acres  of  land  for  himself,  a  like  quantity  for 
his  wife,  every  child  over  sixteen,  and  each  servant,  and  fifty 
acres  for  every  child  under  sixteen  years  of  age,  to  be  held 

^  The  area  of  Maryland  is  6,000,000  acres,  exclusive  of  its  water 
area,  which  is  about  1,000,000  acres.  The  territory  within  its  charter 
limits  comprised  about  10,000,000  acres  of  land,  embracing,  in  addition 
to  its  present  domain,  the  entire  State  of  Delaware,  that  part  of  Pennsyl- 
vania lying  south  of  the  parallel  of  Philadelphia,  extending  to  the  most 
westerly  ridge  of  the  Alleghanies,  a  part  of  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  that  part  of  West  Virginia  lying  between  the  North  and 
South  Branches  of  the  Potomac — McMahon,  pp.  18-59;  Brown,  pp.  134- 
137;  Local  Institutions  of  Maryland,  pp.  8-9.  While  not  within  the 
scope  of  this  treatise  to  deal  with  the  methods  by  which  Maryland  was 
robbed  of  her  territory,  it  should  be  noted  in  passing,  that  they  furnish 
a  disgraceful  commentary  upon  the  times,  reflecting  alike  upon  the 
English  Crown  and  the  beneficiaries  of  the  spoils. 


THE    LAND    TEX  C  R  E  87 

by  "hini  and  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever",  in  free  and 
common  socage"  of  Baltimore  as  the  Lord  I'njprietary.' 

In  1641,  the  amount  of  land  given,  was  reduced  to  fifty 
acres  for  every  adult,  and  twenty-five  acres  for  every  child." 

If  those  transported  exceeded  a  certain  number,  he  was 
entitled  for  their  transportation,  not  only  what  they  could 
each  separately  have  claimed,  had  they  come  at  their  own 
expense,  but  to  an  additional  quantity,  proportioned  to  the 
number,  age,  and  sex  of  such  persons  transported,  the  largest 
premiums  being  paid  for  males  between  sixteen  and  fifty,  and 
females  between  fourteen  and  forty,  years  of  age — thus  induc- 
ing small  but  vigorous  settlements  in  the  Province,  which 
would  become  the  industrial  centres  of  their  respective  locali- 
ties.^ It  also  depended  upon  the  time  of  immigration.  At 
first  2000  acres  were  given  for  the  transportation  of  five  men, 
but,  in  1636,  the  number  was  increased  to  ten.  and,  in  1641, 
to  twenty  able  men  and  women,  between  the  ages  above 
mentioned.''  A  further  consideration  imposed  by  the  last 
mentioned  proclamation,  was  that  each  of  said  twenty-persons, 
as  a  means  of  giving  additional  military  defense,  should  come 
provided  with  the  following  arms  and  ammfunition :  "one 
musket  or  bastard  musket ;  10  lbs.  of  powder :  40  lbs.  of  lead, 
bullets,  pistol  and  goose  shot,  each  sort  some  :  one  sword  and 
belt,  and  one  brandeleer  and  flask"."  Special  grants  of  larger 
size  were  sometimes  made  from'personal  considerations,  or  on 
account  of  public  or  private  services  rendered. 

In  1683,  however,  Baltimore,  deeming  these  inducements 
no  longer  necessary  to  insure  the  success  and  prosperity  of  the 
colony,  abolished  them,  and  adopted  a  new  "land  system", 
under  which  no  premiums  were  offered  for  the  transportation 

'  The  grants,  it  appears,  were  intended  to  be  for  an  indefeasable 
estate  of  inheritance  in   fee  simple. — Kilty,  p.  32. 

"Kilty,  pp.  29-31  ;  Relation,  1635;  Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1636 'and  1641) 
pp.  47  and  99- 

^  Local  Institutions  of  Maryland,  p.  15. 

*  Kilty,  pp.  29-31;  Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1636  and  1641)  pp.  47  and  49. 

"Ibid. 


88  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

of  person,  and  those  desiring  to  obtain  land  had  to  pay,  in 
addition  to  the  annual  quit-rent,  a  definite  amount  of  purchase 
money.  This  was  called  "caution  money",  because  it  had 
to  be  paid  before  the  warrant  could  issue/  At  first,  the 
amount  charged  was  only  50  lbs.  of  casked  tobacco  for  ever)- 
fifty  acres,  if  along  the  seaboard,  or  100  lbs.  if  in  the  interior,' 
Subsequently  it  was  increased  to  40  shillings  per  one  hundred 
acres,  and,  in  1738,  to  £s  sterling,  on  which  basis  it  continued 
until  the  American  Revolution.^ 

J  Lender  the  fir§t  proclamation  the  right  to  take  up  land, 
was  without  restriction  as  to  nationality,  but  by  the  one  of 
1636,  it  was  expressly  Hmited  to  persons  of  "British  and  Irish 
descent",^  except  that  grants  could  be  made,  after  1648, 
to  persons  of  "French,  Dutch,  and  Italian  descent",  in  the 
discretion  of  the  Governor^ — a  limitation  which  was  not 
removed  until  1683,  when,  for  the  first  time,  the  lands  of 
Maryland  were  open  to  all  persons  "living  m  or  trading 
within  the  Province",  who  choose  to  purchase  them." 

This  right,  however,  did  not  extend  to  corporations, 
religious  or  temporal,  which,  indeed,  as  early  as  1641,  were 
prohibited  from  acquiring  or  holding  land  in  Maryland  in  any 
manner  whatsoever,  or  enjoying  any  of  the  uses  in  them 
which  were  forbidden  by  the  "Statutes  of  Mortmain  prior  to 
Henry  VIII",  without  special  license  under  the  hand  and 
seal  of  the  Lord  Proprietary. 

In  no  other  State  did  the  statutes  of  Mortmain  take  root, 
but  the  early  act  of  Baltimore  in  introducing  them  in  Mary- 
land, made  a  lasting  irnpression.  His  order,  as  applicable  to 
ecclesiastical  bodies,  was  substantially  incorporated  in  the 
Maryland  Bill  of  Rights,  and  it  is  the  law  of  Maryland  to-day, 
that    lands    cannot    be    given,    sold,    or   devised    to    religious 

^  Kilty,   p.    124.  ^Archives    (CI.    Pro.    1683)    p.    142. 

^  Ground   Rents  in  Maryland,  p.  19. 

*  But  this  included  natives  of  Scotland,  the  union  having  previously 
taken  place,  and  also  natives  of  Wales,  who  were  British  hy  a  still  older 
title. 

"Archives   (CI.  Pro.   16,36,  1641,   1648)    pp.  48,  99.  222. 

"  McMahon,    p.    173. 


T  H  E    L  A  X  1)    T  I-:  X  L-  R  E  8y 

bodies,  or  for  .religious  uses,  except  to  tlie  extent  of  two  and 
a-half  acres  for  church  and  church  yard,  without  sanction  of 
the  General  Assembly.' 

At  first,  the  grant  was  obtained  by  filing  an  application 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Province.  If  the  claim  was  iluly 
substantiated  by  proof  of  the  date  of  immigration,  etc..  a 
certificate  to  that  effect  was  issued  and  addressed  to  the 
Governor,  who,  on  application  of  the  holder  thereof,  issued  a 
warrant  to  the  Surveyor  General,  commanding  him  to  "survey 
and  lay  out"  the  land  therein  specified.  Oh  the  execution 
of  this  warrant,  and  on  the  application  of  the  holder,  a  patent 
was  issued,  signed  by  the  Governor  and  attested  by  the 
Secretary  and  Surveyor  General  of  the  Province.* 

There  being  no  time  at  first  fixed  for  the  surrender,  and 
the  certificates  and  warrants  being  assignable  before  the 
patent  was  issued  on  them,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  coin,  and 
the  inconvenience  of  tobacco  as  a  currency,  they  were  fre- 
quently transferred  and  passed  about  as  so  much  money." 

But,  in  1643,  it  appearing  that  many  persons  had  long 
since  obtained  certificates  and  warrants  for  land  for  which  no 
patent  had  been  issued,  (thus  depriving  the  Proprietary  of 
his  "quit  rents",  which  did  not  commence  until  after  the 
date  of  the  patent),  a  proclamation  was  issued,  requiring  the 
holder  to  surrender  them  and  take  out  grants  for  the  same 
within  twelve  months  from  tha,t  date,  under  "pain  of  being 
refused  the  grant  after  said  time",'  which  largely  did  away 
with  their  value  as  a  circulating  medium. 

While  it  would  seem  that  the  Proprietary  intended  from 
the  outset,  that  all  land  grants  should  be  under  the  great  seal 
of  the  Province,  for  many  years  they  were  issued  under  the 
hand  and  seal  of  the  Governor  alone,  and  it  was  not  until 
1644,  when  the  duty  of  authenticating  patents  devolved  upon 
the    Chanceiror    of    the    Province,    that    the    great    seal    was 


*  Maryland  Bill  of  Rights;  Maryland  Constitution,  Article,  x 
'Kilty,  pp.  64,  65;  Local   Institutions  in   Maryland,  p.  27. 
'  Kilty,  p.  77- 
'ist   Council   Book,  p.  98;   Kilty,   p.  .^5- 


xxvni. 


90  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

attached.'  In  1680,  the  "Land  Office",  under  the  super- 
vision, at  first  of  a  "Register",  but  later  of  a  "Land 
Council",  and  still  later  of  a  "Judge  of  the  Land  Office", 
was  established,  and  it  became  the  place  where  all  proceedings 
relating  to  the  sale  and  granting  of  land  were  subsequently 
conducted.* 

The  Lord  Proprietary,  by  the  express  terms  of  the  Char- 
ter, held  his  lands  of  the  Crown,  in  ''free  and  common  socage, 
by  fealty  only  for  all  services",  and  his  grantees  held  of  him 
by  the  same  tenure.^ 

Tenure  is  the  "stipulated  condition  under  which  real 
property  is  held"  and  socage  tenure  was  that  class  of  them  in 
which  the  conditions  were  honorable  in  respect  to  quality  and 
certain  in  respect  to  quantity  and  the  time  of  exacting  them, 
as  distinguished  from  other  species  of  tenures,  which  were 
base  and  servile  as  to  character  of  conditions,  and  precarious 

'Bland,  Maryland  Reports,  i,  p.  308.  ^  Ibid. 

The  first  "Surveyor  General"  of  Maryland,  was  John  Langford, 
and  his  commission,  dated  March  24,  1641,  furnishes  the  only  instance 
on  record  of  an  office  held  for  life.  The  first  Register  of  the  Land  Office 
was  John  Llewellin,  who  had  been  Chief  Clerk  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Province  and  was  hence  familiar  with  its  land  affairs.  The  first  "Land 
Council,"  appointed  1684,  consisted  of  Major  Nicholas  Sewall,  Colonel 
Henry  Darnall,  Colonel  Edward  Digges  and  Mr.  John  Darnall.  The 
first  Judge  of  the  Land  Office  appointed  1715,  was  Mr.  Philomea  Lloyd, 
then  Deputy  Secretary  of  the  Province.  He  was  succeeded  in  turn  by 
Edmond  Jennings,  1732;  Levin  Gale,  1738;  Phillip  Thomas,  1743;  (the 
last  sole  Judge)  Benjamine  Tasker  and  Benjamine- Young,  1746;  Bene- 
dict Calvert  and  George  Steward,  1755;  who  continued  until  the  Revo- 
lution.— Kilty,  pp.  64,  III,  270. 

'The  estates, held  by  the  settlers  were  called  freeholds  in  Acts  of 
Assembly  and  elsewhere,  but  they  were  not  freeholds  of  the  present  day. 
Being  subject  to  the  annual  quit  rent,  they  were  .estates  in  trust,  rather 
than  allodial  estates,  and  were  feudal  in  form,  if  not  in  essence.  The 
holdings  being  assignable  and  transmissable,  formed  an  actual  estate 
of  inheritance. 

Restrictions,  however,  could  be  placed  by  lords  of  manors  upon 
their  under  tenants,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  a  manor  could  be 
sub-divided  into  smaller  manors  by  the  tenants.  But  it  was  quite  common 
for  the  lords  of  manors  to  subinfeudate  parts  of  their  estate.  This 
privilege  was  granted  by  the  conditions  of  1649.    They  were  empowered 


THE    LAND    TENURE  91 

and  uncertain. as  to  quantity  and  time.'  At  tlie  date  of  tin- 
Maryland  Charter,  this  was  the  most  popular  of  all  the 
English  tenures,  and  the  "free,  certain,  and  pacific  services" 
incident  to  it,  gave  it  advantages,  as  applicable  to  Maryland, 
in  encouraging  immigration  and  promoting  industry,  which 
none  other  possessed." 

It  was  a  remnant  of  feudal  tenure,  and  to  maintain  its 
character  as  such,  the  Proprietary  grants  were  so  framed  as  to 
require  the  land  to  be  held  as  of  one  of  his  manors,  named  in 
the  patent,  the  grant  to  him  being  held  of  the  Castle  of 
Windsor.^ 

The  condition  and  services  attached  to  the  grants,  were 
also  of  a  feudal  nature,  and  while  many  of  the  feudal  incidents 
of  socage  tenure  in  England  appear  never  to  have  prevailed  in 
Maryland,  those  of  fealty,  rent,  escheat,  relief,  and  fines  for 
alienation  and  devises  were  exacted. 

Fealty — allegiance  or  fidelity  to  the  Lord  Proprietary — 
was  an  inseparable  incident  of  every  grant,  and  all  persons 
holding  land  in  the  Province,  were  required  to  take  either  the 
"oath  of  fidelity"  or  "subscribe  the  engagement"  (a  substi- 
tute for  the  oath)  before  the  patent  was  issued.  And  this 
could  be  demanded  more  than  once,  under  penalty  of  being 
"proceeded  against  as  rebels  and  traitors",  and  seizure  and 
forfeiture  of  the  lands.* 

Escheats,  as  they  existed  in  early  Maryland,  may  be 
defined  to  be,  the  reversion  to  the  Proprietary,  of  the  land 
granted,  upon  the  conviction  of  the  tenant  of  crime,  or  upon 
his  death  without  heirs — the  land  being  taken  in  lieu  of  the 
feudal  services,  which  there  was  no  one  to  perform.  They 
still  exist,  but  upon  a  wholly  different  principle — that  of 
property  without  an  owner,  and  which  reverts  to  the  State,  to 

to  grant  any  portion  of  their  manor,  save  the  demesnes  to  any  English 
subject,  either  irt  fee  simple  or  fee  tail  for  life,  lives,  or  years,  and  under 
such  rents  not  prejudicial  to  his  lordship's  royal  jurisdiction.— Local 
Institutions  of  Maryland. 

'Kilty,  p.  24;  McMahon,  p.  168.  Mbi<l. 

'  Ground  Rents  in  Maryland ;  Kilty,  p.  24. 

*H.  &    McH.  Maryland  Reports,  3;   Bozman,  p.  403. 


92  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

be  held  for  the  benefit  of  all  of  its  citizens.  For  many  years 
it  was  deemed  necessary  here,  as  in  England,  to  establish  the 
fact  of  the  escheat  by  the  inquisition  of  a  jury,  before  the 
lands  could  be  again  disposed  of  by  the  Proprietary,  and  for 
that  purpose  an  "Escheator"  was  appointed.  But  in  the 
interval  between  1692  and  1715,  when  the  government  of  the 
Province  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Crown,  although  the  Proprie- 
tary's right  to  the  soil  was  admitted,  it  was  found  impracti- 
cable to  have  the  "inquest  of  office"  executed,  and  grants 
for  escheated  lands  came  to  be  made  without  it,  a  practice 
which  continued  after  the  government  was  restored  to  the 
Proprietary,  and  the  one  which  has  been  followed  ever  since.^ 

Fines  were  the  charges  imposed  upon  the  tenant  for  the 
privilege  of  selling  or  devising  the  land.  Under  the  socage 
tenure,  the  tenant  could  not  pass  his  title  to  another  without 
the  consent  of  the  landlord,  who,  for  the  trouble  and  incon- 
venience of  accepting  a  new  tenant,  was  entitled  to  compen- 
sation. In  Maryland  this  consisted  of  one  year's  rent, 
equal  in  amount  to  the  quit-rent  reserved  on  the  land 
disposed  of,  and  it  had  to  be  paid  before  the  sale  or  the 
devise  became  effective  or  capable  of  passing  the  title.^  This 
badge  of  feudalism  was  abolished  in  England  as  early  as  1660, 
but  remained  in  force  in  ^Maryland  until  1780,  except  fines 
for  devises  which  were  suspended  by  order  of  the  Proprietary, 
in  1742.=' 

Relief,  as  applicable  to  Maryland,  bare  close  analogy  to 
fines,  it  being  the  sum  exacted  upon  the  tenant  dying 
intestate,  and  the  land  passing  -to  the  heir  at  law.  It,  too, 
was  equal  in  amount  to  one  year's  rent,  and  had  to  be  paid 
before  the  title  could  vest  in  the  heir,  after  which  the  estate 
was  "relieved"  from  the  lapsed  state  into  which,  by  theory  of 
the   feudal  law,  it  had   fallen.*     This,  like  fines   for  devises, 

Moth  G.  &  J.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  451;   ist  Bland,   Ibid,  p.  307; 
1st  Gill,  Ibid,  p.  506. 

-'Ground  Rents  in  Maryland,  p.  31.  HIcMahon,  p.   175. 

*  (Ground    Rents  in  Maryland,  23   and  24. 


THE    LAND    TENURE 


93 


was  coHsiderecl  by  tlie  inhabitants  of  the  Province  a  great 
hardship,  and,  in  1742,  it  was  abolished.' 

Rent,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  tenancy,  as  well  as 
for  the  revenue,  was  always  reserved  in  the  grants  of  Mary- 
land lands.  These  rents  were  called  "quit  rents",  because 
being  a  fixed  sum  reserved  in  lieu  of  the  indefinite  feudal 
services  due  the  lord  of  the  fee,  the  tenant  was  "quit"  and 
discharged  from  the  performance  of  such  services.*  They 
were  payable  annually,  and  were  perpetual  in  point  of  dura- 
tion and  irredeemable.^  The  amount  depended^  upon  the 
date  of  the  grant,  or  rather  the  date  of  the  "Condition  of 
Plantation"  under  which  it  was  issued.  In  the  earlier  grants 
it  was  only  lolbs.  of  wheat  per  annum  for  every  50  acres. 
This  was  soon  increased  to  istbs.,  then  to  one  shilling,  and, 
in  1648,  it  was  raised  to  3  shillings,^  after  the  first  seven  years 
of  the  lease  and  to  20  shillings  after  the  next  14  years  on  which 
basis  it  continued  until  the  Revolution.  After  1648,  manorial 
lands  were  subject  to  40  shillings  for  every  2000  acres,  for  the 
first  seven  years ;  40  bushels  of  wheat,  or  £6  sterling,  for  each 
of  the  succeeding  fourteen  years,  after  which  to  the  twentietli 
part  of  the  annual  yield  of  the  land,  of  iio  sterling."  In  a 
few  special  cases,  however,  grants  were  made,  by  order  of  the 
Proprietary,  for  a  mere  nominal  consideration,  exacting  as  a 
token  of  fealty  only,  for  the  whole  tract  granted,  the  annual 
render  of  a  capon,  a  pair  of  pfillets,  an  Indian  arrow,  or  a 
bushel  of  corn." 

Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  money  in  the  Province,  quit 
rents  were,  in  1671,  commuted  to  payments  in  tobacco,  at  the 
rate  of  two  pence  per  pound,  a  duty  of  two  shillings  (half  for 

^  Proclamation  of  Governor  Bladen,  October  20,  1742. 

'ist  Bland,  Maryland  Reports,  pp.  43,  96;  Ground  Rents  in  Mary- 
land, p.  15. 

^  See  interesting  and  valuable  criticism  of  Mr.  Lewis  Mayer 
("Ground  Rents  in  Maryland,"  15  and  16)  as  to  whether  Maryland  quit 
rents  were  "rent  charges"  or  "rent   service." 

'Archives    (CI.  Pro.   1636,  1641,  1648)   pp.  47-  99.  221. 

Mbid,   1648,   p.   227,.  'Kilty. 


94  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

the  Proprietary  personally,  and  half  for  the  defense  of  the 
Province)  being  imposed  on  all  exported  tobacco,  in  consider- 
ation of  an  agreement  on  his  part  to  receive  his  rents  and  .fines 
in  that  commodity.'  This  continued  until  1717,  when  an 
Act  was  passed  giving  to  the  Proprietary,  for  his  exclusive 
use,  a  duty  of  two  shillings  sterling  on  every  hogshead,  and 
four  pence  sterling  per  hundred  on  every  box  of  tobacco 
exported  from  the  Province,  in  full  discharge  of  his  rents  and 
fines.'  But  this  Act  expired  in  1733,  and  they  again  became 
payable  either  in  money,  or  in  the  commodities  of  the  country, 
as  the  patent  prescribed.' 

The  "Maryland  quit  rents"  were,  from  an  early  period, 
a  source  of  trouble  to  the  people  of  the  Province,  and  a 
constant  subject  of  their  complaint,  not  because  of  the  amount 
involved,  but  the  inconvenience  and  difficulties  attending  the 
payment  of  them.  This  was  particularly  the  case  after  the 
system  of  allowing  payment  in  tobacco,  and  the  subsequent 
provision  for  payment  by  an  export  duty,  expired.  Repeated 
efforts  were  made  to  get  these  systems  renewed,  or  to  obtain 
some  other  which  would  afford  an  easy  mode  of  payment.  In 
1744,  the  Assembly  offered  to  increase  the  former  export  duty 
on  tobacco  to  two  shillings  and  six  pence  sterling,  if  the  pro- 
prietary would  accept  it  in  lieu  of  his  rents,  but  the  proposi- 
tion was  declined.  The  following  year  an  effort  was  made  to 
purchase  them,  the  Legislature  offering  to  pay  the  Proprie- 
tary, in  consideration  of  his  rents  and  fines,  five  thousand 
pounds  sterling  annually,  but  this  likewise  failed,  and  they 
continued  to  be  collected,  according  to  the  requisition  of  the 
patents,  until  the  American  Revolution,*  when,  the  Proprie- 
tary being  a  British  subject,  his  rents  and  other  landed  rights 
in  Maryland,  were  seized  and  confiscated  by  the  State,  which, 
declaring  quit  rents  to  be  "incompatible  with  absolute  sover- 
eignty", promptly  abolished  them,  and  forever  "exonerated 
and  discharged"  the  citizens  of  the  State  from  the  further 
payment  of  them.     Constructively,  fines  were  also  abolished, 

^  Act,   1671,  C.   11;  McMahon,  p.   178. 

^  Act,  1717,  C.  7.  "McMahon,  p.  170. 

*  McMahon,  p.    170. 


THE    LAND    TENURE  95 

so  that- by  this  Act,  the  people  of  Maryland  were  relieved  of 
two  features  of  their  land  tenure,  which  they  had  so  lonpj 
regarded  a  source  of  public  grievance.' 

The  quit  rent,  though  not  in  all  respects  analogous,  was 
the  origin  and  foundation  of  the  present  ground  rent  system 
in  Maryland.  It  was  a  small  rent  when  considered  individ- 
ually, but  collectively,  it  was  a  large  source  of  revenue  to  the 
Proprietary,  estimated,  in  1770,  to  amount  to  ^8,400  sterling." 
and,  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  his  rents  and  other  reve- 
nues from  land  were  estimated  at  £30,000  sterling  annually.' 

In  1780,  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  Act  which 
provided,  "that  all  property  within  this  State  (debts  only 
excepted)  belonging  to  British  subjects  shall  be  seized,  and  is 
hereby  confiscated  to  the  use  of  the  State",  and  at  tJie  same 
time,  William  Paca,  Uriah  Forest,  and  Clement  Hollyday. 
were  appointed  commissioners  to  preserve  said  lands.* 

It  was  subsequently  contended  that  this  Act  was  ineflFec- 
tive,  inasmuch  as  it  provided  for  confiscation  without  formal 
entry  and  seizin.  But  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  held,  that  under  the  Act  no  seizure  was  necessary,  and 
that  "the  commissioners  were,  by  operation  of  law,  in  full 
and  actual  seizure  and  possession  of  the  property,  though  no 
entry  or  other  act  had  been  made  or  done",  and  also,  that 
the  law,  itself  constituting  the  actual  confiscation  and  seizure, 
embraced  all  land  in  the  State  held  by  British  subjects,  even 
though  it  was  not  discovered  until  after  the  treaty  of  peace. 
1783,  which  declared  that  no  more  confiscations  should  be 
made.* 

Henry  Harford,  to  whom  the  Province  was  devised  by 
Frederick,  the  last  Lord  Baltimore,  estimated  the  loss  of  his 
lands,  rents,  and  fines  in  Maryland,  through  the  "Confisca- 


^Act,  1780,  C.  18. 
The  abolition  of  the   Proprietary   "quit-rents"'  did  not  of  course 
interfere  with  rents  issuing  from  long  leases,  known  as  "ground  rents" 
and  owned   by  private   individuals. 

''McMahon,  p.   172.  "Scharf,   2.  p.   374- 

*Act,  1780,  C.  45,  49- 

"6  Cranch,  United  States  Supreme  Court  Reports,  p.  286. 


96  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

tion  Act",  at  £447,000  sterling,  and  filed  a  claim  against  the 
British  Government  for  that  amount.  He  was  only  allowed 
£90,000,  of  which  £20,000  went  to  Louisa,  the  wife  of  John 
Browning,  and  Caroline,  the  wife  of  Sir  Robert  Eden — the 
devise  to  Harford  being  subject  to  a  charge  of  £10,000  to 
each  of  the  said  sisters  of  Frederick,  Lord  Baltimore." 

In  1783,  Harford  applied  to  the  Legislature  of  Maryland 
to  compensate  him  for  the  loss  of  his  "quit  rents",  alleging 
that  they  were  not  within  the  "Confiscation  Act",  but  the 
Assembly  determined  that  they  were  "subject  to  all  the  rules 
and  consequences  of  real  estate",  and  refused  either  to  pay 
for  or  restore  them,  declaring  at  the  same  time  that  the  people 
of  Maryland  should  not  occupy  "the  degraded  condition  of 
tenants  to  a  superior  lord,  a  foreigner,  and  a  British  sub- 
ject"." A  similar  efifort  was  made  as  late  as  1821,  by  Charles 
Browning,  son  and  heir  of  Louisa  Browning,  with  like  result, 
and  five  years  later,  it  was  attempted  to  establish  the  right  to 
them  through  the  Supreme  Cour|^of  the  United  States,  upon 
the  ground  that  the  Proprietorship  of  Maryland  belonged  to 
Louisa  Browning  on  the  death  of  her  brother,  Frederick, 
without  lawful  issue."  This  interesting  question,  however, 
was  ignored  by  the  Court,  which  decided  that  whatever  rights 
Louisa  Browning  may  have  had  in  the  premises,  they  had 
been  extinguished  (for  the  purposes  of  that  case)  by  an 
agreement  made  in  England  between  all  the  parties  in  inter- 

^  Scharf,  2,  p.  394.  '  Ground  Rents  in  Maryland,  p.  2,7. 

^Charles  Lord  Baltimore,  died  in  1751,  having  devised  the  Province 
of  Maryland  to  his  son  Frederick  and  his  assigns,  for  life ;  remainder  to 
the  sons  of  said  Frederick,  lawfully  begotten,  successively  in  tail  male ; 
remainder  to  the  daughters  of  said  Frederick ;  in  default  of  such  issue, 
then  to  his  oldest  daughter,  Louisa  (wife  of  John  Browning),  in  fee, 
subject  to  a  charge  of  £20,000  sterling  in  favor  of  his  daughter,  Caro- 
line (wife  of  Governor  Robert  Eden).  Frederick  Lord  Baltimore,  died 
in  1772,  without  lawful  issue,  having  devised  the  Province  to  his  illegiti- 
mate son,  Henry  Harford  and  his  heirs  male,  lawfully  begotten,  and  in 
default,  to  the  heirs  male  of  his  illegitimate  daughter,  Frances  Mary 
Harford,  subject  to  a  charge  of  £20,000  sterling  for  his  two  sisters, 
Louisa  Browning  and  Caroline  Eden.  In  1761,  and  again  in  1767, 
Frederick  Lord  Baltimore  attempted  to  dock  tlie  entailment  of  Maryland 


THE    LAND    TEYURE  97 

estj  tlrat,  for  certain  considerations,  the  devise  of  the  Province 
to  Henry  Harford  should  be  allowed  to  stand.' 

The  last  public  use  and  official  notice  made  of  the  old 
"Rent  Rolls""  and  "Debt  Books",  in  which  were  kept  the 
rents  and  fines  due  by  each  individual,  and  the  land  on  which 
it  accrued,  was  in  1777.  That  year,  land  in  Maryland,  for 
the  first  time,  was  made  the  subject  of  direct  taxation.  The 
Act  under  which  this  was  done — one  of  the  earliest  passed  by 
the  first  General  Assembly  of  the  Republic — provided  that 
from  "them"  should  be  made  "complete  lists  gf  the  names 
and  quantity  of  acres  of  every  tract  of  land,  and  to  whom  the 

made  by  his  father's  will.  Query — Could  the  Province  itself  be  en- 
tailed? If  it  could,  was  it  practicable  to  dock  the  entailment  by  a  com- 
mon recovery  suffered  by  the  Proprietary,  in  person  or  by  Attorney,  in 
one  of  his  ow^n  courts  in  Maryland?  By  the  will  of  Frederick,  Lord 
Baltimore,  £1500  sterling  were  bequeathed  to  Peter  Prevost,  and  a  like 
sum  to  Robert  Morris,  and  made  chargeable  upon  Maryland.  Peter 
Prevost  married  Hester  Wheland,  the  mother  of  Henry  and  Frances 
Wheland,  alias  Harford,  and  Robert  Morris  married  Frances  Harford. 
—2d  H.  &  McH.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  277;  Scharf,  2,  pp.  137.  i39- 

^  Cassell  vs.  Carroll,  11,  Wheaton,  p.  136. 

'When  Cecilius,  Lord  Baltimore,  established  his  "'Conditions  of 
Plantations,"  he  furnished  the  basis  of  a  pretty  accurate  census  of  the 
early  settlers  of  his  little  American  kingdom.  From  the  first,  lands 
were  granted  to  those  who  transported  persons  into  the  colony,  "to 
inhabit,"  and  the  names  of  those  "transports,"  as  they  are  called,  are 
entered  in  the  records  of  the  Land. Office  of  the  Proprietary.  At  least 
this  is  true  up  to  about  1680,  a  few  years  after  the  death  of  Cecilius, 
when  the  practice  seems  to  have  fallen  into  disuse,  and  from  that  time 
on,  the  record  of  immigrants  is  fragmentary  and  of  little  value.  Prior 
to  that  time,  however,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  nearly  every  one  who  came 
as  a  "transport"  had  his  name  recorded,  and  of  these  an  index  has  lately 
been  compiled  in  the  Land  Office  of  the  State. 

It  was  found  that  of  the  20,859  persons  who  came  to  Maryland  prior 
to  1680,  15,640,  or  74.98  per  cent.,  were  males,  and  5.219.  or  25.02  per 
cent.,  were  females.  Eighty-two  family  names  were  represented  by 
more  than  twenty-five  persons  each,  and  aggregated  4.47'  immigrants, 
being  22.87  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number.  The  Smiths  lead  with  262 
representatives,  but  the  Joneses  are  a  close  second,  with  254,  and  if  we 
include  the  twenty-five  Joaneses— evidently  a  misspelling— they  lead  the 
Smiths  by  seventeen.  The  Williamses  hold  a  respectable  third  place, 
with  194  names,  and  the  Johnsons  are  not  a  bad  fourth,  with  I33-  The 
Davises  and  Taylors  each  number  over  a  hundred. 


98  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

same  belonged",  for  the  tax  commissioners  of  the  several 
counties,  as  a  means  of  supplying  the  data  and  information  by 
which  the  new  law  was  to  be  put  into  operation/ 

Thus  was  the  fabric  of  Maryland's  early  land  tenure 
swept  away  by  the  storm  of  the  American  Revolution.  All 
landed  rights  which  were  granted  under  the  Charter  to  Cecilius 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  dififerent  spellings  of  the  same  sound- 
ing name  are  to  be  attributed  more  to  the  clerks,  who  had  no  settled 
rule  about  it,  than  to  the  fancy  of  the  individuals,  very  few  of  whom, 
probably,  could  spell  at  all. 

Twenty-nine  of  the  ships,  which  traded  with  the  mother  country, 
are  recorded  in  the  index,  including  the  Ark,  and  among  them  we  find 
the  names,  Baltimore,  Cecilius,  Constant  Friendship,  Golden  Wheat 
Sheaf,  King  Solomon,  Maryland  Merchant,  True  Love,  and  others. 

Most  of  the  old  noted  families  of  the  State,  have  here  recorded  the 
first  of  their  names  who  came  to  Maryland — the  Lloyds,  Goldsboroughs, 
Tilghmans,  Dents,  Winders,  and  scores  of  others.  There  was  also  an 
Arnold  Elzey  in  those  days.  Naturally,  there  were  some  odd  names — 
"Ringing  Bell"  and  "Thomas  Birdwhistle"  have  a  cheerful  sound ; 
"Peter  Blackboard,"  is  decidedly  pedagogic;  "Nicholas  Broadway," 
smacks  of  arrogance ;  while,  "Samuel  Churchyard,"  casts  a  gloom  over 
the  company,  which  needs  "Hannah  Godsgrace,"  as  an  antidote.  "John 
Godsgrass"  and  "James  Tendergrass"  are  properly  within  easy  reach  of 
"Mary  Greengoose."  We  run  across  "John  Halfway,"  "John  Halfe- 
head" — who,  by  the  way,  sat  in  the  first  Assembly,  in  1634  and  1635 — 
and  "Thomas  Halfpenny."  "Margaret  Nutbrown"  suggests  the  fields 
and  forests  of  merry  England.  "Edward  Rainbow"  seems  to  have 
faded  away  in  the  morning  of  the  young  commonwealth,  as  we  find  no 
further  trace  of  him.  "Robert  Sidebottom"  is  a  little  contradictory. 
"Francis  Silversides"  was  a  palpable  anacronism;  he  should  have  lived 
in  our  day,  and  represented  Nevada  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  "James  Wildgoose"  led  quite  a  flock  into  the  colony,  but  they 
seem  to  haye  sought  other  feeding  grounds.  In  "AH  Saints  Buelis" 
and  "Jehovah  Jones,"  we  catch  a  strong  whifE  of  the  Puritan  element 
in  Baltimore's  followers.    "John  the  Fidler"  is  sug'gestive  of  revelry. 

While  the  Maryland  colony  was,  in  the  main,  free  from  hostile 
Indian  incursions,  its  early  history  had,  nevertheless,  its  tragic  side,  as 
we  discover  in  the  following  entry :  "Richard  Thompson  further  pray- 
eth,  in  consideration  of  transporting  his  wife,  child,  maidservant,  Don- 
sabel  Gladdus,  and  other  two  men  servants,  that  is  to  say  John  Thomp- 
son and  Hubert  Smith,  to  have  confirmed  to.  him  the  island  to  the  south- 

^  Act,    1777,    C.  21. 


THELANDTENURE  99 

Calvert,  the  Baron  of  Baltimore,  became  merged  in  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Maryland  and  vested  in  her  citizens,  and  lands 
became  allodial,  subject  to  no  feudal  incidents  and  to  no 
tenure,  save  allegiance  to  the  State.' 

ward  of  the  isle  of  Kent,  called  Poplar's  Island,  which  he  was  possessed 
of  by  grant  of  Capt.  Wm.  Claybourrie,  and  where  he  inhabited  till  in 
the  year   1637  they  were   massacred  by  the  Indians. 

Negroes  were  brought  in  very  early,  the  first  entry  being  of  "Dina" 
in  1637.  A  few  others  are  named  including  Mathias  Tousa,  "a  molatta." 
It  would  seem  that  lands  were  not  always  granted  foe  negroes  trans- 
ported. Thomas  Skinner,  in  1664,  transported  fifteen  persons,  including 
the  negroes  Robert,  Francis  and  Maria,  but  "rights"  were  refused  for 
the  negroes. 

Lord  Baltimore  made  many  special  grants  of  land  to  friends,  and 
gave  substantial  recognition  to  those  who  had  performed  meritorious 
service.  Thus,  in  a  special  warrant  dated  at  London,  May  22,  1637,  his 
lordship  recites: 

"Whereas  we  are  informed  that  Cyprian  Thoroughgood  hath  done 
unto  us  and  the  colony  good  service,  especially  in  the  business  of 
Pocomoke,  we  have  therefore  thought  fit,  at  his  request  and  for  his 
better  encouragement,  to  give  him  300  acres  of  land." 

A  similar  warrant  was  given  to  Lieut.  Robert  Troop  for  "services  at 
Severn;"  and  also  to  John  Bayley,  "son  of  John  Bayley,  late  of  our 
said  province,  planter,  who  lost  his  life  in  our  service  in  Anne  Arundel 
county  in  the  late  war  there." 

The  allusions  to  expeditions  to  distant  parts  of  the  colony  are 
frequent,  but  unfortunately  no  details  are  given. 

A  strange  warrant  was  given. to  John  Abbington,  Gent.,  '"to  hunt 
wild  cattle  and  keep  an  Indian." — Baltimore  Sun,  Feb.  9,  1894. 

Mo  G.  &  J.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  444. 


CHAPTER  VII 
The  Land  Tenure  of  Colonial  Maryland 


TT  HERE  was  no  legally  established  system  of  transferring 
land  in  the  earlier  history  of  Maryland,  and  the  records 
are  replete  with  examples  of  the  inconveniences  felt  and  the 
losses  sustained  in  consequence  of  it. 

In  the  absence  of  a  better  method,  it  was  usually  done  by 
writing  the  transfer  on  the  back  of  the  patent,  or  on  a  sepa- 
rate sheet  of  paper  and  delivering  it  to  the  grantee,  or  by 
placing  the  grantee  in  possession  of  the  land  by  livery  of 
seizin.^ 

The  latter — a  mode  of  conveyancing  at  common  law — was 
accomplished  by  the  actual  or  constructive  entry  of  the 
grantor  and  grantee  on  the  land,  which  was  then  symbolically 
delivered  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  from,  the  neighborhood, 
thus  giving  notoriety  to  the  transaction  and  making  known 
the  change  of  owners.*  In  1663,  a  more  uniform  system 
of  conveyancing  was  adopted.  By  this  Act,  transfers,  by 
bargain  and  sale,  of  real  estate  were  to  be  in  writing  in- 
dented and  sealed,  and  recorded  within  six  months,  either  in 
the  Provincial  Court,  or  in  the  Court  of  the  County  in  which 
the  land  lay.' 

^  Kilty,    Appendix,  p.   36;    Bozman,   p.  58..  -  Blackstone. 

On  Saint  Gabriel's  Manor  (now  Point  Lookout)  Martin  Kirk,  in 
1656,  was  given  seizin  of  a  part  of  the  Manor  "by  the  rod,"  which  was 
done  by  the  steward  and  said  Kirk  each  taking  hold  of  an  end  of  the 
rod,  and  the  former  saying,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  "the  lord  of 
this  manor,  by  me,  the  steward,  doth  hereby  deliver  you  seizin  by  the  rod, 
and  admit  you  as  tenant  of  the  premises,"  and  the  said  Kirk,  "in  full 
court,"  "having  done  his  fealty  to  the  lady  of  the  manor  (Miss  Margaret 
Brent)  is  thereof  admitted  tenant." — Bozm'an.  p.  581. 

''Archives,  Act,   1663,   p.  489. 
Bozman  says  a  system  was  adopted  in  1639,  but  this  is  an  error. 


THE    LAND    TENURE  loi 

To  this  was  added,  in  167 1,  the  necessity  for  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  deeds,  to  be  made  either  before  a  Judge  of  the 
Provincial  Court,' two  members  of  the  Privy  Council,  or  two 
Justices  of  the  Peace  of  the  County  in  which  the  land  was 
situated,  the  acknowledgment  of  married  women  to  be  taken 
privately,  and  out  of  the  hearing  of  their  husbands.' 

These  acts,  however  (which  were  re-enacted  in  1692, 
when  the  government  of  the  I'rovince  was  assumed  by  the 
Crown),  did  not  apply  to  conveyances  of  land  made  by  Lord 
Baltimore,  and  were  confined  in  their  application^  as  between 
other  persons,  to  deeds  of  "bargain  and  sale"  only" — a  deed 
in  which  the  grant  is  made  for  a  valuable  consideration,  as 
distinguished  from  a  feoflfment — a  deed  of  gift,  accompanied 
by  formal  delivery  of  the  property.^ 

As  'enrollment  took  the  place  of  livery  of  seizin,  the  latter 
became  unnecessary  after  1715,  in  case  the  deed  was  recorded; 
but,  asjier-deeds  could  be  recorded,  except  deeds  of  "bargain 
and  sale",  this  ancient  custom  still  continued  in  practice,  to 
give  efficacy  to  other  species  of  conveyancing,  and  it  was  not 
until  1766,  when  provision  was  made  for  the  acknowledgment 
and  enrollment  of  all  kinds  of  deeds,  that  it  was  formally  abol- 
ished/ After  1766,  deeds  took  efifect  from  the  date  of  their 
execution,  and  not  from  the  date  of  enrollment,  as  the  law 
had  hitherto  provided  they  should.'' 

A  bill  for  that  purpose  was  introduced,  but  did  not  pass.  Bacon  inti- 
mates that  the  Act  of  1663,  did  not  pass,  but  this  is  an  error  also.  See 
Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1663)  p.  487,  and  same  1666,  p.  46. 

*  Archives,  Act,  1671,  p.  305. 

^2   H.  &   McH.   Maryland   Reports,   p.   279. 

*If,  however,  the  owner  of  the  property  was  a  non-resident,  but  a 
"trader"  in  the  Province,  before  the  deed  or  conveyance  became  eflfec- 
tive,  the  person  to  whom  it  was  made  had  to  give  bond,  approved  by  the 
Chancellor,  to  pay  and  satisfy  all  debts  of  the  grantor  due  and  owing  to 
any  person  or' persons  living  in  the  Province,  to  the  extent  of  the  value 
of  the  land  conveyed. — Act.  1753,  C.  36- 

*  10  G.  &  J.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  443;  Act,  1715,  C.  47-' 
^Act,   1766,   C.    14. 

Under  the  Act  of  1766,  C.  14,  deeds  had  to  be  acknowledged  either 
in  the  Provincial  Court,  or  before  a  Judge  thereof;  or  in  the  County 


I02  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

The  old  custom  of  indenture — cutting  the  deed  unevenly 
on  the  top  and  sides  so  as  to  make  it  correspond  to  a  duplicate 
— was  as  indispensable  to  the  validity  of  deeds  in  early  Alary- 
land  as  was  the  name  of  the  grantor.  And  it  was  necessary 
too,  for  it  to  be  actually  indented,  and  not  simply  an  indenture 
in  name. 

The  last  mentioned  Act  made  this  necessary  as  to  feoff- 
ments and  other  deeds  to  which  it  extended,  but  as  it  did  not 
apply  to  deeds  of  "bargain  and  sale",  then  the  most  general 
in  use,  the  indenting  of  that  class  of  deeds  continued  to  be 
necessary  until  1794,  when  this  requisite  was  declared  no 
longer  essential.* 

A  good  possessory  title  to  lands  in  Maryland,  could  be 
acquired  under  the  Act  of  1663,  by  an  "undisputed,  contin- 
uous, and  uninterrupted  possession"  for  the  period  of  five 
years,  except  as  against  married  women,  infants,  lunatics,  and 
persons  out  of  the  Province,  or  of  unsound  mind,  any  of 
whom  could  sue  for  the  recovery  of  the  lands  and  within  five 
years  after  the  removal  of  such  disability.^  Nor  did  it  apply 
to  the  Proprietary  of  the  Province,  as  to  his  unpatented  lands, 
though  it  did  as  to  those  he  claimed  by  escheat,  until  he  had 
formally   repossessed  himself  of  them.* 

The  Act  of  1663,  however,  did  not  remain  in  force  many 
years.  It  was  superseded  by  the  English  statute  (21  James  I. 
ch.  16),  and  the  one  by  which  questions  of  possessory  title  are 
still  determined  in  Maryland." 

The  descent  of  lands  in  early  Maryland  was  regulated  by 
the  English  rules  and  canons  of  inheritance.     By  the  Act  of 

Court,  or  before,  two  Justices  of  the  Peace.  If  made  before  either  of 
the  two  latter,  and  out  of  the  county  in  which  the  land  lay,  the  clerk's 
certificate  to  their  official  character  was  requited.  Deeds  thus  acknowl- 
edged could  be  enrolled  either  in  the  county  in  which  the  land  lay,  or 
in  the  Provincial  Court,  and,  after  1776,  in  its  successor,  the  General 
Court — 2nd   H.   &   McH.    Maryland   Reports,    p.   451. 

^2H.  &  McH.  Maryland  Rep.,  p.  176;  Act,  1766,  C.  14;  Act,  1794, 

c.  57. 

^Archives,   Act,    1663,    p.   501. 

'3   H.   &  J.   Maryland  Reports,   p.   507. 

*  I  H.  &  J.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  350;  Venable,  p.  23. 


THE    LAND    TENURE 


103 


1642,  lands  were  to  "descend  to  the  heir  who  hath  right  Ijv 
the  law  of  England".  If  such  heir  was  not  in  the  Province, 
the  heir  next  in  succession  was  to  hold  it  for  his  use,  which 
possession,  if  undisturbed  for  seven  years,  ripened  into  actual 
ownership.  The  widow,  in  addition  to  one-third  of  the  land, 
was  entitled  to  the  mansion  house  during  her  widowhood.* 
Among  the  curious  bills  introduced  in  the  first  Assembly  held 
in  the  Province,  but  which,  like  all  the  others  of  that  session, 
failed  to  become  a  law,  was  one  which  deprived  a  woman  of 
lands  descending  to  her,  unless  she  married  within  the  age 
fixed  by  law.' 

Under  the  English  rule,  thus  introduced  in  Maryland, 
males  inherited  to  the  exclusion  of  females,  and  of  the  male 
issue,  the  oldest  son,  in  the  absence  of  a  will,  succeeded  to  the 
entire  estate.  Custom  followed  close  to  the  law,  and  even 
where  wills  \vere  made,  the  oldest  son  generally  received  the 
"lion's  share"  of  the  estate. 

This  partial  and  unjust  rule  of  "primogeniture",  as  it 
was  called,  had  its  origin  in  the  feudal  ages,  when  it  was 
deemed  important  to  keep  the  estate  entire,  and  when  the 
oldest  son  was  supposed  to  be  the  one  best  capable  of  taking 
his  father's  place,  and  of  performing  the  military  services 
which  were  incident  to  the  grant.  Later,  it  was  maintained 
in  England  as  a  means  of  supporting  nobility  and  its  titles. 
Its  introduction  in  Maryland  \yas  not  due  to  either  of  these 
reasons,  though  it  did,  in  effect,  help  to  sustain  the  leadership 
of  the  great  Maryland  families,  but  was  most  probably  the 
result  of  the  want  of  a  better  system,  and  the  bondage  of  the 
people,  at  that  day,  to  English  traditions  and  institutions.' 

At  the  time  of  the  American  Revolution,  however,  Eng- 
lish ideas  and  customs  were  not  so  popular  in  Maryland,  and 
in    1786,   the   General   Assembly   declared,   "that   the   law   of 

*  Archives,'  Act,   1642,  p.  157.  *  Shea,,  p.  51. 

'There  were,  also  certain  local  modes  of  inheritance,  which  pre- 
vailed in  England  by  custom,  such  as  "borough  JEnglish"  and'  "ultimo- 
geniture"— the  former  the  right  of  the  youngest  son  to  the  entire  estate, 
and  the  latter  the  right  of  the  youngest  son  to  the  homestead.  These 
customs  were  predicated  upon  the  theory  that  the  oldest  sons  were  pro- 


I04  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

descent  in  Maryland,  which  originated  in  the  feudal  system 
and  military  tenures  in  England,  was  contrary  to  justice,  and 
ought  to  be  abolished".  It  was,  accordingly,  done,  and  sub- 
stantially the  same  rules  of  descent  as  those  now  in  force,  were 
adopted  in  its  stead.' 

The  law  of  entailments,  by  which  lands  could  be  trans- 
mitted for  generations  in  the  line  of  a  particular  heir,  was  also 
practically  swept  away  by  the  same  Act,  which  declared,  that 
estates  in  tail  general,  should  descend  in  fee  simple,  and  to  the 
same  heirs  at  law,  as  fee  simple  estates. 

An  Act'  had  hitherto  been  passed,  making  it  practicable 
to  "bar"  or  "dock"  entailments,  by  a  simple  conveyance  of 
the  property,  and  though  neither  of  these,  in  terms,  converted 
estates  in  fee  tail  into  fee  simple  estates,  they  did  so  in  effect. 
by  vesting  in  the  owner  all  the  rights  and  powers  incident  to 
the  ownership  of  fee  simple  estates." 

While  entailments  found  a  successful  lodgment  in  Mary- 
land, the  restrictions  surrounding  them  were  too  numerous 
and  inflexible  for  popularity,  and  the  records  furnish  repeated 
instances  of  efforts  having  been  made  to  "dock"  them  by  the 
old  process  known  as  "common  recovery",  long  before  the 
Revolution.* 

vided  for  during  the  lifetime  of  the  father,  and  that  the  youngest  re- 
mained at  home  and  cared  for  his  parents  in  their  old  age  and  infirmity. 
They  were  never  introduced  in  Maryland,  but  the  latter  of  them  did  pre- 
vail in  some  of  the  New  England  colonies,  and,  it  is  said,  still  exists 
in  some  of  the  northern  counties  of  New  York. — Social  Condition  of  the 
Colonies. 

^\ct,   1/86,   C.  45- 

-Act,  1782,  C.  23.  '21  Maryland  Reports,  p.  477. 

The  Act  of  1786,  providing  for  the  descent  of  estates  tail,  applied 
only  to  estates  of  fee  tail  general — those  limited  to  heirs  of  the  body 
generally.  This  Act,  as  re-enacted  in  1820,  is  the  one  now  in  force,  and, 
as  it  does  not  embrace  estates  tail  special — those  limited  to  particular 
heirs  of  the  body — the  latter  class,  it  would  seem,  can  still  be  created 
and  exist  in  Maryland,  but  subject  always  to  the  possibility  of  being 
barred  by  the  tenant  in  tail  conveying  the  property  as  provided  by  Act 
of  1782,  which  applies  to  all  classes  of  entailments,  and  which  makes  the 
grant  of  the  tenant  in  tail,  operate  to  convert  the  entailment  into  a  fee 
simi^le  estate. 

'  It  is  curiously  recorded  of  one  of  the  patriarchs  of  Colonial  Mary- 


THE    LAND    TENURE  105 

Under  the  Maryland  Charter,  the  Proprietary  was  ex- 
pressly authorized  to  erect  manors  "according  to  English 
customs  and  usage's",  and  in  tlie  exercise  of  this  right,  he 
directed  that  every  distinct  tract  of  two  thousand  acres,  or 
more,  might  be  erected  into  a  manor,  under  such  name  as  the 
owner  desired/ 

While  many  of  the  larger  tracts  in  Maryland  were  called 
manors  by  reason  only  of  the  quantity  of  land  they  contained, 
there  were  a  large  number  of  manors,  formally  erected  in  the 
Province  and  invested  with  all  the  "royalties  and  privileges 
usually  belonging  to  manors  in  England",  among  them  the 
right  of  the  lord  of  the  manor  to  establish  and  hold  Courts 
Baron  and  Court  Leet."  This  clause  in  the  grant  of  Mary- 
land manors,  was  not  a  mere  "high  sounding  symbol",  but 
meant  the  practical  introduction  into  Maryland  of  the  English 
system  of  manorial  holdings,  with  all  the  customs,  powers,  and 
emoluments,  as  well  as  the  halo  of  importance,  and  dignity 
attached  thereto. 

The  bestow'al  of  this  privilege  upon  the  first  Baron  of  Bal- 
timore— one  which  was  at  that  time  denied  the  great  feudal 
Barons  of  England — indicates  the  high  favor  in  which  he  was 
held  by  the  Crown,  and  its  incorporation  in  the  Maryland 
Charter  shows  that  he  possessed  a  keen  perception  of  its  prac- 
tical bearing  on  his  Maryland  enterprise.  Through  the  sys- 
tem he  not  only  made  provision  for  the  government  of  the 
larger  landed  communities  by  which  they  would  be  kept  under 
control,  and  yet  he  be  relieved  of  settling  their  local  affairs. 

land,  that,  when  importuned  by  his  sons  to  break  the  entailment  upon 
his  estate,  replied :  "If  one  of  you  inherit  the  whole  estate,  I  shall  be 
responsible  for  the  production  of  one  fox  hunter;  if  I  divide  it,  I  shall 
make  as  many  fox  hunters  as  I  make  heirs,"  thus  illustrating  the  preva- 
lence of  this  sport  among,  the  landed  gentry  of  that  'day. 

— Old  Maryland  Manors,  p.  il. 

'  By  the  first  Conditions  of  Plantation,  tracts  of  one  thousand  acres, 
or  more,  might  be  erected  into  a  manor,  but  after  1641,  the  right  to 
erect  manors  was  restricted  to  tracts  of  not  less  than  two  thousand 
acres. 

^  For  an  account  of  the  Manorial  Courts  in  Maryland,  sec  Chapter. 
The  Judicial  System  oi  Colonial  Maryland. 


io6  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

but  it  placed  him  in  a  position  to  gratify  the  strong  demand  of 
the  times  for  local  self-government,  and  at  the  same  time 
check  any  undue  growth  of  that  spirit  and  prevent  it  reaching 
dangerous  proportions.^ 

On  the  Maryland  manors,  generally  resided  the  lord  of  the 
manor  and  his  tenants,  among  whom  the  land  was  divided  into 
small  farms.''  Some  of  the  tenants  were  mere  renters  from 
year  to  year;  others  held  under  leases  for  life  or  a  term  of 
years,  while  others  purchased  and  owned  the  land  on  which 
they  lived,  but  subject  to  all  the  duties  and  customs  of  manors 
in  England.  Among  these,  were  rent,  escheat,  forfeiture, 
fines  for  selling  or  devising  the  tenament,  or  a  change  in  the 
ownership  by  death  of  the  tenant  intestate,  attendance  of  all 
between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  sixty  years  upon  the  Manor 
Courts,  and  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  lord  of  the  manor. 

To  the  lord  of  the  manor  also  belonged  all  escheats  and 
forfeitures  accruing  from  the  land  leased  or  sold,  the  former 
extending  not  only  to  cases  in  which  the  tenant  died  without 
heirs,  but  to  those  also,  in  which  the  tenant  was  in  arrear  in 
rent,  and  did  not  have  sufficient  personal  property  on  the 
premises  to  pay  it  by  distraint,  and  the  latter  to  cases  of  rebel- 
lion. Instances  are  furnished  in  which  both  of  these  rights 
were  exercised  upon  Governor  Leonard  Calvert's  manors,  the 
escheats  being  for  non-payment  of  three  years'  rent,  and  the 
forfeitures  for  participation  in  Ingle's  rebellion.'' 

In  addition  to  the  large  number  of  manors  laid  out  for 
private  individuals,  the  Proprietary  had  at  least  two,  of  not 
less  than  6,000  acres  each,  surveyed  in  every  county,  and  set 
apart  for  his-  own  use.*  Many  of  these  were  still  in  his  pos- 
session at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,. and  were  subject  to  the 
Maryland  Act  of  confiscation,  among  them  the  one  of  10,000 

^  Local  Institutions  in  Maryland. 

^  In  Maryland,  the  demesne  (the  part  occupied  by  the  manor  house, 
etc.)  was  the  sixth  part  of  the  manor,  that  had  to  be  distinctly  set 
apart,  and  which  could  not  be  alienated,  separated,  or  leased  for  a 
period  longer  than  seven  years. — Kilty,  p.  39. 

'  See  details  of  these  proceedings  in  Kilty's,  p.  103. 

*  Kilty,   p.   63. 


THE    LAND    TENURE 


107 


acres  lymg  westward  of  Fort  Cumberland,  erected  in  1764, 
and  which,  with  other  lands,  was  divided  into  "military  lots" 
after  the  Revolution,  and  awarded  to  the  officers  and  soldiers 
of  the  Maryland  Line.' 

There  were,  also,  large  manors  laid  out  for  the  Indians, 
the  principal  one,  perhaps,  being  Calverton  [Manor,  containing 
about  10,000  acres,  and  located,  says  the  order  directing  it,  on 
"a  tract  of  land  at  the  head  of  Wicocomico  River,  called 
Choptico".  It  was  erected  in  165 1,  for  the.  "six  nations", 
who  wanted  to  be  placed  under  the  protection  of  the-  Maryland 
government.  This  scheme  of  colonization,  however,  of  making 
copyhold  tenants  of  the  Indians,  seems  to  have  been  abortive, 
at  least,  so  far  as  instituting  a  confederacy  of  the  different 
tribes  is  concerned,  as  in  1692,  the  only  one  of  them 'appar- 
ently living  on  the  manor  was  the  Chopticons." 

The  gradual  decline  of  the  manorial  system  in  Maryland, 
was  not  due  to  adverse  feeling  against  the  institution  of 
manors  and  manorial  customs,  but  to  the  introduction  of 
slavery.  When  labor  from  that  source  became  abundant  and 
cheap,  land  could  be  worked  more  profitably  with  slaves  than 
by  tenants.  The  former,  therefore,  gradually  supplanted  the 
latter,  and  the  "Maryland  manor"  became  in  time  a  "Mary- 
land plantation",  cultivated  by  slaves,  either  in  its  entirety  or 
as  separate  estates. 

It  has  been  charged  that  it  was  Baltimore's  plan  to 
found  in  Maryland  an  order  of  nobility,  based  on  baronia! 
holdings.  It  is  true,  the  Charter'  expressly  provided  that 
dignities  and  titles  could  be  conferred,  and  incidentally,  that 
a  provincial  peerage  might  be  established,  and  that  among  the 
bills  transmitted  by  Baltimore  to  the  Assembly,  in  1637  (but 

'Ibid,  pp.  332-350.  ^Archives  (CI.  Pro.  £692)  pp.  3-36. 

There  were. also  large  tracts  laid  out  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  for  the 
Choptank  and  Nanticoke  Indians  (Kilty,  pp.  351-355) — these  tribes  were 
the  remnants  of  the  Ktiskarazcoaks,  once  famous  as  the  great  makers  of 
peake  and  roanoke  (Indian  money.)  Peake  was  more  valuable  than 
roanoke,  but  they  both  consisted  of  shell — the  former  of  the  conch,  the 
latter  of  the  coekle — wrought  into  the  shape  of  beads. — Day  Star.  p.  in. 

'  Section  14. 


io8  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

which,  with  the  others  sent,  was  rejected),  was  a  "Bill  for 
Baronies".  It  is,  however,  also  true  that  after  the  bill  which 
was  subsequently  passed,  substantially  as  prepared  by  him,'  he 
vetoed,"  either  from  political  reasons,  growing  out  of  the 
claim  he  was  at  that  time  making  that  he,  and  not  the  Assem- 
bly, had  the  right  to  initiate  legislation,  or  from  prudential 
motives  which  prompted  a  reconsideration  of  his  original  plan 
of  founding  "Baronies"  in  the  Province. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  "Bill  for 
Baronies",  as  introduced  by  him,  was  a  proposition,  not  for 
an  order  of  nobility,  but  for  the  creation  of  political  subdivi- 
sions, such  as  are  still  known  in  Ireland  as  "Baronies",  and 
where  Baltimore  was  then  engaged  in  the  enterprise  of  coloni- 
zation." 

At  the  session  of  1639,  two  bills  were  introduced,  but  not 
passed,  constituting  the  lords  of  manors  a  privileged  class ; 
the  one  providing,  that  they  should  only  be  tried  by  a  jury 
composed  of  lords  of  manors,  if  so  many  could  be  procured, 
and,  if  condemned  to  capital  punishment,  they  were,  unlike 
the  body  of  people,  to  be  executed  by  being  beheaded,  and 
not  by  hanging;  the  other,  that  lords  of  manors  should  be 
eligible,  like  members  of  the  Council,  to  seats  in  the  Assembly 
without  election  by  the  people,*  but  it  nowhere  appears  that 
Baltimore  was  interested  in  the  passage  of  either  of  them,  or 
responsible  for  their  introduction. 

Yet,  whatever  his  intention  may  have  been  as  to  the  crea- 
tion of  an  order  of  nobility  in  Maryland,  certain  it  is,  that  a 
genuine  aristocracy  did  spring  up  and  develop  into  a  promi- 
nent feature  of  the  colony,  as  the  natural  evolution  of  his  land 
system. "  Nothing  could  have  contributed  more,  indirectly,  to 
the  development  of  an  aristocracy,  as  well  as  in  moulding  the 
character  and  habits  of  the  people,  than  the  land  tenure  of 
Colonial  Marvland.     Under  its  influences,  both  economic  and 


'  The   Foundation   of   Maryland,   p.   40. 

*Ibid;   Bozman,   11,   p.   67. 

'' Bozman,  11,  p.  67;  The  Foundation  of  Maryland,  p.  42. 

^Archives    (Ass.    Fro.    1639)    pp.    51-74. 


THE    LAND    TENURE  109 

political,  land  .soon  came  to  be  esteemed  the  highest  source  of 
wealth  in  the  Province,  and,  a  little  later,  its  ownership 
became  a  mark  of  distinction  and  an  element  of  power. 

In  early  Maryland  there  was  a  property  qualification  for 
voters,  the  right  of  the  elective  franchise  being  restricted  to 
freemen  who  had  not  less  than  fifty  acres  of  land,  or  a  "visi- 
ble personal  estate  of  ^40  sterling  within  the  County" ;  the 
same  qualification  being  required  of  delegates  to  the  Assem- 
bly,^ and  only  the  landlords  and  employing  classes  were  sub- 
ject to  taxation,  which  was  rated  according  to  the  number  of 
productive  persons  under  their  care — a  system,  purely  aristo- 
cratic both  in  its  intention  and  tendency. 

From  the  class  recognized  as  gentlemen,  the  County 
Court  Judges,  High  Sheriffs,  and  Upper  Magistrates,  and, 
indeed.  State  and  County  officials  generally,  were  selected,  and 
as  rural  life  was  then  esteemed  the  most  honorable,  those  of 
this  class  were  all  expected  to  be  owners  of  landed  estates. 
They  were  entitled  to  be>  addressed  as  Esquires,  the  small 
freeholder  and  tenant  being  called  ^Master  or  Mr." 

These,  among  other  distinctions,  between  the  freeholders 
and  those  who  were  landless,  and  between  small  landlords  and 
the  great  landed  proprietors  of  the  Province ;  the  importance 
attached  to  the  lords  of  manors,  by  reason  of  their  vast 
possessions  and  judicial  powers,  and  the  strong  support  which 
the  system  received  from  the  law  of  primogeniture  and  entail- 
ment, were  powerful  elements  in  the  development  of  an  aris- 
tocracy. 

The  isolation,  too,  of  those  vast  estates,  separated  as  they 
were,  by  such  wide  distances,  and  the  solitary  life  of  the 
planters  who  resided  on  them,  necessarily  made  their  proprie- 
tors rely  on  their  own  resources  for  entertainment,  and  made 
it  also  essential  that  each  manor  or  plantation — being  a  com- 
munity within  itself — should  l)e  wholly  self-sustaining,  and 
wholly  independent — a  condition  they  shortly  attained.' 

Co-operation  was  not  an  element  of  such  a  society,  and 
the  absence  of  this  deprived  the  body  of  the  people  of  the 

*  McMahon,  pp.  445,  449.  "  Scharf,  11,  p.  50;  Day  Star,  p.  116. 


no  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

facilities  for  education  which  that  closer  community  of  feeling 
and  association  of  interests — prevailing  in  some  of  the  New 
England  colonies — afforded,  and  which,  for  more  than  a  cen- 
tury, practically  restricted  education  to  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  the  wealthy  planters,  who  could  resort  to  colleges  and 
seminaries.  This  condition  intensified  the  consciousness  of 
inferiority  in  the  former  class,  while  it  excited  in  the  latter,  a 
sense  of  increased  pride  in  their  possessions,  and  a  feeling  of 
superiority  in  their  surroundings  and  station  of  life. 

And  thus  it  was  that  the  great  landlords  of  the  Province 
— political  powers  of  the  land  and  the  educated  element  of  the 
community — living  upon  their  vast  estates,  independent  and 
within  themselves,  possessing  wealth  without  riches,  dispens- 
ing that  abounding  hospitality,  and  cherishing  that  spirit  of 
self-reliance  and  invincible  independence,  for  which  the  society, 
the  soldiery,  and  the  statesmanship  of  Maryland  became 
renowned. 


CHAPTER  \III 
The  Judicial  System  of  Colonial  Maryland 


T^HE  Palatinate  jurisdiction  conferred  on  the  Baron  of  Bal- 
timore, over  the  Province  of  Maryland,  as  well  as  the 
powers  expressly  given  by  the  seventh  section  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Charter,  are  the  corner-stones  of  the  judicial  system 
of  Colonial  Maryland.  These  accorded  to  him  the  full  and 
sole  authority  to  ordain  judges,  establish  courts,  and  define 
their  jurisdiction,  and  the  manner  and  form  of  their  proceed- 
ings. 

This  right  he  first  exercised  by  commission,  the  earliest 
one  extant  being  that  of  April  15th,  1637,  by  which  he  ap- 
pointed Governor  Leonard  Calvert,  Chief  Justice  and  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Province,  and  invested  him  with  full  power  to 
award  process,  hold  pleas,  and  to  hear  and  finally  determine 
all  civil  actions,  suits,  and  demands,  both  in  law  and  equity, 
as  well  as  all  criminal  causes,  except  that  where  a  life,  mem- 
ber, or  freehold  were  involved,  at  least  two  members  of  the 
Privy  Council  were  to  sit  with  him.^  Causes  were  determined 
by  the  common  law  of  England,  except  where  superseded  by 
a  provincial  statute,  and  except,  also,  where  life,  member,  or 
freehold  were  concerned,  which  could  only  be  taken  away  by 
an  express  law  of  the  Province."  This,  in  1642,  was  extended 
to  persons  who  were  outlawed  or  fined  more  than  1000  lbs.  of 
tobacco.^ 

Baltimore,  however,  soon  submitted  the  General  Assem- 
bly to  regulate  the  perfunctory  matters  appertaining-  to  the 
administration  of  justice  in  Maryland,  such  as  the  time,  place, 

'Archives   (CI.  Pro.  1637)  p.  49- 

^McMahon,  p.   113;  Act,   1642,   C.  4;  Act,  1646,  C.  2. 

"Archives    (Ass.   Pro.   1642)    p.    184. 


112  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

and  manner  of  holding  courts,  and  also  to  define  their  juris- 
diction and  the  compensation  of  their  judges,  but  the  right  to 
appoint  the  judges  he  always  retained  and  exercised  himself, 
or  through  his  representative,  the  acting  Governor;  and  he 
also  required  that  all  courts  should  be  held,  and  that  all 
process  should  issue  and  run  in  his  name,  and  not  in  the  name 
of  the  King  or  of  the  Province/ 

The  first  exercise  of  this  privilege  by  the  Assembly,  was 
in  1638,  O.  S.,  when  an  Act  was  passed  vesting  jurisdic- 
tion throughout  the  Province,  in  all  civil,  as  well  as  criminal 
causes,  in  the  Governor;  in  the  Commander  of  the  Isle  of 
Kent  (within  that  Island),  and  in  the  Privy  Council,  in  cases 
in  which  the  Governor  was  a  party;  except  that  in  crimes 
extending  to  life  or  member,  the  ofifender  was  first  to  be 
indicted  and  then  tried  by  at  least  twelve  freemen." 

Successive  Acts  were,  from  time  to  time,  passed,"*  under 
which  the  judicial  system  was  gradually  developed,  and  which 
will  be  noticed  in  detail,  under  the  head  of  the  several  courts 
of  the  Province. 

The  first  judicial  officers  appointed  for  Maryland,  except 
the  commission  to  the  Governor  and  Council  of  1637,  before 
referred  to,  were  Justices  of  the'  Peace.' 

As  early  as  January,  1637,  O.  S.,  one  was  commissioned 
for  Saint  Mary's  County,  and  in  February  of  the  same  year, 
three  were  commissioned  for  Kent.^  The  jurisdiction  of  these 
Justices  was  defined  by  their  commissions,  and  was  more  com- 
prehensive  than   that  given   to  those   subsequently   appointed 

'  McMahon,  pp.  156,  157.  'Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1638)  p.  83. 

°  In  1638,  an- Act  was  introduced  providing  for  a  specific  arrange- 
ment of  the  judicial  system  of  the  Province,  but  it  did  not  reach  its 
third  reading,  and  was  not  passed. —  (Archives,  Ass.  Pro.  1638,  p.  39.) 
Bozman,  however,  devotes  much  space  in  explaining  the  tenor  of  this 
Act,  which  is  misleading  unless  critically  read,  as  the  courts  therein 
named   were  not  established. 

■"  The  Court  of  Piepoudre,  or  market  court,  authorized  by  the  char- 
ters of  the  cities  of  Saint  Mary's  and  Annapolis,  while  a  part  of  the 
system  of  Maryland  jurisprudence,  yet,  being  so  circumscribed  in  terri- 
torial jurisdiction,  are  not  treated  here.  For  a  brief  notice  of  these 
courts,  see  Chapters ;  The  First  Capital  of  Maryland. 

"Archives   (CI.  Pro.  1637)  pp.  60,  62. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  113 

who  -were  only  constituted  conservators  of  the  peace,  and 
with  the  powers  and  duties  incident  to  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace  in  England/ 

In  1715,  they  were  given  jurisdiction,  concurrently  witli 
the  County  Court,  in  all  civil  causes  within  their  respective 
bailiwicks,  in  which  "the  real  debt  or  damage  doth  not  exceed 
400  lbs.  of  tobacco,  or  33  s.  and  4  d.  in  money",''  but  this, 
apparently,  did  not  apply  to  controversies  with  the  Indians,  as 
two  years  later  an  -Act  was  passed,  in  which,  after  reciting 
the  inconvenience  of  having  such  matters  brought  before  the 
Governor  and  Council,  Justices  of  the  Peace  were  authorized 
to  try  and  determine  disputes  between  the  "English  and  In- 
dians", not  exceeding  20  s.  sterling.^ 

The  first  time  Justices  of  the  Peace  were  given  jurisdiction 
exclusive  of  the  County  Courts,  was  in  1753,  and  at  that  time 
it  was  also  increased  to  600  lbs.  of  tobacco  or  50  s.  currency.* 
From  their  decision  an  appeal  would  lie  to  the  County  Court, 
which  at  first  applied  to  all  cases,  but  in  1763,  the  right  of 
appeal  was  limited  to  cases  in  which  the  amount  involved 
exceeded  400  lbs.  of  tobacco,  or  33  s.  and  6  d.  in  money,  and 
to  stay  execution  pending  the  appeal,  a  bond  had  to  be  filed 
in  double  the  amount  of  the  judgment.^  The  constables  were 
the  executive  officers  of  the  Justice's  Court." 

Two  Justices  of  the  Peace  could  take  the  acknowledgment 
of  deeds,'  and  a  single  Justice*  could  take  the  probate  of  any 
account,*  and  administer  the  oath  of  office  to  all  government 
officials"  and  public  inspectors." 

Justices  of  the  Peace  were  appointed  by  the  Governor, 
were  usually  the  leading  men  of  the  county,  and  constituted, 
with  those  known  as  Justices  of  the  Quorum,  the  County 
Court. 

The  firgt  County  Court  held  in  Maryland,  of  which  there 

'Ibid,  1661,  p.  422.  -.\ct,  1715.  C.  12. 

'  .Act,  1717,  C.  14.  *  Act,  1753.  C.  i.v 

'.-Act,  1716,  C.  5-  "Act,  1763.  C.  21. 

'Act,  1715.  C.  15.  "Act.  1715.  C.  47- 

*Act,  1729,  C.  20.  '"Act,  176.^,  C  18. 


114  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

is  any  record,  met  at  Saint  Mary's,  on  the  12th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1637,  O.  S.  It  was  presided  over  by  the  Governor 
and  two  members  of  Council.  A  grand  jury  of  twenty-four 
freemen  was  impaneled  and  sworn,  and  several  indictments 
found,"  but  by  a  singular  coincidence  they  were  for  offenses 
which  the  Court,  by  the  express  terms  of  its  commission, 
could  only  determine  by  a  statute  of  the  Province  for  such 
cases  made  and  provided,  and  Baltimore  having  vetoed  all 
Acts  passed  by  the  Assembly  up  to  that  time,  the  Court  found 
itself  in  the  unique  position  of  having  before  it,  prisoners 
arraigned  and  no  laws  by  which  to  try  them." 

But  the  General  Assembly,  which  was  then  in  session, 
did  not  propose  to  let  the  offenders  go  unwhipt  of  justice,  and 
believing  itself  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  not  bound  by  the 
restrictions  imposed  upon  the  Governor  and  Council  in  their, 
judicial  capacity,  resolved  itself  into  a  high  court  of  justice, 
assumed  jurisdiction  of  the  cases,  and,  with  the  acting  Attor- 
ney General,  John  Lewger,  tried  and  convicted  the  prisoners 
of  murder,  the  crime  for  which  they  were  indicted.'' 

This  Court,  however,  while  called  a  County  Court,  was 
not  such,  as  they  were  subsequently  organized,  but  was  the 
Provincial  Court,  sitting  as  a  County  Court,  which  it  con- 
tinued to  do  for  the  County  of  Saint  Mary's  until  the  new  coun- 
ties were  erected,  and  which  t  until  its  limits  were  thus 
curtailed,  embraced  the  whole  o\  western  shore,  as  distin- 
guished from  Kent,  on  the  easter  _  shore.  For  the  latter,  a 
special  Court  was  at  first  instituted,  with  a  Chief  Judge  and 
two  Associates,  and  with  jurisdiction  over  civil  causes  to  the 
extent  of  1.200  lbs.  of  tobacco,  and  over  all  crimes  and  offenses 
not  punishable  with  loss  of  life  or  member.* 

The  earliest  reference  to  a  County  Court,  among  the 
legislative  proceedings  in  Maryland,  was  in  1638,  when  an 
Act  was  introduced,  but  not  passed,  "for  the  erecting  of  a 

*  Archives  (Pro.  Ct.  1637)  p.  21.         ^  Ibid ;  Bozman,  pp.  60,  575. 
'Archives    (Ass.   Pro.    1637)   pp.   16,   17,   18. 
"Archives    (CI.   Pro.    1637)    p.  62. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  115 

Counfy  Court".'  The  next,  is  the  Act  of  1642,  which  refers 
to  them  as  existing  tribunals,  from  which  it  may  be  inferred 
that  the  Proprietary  had,  in  the  meantime,  instituted  them. 
This  Act  fixed  the  terms  of  court,  and  provided  the  oath  for 
the  Justices,  the  order  of  trials,  method  of  appeal,  and  the 
manner  of  drawing  the  jury,  and  of  selecting  the  Sheriff,'  the 
latter  being  done  by  the  Court  placing  three  suitable  persons 
in  nomination,  from  whom  the  Chief  Judge  appointed  the 
Sheriff  of  the  Counfy  for  the  ensuing  year.'  This  method  of 
selecting  the  Sheriffs  of  the  several  counties,  continued  until 
1662,  when,  upon  the  nomination  of  three  persons  by  the 
County  Court,  the  Governor,  and  not  the  Chief  Judge,  made 
the  appointment.* 

In  1676,  the  right  to  nominate  the  Sheriffs  was  taken 
away  from  the  County  Courts  by  the  repeal  of  the  Act  of 
1642,"  after  which  the  power  of  appointment  was  exercised  by 
the  Governor  alone.  In  1692,  their  term  of  office  was  ex- 
tended to  two  years,  and  in  1699,  to  three  years,  on  which 
basis  it  continued  until  the  Revolution." 

The  Clerks  of  the  County  Courts  were  appointed  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Province,^  this  being  one  of  the  prerogatives 
belonging  to  that  office.  In  1691,  the  question  of  depriving 
the  Secretary  of  this  privilege  was  agitated,  but  it  resulted  in 
no  change,  the  decision,  howe«2r,  being  that  the  office  "ought 
not  to  be  sold,'"  but,  as  the  Set:retary  had  to  give  security  for 

"•  Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1638)  p.  47.  ^  Ibid,  1642,  pp.  147-152. 

*  Ibid.  *  Ibid,   1662,  p.  45. 

'  Bacon,   Act,    1676,    C.   2. 

'  The  duties  performed  by  the  SheriflFs  in  early  Maryland,  were  very 
similar  to  those  incident  to  the  office  of  Sheriff  in  England.  Besides 
serving  writs  and  processes,  imprisoning  criminals,  and  inflicting  pun- 
ishments, it  was  also  incumbent  upon  them  to  proclaim  at  the  County 
Courts,  the  late  Acts  of  the  Assembly;  to  collect  county  and  parish 
rates  or  dues ;  to  supervise  the  return  of  taxables ;  and  to  perform  such 
other  duties  as  were  incumbent  upon  the  SheriflFs  in  England,  qnd  which 
the  Governor,  the  Assembly,  or  the  Courts  might,  from  time  to  time, 
order  and   direct. 

^Archives    (CI.   Pro.    1671)    pp.  23,    136. 

*Act,  1692,  C.  25;  Act,  1699,  C.  26. 


St;  Mary's  Seminary-Junior  Colleg.* 


ii6  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

the  "good  behavior"  of  the  County  Clerks,  he  was  allowed 
to  receive  one-tenth  of  the  fees  and  emoluments  of  the  office/ 
They  were  appointed  at  will,  but  generally  held  office  during 
good  behavior,'  and  besides  keeping  the  Court  records,  they 
were  the  keepers  of  the  County  Seal,'  and  the  records  of  all 
births,  marriages,  and  deaths  of  white  persons  within  their 
respective  counties/ 

Each  County  Court  had  a  Crier  and  a  Bailiff.'  The 
County  Courts  were  presided  over  by  Justices  of  the  Peace 
or  Commissioners,  who  were  appointed  by  the  Governor,  and 
a  reference  to  their  names  shows  them  to  have  been  among 
the  most  prominent  men  in  the  Province.  A  distinction  was 
made  between  the  Justices  of  the  Quorum,  who  were  presumed 
to  possess  higher  qualifications,  and  the  other  Justices  in  the 
Commission,  the  presence  of  one  or  more  of  the  Quorum 
Justices  being  necessary  at  each  session  of  the  court  to  give  it 
legality.  The  Justice  of  the  Quorum  first  named  in  the  Com- 
mission was  the  Chief  Judge,  and  in  his  absence  the  one 
next  named  presided." 

The  number  of  Justices  varied  in  the  several  Counties 
from  six  to  twelve,  four  of  whom, being  necessary  to  constitute 
a  legal  session  of  the  court.^  But  to  prevent  a  discontinuance 
of  the  court,  two  Justices,  one  being  of  the  Quorum,  could 
call  and  adjourn*  it  to  a  future  day." 

The  Justices  of  the  County  Courts  were  paid  a  per  diem, 
each  receiving  80  tb.  of  tobacco  for  each  day  of  attendance,^" 
and  in  order  to  insure  their  presence,  they  were  subject  to  a  fine 
of  100  tbs.  of  tobacco  for  non-attendance,  without  good  cause.^^ 

The  County  Courts  were  Courts  of  Record,'^  and  in  their 

^Archives    (CI.   Pro.  1691)    pp.  289,  293. 

^Ibid,  Sharpe,  Cor.  p.  6;  Ibid,  CI.  Pro.  1671,  p.  136. 

^Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1671)  p.  294.  "Ibid,  1691,  p.  529. 

"Act,  1763,  C.  18.  "Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1642)  p.  183. 

'Archives    (CI.   Pro.   1661)    pp.  422,  424;   Ibid,  1675,   pp.  65,  69. 

"A  failure  to  meet  or  adjourn  Court  on  the  first  day  of  the  term, 
left  its  proceedings  "without  a  return  day"— a  defect  that  could  only  be 
cured  by  Act  of  Assembly.    See  Archives,  Act,  1794,  p.  137. 

»Act,  1715,  C.  14;  1756,  C.  6.  "  "Act,  1716,  C.  II. 

"Archives   (Ass.   Pro.   1663)   p.  497.         '"  Iliid,   1678,  pp.  70,  71.- 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  117 

earlier"  history-  they  held  six  terms  a  year,  consisting  of  the 
first  six  successive  days  of  every  alternate  month,  but  later 
they  were  reduced  to  four  terms  a  year.  They  began  for  the 
Counties  of  Talbot,  Baltimore,  Saint  Mary's,  and  Worcester, 
the  first  Tuesday  in  March,  June,  August,  and  November ;  for 
Dorchester,  Cecil,  Anne  Arundel,  and  Charles,  the  second 
Tuesday;  for  Calvert,  Kent,  Somerset,  and  Frederick,  the  third 
Tuesday,  and  for  Prince  George  and  Queen  Anne,  the  fourth 
Tuesday  of  said  months/ 

In  1663  the  County  Courts  were  directed  tp  provide  a 
pillory,  ducking-stool,  whipping-post,  stock,  and  branding- 
irons  for  their  respective  Counties,"  and  in  1674,  a  Court  house 
and  Prison  were  ordered  to  be  erected  in  each  County,  under 
the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Justices  of  the  several 
Counties,  which  order  appears  to  have  been  promptly  complied 
with."  They  were  also  required  to  make  court  rules,*  a  copy 
of  which  had  to  be  "kept  sett  up  att  the  Court  house  doore," 
and  to  purchase  Keeble's  Abridgments  of  the  statutes  of 
England,  and  Dalton's  Justice,  for  the  use  of  the  County 
Courts."     Among  the  other  administrative   duties   incumbent 

Mbid,  1648,  p.  232;  Acts,  1715,  C.  4;  1742,  C.  19;  1748,  C.  15. 

"Archives    (Ass.   Pro.   1663)   p.  490. 

Mbid,   1674,  p.  413,   Ibid,   1675,  p.  447. 

"  The  first  regulation  of  the  County  Court  of  Cecil,  of  the  year  1721 
reads :  "When  the  Justices  meet  together  at  the  Court  house,  to  hold  a 
court,  one  of  them  shall  order  the  'Crier  to  stand  at  the  Court  house 
door  and  make  three  "Oyeses"  and  say,  all  manner  of  persons  that  have 
any  business  this  day  at  his  majesty's  Court,  draw  near  and  give  your 
attention,  for  the  Court  is  now  going  to  sit:  '"God  save  the  King." 
Rule  7  reads:  "the  plaintiff's  attorney  standing  up  and  direct  himself 
to  the  court  &  then  to  the  jury  if  any  and  open  his  client's  case  after  the 
clerk's  reading  the  Declaration  *  *  *  and  when  done  he  to  sitt  down 
and  then  the  Defendant's  Attorney  to  stand  up  .and  answer  him  as 
aforesaid  &  not  to  speak  both  together  in  a  confused  manner  or  in- 
decently." Rule  9  prescribed  that  no  one  presume  to  keep  his  hat  on  in 
court  except  "any  of  the  Gentlemen  of  his  Majesty's  'Honerable 
Council."— Johnson's  History  of  Cecil  County,  p.  244  &  246;  Local  In- 
stitutions in  Maryland,  p.  89. 

^A.rchives    (Ass.    Pro.    1678)    p.  70. 


ii8  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

upon  the  County  Court  were,  to  levy  county  taxes/  assess 
parish  rates/  and  fix  their  boundaries/  and  to  appoint  the 
keepers  of  weights  and  measures/  road  supervisors/  consta- 
bles, and  press  masters/ 

The  Sheriff  selected  and  summoned  the  grand  and  petit 
jury  for  the  County  Court,  which  had  to  be  done  at  least  ten 
days  before  court  convened/  Those  exempt  from  jury  service 
were,  delegates,  magistrates,  coroners,  schoolmasters,  over- 
seers of  highways,  and  constables,  and  no  one  was  eligible  as  a 
petit  juror  who  had  any  cause  pending  for  trial  at  that  term 
of  the  court/  The  jury  thus  summoned  were  compelled  to 
serve,  unless  excused,  under  penalty  of  500  lbs.  of  tobacco/ 
The  same  penalty  was  attached  to  witnesses,  summoned 
before  the  County  Court,  and  not  attending,  besides  being 
liable  to  damages  to  the  party  injured  by  the  loss  of  their 
testimony." 

The  compensation  allowed  grand  jurors  was  within  the 
discretion  of  the  court,  but  could  not  exceed  500  lbs.  of  tobacco 
a  piece  per  term,  and  was  paid  by  the  County"  The  petit  jury 
received  15  lbs.  of  tobacco  a  piece  for  each  day  of  attendance, 
out  of  the  County  levy  and  120  lbs.  of  tobacco  to  the  panel  in 
every  case  in  which  they  were  sworn,  to  be  taxed  as  a  part  of 
the  costs  of  the  case.^'' 

The  right,  however,  to  trial  by  jury,  was  limited  to  crimes 
affecting  the  life  or  member,  until  1642,  when  it  was,  for  the 
first  time  in  Maryland,  extended  to  all  cases,  civil  and  criminal, 
the  party  demanding  it  giving  security  to  pay  the  cost  of  the 
jury,  except  that  in  criminal  cases  affecting  life  or  member,  the 
demand  could  he  made  without  furnishing  such  security." 

Witnesses  before  the  County  Court  were  entitled  to  30  lbs. 
of  tobacco  per  day,  to  be  taxed  with  the  costs  of  the  case. 
In  criminal  cases  these  fees,  and  indeed  the  fees  of  all  the 

^Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1671)  p.  273;  Acts,  1704,  C.  34;  1748,  C.  20. 
*Act,   1729,  C.  7.  'Act,   1713,   C.  10. 

*  Archives   (Ass.  Pro.  1671)   p.  281.  "^  Act,  1704,  C.  21. 

"Act,   171S,   C.    15  &  43.  'Act,    1715,   C.  37.  *Ibid. 

'  Ibid.  '"  Ibid.  "  Ibid.  '^  Act,  1719,  C.  3. 

'■''Archives  (Ass.  Pro.   1642)  p.  151.    ,. 


THE    JUDICIAL    S  V  S  T  K  M  119 

court  officials,  including  the  sheriff  and  jailer,  were  paid  by  the 
County,  but  only  in  case  they  could  not  be  made  out  of  the 
traveser,  by  way  of  execution  or  servitude.' 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  earlier  County  Courts,  the  records 
do  not  clearly  define,  the  reason  for  which,  perhaps,  being  tiiat 
until  1650,  there  were  but  two  civil  divisions  in  the  Province, 
whose  judicial  affairs  were  administered  as  before  stated. 

In  the  proclamation  erecting  Charles  County  in  1658,  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  County  Court  for  that  County  was  limited 
in  civil  cases  to  3000  lbs.  of  tobacco,  and  in  criminal  causes,  to 
those  not  affecting  life  or  member.*  This,  while  applicable  to 
a  single  County,  serves  to  show  the  idea  then  entertained  of 
the  scope  and  character  of  their  jurisdiction.  Three  years 
later,  when  justices  of  the  County  Courts  were  appointed, 
apparently  for  the  first  time  for  all  of  the  Counties  then 
erected,  their  jurisdiction  was  the  same  as  that  prescribed  in 
1658  for  Charles  County.' 

^\ct,  1715,  C.  26-37. 

-  Liber,  P.  C.  R.  p.  52,  54,  Maryland  Historical  Society. 

»C1.  Pro.  1661,  422. 
The  oath  administered  to  Judges,  after  the  allegiance  and  fidelity 
clause,  was  as  follows :  "To  none  will  I  delay  or  deny  right.  Reward 
of  none  will  I  take  for  doing  justice.  But  equal  justice  will  I  administer 
in  all  thing  to  my  best  skill,  without  fear,  favor  or  malice,  of  any  per- 
son, according  to  the  laws  of  this  Province,  so  help  me  God."  Liber  C. 
and  W.  H.,  p.  6.  . 

The  following  curious  oath  was  administered  to  Judges  of  the 
County  Courts,  during  the  reign  of  George  ist:  "The  subscriber,  Do 
truly  and  sincerely  acknowledge  profess  and  testify  and  declare  in  my 
conscience  before  God  and  the  world  that  our  Sovereign  Lord  King 
George  is  Lawful  and  rightful!  King  of  Great  Brittain  and  all  other  the 
Dominions  and  Countries  thereunto  belonging  and  I  Do  Solemnly 
and  sincerely  Declare  that  I  do  believe  in  my  conscience  that  tlie  person 
Pretended  to  be  Prince  of  Wales  During  the  Life  of  the  late  King  James 
and  since  hisDecease  pretending  to  be  and  taking  upon  himself  the  stile 
and  title  of  King  of  England— by  the  name  of  James  the  third  or  of 
Scotland  by  ye  name  of  James  the  eighth  or  the  stile  &  title  of  King  of 
Great  Britain  hath  not  any  right  or  title  whatsoever  to  the  crown  of  the 
Realm  of  Great  Britain  or  any  other  the  Dominions  thereunto  belonging, 
and  I  do  renounce,  refuse,  and  abjure  any  allegiance  or  obedience  to  him 
and  I  do  swear  that  I  will  bear  faith  and  true  allegiance  to  his  Majesty 


I20  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  County  Courts  was  concurrent 
with  the  Provincial  Court  until  1692,  when  they  were  given 
an  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  civil  cases  to  the  extent  of  1500  lbs. 
of  tobacco  and  cask/  which  in  17 14,  was  increased  to  £20 
sterling,  or  5000  tbs.  of  tobacco,  and  their  concurrent  jurisdic- 
tion extended  to  iioo  sterling  or  30,000  tbs.  of  tobacco."  But 
they  could  not  hold  plea  where  the  debt  or  damage  did  not 
exceed  600  lbs.  of  tobacco  or  50  s.  currency,  those  cases  being 
determined  exclusively  by  a  single  magistrate,  from  whom  an 
appeal  would  lie  to  the  County  Court,  where  the  amount 
involved  exceeded  33  s.  4  p.  or  400  lbs.  of  tobacco.^  In  1773 
they  were  given  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  all  civil  cases  in 
which  they  before  had  jurisdiction  and  concurrent  jurisdiction 
with  the  Provincial  Court  in  all  other  cases.  The  same  act 
gave  them  jurisdiction,  concurrently  with  the  Provincial  Court, 
in  all  criminal  matters  whatsoever.* 

King  George  and  him  will  defend  to  the  utmost  of  my  powers  ast  all 
Traitors  Conspiracies  and  attempts  whatsoever  w  h^  shall  be  made  ag' 
his  pson  cro"  &  Dignity  and  I  will  do  my  utmost  endeavour  to  disclose  & 
make  known  to  his  matic  &  succs  all  treasons  and  traitorous  Conspir- 
aces  w-ch  I  shall  know  to  be  ast  him  or  any  of  them  and  I  do  faithfully 
promise  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  to  support  maintain  and  defend  the 
succession  of  ye  Crow  a^t  him  ye  L  James  and  all  other  pson  whatsoever 
which  succession  by  an  act  intittled  an  act  for  the  further  Limitacon  of 
the  Crown  and  better  securing  ye  rights  and  Liberties  of  the  subjects  is 
and  stands  limited  to  the  Princess  Sophia  Electress  and  Duchess  Dow- 
ager of  Hanover  and  the  heirs  of  her  body  being  protestants  &  all 
these  things  I  do  Plainly  and  sincerely  acknowledge  and  swear  accord- 
ing to  the  Express  words  by  me  spoken  and  according  to  the  plain 
and  common  sence  and  understanding  of  the  same  words  without  any 
equivocation  meritall  evasion  or  secret  reservasion  whatsoever  &  I  do 
make  this  Recognition  acknoleagment  abjuracon  renonciacon  &  prom- 
ise heartily,  willingly  and  truly  upon  the  true  faith  of  a  christian,  so 
help  me  God. 

I  do  likewise  Declare  that  I  Do  believe  that  there  is  not  any  tran- 
substantiation  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lords  Supper  or  in  the  Elements 
of  Bread  and  Wine  at  or  after  the  Consecration  thereof  by  any  per- 
son whatsoever."  Taken  from  Charles  County  Court  Records,  Liber, 
2,2,  1729—33,  folio  3. 

^Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1692)  p.  447.     .,  =  Act,  1714,  C.  4. 

'Act,  1763,  C.  2T.  *  Act,  1773,  C.  i. 


THE    JUDICIAL    S  Y  S  T  E  M  121 

The  County  Courts  also  had  jurisdiction,  concurrent  witli 
the  Provincial  Court,  in  all  matters  testamentary  within  their 
respective  Counties  until  1673,  when  the  Prerogative  Court 
was  established,  which  however,  still  left  them  with  jurisdic- 
tion over  guardians  and  orphans,  and  of  the  estates  of  orphans, 
with  full  power  to  protect  the  latter  from  waste  or  loss/  It 
was  especially  incumbent  upon  them  to  see  that  orphans  were 
educated,  and  if  their  estates  were  insufficient  to  admit  of  this, 
they  were  to  be  apprenticed.  The  June  term  was  known  as 
the  "orphan's  term,"  at  which  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the 
Court  to  ascertain  whether  orphans  were  being  maintained  and 
educated  according  to  their  estates,  and  whether  apprentices 
were  being  taught  their  trade  and  properly  treated,  and  to  cor- 
rect any  misconduct  or  dereliction  of  duty  on  the  part  of  the 
guardians  or  those  with  whom  the  apprentices  were  placed.' 

In  1773  the  County  Court  were  given  jurisdiction  in 
equity,  concurrently  with  the  Court  of  Chancery,  in  actions 
not  exceeding  £20  sterhng  or  5,000  tbs.  of  tobacco.' 

From  the  judgment  of  the  County  Courts,  an  appeal  would 
lie  to  the  Provincial  Court.  At  first  the  right  of  appeal  was 
without  limitations,  but  in  1692  it  was  restricted  to  causes 
in  which  the  debt  or  damages  amounted  to  not  less  than  1,200 
lbs.  of  tobacco,"  which,  in  17 13.  was  made  equivalent  to  £6 
sterling.' 

Upon  this  footing  the  County  Courts  remaineil  until  the 
revolution,  after  which  they  were  reorganized  and  the  several 
Counties  laid  off  into  districts  to  be  presided  over  by  a  '"Chief 


'Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1654)   p.  354;  Ibid,   1663.  p.  493- 
'Act,   1715,   C.  39-  'Act,   1763.   C.  22. 

Either  as  a  matter  of  practice  or  hy  rule  of  court,  persons  were 
prohibited  from  suing  out  writs  when  plaintiflFs,  and  appearing  and 
confessing  judgment  when  defendants,  except  through  an  attorney. 
This  being  represented  to  the  General  .Assembly  "as  a  great  grievance" 
an  Act  was  passed  making  it  "lawful  far  all  persons  within  thv  Province 
to  order  out  process  in  their  own  names  without  any  titling  from  an 
attorney";  and  also  that  they  should  have  the  right  "to  appear  and 
imparle  till  next  court,  or  to  confess  judgment  to  any  action"  brought 
against  them.— Act,    1716,  C.  20. 

*  Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1692)  p.  444-  'Act,  1713.  C.  4- 


122  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Judge,  learned  in  the  law,  and  two  associates  of  integrity, 
experience  and  knowledge,"^  and  thus  they  became  merged 
into  the  more  comprehensive  tribunals  known  as  the  County 
Court  of  a  specified  judicial  district,  and  subsequently  as  the 
Circuit  Court  of  a  specified  judicial  circuit. 

It  is  recorded  that  the  first  Court  held  on  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland — the  one  erected  for  Kent  in  1637 — was  a 
Court  Leet,'  but  the  commission^  by  which  the  Justices  of  that 
court  were  named,  and  its  jurisdiction  defined,  indicates  that 
it  was  not  a  manorial  Court  Leet,  but  was  a  tribunal  similar 
to  the  County  Court  as  subsequently  erected. 

That  Manorial  Courts,  however,  had  practical  existence 
in  early  ]\Iaryland,  has  been  incontestably  established*  and  the 
discovery  of  the  valuable  and  unique  records  of  St.  Clement's 
Manor,  not  only  show  the  method  of  holding  them,  but  also  the 
scope  and  character  of  their  jurisdiction.  This  record,  which 
is  carefully  preserved  in  the  Maryland  Historical  Society,  and 
which  is  believed  to  be  the  only  one  of  its  kind  extant,  though 
heretofore  published,  is  here  reproduced  in  the  following  note :' 

^  Act,  1790,  C.  23.  '  Bozman,  p.  39,  note. 

'Archives   (CI.   Pro.)   p.  62. 

*See  Johnson's  interesting  monograph  "Old  Maryland  Manors." 

"  RECORDS  OF  THE 

COURT  LEET  AND  COURT  BARON 

OF  ST.  CLEMENT'S  MANOR,  1659-72. 

St.  Clements  j       A  Court  Leet  &  Court  Baron  of  Thomas  Gerard  Esqr 
Manour      J  ^^  there  held  on  Thursday  the  xxviith  of  October  1659 
by  J  no  Ryves  gent  Steward  there. 
Constable:  Richard  fToster     Sworne. 
Resiants:  Arthur    Delahay:  Robte    Cooper.    Seth    Tinsley:   Willm    at 

Robte  Coles:  Jno  Gee  Jno  Green  Benjamin  Hamon  Jno  Mattant. 
ffreholdRS;    Robte  Sly  gent:  Willm  Barton  gent:    Robte    Cole:    Luke 

Gardiner:  Barthollomew    Phillips:  Christopher   Carnall:    Jno  Norman:- 

Jno  Goldsmith. 
Leaseholders:  Thomas  Jackson:  Rowland    Mace:  Jno  Shankes:  Richard 

flfoster:    Samuell    Harris:   John    Mansell:     Edward     Turner:    flfrancis 

Sutton  with  J  no  Tennison. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  123 

Considering-  the  large  revenues  that  accrued  to  the  lord  of 
manor  from  the  manorial  courts,  and  the  dignity  incident  to 
the  exercise  of  the 'judicial  powers  attached  to  them,  it  may 


Jury  and  ■»  Jno  Mansell 
Homages  i  Bartholl:  Phillips 
Jno  Shankes 


Jno  Tennison 
Jno  Goldsmith 

T   r.  /-  r  Swornc       -i         , .      .  r  Sworne 

Jno  Gee  Sam:  Harris         1 

Edward  Turner  |  Jno  Norman         | 

Seth  Tinsley  J  xofer  Carnall      J 

Ordt  Agt  Sam:     Wee  the  aboue  named  Jurors  doe  pfscnt  to  the  Cou^t 

Harris  that  wee  finde  how  about  the  3d  day  of  octoV  1659  that: 

Jmprimis  wee  p^sent  that  about  the  3d  of  October  1659  that  Samuel! 
Harris  broke  the  peace  w^h  a  Stick  and  that  there  was  bloudshed 
comitted  by  Samuell  Harris  on  the  body  of  John  Mansell  for  w^h  hee 
is  fined  40'  too  wch  is  remitted  fie  gratia  dni. 

Wee  doe  find  that  Samuell  Harris  hath  a  license  fro'  the  Gou'no""  &  wee 
conceive  him  not  fitt  to  be  prsented. 
OrdR  Agt   Robte    Jtem  wee  p^sent  Robert  Cole  for  marking  one  of  the 
Cole  Lord  of  the  Manno^s  hoggs  for  w^h  hee  is  fined  20001 

Tobco  afFered  to  1000'. 

Jtem  wee  prsent  Luke  Gardyner  for  catching  two  wild  hoggs  &  not 
restouring  the  one  halfe  to  the  Lord  of  the  Manno^  whch  he  ought  to  haue 
done  &  for  his  contempt  therein  is  fined  20001  Tobco  afTered  to  200'  of 
Tobco. 

Jtem  wee  prsent  that  Cove  Mace  about  Easter  last  1659  came  to  the 
house  of  John  Shancks  one  of  the  Lord  of  the  Manno"  tenants  being 
bloudy  &  said  that  Robin  Coox  &  his  wife  were  both  vpon  him  &  the 
said  John  Shancks  desired  John  Gee  to  goe  -w^^  him  to  Clove  Maces 
house  &  when  they  the  sd  John  ShaAcks  &  John  Gee  came  to  the  said 
Cloves  his  house  in  the  night  &  knocked  att  the  dore  asking  how  they 
did  what  they  replyed  then  the  sd  John  Shancks  &  John  Gee  haue 
forgotten  But  the  sd  John  Shancks  asked  her  to  come  to  her  husliand 
&  shee  replyed  that  hee  had  abused  Robin  &  her  and  the  said  John 
Shancks  gott  her  consent  to  come  the  next  morning  &  Robin  vp  to  bee 
freinds  w^h  her  husband  &  as  John  Shancks  taketh  shee  fell  downe 
on  her  knees  to  be  freinds  w*^^  her  sd  husband  but  hee  would  not  bee 
freinds  w'h  her  but  the  next  night  following  they  were  freinds  and 
Bartholomew  Phillipps  saith  that  shee  related  before  that  her  husband 
threatened  to  beate  her  &  said  if  hee  did  shee  would  cutt  his  throat 
or  poyson  him  or  make  him  away  &  said  if  ever  Jo:  Hart  should  come 
in  agayne  shee  would  gctt  John  to  bee  revenged  on  him  &  bcate  him 
&  hee  beared  the  said  William  Asitcr  say  th'  shee  dranke  healths  to 
the  Confusion  of  her  husband  and  said  she  would  shooe  her  horse 
round   &  hee  the   said    Bartholomew    Phillips   heard    the   said    Robin 


124  COLONIAL    ^lARYLAND 

be  safely  assumed  that  they  were  held  where  ever  the  right  to 
do  so  existed,  and  where  conditions  suited ;  though  they  ap- 
pear to  have  given  away  to  the  early  County  Courts  at  a  com- 
paratively early  date. 

say  if  ever  hee  left  the  house  Cloves  should  never  goe  w^h  a  whole  face. 
Jt  is  ordered  that  this  businesse  bee  transferred  to  the  nex  County 
Co^t^  according  to  Law. 

Also  wee  present  John  Mansell  fore  entertayning  Beniamyn  Hamon 
&  Cybill  his  wife  as  Jnmates  Jt  is  therefore  ordered  that  the  sd  Man- 
sell  doe  either  remove  his  Jnmate  or  give  security  to  save  the  pish 
(parish)  harmless  by  the  next  Co""'  vnder  payne  of  1000'  Tobco"^. 

Also  we  p^sent  Samuell  Harris  for  the  same  and  the  same  order  is  on 
him  that  is  on  John  Mansell. 

Also  wee  present  the  Freeholders  that  have  made  default  in  their 
appearing  to  forfeit  100'  Tobco  apeice. 

Wee  doe  further  p^sent  that  our  Bounds  are  at  this  p^sent  unpfect  & 
very  obscure.  Wherefore  w^h  the  consent  of  the  Lord  of  the  Mannor 
Wee  doe  order  that  every  man's  land  shall  bee  bounded  marked  and 
layed  out  betweene  this  &  the  next  Co^t  by  the  present  Jury  wth  the 
assistance  of  the  Lord  vpon  payne  of  200'  Tobco  for  every  man  that 
shall  make  default. 
St.  Clements  i  At  a  Court  Leet  &  Co^t  Baron  of  Thomas  Gerard 

MannqR        [  ^^    Esqr  there  held  on  thursday  the  26th  of  Aprill  1660 
by  John  Ryves  Steward  there 
Constable  Richard  ffoster. 
Resiants  Robert  Cowx  William  Roswell  John  Gee  John  Green  Beniamin 

Hamon. 
Freeholders:  Robert   Sly  gent   Will'm   Barton  gent   Robt   Cole   Luke 

Gardiner  Christopher  Carnall  John  Norman  John  Goldsmith. 
Leaseholders     Thom's  Jackson   Richard   ffoster-  Samuell   Norris  John 
Mansfeild  Edward  Turner  John  Shancks  Arthur   Delahy   Clove  Mace 
John  Tennison. 
Jury  and    [  Christopher  Carnall    "]        Richard  Smith        ^ 
Homage    \  John  Tennison  I        John  Norman  I 

John  Gee  [       John  Love  ' 

Edward  Turner  i        George  Harris  j 

Beniamin  Hamon         |        Willm  Roswell         i 
John  Greene '  J        Walter  Bartlett      J 

Wee  the  above  named  Jurors  doe  p^sent  to  the  Co^t  Luke  Gardiner 
for  not  doeing  his  Fealty  to  the  Lord  of  the  Manno^.     Jt  is  ordered 
therefore  that  he  is  fined  lOOO'  of  Tobcoe. 
Wee  pfsent  fower  Jndians,  viz^ 
for  breakinge  into  the  Lord  of   the  Manno^s  orchard  whereof  three 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  125 

Before  tl>e  Manorial  Courts — the  Court  Leet  and  Court 
Baron — controversies  between  the  residents  of  the  manor  and 
all  important  business  relating  to  the  manor,  were  determined. 

The  Court  Leet,  was  the  court  of  the  people.  The  steward 
of  the  manor  presided,  and  the  jury  and  officers  were  chosen 
from  the  residents  of  the  manor,  the  attendance  of  all  of  whom, 

them  were  taken  &  one  ran  away  &  they  are  fyned  20  arms  length  of 
Roneoke. 

We  pfsent  also  two  Jndian  boys  for  being  taken  w^h  hoggs  flesh  & 
running  away  fro'  it  &  they  are  fined  40  arms  length. 

Wee  pfsent  also  a  Cheptico  Jndian  for  entringe  into  Edward  Turners 
house  &  stealinge  a  shirt  fro'  thence  &  hee  is  fined  20  arms  length  if 
he  can  be  knowne. 

Wee  prsent  also  Wickocomacoe  Jndians  for  takeinge  away-  Christo- 
topher  Carnalls  Cannowe  fro'  his  landing  &  they  are  fyned  20  arms 
length  if  they  bee  found. 

Wee  prsent  also  the  King  of  Cheptico  for  killing  a  wild  sow  &  took 
her  piggs  &  raysed  a  stock  of  them  referred  to  the  hob'e  Gounor. 

Wee  concieve  that  Jndiansbught  not  to  kecpe  hoggs  for  vndcr  p''tence 
of  them  they  may  destroy  all  the  hoggs  belonginge  to  the  Manno""  & 
therefore  they  ought  to  bee  warned  now  to  destroy  them  else  to  bee 
fyned  att  the  next  Court     Referred  to  the  ho^'e  the  Gou'no"". 

We  reduce  Luke  Gardincrs  fyne  to  50'  of  Tobcoe. 

Wee  am'ce  the  fower  Jndians  to  50  arms  Length  of  Roneoke  &  the 
Jndian  that  had  his  gun  taken  fro'  him  to  bee  restored  agayne  to  the 
owner  thereof 

The  Jndian  boys  wee  am'ce  40  arms  Length  of  Roneoke  as  they  are 
above  am'ced.  » 

W'ee  am'ce  the  Cheptico  Jndian  for  stealing  Edward  Turners  shirt  to 
20  arms  length  of  Roneoke. 

Wee  am'ce  also  Wickocomacoe  Jndians  for  takeinge  away  Christo- 
pher Carnalls  Cannowe  to  20  arms  Length  of  Roneoke. 

Memorand  that  John  Mansfeild  sonne  of Mansfeild  deceased 

came  into  this  Co did  atturne  tent  to  the  Lord  of  this  Manno"". 

St  Clements    1    A  Court  Leet  &  Court  Baron  of  Thomas  Gcrrard  esquire 
MannqR       f    there  held  on  Wednesday  the  Three   tS:  Twentieth  of 
October  166L.  by  Thomas  Mannyng  Gent  Steward  there  for  this  tyme 
Bailiff  William  Barton  Gent. 
Constable  Raphael  Haywood  Gent 
Resiants    Mr  Edmond   Hanson  George   Bankcs   ffrancis  BellowVs  Tho: 

James  John  Gee  Michaell  Abbott. 
ffreeholders   Robt  Sly  Gent   Will  Barton  Gent   Luke  Gardiner   (n-nt, 
absent  Robt.  Cole  Gent.  Raphael  Haywood  Gent  Bartho  Phillips  Gent. 


126 


C  O  L  O  X I A  L    MARYLAND 


between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  sixty  was  required.  It  had 
jurisdiction  over  the  poHce  regulations  of  the  manor,  and 
offenses  of  a  criminal  nature,  except  those  punishable  with  loss 
of  life  or  limb,  among  them  "such  as  have  double  measure, 
buy  by  the  great  and  sell  by  the  less ;  such  as  haunt  taverns  and 
no  man  knoweth  whereon  they  do  live;  such  as  sleep  by  day 
and  watch  by  night,  and   fare  well  and  have  nothing."     It 


Jury      Rich:  ffoster 

Edward  Conoray 
Edward  Runsdall 
John  Shankes 
John  Knape 
Gerett  Brenson 
Clove  Mace 
Robt  Cooper 
Arthur  De  La  huy 
John  Tenison 


Jury  and 
Homage 


Robt  Cole 
Bartho  Philips 
Edward  Conovay 
Edward  Ransdell 
Gerett  Brenton 
Clobe  Mace 
Edmond  Hanson 
Robt  Cooper 
Arthur  De  La  hay 
Wm  Rosewell 
Tho;  James 
Mich.  James 


[Several  leaves  of  the  record  missing] 

The  Court  adiorned  till  two  of  the  Clocke  in  the  afternoone. 

John  Gee  and  Rich,  foster  sworne 

The  Jury  presents  that  Bartho:  Phillips  his  Landes  not  marked  and 
Bounded  Round 

The  Jury  Likewise  present  that  the  Land  belonging  to  Robt  Cooper 
and  Gerett  Breden  is  not  marked  and  bounded  Round. 

The  Jury  Presents  Robt  Cooper  for  Cutting  of  sedge  on  S*  Clements 
Jsland  and  fowling  wthout  Licence  for  wch  he  is  Amerced  10^  of  Tob. 
AfTered  to  101  of  Tob. 

The  Jury  Present  that  Edward  Conoray  while  he  was  Rich  fosters 
servant  did  by  accident  worray  or  Lugg  wth  doggs  on  of  the  Ld  of  the 
mannors  Hoggs  and  at  another  ty me  Edward  Conoray  going  to  shoot 
at  ducks  the  dog  did  Run  at  somebodys  Hoggs  but  we  know  not  whose 
they  were  and  did  Lugg  them  for  wch  the  Jury  doe  Amerce  Rich:  flfoster 
501  of  Tob.     Affered  to  201  of  Tob 

The  Jury  presents  M""  Luke  Gardiner  for  not  appearing  at  the  Lords 
Court  Leet  if  he  had  sufficient  warning 
St  Clements  ->  A  Court  Leet  of  Thomas  Gerard  Esqr.  there  held  on 

MannqR     /  ^^     Thursday  the  eighth   day   of   September    1670.    by 
James  Gaylard  gent  steward  there. 
EssoiNES:   Benjamin  Salley  gent  James  Edmonds  Richd   Vpgate  Capt 
Peter    Lefebur  these  are  essoined  by  reason  they  are  sick  and  cannot 
attend  to  their  suit. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  127 

also  exercised. supervision  over  the  trade  on  the  manor,  "fixed 
the  price  of  bread  and  ale,"  and  enforced  its  game  laws  and 
ordinances  against'  the  sale  of  impure  food.  It  could  not 
punish  by  imprisonment,  but  could  impose  fines,  all  of  which 
went  to  the  lord  of  the  manor. 


FFREEHOLDERS:  Justinian  Gerard  gent,  Robt^  Sly  gent,  Thorn  Notley 
gent,  Capt  Luke  Gardiner,  Benjamin  Sallcy  gent,  Robert  Cole,  Bar- 
thollomew  PhilHpps,  JnQ  Bullock  VV™  Watts,  James  Edmonds,  Richard 
Vpgate,  Simon  Rider,  J  no  Tenison,  Richd  flfoster,  Edward  Connory, 
J  no  Shankes,  J  no  Blackiston. 
Leaseholders:  Robte   Cowper   Capt    Peter   Lefebur,    He..ry   Shadock, 

Richd  Saunderson  Jno  Hoskins,  Thomas  Catline. 
Resiants:    Richd    Marsh,  Joseph   ffowler  Roger  Dwiggin  Thom  Casey, 
Jno  Saunders,   Henry  Porter,  ffrancis    Mondeford    W'^  Simpson  W™ 

Georges  George  B es  W™  West,  Wn»  Cheshire,  Jno  Paler,  Robte 

ffarrer  George   Keith,  Joshua  Lee  James   Green,   Thom   oakely,   J  no 
Turner,  Maunce  Miles,  Jno  Dash  W™  ffelstead  Jno  Chauntry: 
Jury        Richd  ffoster  ")  Jno  Blackiston 

Jno  Tenison  1  Jno  Stanley 

Edward  Connory  I  ^  Richd  Saunderson 

Robte  Cowper  |  ^^^'"''"'^     J  no  Bullock  ^  ^worne 

Thom  Cattline  |  Thom  oakely 

Wm  Watts  J  Jno  Paler 

Bayliff  Jno  Shankes  &  Sworne. 

Presentmts:  Wee  p^sent  that  Bartholomew  Phillips  his  land  was  not 
layd  out  according  to  order  of  Court  formerly  made  wherefore  he  is 
fined  one  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  &  caske  unto  the  Lord. 

We  pTsent  John  Tenison  for  stffTering  his  horse  to  destroy  John 
Blakiston's  Corne  field. 

We  prsent  that  Jno  Stanley  and  Henry  Neale  killed  three  marked 
hogs  vpon  the  Lords  Manor  ^ch  Capt  Gardiner  received  wch  hogs  were 
not  of  Capt  Gardiner's  proper  marke  which  is  transferred  to  the  next 
Provinciall  Court,  there  to  be  determined  according  to  the  Law  of  the 
Province. 

We  prsent  that  Edward  Connery  killed  or  caused  to  be  killed  five 
wild  hogs  vpon  the  Lords  Manor  this  was  done  by  the  Lords  order  and 
Liscense. 

We  pfsent  that  the  Lord  of  the  Manno""  hath  not  provided  a  paire  of 
stocks,  pillory,  and  Ducking  Stoole  Ordered  that  these  Jnstrumts  of 
Justice  be  provided  by  the  next  Court  by  a  generall  contribution 
throughout  the  Mano^ 

We  p^sent  That  Edward  Convery's  land  is  not  bounded  in 

We   pi-sent  that  Thomas  Rives  hath  fallen  five  or  sixe  timber  trees 


128  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

The  pillory,  ducking-stool,  and  stocks  were  the  usual 
instruments  of  punishment.  It  would  also  make  by-laws  for 
the  government  of  the  manor,  and  elected  the  manor  bailifiFs, 
constables,  assessors,  and  ale-tasters. 

The  Court  Baron  was  the  court  of  the  freeholders,  the 
jury  being  selected  from  that  class  exclusively,  and  before  it 
were  tried  all  matters  in  dispute  between  the  lord  of  the  manor 
and  his  tenants,  as  well  as  all  questions  of  title,  trespass,  and 
debt,  between  the  tenants,  and  all  other  matters  of  a  civil 
nature,  relating  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  manor. 

vpon  Richard  ffosters  land  within  this  Manor  referred  till  view  may  be 
had  of  Rives  his  Lease 

We  p^sent  That  Robert  Cowper's  land  is  not  bounded  according  to  a 
former  order  for  which  he  is  fined  100'  tobco. 

We  p^sent  that  Jno  Blackiston  hunted  Jno  Tenisons  horses  out  of 
the  sd  Blackistons  corne  field  fence  which  fence  is  proved  to  be  insuffi- 
cient by  the  oathes  of  Jn"  Hoskins  and  Daniell  White. 

We  p^sent  Richard  ffoster  to  be  Constable  for  this  Manor  for  the 
yeare  ensuing  who  is  sworne  accordingly. 

We  p^sent  that  Jno  Bullocks  land  is  not  bounded. 

We  pfsent  Mr  Thomas  Notley,  Mr  Justinian  Gerard  &  Capt  Luke 
Gardiner,  ffreeholders  of  this  Manor;  for  not  a  appearing  to  do  their 
suit  at  the  Lords  Court  wherefore  they  are  amerced  each  man  501  of 
tobacco  to  the  Lord. 

Jt  is  ordered  That  every  mans  land  w^hin  this  Mannor  whose  bounds 
are  Vncertein  be  layd  out  before  the  next  Cort  in  prsence  of  the  great- 
est part  of  this  Jury  according  to  their  severall  Grants  vnder  penalty  of 
100'  tobco  for  every  one  that  shall  make  default. 
Affeir  Thomas  Catline    ) 

WiUm  Watts  |    Sworne. 

St  Clements  }        A  Court    Leet    &    Court    Baron   of    Thomas    Gerard 
Manor        ^  ^^  Esqr  there  held  on  Monday  the  28th  of  October  1672 
by  James  Gaylard  gent  Steward  there, 

ESSONIES 

FFREEHOLDERS.  Justinian  Gerard  gent  Gerard  Sly  gent  Thomas  Notley 
gent  Benjamine  Sally  gent  Capt  Luke  Gardiner  Robt^  C^ole  Bartholo- 
mew Philips  Jno  Bullock.  W™  Watts  James  Edmonds  Richard  Vpgate 
Simon  Rider  John  Tenhison  Richard  ffoster  Edward  Connory  Jno 
Shankcs  Jn^  Blackiston  Thomas  Jourdaine. 

Leasehoi  DERS  Capt  Peter  Lefebur  Henry  Shaddock  Richard  Saunderson 
Jno  Hoskins  Thomas  Catline. 

Resiants  Joseph  ffowler  Roger  Dwiggin  Henry  Porter  W'"  Simpson 
William  Georges  W""  West  W'n  Cheshire  Jno  Paler  Joshua  Lee  Maurice 


THE    JUDICIAI,    SVSTICM 


129 


Tlie  extinction  of  Manorial  Courts  in  Maryland,  it  has 
been  suggested,  was  due  to  the  introduction  of  slavery,  with 
whom  manors  could  be  made  more  profitable  than  with 
tenants,  and  with  whom  the  system  of  private  jurisdiction  was 
no  longer  necessary. 

"The  Court  Baron  and  Court  Leet,  having  served  their 
term  were  cast  aside.    If  they  played  no  great  part  in  the  his- 

Miles  Jno  Dash  W"  ffelstead  Richard  ChiUman  Robte  Samson  Henry 
Awsbury  Jno  Hammilton  \Vm  Wilkinson  Abraham  .Combes  VVilbn 
Harrison  Jno  Rosewell  Vincent  Mansfeild  Edward  Williams  Marma- 
duke  Simson  Nicholas  Smith  Humphry  Willey  James  Traske  Derby 
Dollovan  Jno  Vpgate  Thomas  Rives  Michaell  Williams  Jn©  Sprigg 
Charles  Rookes  ffrancis  Knott  Richard  Hart  Willm  Polfe  Thomas 
Attaway  James  Green  J  no  Ball  Thomas  Liddiard  Edward  feradbourne 
Jno  Suttle  Jno  Lee  Jno  Barefoot  ffrancis  Wood. 
Jury      W'm  Watts  1  Jno  Bullock  1 

Jno  Tennison  Thom  oakly  | 

Jno  Rosewell  .  !  Thom  Jorden  [ 

Jno  Stanly  j"  ^^'"''"^    Jno  Hoskins  !'  ^^^'"^"^ 

Richard  Saunderson     |  J  no  Paler 

ffrancis  Knott  J  Vincent  Mansfeild      J 

Edward  Bradbourne  complaineth  agt  Jno  Tennison  that  he  unjustly 
deteineth  from  him  200'  tobco  to  the  contrary  whereof  the  sd  Tennison 
having  in  this  Coart  taken  his  oath  the  sd  Bradbourne  is  nonsuited. 

We  prsent  Jno  Dash  for  keeping  hoggs  &  cattle  upon  this  Manno"" 
for  whch  he  is  fined  lOOQl  tobco. 

We  pfscnt  Henry  Poulter  for  keeping  of  hoggs  to  rhe  annoyance  of 
the  lord  of  the  Manor.  Ordered  that  he  remove  them  within  12  da>  s 
under  paine  of  4001  tobco  &  cask. 

We  prsent  the  sd  Henry  Poulter  for  keeping  a  Mare  &  foale  upon  this 
Manor  to  the  annoyance  of  J  no  Stanly  ordered  that  he  remove  the  sd 
mare  &  foale  w'^in  12  dales  vnder  paine  of  400'  of  tobco  &  caske 

We  p^scnt  Joshua  Lee  for  injuring  Jno  Hoskins  his  hoggs  by  setting 
his  doggs  on  them  &  tearing  their  eares  &.  other  hurts  for  which  he  is 
fined  100'  of  tobco  &  caske. 

We  prsent  Humphry  Willy  for  keeping  a  tipling  house  cS:  selling  his 
drink  withcfut  a  License  at  unla^full  rates  for  wcli  he  is  fined  according 
to  act  of  assembly  in  that  case  made  &  provided 

We  prsent  Derby  Dollovan  for  committing  an  Affray  and  Shedding 
blood  in  the  house  of  the  sd  Humphry  Willy  Ordered  that  the  sd  Dolo- 
.van  give  suretys  for  the  peace. 

We  prsent  W'm  Simpson  for  bringing  hoggs  into  this  Manor  for  which 
he  is  fined  3'  of  tobco  And  ordered  that  he  remove  them  in  10  days 
vnder  paine  of  v300'  of  tobco  &  caske 


I30  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

tory  of  the  State,  they  are  interesting-  as  an  extinct  species.  *  *  * 
connecting  the  life  of  the  present  with  the  Hfe  of  the  past.'" 
The  Prerogative  Court  was  the  court  for  the  probate  of 
wills  and  for  the  administration  of  all  matters  testamentary. 
Until  1673,  these  were  within  the  jurisdiction,  concurrently, 
of  the  Provincial  Court  and  the  County  Courts,  but  in  that 
year  Baltimore  created  the  office  of  Commissary  General,  "for 


We  p^sent  Robte  Samson  &  Henry  Awsbury  for  selling  drinke  ad 
unlawful  rates  for  which  they  are  each  of  them  fined  according  to  Act 
of  Assembly. 

We  p^sent  Simon  Rider  for  keeping  an  under  tenant  contrary  to  the 
tenof  of  his  Deed  referred  till  view  may  be  had  of  the  sd  Deed. 

We  p^sent  that  Raphaell  Haywood  hath  aliened  his  ffreehold  to 
Simon  Rider  upon  w^h  alienacon  there  is  a  reliefe  due  to  the  lord. 

We  pfsent  an  alienacon  from  James  Edmonds  to  Thomas  Oakely 
upon  wch  there  is  a  Reliefe  due  to  the  lord  and  Oakely  hath  sworne 
fealty. 

We  pfsent  that  upon  the  death  of  M*"  Robte  Sly  there  is  a  Releief 
due  to  the  lord  &  that.  Mr  Gerard  Slye  is  his  next  heire  who  hath 
sworne  fealty  accordingly. 

We  p'sent  an  alienacon  from  Thomas  Catline  to  Anne  Vpgate. 

We  pfsent  that  upon  the  death  of  Richard  Vpgate  there  is  a  Releife 
due  to  the  lord  &  [Annie]  Vpgate  his  relict  is  next  heire. 

We  p'sent  Mr  Nehemiah  Blackiston  tenant  to  the  land  formerly  in 
possession  of  Robert  Gowper  Mr  Blackiston  hath  sworne  fealty  accord- 
ingly. 

We  pfsent  an  alienacon  from  W™  Barton  to  Benjamine  Sally  gent 
upon  wch  there  is  a  Releife  due  to  the  lord  &  M»"  Sally  hath  sworne 
fealty  to  the  lord. 

We  prsent  an  alienacon  from  Richard  ffoster  of  pt  of  his  ffreehold  to 
Jno  Blackiston  upon  which  there  is  a  Releife  due  to  the  lord 

We  pfsent  a  Stray  horse  taken  upon  this  Mano""  and  delivered  to  the 
lord 

We  prsent  Robte  Gole  for  not  making  his  appearance  at  this  Gourt 
for  which  he  is  amerced  10^  of  tobco  affeired  to  61  of  tobco. 

We  pfsent  Edward nder  to  be  Constable  for  this  yeare  ensuing 

Sworne  accordingly. 
AffeirqRs  Wm  Watts      » 

Jno  Bullock    \    S^^'""^- 

'"Old  Maryland  Manors",  from  which  most  of  the  data  relating  to 
Manorial  Courts  was  obtained. 

For  an  account  of  the  manorial  system  in  Maryland,  see  chapter, 
"The  Land  Tenure  of  Colonial  Maryland.  . 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM 


131 


the  probate  of  wills  and  granting  of  letters  of  administration 
within  the  whole  province",  and  with  full  power  to  adjudge 
and  decree  upon  all  matters  and  causes  incidental  thereto.' 
The  Clerk  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Province  was  at  the  same 
time  directed  to  deliver  to  the  Commissary  General,  all  records 
and  papers  relating  to  the  testamentary  business  within  the 
Province,  which  was  accordingly  done,  and,  in  April,  1673, 
the  Prerogative  Court  was  formally  opened. 

It  was  a  prototype  of  the  old  English  court  of  that  name, 
over  which  the  Archbishop  presided,  it  being  his  "prerogative" 
to  take  charge  of  all  matters  testamentary. 

The  Commissary  General  was  required  to  hold  court  once 
in  two  months,  or  oftener,  if  necessary;  to  conduct -the  pro- 
ceedings "according  to  the  laws  of  England,  where  no  law 
of  the  Province  prevailed",  and  he  was  invested  with  the 
same  powers  to  enforce  his  orders  and  decrees  as  was  possessed 
by  the  High  Court  of  Chancery." 

It  was  also  incumbent  upon  him  to  appoint  a  Deputy 
Commissary  for  each  county  who  could  probate  wills,  grant 
letters  of  administration  in  their  respective  counties,  and  pass 
accounts  not  exceeding  £50  in  money ,''  which,  in  1763,  was 
extended  to  £150  currency,  *  though,  by  special  commission 
from  the  Commissary  General,  they  could  pass  accounts  with- 
out limitation  as  to  amount.^  They  could  not,  however,  decide 
any  question  in  controversy,  either  as  to  the  right  of  adminis- 
tration or  the  passing  of  accounts,  all  of  which  had  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  decision  of  the  Commissary  General." 

The  Deputy  Commissaries  were  required  by  rule  of  court, 
to  make  their  returns  to  the  Commissary  General  every  two 
months,  with  a  list  of  every  paper  filed  within  that  period,  and 
to  transmit  annually,  a  full  list  of  all  administrations  granted, 
wills  probated,  and  accounts  passed,  in  their  respective  offices, 
as  well,  also,  a  "list  of  alienations  of  land'',  consisting  of  an 

'  Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1673)  P-  M-       °  Act,  1715,  C.  39-         "Ibid. 
*Act,  1763,  C.  18.  Mbid.  'Act.  1715,  C.  39- 


132  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

abstract  of  each  of  said  wills,  giving  the  name,  quantity,  and 
location  of  the  lands  devised,  and  the  name  of  the  devisees/ 

It  was  the  practice,  also,  for  the  Deputies,  after  recording 
the  wills  probated  in  their  respective  counties,  to  transmit 
them,  together  with  inventories,  accounts,  and  distributions 
appertaining  to  the  settlement  of  each  estate,  to  the  Commis- 
sary General,  who  placed  them  on  record  in  the  general  office. 
As  a  result  of  this  practice,  owing  to  the  destruction  of  the 
testamentary  and  other  records  in  so  many  of  the  counties,  the 
records  of  the  Prerogative  Court  are  among  the  most  valuable 
in  the  Archives  of  the  State. 

The  Commissary  General  was  in  turn  required  to  transmit, 
within  three  months  after  final  distribution,  a  copy  thereof  to 
the  County  Court  of  the  county  in  which  the  estate  was  lo- 
cated, in  order  that  such  part  of  it  as  belonged  to  orphans 
could  be  under  supervision  of  that  court." 

The  Court  held  six  terms  a  year,  commencing  on  the  sec- 
ond Tuesday  of  January,  March,  May,  July,  September,  and 
November,^  and  it  was  supported  by  the  fees  of  the  office.^ 

From  the  decisions  of  this  Court,  an  appeal  could  be 
taken  within  thirty  days,  to  a  Court  of  Delegates,  appointed 
especially  for  the  purpose,  and  whose  decree  was  final.^ 

.  The  Prerogative  Court  did  not  survive  the  Revolution, 
one  of  the  earliest  acts  of  the  infant  republic  being  to  declare 
that  under  "the  form  of  government  assented  to  by  the  free- 
men of  this  State",  it  was  intended  that  the  Prerogative  Court 
should  be  abolished.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and  an 
Orphans'  Court,  with  a  Register  of  Wills  for  each  county,  was 
instituted  in  its  stead." 

The  High  Court  of  Chancery  was '  not  organized  until 
i66i,^  prior  to  which  time  the  Governor  and  Council  had 
exercised  jurisdiction  over  all  matters  in  equity.  The  Court 
was  presided  over  by  one  judge,  denominated  Chancellor,  who 

'  Deputy  Commissaries  Guide,  pp.   154,   155. 

^Act,  1715,  C.  39.  ''Dep.  Com.  Guide,  p.    154. 

*Act,  1763,  C.  18.  ,   'Act,  1726.  C.  9. 

'Act,  1777,  C.  8.       ,  'Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1661)  p.  439. 


THE    JL'DICIAI.    SVST1:M  133 

was  appointed  by  the  i'roprietary/  Two  associates,  called 
Masters  in  Chancery,  were  appointed,  as  in  England,  to  sit 
with  him,  until  1721,  when  that  feature  was  abolished,  after 
which  the  office  of  Master  appears  to  have  merged  into  that 
now  known  as  Examiner.'  The  clerk  of  the  court,  called  the 
Register,  was  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Province.' 

The  Chancellor  was  made  keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  and, 
as  such,  sealed  all  patents,  commissions,  writs,  and  other 
public  instruments.*  The  emoluments  of  the  office  consisted 
of  fees  for  each  and  all  of  his  official  acts,  and  which  rendered 
it  one  of  the  most  lucrative  in  the  Province." 

In  its  earlier  history,  the  Court  held  only  four  terms  a 
year,  but  after  1719,  it  was,  like  the  High  Court  of  Chancery 
in  England,  presumed  to  be  always  open." 

The  Court  of  Chancery  had  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all 
matters  in  Chancery,  where  the  amount  involved  exceeded 
'1200  lbs.  of  tobacco,  or  £5  in  money,'  and  was  co-extensive 
with  the  Province,  but,  after  1763.  the  County  Courts  had 
concurrent  jurisdiction  where  the  amount  did  not  exceed  £20 
sterling,  or  5,000  tbs.  of  tobacco.*  It  also  had  exclusive  juris- 
diction over  trust  estates,*  and  was  the  only  tribunal  through 
which  alimony  was  recoverable,  though  not  until  a  late  period 
did  it  have  authority  to  decree  divorce.'" 

Decrees  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery  were  subject  to 
the  same  stay  of  execution  for,  six  months  as  judgments  of 
the  Courts  of  Common  Law,  when  superseded  in  the  same 
manner." 

While  the  Court  of  Chancery  was  established  in  Maryland 
from  an  early  date,  it  was  a  long  time  before  any  provision 
was  made  looking  to  an  appeal  from  its  decisions,  during 
which  time  its  decrees,  like  those  of  the  High  Court  of  Chan- 
cery in  England,  originally,  were  final  and  conclusive. 

Acts  of  "Assembly  were  passed,  from  time  to  time,  regu- 

'Ibid,  1673,  p.  12-  'Bland,  2,  pp.  54-60. 

"Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1673)  P-  ^4-     *  Ibid,  1677,  P.  161  ;  Act,  1763,  C  18. 
'Act,  1763,  C.  18. ■  "Bland,   i,  p.  624;  Ibid,  2,  p.  59. 

'  Act,  1715,  C.  41-  '  Act,  1763,  C.  22.  *  Act,  1773,  C.  7- 

'"Bland,  2,  p.  566;  Maryland  Cli..  4.  P-  293-         "  Act,  i7-'i,  C.  4. 


134  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

lating  appeals  from  the  Courts  of  Common  Law,  but  they 
were  confined  to  appeals  from  those  courts,  and  it  was  not 
until  1 72 1,  that  provisions  were  made  for  an  appeal  from  the 
Court  of  Chancery/  This  Act  restricted  the  right  to  appeal 
from  "any  decree  of  the  Chancery  Court",  and  did  not  ex- 
tend to  appeals  from  orders  or  decisions,"  a  right,  indeed, 
which  did  not  exist  by  virtue  of  any  legislative  enactment, 
until  after  the  Revolution.' 

Appeals  from  the  Court  of  Chancery  were  to  the  Court  of 
Appeals,^  and  were  subject  to  the  same  rules  and  limitations 
applicable  to  the  Courts  of  Common  Law,^  under  which  no 
appeal  would  lie  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  unless  the  amount 
involved  exceeded  £50  sterling,  or  10,000  ft>s.  of  tobacco.' 

It  was  a  remarkable  fact,  that  none  of  the  Acts  of 
Assembly,  regulating  appeals  in  Chancery,  prescribed  any 
method  for  staying  execution  pending  the  appeal,  the  terms 
upon  which  the  appeals  might  be  granted,  or  the  manner  of 
making  up  the  record,  as  to  all  of  which,  before  the  revolution, 
the  Court  seems  to  have  been  governed  by  the  rules  and 
practice  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery  in  England,"  which  in 
every  particular  it  closely   resembled. 

Upon  the  adoption  of  the  State  Government,  in  1777,  the 
Court  of  Chancery  was  given  constitutional  recognition,*  and 
under  which,  also,  the  Chancellor  continued  to  be  the  keeper 
of  the  Great  Seal  of  Maryland." 

A  Court  of  Admiralty  was  erected  in  Maryland,  in  1684. 
The  order  directing  it,  provided  that  it  should  consist  of  not 
less  than  four  Judges,  appointed  by  the  Governor,  and  who 
were  invested  with  full  power,  to  try  and  condemn  all  ships  or 
vessels  found  within  the  Province  "ti"ansgr^ssing  against  his 
Majestie's  laws  of  navigation,  and  other  laws  relating  to 
customs."  The  Court  appointed  its  own  clerk,  and  it  was  also 
authorized  to  appoint  appraisers  and  summon  juries.^"    It  also 

'  Act,  1721,  C.  14-  "  Ibid ;  CI.  Pro.  P.  L.  p.  595. 

'Act,   1785,  C.  72.  *Act,   1721,  C.   14. 

'Act,   1729,  C.  3-  "Act,   1713,  C.  4. 

'  I  Bland,  p.  15.  ..        « Constitution,  Sec.  40. 

"Ibid,  36.  '•  Archives    (CI.  Pro.   1684)    p.  360. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  135 

had  a  Marshal,  who,  with  the  Judges  and  all  other  officials  of 
the  Court,  were  paid  by  fees/  The  Court  of  Admiralty  was 
continued  after  the  Revolution,  but  it  consisted  of  one  Judge 
only,  a  Register  and  Marshal,  and  sat  at  such  places  as  the 
Court  deemed  most  convenient  for  the  trial  of  the  cases  before 
it." 

As  early  as  1732,  Courts  of  Oyer,  Terminer,  and  Gaol 
delivery,  or  as  more  commonly  known.  Courts  of  Assize, 
were  established  for  the  several  counties  of  the  Province,  for 
the  trial  of  crimes  and  offenses,^  but  in  1766/  these  were 
superseded  by  two  Courts  of  Assize  for  the  entire  Province, 
one  for  the  eastern  and  one  for  the  western  shore ;  these  Courts 
were  each  presided  over  by  a  Justice  appointed  by  the  Governor, 
from  the  Judges  of  the  Provincial  Court ;  one  being  appointed 
from  each  side  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  sat  twice  a  year, 
in  every  county  within  their  respective  districts,  for  the  trial 
of  causes  arising  in  said  jcounty/  The  Justices  were  directed 
to  make  all  necessary  rules  of  Court  and  to  enforce  them  by 
reasonable  fines.  The  Sheriff  of  the  county  in  which  the 
court  was  being  held  was  its  executive  officer.  Fifty  free- 
holders were  summoned,  ten  days  before  the  court  met,  to 
serve  as  grand  and  petit  jurors,  who  were  subject  to  the  same 
rules  as  those  respecting  jurors  in  the  Provincial  Court. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Assize  Courts  was  concurrent  with 
the  criminal  jurisdiction  of  the  Provincial  Court,  and  extended 
to  all  crimes  and  offenses  not  recognizable  in  the  County  Courts, 
and  to  such,  also,  as  were  removed  from  the  County  Courts, 
a  right  specially  given  in  criminal  cases."  From  their  decisions 
an  appeal  would  lie  to  the  Provincial  Court,  upon  bill  of  ex- 
ceptions, which  latter,  unlike  appeals  in  criminal  cases,  from 
other  courts,  was  expressly  granted  in  appeals  from  the  Court 
of  Assize." 

'  Act,  1763,  C.  18.  '  Hanson,  Act,  1781,  C.  29. 

'  ist  H.   &   McH.   Maryland  Reports,  p.  83. 
*A,ct,   1766,  C.  5-  'Ibid. 

'Ibid;  1st  H.  &  McH.,  Maryland  Reports,  p.  83. 


136  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

The  Judges  in  the  Assize  Court  each  received  7,000  tbs. 
of  tobacco   for  their  compensation/ 

The  law  under  which  these  Courts  were  organized,  was 
allowed  to  expire,  in  1769,"  and  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
revived  before  the  Revolution. 


Act,   1766,   C.   5.  ^Hanson. 


CHAPTER  IX 
The  Judicial  System  of  Colonial  Maryland 


"T^HE  Provincial  Court  of  Maryland  was,  from  the  time  of  its 
organization  to  the  American  Revolution,  the  chief  nisi 
prills  court,  and,  for  a  long  time,  the  chief  appellate  tribu- 
nal of  the  Province,  and  possessed  all  the  powers  of  the  high- 
est English  common  law  courts.  It  did  not  owe  its  origin  to 
legislative  enactment,  but  to  commission  from  the  Proprietary, 
by  which  the  judges,  in  its  earlier  history,  were  appointed  and 
its  jurisdiction  defined.'  But  the  commission  did  not  bestow 
upon  it  the  nanie,  nor  dicPany  Act  of  Assembly  do  so.  The 
Court  was  simply  established,  and  it  was  apparently  called  the 
Provincial  Court,  because  its  jurisdiction  was  co-extensive  with 
the  Province,  and  in  distinction  to  the  County  Court,  which 
was  limited  to  a  single  county.  The  General  Assembly  indeed, 
thus  referred  to  it,  and  so  called  it  as  early  as  1642."  A  plaus- 
ible suggestion  has  been  made,  that,  as  it  was  at  first,  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  Province ;  cqurtesy  and  common  parlance 
bestowed  upon  it  the  name  of  the  Provincial  Court.' 

The  Justices  of  the  Provincial  Court,  at  first,  were  the 
Governor  and  the  Council  of  the  Province — the  former  being 
Chief  Justice,  and  in  his  absence,  the  member  of  the  Council, 
who  stood  next  in  commission  to  the  Governor,  presided.*  It 
sometimes  happened  that,  the  Lord  Proprietary  was  himself 
present,  and  on  such  occasions  acted  as  Chief  Judge  of  the 
•court.' 

'  Archives   (CI.  Pro.  1637)   p.  49. 

^Archives    (Ass.   Pro.   1642)    pp.   147   to    152. 

^Bozman  11,  p.  304,  note.         'Archives   (CI.  Pro.    1637)  p.  53. 

°4th,  H.  &  McH.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  477. 


138  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Under  the  earliest  commission,  of  which  there  is  any 
record,  the  Governor,  in  most  cases,  could  sit  alone,  it  being 
necessary  to  have  the  council  associated  only  in  causes  which 
involved  a  freehold,  and  in  crimes  which  extended  to  life  or 
member,^  but  after  1642,  the  Council  constituted  a  part  of  the 
Court,  in  all  cases,  civil  and  criminal."  A  quorum  consisted  of 
three  Judges,  including  the  Chief  Judge,""  or  the  one  next  in 
commission,  though  the  records  show  that  the  attendance  of 
the  members  of  the  council  was  usually  large,  due  perhaps,  in 
part,  to  the  fact  of  their  compensation  being  a  per  diem. 

In  1692,  the  Provincial  Court  was  organized  as  a  distinct 
tribunal  from  the  Governor  and  Council,  and  a  Chief  Judge 
with  eight  associates,  constituted  the  bench.  The  first  Judges 
under  the  new  organization  were  commissioned  by  the  Crown,* 
but  subsequently  they  were  appointed  by  the  Governor,  and 
held  their  office  during  good  behavior,  though  nominally,  its 
tenure  was  at  will.^  At  a  later  period,  it  was  strongly  urged, 
that  the  bench  of  the  Provincial  Court,  be  reduced  to  a  Chief 
Judge  and  four  associates,  and  also  that  they  be  appointed* 
exclusively,  from  those  learned  in  the  law,'  but  this  was  not 
carried  out,  the  reason  assigned  for  the  latter  being,  that 
"gentlemen  of  the  law",  could  not  be  induced  to  serve,  owing 
to  the  meagreness  of  the  compensation  attached  to  the  office." 
While,  however,  not  always  learned  in  the  law,  the  bench  of 
the  Provincial  Court  uniformly,  had  on  it  the  best  available 
talent  within  the  Province,  and  steadily  maintained  a  distin- 
guished rank  for  dignity,  character  and  sound  administration 
of  justice.  Among  the  noted  justices  who  were  long  associated 
with  it,  may  be  mentioned  the  names  of  Chief  Justices  Calvert, 
Brice  and  Hayward,  and  associates  Addison,  Brooke,  Tench, 
Courts,  Goldsborough,  Henry,  Mason,  Darnall,  Hall,  Hooper, 
Weems,  Bordley,  Jennifer,  Hands,  Hepburn  and  Leeds. 

^Archives   (CI.  Pro.  1637)  p.  53. 

'  Archives    (Ass.   Pro.    1642)   p.   147. 

'Archives    (CI.   Pro.    1637)    p.  53. 

'Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1692)  p.  307. 

'Archives,   Sharpe's  Cor.  pp.   7,   11.- 

"Ibid.  'Ibid,   p.  334- 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  139 

The  Provincial  Court  commonly  sat  at  Saint  Mary's  while 
it  was  the  seat  of  government  though,  as  a  matter  of  public 
convenience,  sessions  of  the  court  were  sometimes  held  in 
other  parts  of  the  Province,  but  in  1699,  Annapolis  was  made 
the  seat  of  the  court  and  the  place  also,  where  all  of  its  writs 
and  processes  were  returnable.'  The  Court  was  convened  by 
the  beat  of  a  drum,  until  168 1,  when  a  bell  was  procured 
for  that  purpose,  and  for  convening  the  General  Assembly.' 
The  Clerk  of  the  Provincial  Court  was  appointed  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Province,^  and  the  Sheriff  of  the  County  was 
its  executive  officer,  both  of  whom,  together  with  the  Crier 
and  Bailiff  of  the  court,  were  paid  by  fees.*  The  justices  of 
the  Provincial  Court  were  required  to  make  all  necessary  rules 
for  the  proper  government  of  the  court,  and  to  purchase  for 
its  use,  the  Statutes  of  England  and  Dalton's  Justice.^ 

The  jury  for  the  Provincial  Court  was  taken  from  the 
whole  Province,  every  couijty  being  required  to  furnish  two 
grand  and  three  petit  jurors,  for  each  term  of  the  court,  who 
were  selected  and  summoned  by  the  sheriffs  of  their  respective 
counties,  and  who  were  entitled  to  twenty  days'  notice.'  In 
all  other  respects,  the  manner  of  selecting  the  jury  of  the 
Provincial  Court,  as  well  as  the  questions  of  disqualification 
and  exemption  from  jury  service,  were  determined  by  the 
same  rule  as  those  which  prevailed  in  the  County  Courts, 
except  that  the  penalty  for  failtire  to  serve  was  larger — 
being  1,000  lbs.'  of  tobacco — as  was,  also,  their  compensa- 
tion, which,  in  the  case  of  the  grand  jury,  while  within  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Court,  might  have  been  as  much  as  3,000  tbs." 
of  tobacco  a  piece,  per  term,  subsequently  increased  to  6,000 
lbs."  and  48  lbs.  a  piece  for  itinerant  charges."*  The  petit  jury 
received  the  same  itinerant  charges,"  and  30  lbs.  of  tobacco  a 

^  Act,  1699,  C.  19. 

'Archives,  Act,  1681,  p.   144. 

'Archives,  CI.  Pro.  1671,  pp.  23-136. 

'Act,   1763,  C.    18.  'Act,   1715,   C.   41- 

'Act,   171S,   C.  n.  Mbid.  'Ibid. 

•Act,  1760,   C.  16.  '"Ibid.  "Ibid. 


MO  COLOXIAL    MARYLAND 

piece,  for  each  day  of  attendance/  subsequently  increased  to  48 
its./  besides  the  120  tbs.  allowed  to  the  panel  in  each  case 
in  which  they  were  sworn/  but  later  reduced  to  96  fts./  all 
of  which  was  paid  out  of  the  public  levy/  except  the  allowance 
to  the  panels  of  petit  juries,  which,  as  in  the  County  Courts, 
was  taxed  as  a  part  of  the  costs  of  the  case/ 

The  law  relating  to  witnesses  before  the  Provincial  Court, 
was  the  same  as  that  applicable  to  them  in  the  County  Courts ; 
except  that  their  compensation  was  larger,  being  40  lbs.  of 
tobacco  per  diem,  and  itinerant  charges,  collectable  as  witness 
fees  in  the  County  Courts/  except  also,  that  before  they 
could  be  amerced  for  failure  to  attend,  their  reasonable  charges 
had  to  be  tendered/  but  fees  of  witnesses  whom  the  Court 
deemed  unnecessary,  could  not  be  taxed  as  a  part  of  the 
costs  of  the  case,  and  in  no  instance  could  fees  be  taxed  of  more 
than  three  witnesses  upon  any  one  question  of  fact/  The 
Justices  of  the  Provincial  Court  were  also  paid  a  per  diem, 
their  compensation  being  140  lbs.  of  tobacco  and  itinerant 
charges  for  each  day  of  attendance,  which  was  paid  out  of  the 
public  levy  of  the  Province.'"  The  terms  of  Court  were  probably 
prescribed  by  rule  of  court,  as  no  Act  of  Assembly  or  order  of 
the  Proprietary  appears  to  have  been  passed  for  that  purpose. 
Its  terms  were  April,  May,  July,  September,  and  October." 

Under  the  acts  regulating  practice  in  the  Courts  of  the 
Province,  continuances  could  not  be  allowed,  unless  stayed  by 
injunction,  beyond  the  fourth  term  a,fter  tlie  appearance  term, 
and  should  the  case  not  be  disposed  of  by  that  term,  if  through 
default  of  the  plaintiff,  it  was  t'o  be  dismissed  with  costs ;  if 
through  default  of  the  defendant,  judgment  was  to  be  awarded 
to  the  plaintiff,  and  if  through  the  counsel  on  either  side,  the 
attorney  in  default   was  subject  to  a  for-feiture  of  5,000  lbs. 

'Act,  1715,  C.  2,7-    '  'Act,  1760,  C.  16. 

'Act,  1719,  C.  3-  '  *Act,  1760,  C.  16. 

''Act,  1715,  C.  37-  "ll)id;  Act,  1719.  C.  3;  Act,  1760,  C.  16. 

'Act,  1715,  C.  ^7-  *Act,  1692,  C.  16. 

"Act,  1760,  C.  16.  '"Act,  1716,  C  II. 

"  1st  II.  &  Mel  I.  Maryland  Reports^  4th  Ibid  Appendix. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  141 

of  tobacco  and"  the  costs  of  the  suit,'  but  later  this  time  was 
extended,  when  the  court  was  sitting  as  an  appellate  tribunal, 
to  the  period  of  two  years  from  the  end  of  the  appearance 
term."  Where  the  plaintiff  was  desirous  of  a  more  speedy  trial, 
and  had  a  copy  of  the  declaration  and  writ  served  upon  the 
defendant  twenty  days  before  the  appearance  term,  the  court 
was  required  to  compel  the  defendant  to  proceed  to  trial  at 
that  term,  and  upon  failure  to  do  so  without  sufficient  cause, 
to  enter  judgment  for  the  plaintiff." 

Causes  were  to  be  determined  according  to  the  '^very  right 
of  the  cause,"  and  without  regard  to  such  omissions  and  errors 
as  are  usually  taken  advantage  of  by  special  demurrer,  but  this 
did  not  apply  to  the  writ  or  declaration  in  civil,  or  to  the  in- 
dictment and  other  process  in  criminal  causes. 

Attorney's  fees  were  also  regulated  by  the  judicature  Acts 
oi  the  Province,  the  maximum  fees  for  prosecuting  cases  in  the 
Provincial  Court,  being  400  lt)s.  of  tobacco ;  in  the  Court  of 
Appeals.  Admiralty  Court,  and  Court  of  Chancery.  600  lt)s.. 
and  in  the  County  Courts,  100  tt)s..  unless  the  judgment  re- 
covered exceeded  2.000  fts.  of  tobacco,  in  which  case  the  sum 
of  200  lbs.  of  tobacco  could  be  charged.*  The  penalty  for  de- 
manding or  receiving  larger  fees  than  those  prescribed  by  law, 
was  disbarment.^ 

.^Act,  1721,  C.  14.  « 

-Act,   1730,   C.    16.  'Act,    1763,   C.   23- 

*Act,    1715,  C.   14.  °Ibid. 

No  Attorney  could  practice  before  the  Provincial  Court  or  the 
Court  of  Chancery,  prior  to  1715,  except  those  who  were  "admitted, 
nominated  and  sworn,"  by  the  Governor  of  the  Province.  They  could, 
however,  practice  before  the  County  Courts  upon  being  admitted  by  the 
Judges  thereof.  After  1715,  the  right  to  admit  to  practice  in  the  higher 
courts  was  no  longer  limited  to  the  Governor,  but  was  vested  in  the 
Judges  of  the  several  courts.  The  Courts  were  very  exacting  in  requir- 
ing Attorneys  to  be  regular  and  punctual  in  their  attendance., and  the 
records  furnish  repeated  instances  in  which  they  were  fined  for  failure 
in  either  respect.  Under  an  order  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  any 
Attorney  who  failed  to  be  in  "Court  by  8  of  ye  clock  in  Summer  and  9 
in  Winter,"  was  subject  to  a  fine  of  ten  shillings  sterling  for  the  first 
default;  twenty,  for  the  second,  and  disbarment  for  the  third.  (Archives 


142  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

If  a  plaintiff  was  defeated,  or  discontinued  the  action,  he 
was  subject  to  amerciament  of  50  tbs,  of  tobacco,  if  in  the 
Provincial  Court,  to  be  applied  as  the  Governor  and  Council 
saw  fit,  and  30  tbs.  of  tobacco,  if  in  the  County  Courts,  to  be  ap- 
plied to  county  charges.  A  like  penalty  was  imposed  upon 
every  defeated  defendant  after  imparlance  (demanding  time  to 
plead),  but  this  did  not  apply  to  defendants  where  the  judgment 
was  rendered  at  the  appearance  term,  nor  did  it  apply  to  execu- 
tors, administrators,  and  minors,  whether  plaintiff  or  defendant.^ 
Judgments  obtained  in  the  Provincial  Courts,  like  judgments 
of  the  other  Courts  of  the  Province,  were  subject  to  a  stay  of 
execution  for  six  months,  provided  the  debtor  furnished  two 
sufficient  suretors,  who  confessed  judgment  for  the  debt  and 
costs.' 

The  Provincial  Court  was  invested  with  both  an  original 
and  appellate  common  law  jurisdiction,  and,  until  1661,  when 
the  Court  of  Chancery  was  erected,  it  had  jurisdiction,  also, 
over  the  equity  business  of  the  Province.  In  its  earlier  history, 
it  had  original  jurisdiction  in  all  matters  criminal  and  civil, 
and  which  was  co-extensive  with  the  Province.*  This  was  enter- 
tained concurrently  with  the  County  Courts  and  the  Assize 
Courts  (as  long  as  the  latter  continued  to  be  a  part  of  the  judi- 
cial system)  to  the  extent  of  the  jurisdiction  of  those  respective 
courts  *  but,  after  1692,  the  Provincial  Court  could  only  hold 
plea  cases  in  which  the  amount  involved  exceeded  1,500  lbs. 

Ass.  Pro.  1674,  p.  467;  Act,  1715,  C.  48;  Chancery  Records,  May  24th, 
1697,  P-  355-)  The  State's  Attorneys,  or  his  "Lordships  Attorneys," 
as  they  were  called,  were  appointed  by  the  Attorney  General  of  the 
Province,  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  Council,  and  frequently  rep- 
resented more  than  one  county.  Those  appointed  by  Attorney  General 
Robert  Carville,  in  1688,  were,  William  Dent,  for  Saint  Mary's,  Charles, 
and  Calvert;  George  Parker,  for  Anne  Arundel;  John  Meriton,  for 
Baltimore;  Robert  Smith,  for  Kent  and  Talbot;  William  Nowell,  for 
Cecil;  Thomas  Pattison,  for  Dorchester,  and  James  Sangster,  for  Som- 
erset.—Archives   (CI.  Pro.   1688)   p.  18,  30. 

^Act,  1722,  C.  12.  °Acts,  1715,  C.  2i;  1721,  C.  4. 

'Archives   (CI.  Pro.  1637)  p.  49. 

*Ibid,  1661,  p.  22;  Act,  1766,  C.  5.  ., 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  143 

of  tobacco/  and,  in  1714,  this  limit  was  extended  to  £20  sterling, 
or  5,000  fbs.  of  tobacco." 

In  all  other  conVmon  law  civil  cases,  its  original  jurisdiction 
was  exclusive.  Thus  it  stood,  until  1773,  when  its  original 
jurisdiction  was  still  further  curtailed  by  being  limited  to  cases 
involving  not  less  than  £100  sterling^  or  30,000  lbs.  of  tobacco, 
and  the  County  Courts,  at  the  same  time,  were  invested  with 
a  general  concurrent  jurisdiction  in  all  cases,  civil  and  crimi- 
•  nal.'  The  County  Courts  being  so  much  more  accessible,  this 
Act,  in  effect,  resulted  largely  in  making  them  the.  Courts  of 
first  instance  throughout  the  Province,  except  in  cases  of 
greater  magnitude  or  of  deeper  gravity,  and  in  correspondingly 
increasing  the  volume  of  business  before  the  Provincial  Court 
as  an  appellate  tribunal.  It  was  in  its  latter  aspect  that  it  stood 
out  most  conspicuously  as  the  great  central  figure  in  Mary- 
land's early  judicial  system. 

For  more  than  half  a  century  the  Provincial  Court  was  the 
sole  and  exclusive  appellate  tribunal  of  the  Province,  except 
for  appeals  from  Justices  of  the  Peace  and  the  Prerogative 
Court,  and  indeed,  throughout  its  entire  history,  the  records 
of  its  judicial  work  show  that  a  large  volume  of  business,  for 
that  period,  was  before  it  in  its  appellate  capacity. 

It  is  true,  there  was  established  during  the  protectorate  in 
Maryland,  and  that  it  remained  a  permanent  institution,  the 
tribunal  known  as  the  Court  of  Appeals,  presided  over  by  the 
Governor  and  Council,  and  which  was  given  exclusive  juris- 
diction over  appeals  from  the  High  Court  of  Chancery  ;*  but 
its  common  law  jurisdiction  was  limited  to  appeals  from  the 
Provincial  Court,  when  sitting  as  a  court  of  first  instance,  and 
in  which  the  amount  involved  exceeded  £50  sterling,  or  10,000 
lbs.  of  tobacco,'  and  as  the  County  Courts  appear  to  have  been 
the  active  nisi  prius  courts  of  the  Province  particularly  after 
the  enlargement  of  their  jurisdiction  from  time  to  time,  for 
civil,  and  the  Assize  Courts  for  criminal  business,  and  over 

^Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1692)  p.  447.  'Act,  1714,  C.  4. 

*Act,  1773,  C.  I.  *Act,  1713.  C.  4;  Act,  1721,  C.  14. 

"Act,   1713,   C.   4- 


144  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

the  decisions  of  which  Courts  the  Provincial  Court  alone  had 
appellate  jurisdiction,  the  common  law  appeals  before  the 
Court  of  Appeals  were  necessarily  limited  in  number. 

It  is  here  worthy  of  note,  that  the  fact  that  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  whose  terms  were  February,  May,  July,  September, 
and  October,^  heard  cases  during  the  sessions  of  the  General 
Assembly,  has  led  to  the  impression  that  the  Legislature  of 
Maryland  also  possessed  appellate  judicial  powers,  but  this  is 
an  error,  growing  perhaps,  out  of  the  fact  that  the  Governor 
and  Council  constituted  both  the  Upper  House  of  Assembly 
and  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  that  when  the  terms  of  the  tw'o 
conflicted,  the  business  of  the  Court  was  transacted  during  the 
term  of  the  Assembly/ 

The  proceedings  of  the  Provincial  Court,  as  reported  in 
the  two  volumes  of  the  Maryland  Archives,  entitled  "Provincial 
Court,  1636  to  1658",  were  cases  which  were  before  it  as 
a  court  of  first  instance  only,  the  latter  date  being  the  period 
at  which  it  commenced  to  exercise  its  appellate  jurisdiction, 
its  proceedings  as  such  having  been  largely  reported  in  the 
first  and  fourth  volumes  of  Harris  and  McHenry's  Maryland 

'  1st  and  4th  H.  &  McH.  Maryland  Reports. 

^  The  early  records  also  furnish  a  few  instances  in  which  there  was 
a  further  appeal  to  the  King  in  Council,  but  while  this  right  clearly  ex- 
isted by  virtue  both  of  Act  of  Assembly  and  proclamation,  only  a  few 
cases  are  to  be  found  in  which  it  was  exercised,  owing,  perhaps,  to 
the  complex  rules  governing  such  appeals  and  the  costs  incident  thereto. 
This  right  was  limited  in  civil  causes  to  those  in  which  the  amount 
involved  exceeded  £300  sterling,  and,  in  criminal  cases,  to  those  in 
which  the  fine  imposed  was  above  £200  sterling.  The  mode  of  ascertain- 
ing the  value  of  the  thing  in  controversy  was  regulated  by  rules  estab- 
lished by  the  King.  The  appeal  could  only  be  from  the  court  of  last 
resort,  and  had  to  be  taken  within  fourteen  days  and  prosecuted  within 
a  year  after  the  judgment  or  decree  was  rendered.  A  bond  had,  also, 
to  be  given  to  pay  costs  and  damages  in  case  the  decision  should  be 
affirmed.  On  all  reaching  the  English  Court,  the  case  was  referred  to 
the  "Committee  on  Appeals  from  the  Plantations,"  who  appointed  the 
time  and  place  of  hearing,  and  reported  its  decision  to  the  King  in 
Council,  by  whom  it  was  formally  ratified. — Bland,  i,  p.  570,  note;  ist 
}].  &  McH.  Maryland  Reports,  pp.  57,  91  ;  2d  Ibid,  pp.  .324,  346. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  145 

Reports.  Aird  in  this  connection,  it  should  also  be  noted 
that  to  Maryland  belongs  the  distinction  of  possessing  the 
most  ancient  series  of  reported  cases  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  the  next  oldest  being  Jefferson's  Virginia  Reports, 
Dallas'  Pennsylvania,  and  Quincey's  Massachusetts  Reports, 
and  which  begin,  respectively,  in  1730,  1754,  and  1763. 

The  earliest  Act  relating  to  appeals  in  Maryland,  was  in 
1642,  under  which  the  right  of  appeal  was  without  limitation, 
the  appellant  being  sirriply  required  to  give  security  to  prosecute 
the  appeal  and  to  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  superior  court/ 
It  did  not,  however,  seem  to  encourage  the  exercise  of  the 
right,  since  the  Court  could  award  "double  damages"  to  the 
party  aggrieved,  if  it  found  "no  cause  of  appeal",'  though  no 
cases  are  of  record  in  which  such  damages  were  awarded. 

The  next,  was  the  Act  of  1678,  and  which  required  the 
appellant  to  first  file  a  bond  in  double  the  amount  of  the 
judgment,  not  only  to  prosecute  the  appeal,  but  to  pay  the 
judgment,  if  affirmed,  together  with  such  damages  as  the  Court 
should  award  for  the  delay.''  The  bond  served  the  further  pur- 
pose of  staying  the  execution  pending  the  appeal.  This  Act 
provided  the  easy  execution  of  appeal  by  a  simple  transcript 
of  the  record,  under  the  hand  of  the  Clerk  and  Seal  of  the  Court 
— the  one  in  practice  in  Maryland  to-day — as  contradistin- 
guished from  the  more  complex  system  by  writ  of  error,  though 
the  latter  method  was  also  alldwed. 

The  Act  of  1692  imposed  the  first  limitation  upon  the 
right  of  appeal,  and  which  restricted  it  to  cases  in  which 
the  amount  involved  was  equal  to,  or  exceeded  1200  lbs.  of 
tobacco.'  In  1713,  provision  was  made  for  the  first  time  for 
appeal  from  the  Provincial  Court,  in  the  exercise  of  its  original 
jurisdiction,  to  the  Court  of  Appeals.  The -Act  provided  for 
the  right  of  appeal  from  the  County  Courts  to  the  Provincial 
Court,  where  the  debt  or  damages  amounted  to  ±T)  sterling,  and 
from  the  Provincial   Court  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  where 


^Act,  1642,  C.  6.  '  Ibid. 

'Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1678)  p.  71. 
*  Archives    (Ass.  Pro.   1692)   p.  44.^. 


146  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

the  debt  or  damages  amounted  to  £50  sterling.^  This  Act  of 
1713,  and  which  continued  in  force  until  the  Revolution,  re- 
pealed all  former  Acts  regulating  appeals  from  the  courts  of 
common  law,  but  reenacted  the  provisions  contained  in  them 
relating  to  the  method  of  appeal  and  the  appeal  bond.  But 
these,  it  was  held,  did  not  apply  to  criminal  causes,  which 
could  only  be  reviewed  by  the  Superior  Court  upon  the  common 
law  writ  of  error,"  except  that  bills  of  exception  were  allowed 
in  appeals  from  the  Assize  Courts,  for  which  provision  was  ex- 
pressly made.^  The  time  in  which  an  appeal  could  be  taken 
was,  presumably,  fixed  by  rule  of  court,  the  Acts  of  Assembly 
being  silent  upon  the  subject. 

Under  the  Constitution  of  1776,  the  Provincial  Court  was 
abolished,  and  the  Court  known  as  the  General  Court,  and 
presided  over  by  three  Judges  of  "integrity  and  sound  judg- 
ment in  law",^  the  terms  of  which  were  April  and  September, 
for  the  Eastern,  and  May  and  October,  for  the  Western  Shore ,° 
was  established  in  its  stead. 

The  General  Court  was,  in  turn,  abolished  in  1805,  when, 
upon  the  reorganization  of  the  courts  of  the  State,  the  County 
Courts  were  given  its  original,  a:nd  the  Court  of  Appeals,  its 
appellate  jurisdiction.* 

"Thus  was  swept  away,  by  the  waves  of  Revolution,  that 
ancient  monument  of  Maryland's  Colonial  Judicial  System. 
For  more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter,  the  Provincial  Court 
was  the  chief  judicial  tribunal  of  the  Province,  and  which, 
amid  all  the  political  fermentations  and  religious  turmoils  of 
its  time  steadily  went  on  in  the  even  pathway  of  duty,  per- 
forming the  high  functions  committed  to  it,  without  fear  and 
without  reproach,  exploring  and  marking  throughout  its  do- 
main in  the  new  world,  the  great  highways  of  the  law,  and 
building  up  a  code  of  jurisprudence  as  a  bulwark  of  security  to 
Maryland  and  her  people,  both  as  a  colony  and  as  a  State. 

^Act,   1713,  C.  4. 

*  5th  H.  &  J.  Maryland  Reports,  pp.  234,  329 ;  9th  G.  &  J.,  p.  ^(>. 
"ist  H.  &  McH.  p.  83;  Act,  1766,  C.  5.  'Const,  Art.  56. 

"Act,   1777,  C.  15.  ,  °Act,   1805.  C   16. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  147 

This  treatise  cannot  be  better  concluded  than  by  subjoin- 
ing the  following  extracts  from  the  admirable  paper  of  the 
Honorable  Charles  E.  Phelps,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Bench  of 
Baltimore  City,  read  before  the  State  Bar  Association,  in  1897, 
entitled  "Some  Characteristics  of  the  Provincial  Judiciary": 

Perhaps  the  first  impression  made  upon  the  mind  of  the 
lawyer  who  looks  through  the  old  (Maryland)  reports  is  the 
entire  absence  of  anything  like  judicial  reasoning.  The  con- 
clusion reached  by  the  court  is  uniformly  expressed  in  the 
briefest  formula,  with  no  attempt  at  what  is  called'an  opinion. 
This  remark  is  applicable  not  only  to  the  cases  decided  by  the 
Provincial  Court,  but  also  to  cases  in  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
and  to  the  few  probate  cases  appealed  from  the  Commissary 
General  or  Prerogative  Court  to  the  Court  of  Delegates.  This 
absence  of  judicial  reasoning  leads  to  the  suspicion  that  the 
judges  of  that  day  were  not  lawyers  by  profession. 

There  exists  direct  evidence  to  this  effect  in  the  observa- 
tions of  the  celebrated  Daniel  Dulany,  upon  the  judgment  of 
the  Provincial  Court,  in  the  case  of  West  vs.  Stigar,  i  H.  & 
Mc.  H.,  247  (1767).  The  dissatisfied  counsel  in  that  case, 
pending,  or  in  anticipation  of  a  writ  of  error,  applied  to  Mr. 
Dulany,  the  great  oracle  of  the  day,  for  his  opinion,  and 
elicited  a  very  full  one,  beginning  as  follows : 

"On  perusing  the  record,  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion  that 
the  judgment  of  the  Provincial  Court  ought  to  be  reversed, 
but  what  may  be  the  opinion  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  I  should 
be  more  confident  in  predicting,  if  the  judges  were  lawyers  by 
profession,  than  I  am  on  consideration  that  they  are  not."  *  *  * 

From  the  circumstance  which  indirectly  suggested  this 
digression,  the  non-professional  character  of  the  provincial 
judges,  it  might  be  inferred  that  their  decisions  upon  general 
principles  have  not  been  regarded  as  entitled  to  the  same 
authority  as  those  upon  the  construction  of  provincial'  statutes 
or  customs.  The  same  was  the  case  in  Virginia,  where,  as  we 
learn  from  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  the  preface  to  his  reports,  the 
General  Court  consisted  of  the  "King's  Privy  Counsellors 
only,  chosen  from  among  the  gentlemen  of  the  country  for 


148  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

their  wealth  and  standing,  without  any  regard  to  legal  knowl- 
edge". He  remarks  that  their  decisions  on  English  law  were 
not  as  authoritative  as  those  on  the  peculiar  laws  of  Virginia. 
"As  precedents/'  he  adds,  "they  estabHshed  the  construction 
of  our  own  enactments,  and  gave  them  shape  and  meaning 
under  which  our  property  has  ever  since  been  transmitted,  and 
is  regulated  and  held  to  this  day."  *  *  *  * 

A  less  attractive  feature  of  the  provincial  judiciary  than 
even  their  want  of  legal  learning,  was  their  lack  of  ofificial  inde- 
pendence. Like  all  other  provincial  incumbents,  the  provincial 
judges,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  held  their  positions  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  appointing  power,  the  Proprietor,  or  his 
deputy,  the  Governor,  for  the  time  being.  They  were,  con- 
sequently, looked  upon  as  his  creatures,  or  as  Mr.  McMahon 
expresses  it.  as  his  "satellites",  "the  mere  breath  of  his 
nostrils".^  In  all  controversies  in  which  the  interests  of  the 
Proprietor,  or  even  the  private  interests  of  his  dependents  or 
favorites  were  involved,  they  occupied  a  weak  and  most 
unfortunate  position.  Whether  justly  or  not,  they  w^ere 
always  liable  to  the  suspicion  of  influence  and  favoritism. 

This  habitual  and  suspected  attitude  of  the  Provincial 
Judges  as  minions  of  power  could  not  fail  to  make  a  deep  and 
lasting  impression  upon  Maryland  public  opinion.  All  eyes 
were  naturally  turned  to  the  jury  as  the  real  bulwark  of  public 
and  private  rights.  Although  summoned  by  sheriflfs,  who 
were  themselves  also  removable  at  pleasure,  jurors  naturally 
shared  the  sentiments  and  reflected  the  opinions  of  the  mass 
of  the  community  from  which  they-  were  drawn,  and  into  which 
they  were  speedily  to  dissolve.  Traditional  confidence  in  the 
jury  and  jealousy  of  the  court  has  in  Maryland  found  organic 
expression  in  the  provision,  in  sharp  contf-ast  with  the  federal 
jurisprudence  of  the  United  States,  that  "in  the  trial  of  all 
criminal  cases  the  jury  shall  be  the  judges  of  law,  as  well  as  of 
fact".' 


'McMahon,  pp.  I57,  309-311;  Calvert  vs.  Eden,  2  H.  &  McH.  pp. 
345-360. 

^Constitution,   Art.   15,  Sec.  5. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  149 

If  lias  left  other  deep  and  permanent  traces  upon  the  daily 
practice  in  all  our  courts.  The  usage  which  prevails  in  Eng- 
land and  in  many  of  these  States,  both  in  civil  and  criminal 
cases,  of  a  summing  up  of  the  evidence  in  a  charge  by  the 
court  has  no  existence  in  Maryland,  where  anything  in  the 
nature  of  a  judicial  balancing  of  evidence,  or  comment  upon 
the  weight  of  the  testimony  or  the  credibility  of  witnesses  is 
scrupulously  avoided.  In  criminal  cases  the  court,  as  a  rule, 
does  not  undertake  to  instruct  the  jury  as  to  the  law  at  all, 
even  at  the  request  of  counsel,  and  when  the  court-  does  advise 
the  jury,  at  their  own  request,  such  opinion  is  always  carefully 
guarded  by  some  expression  to  show  that  it  is  not  to  be  taken 
as  binding,  but  as  advisory  only. 

Considering  the  length  of  time  it  has  been  under  fire,  and 
the  storm  of  abuse  which  for  many  ages  it  has  provoked  from 
defeated  litigants,  the  venerable  palladium  not  only  still  lives, 
but  may  be  congratulated  on  presenting  a  remarkably  healthy 
and  robust  appearance. 

While  to  the  lessons  of  provincial  experience  can  be  dis- 
tinctly traced,  the  tread  of  public  opinion  in  Maryland,  in 
securing  the  independence  of  the  jury  from  the  possible  undue 
influence  of  the  court,  account  is  to  be  taken  of  the  same 
provincial  tradition,  as  a  factor  in  the  development  of  the 
peculiar  sensitiveness  of  our  people,  as  respects  the  independ- 
ence of  their  judges  from  undwe  influence  of  power.  In  no 
State  is  the  popular  nerve  more  acute,  or  the  popular  instinct 
more  alert  to  the  danger  and  disaster  incident  to  the  possible 
prostitution  of  such  delicate  and  far-reaching  functions,  as 
those  necessarily  confided  to  the  courts  of  law  and  equity.  *  * 

The  two  negative  characteristics  of  the  Provincial  Judici- 
ary that  have  been  referred  to,  their  want  both  of  professional 
training  and  of  official  independence,  have  left  an  affirmative 
stamp  upon  the  organic'  law  of  Maryland  in  two  well  known 
provisions  respecting  the  qualifications  of  judges.' 

In  like  manner  the  provisions  in  the  Declaration  of  Rights 
(Art.  8)  requiring  the  separation  of  the  three  departments  of 

•  Declaration  of  Rights,  Art.  xxxiii ;  Constitution,  Art.  14,  Sec.  2. 


I50  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

government,  stands  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  fundamental 
poHcy  of  the  provincial  organism.  Here  we  find  a  curious 
state  of  things,  from  the  modern  standpoint,  powers  legisla- 
tive, executive,  and  judicial,  confounded  together  and  massed 
in  the  same  man,  or  set  of  men. 

The  Governor  and  his  Executive  Council  composed,  at 
the  same  time,  the  Upper  House  of  the  General  Assembly. 
They  had,  in  addition,  the  exclusive  legislative  power  in  cer- 
tain cases.  The  Governor  was  (in  the  very  early  history  of 
the  Province)  at  the  same  time  Chief  Justice  and  Chancellor, 
as  well  as  Lieutenant-General  and  Admiral.  The  members 
of  the  Council  were  at  the  same  time  judges  of  the  Provincial 
Court,  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and,  in  the  infancy  of 
the  Province,  Judges  of  the  County  Court  of  the  oldest  county. 
The  Commissary  General  having,  under  the  name  of  the 
Prerogative  Court,  probate  jurisdiction  with  the  appointment 
of  a  deputy  in  each  county,  was  usually  a  councillor.  From 
the  councillors  were  generally  appointed  the  Court  of  Delegates, 
a  special  and  occasional  Appellate  Court  of  Probate.  From 
the  councillors  were  also  commissioned  in  part,  although  not 
exclusively,  the  special  and  temporary  Courts  of  Assize,  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer,  and  General  Gaol  Delivery  for  the  several 
counties.  The  Judges  of  the  Land  Office,  when  the  tribunal 
•was  established,  were  often  also  councilors.  In  fact,  above 
the  rank  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  and  County  Commissioners, 
who  held  the  County  Courts,  the  whole  body  of  the  Provincial 
Judiciary  served,  at  the  same  time,  as  Legislators  and  Execu- 
tive Councillors. 

Nor  did  this  remarkable  blending  of  powers  stop  here. 
The  most  important  and  lucrative  fiscal  and  administrative 
functions  were  engrossed  by  the  same  body.  They  furnished 
the  principal  officeholders  of  the  Province.  It  was  natural  and 
it  was  customary  that  the  Proprietor's  relatives  and  friends 
should  be  provided  for  in  this  way.  All  officials  were 
supported  by  fees.  For  instance,  the  Chancellor's  fee  for 
sealing  every  decree  was  at  one  time  fixed  at  two  pounds 
currency,  or  four  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  tobacco,  and 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  151 

half  as"  much  for  every  injunction.  The  Secretary,  who 
acted  as  Registrar  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  was  allowed  forty 
pounds  of  tobacco  for  every  bill  filed,  and  as  much  "for  every 
court  the  same  shall  continue",*  and  so  on. 

The  custom  of  the  Proprietor  to  increase  his  revenue  by 
exacting  a  bonus  from  the  holders  of  lucrative  offices,  caused 
a  constant  tendency  to  the  imposition  of  excessive  fees  along 
the  whole  line.  This  became  a  standing  subject  of  complaint, 
and  of  frequent  struggle  between  the  two  houses.  The  Upper 
House,  composed  of  the  beneficiaries  of  extortion,  resisted  as 
long  as  possible,  the  efiforts  of  the  Burgesses  to  accomplish  the 
definite  legal  regulation  of  fees.  When  established  by  law, 
but  exceeded  in  practice,  appeals  to  the  courts  for  redress 
often  failed,  from  the  fact  that  the  Judges  were  thfemselves 
either  the  offending  parties  or  else  closely  allied  with  them. 

Another  grievance  was  found  in  the  stubborn  resistance, 
for  some  time  interposed  by  the  Upper  House,  to  attempts  at 
limiting  a  pecuniary  minimum  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Court,  and  conferring  upon  the  County  Courts  exclu- 
sive original  jurisdiction  in  petty  cases.  It  was,  naturally, 
felt  to  be  an  altogether  needless  and  oppressive  hardship,  that 
in  such  small  cases,  parties  and  witnesses  should  be  compelled 
to  travel  long  distances  to  obtain  justice.  But  the  Upper 
House  was  composed  of  the  Judges  of  the  Court  whose  emolu- 
ments were  in  question,  and  the  self-interest  of  a  privileged 
class  for  a  long  time  prevailed  over  the' public  w^elfare. 

These  and  similar  causes  of  dissatisfaction  and  friction 
furnished  an  object  lesson  in  the  science  of  government  which 
contributed  more  than  the  abstract  speculations  of  Montes- 
quieu, to  the  establishment,  at  the  Revolution,  of  the  whole- 
some principle  which  forbids  the  mischievous  concentration  in 
the  same  hands,  of  powers,  in  their  nature,  distinct  and 
independent.- 

They  also  furnish  a  practical  commentary  upon  that 
provision  in  the  Declaration  of  Rights  (Art.  33);  which 
forbids  a  Judge  from  holding  any  other  office,  or  receiving 
fees  or  perquisites. 

'Archives    (Ass.  Pro.   1676)   pp.  532-5.^4- 


152  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

It  is  as  easy  to  trace  these  articles  of  the  Declaration  of 
Rights  to  the  abuses  mentioned,  as  it  is  to  find  in  the  peculiar 
Maryland  prohibition  of  a  poll-tax,  (Art.  15)  a  direct  origin 
in  the  exasperating  provincial  "forty  per  poll"  levied  for  the 
support  of  the  established  church. 

That  these  were  serious  defects  in  the  scheme  of  govern- 
ment as  practically  worked  out  under  the  rule  of  the  Proprie- 
tors, there  can,  of  course,  be  no  doubt.  It  was  blemished  by 
pluralism,  by  nepotism,  by  venality,  by  an  undue  susceptibility 
to  influence  in  the  administration  of  justice,  by  want  of 
capacity  in  the  judicial  corps.  These  defects  have  received 
but  scant  notice  from  historians.  They  have  been  thrown 
into  the  shade  by  those  far  more  familiar  and  fascinating 
features  which  have  attracted  so  much  admiring  attention  to 
early  Provincial  Maryland  as  the  cradle  of  religious  libert} , 
and  to  later  Provincial  Maryland  as  the  nursery  of  civil 
liberty  and  of  revolutionary  heroes. 

While,  therefore,  all  proper  weight  is  to  be  accorded  to, 
and  all  necessary  instruction  derived  from  such  criticism  as 
may  be  well  taken,  no  hasty  judgment  is  to  be  pronounced 
upon  the  Proprietors.  These  faults  were  mainly  those  of  the 
age,  or  those  incident  to  the  novel  circumstances  under  which 
the  experiment  was  made.  The  whole  anomalous  situation 
has  been  aptly  summed  up  as  an  "aristocratic  government 
overshadowing  the  sleeping  germ  of  democracy".' 

Candor  compels  the  reluctant  confession  that  the  record 
of  the  Provincial  Judiciary  System,  in  one  important  detail, 
compares  favorably  with  the  practical  administration  of  crim- 
inal justice  in  some  parts  of  Maryland  upon  the  eve  of  the 
twentieth  century. 

There  were,  it  is  true,  shortly  after  the  original  settle- 
ment, and  before  the  regular  tribunals  were  fairly  in  the 
saddle,  some  rather  eccentric  proceedings  at  old  Saint  Mary's 
resulting  in  capital  executions  for  piracy  and  murder.  But 
these  were  conducted  in  solemn  form,  before  the  Assembly  of 
Freemen,   constituting  itself  a  court,   pro   hac  I'icc.  and   had 

'  McSherry's,  p.  177. 


THE    JUDICIAL    SYSTEM  153 

none  of  'the  revolting  marks  of  tumultuous  and  irresponsible 
mob  violence.  It  is  also  true,  that  during  the  transition 
period  of  revolutionary  overthrow  of  the  Provincial  Govern- 
ment, there  did  occur  fierce  political  outbreaks  which  ceased 
however  with  the  re-establishment  of  law  and  order  under  the 
Republic.  *  *  *  =•= 

The  Provincial  Judges,  if  not  lawyers,  were,  as  a  rule,  at 
least  men  of  worth  and  probity,  of  standing  and  substance, 
and  of  more  or  less  Hberal  education.  If  they  belonged  to  a 
privileged  class,  they  had  at  least  the  conscience,  thje  generous 
impulses,  and  the  self-respect  of  their  class.  We  hear  no 
charges  of  bald  corruption  even  in  the  most  excited  manifestos 
of  insurrectionary  violence.  For  one  hundred  and  forty  years, 
through  stormy  vicissitudes  in  State  and  church,  the  long 
procession  of  provincial  judges  moved  on.  dispensing  justice  to 
successive  generations,  if  not  with  conspicuous  learning  and 
ability,  at  least  with  humanity,  moderation,  and  good  sense. 

Their  deficiency  in  technical  knowledge  was  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  supplemented  by  the  efforts  of  the  professional 
gentlemen  who  practiced  before  them,  and  who  have  left  not 
only  traditional,  but  recorded  evidence  of  their  worthiness  to 
head  the  long  and  illustrious  line  of  the  Maryland  Bar.  While 
the  appointment  of  lay  judges  was  the  rule,  the  rule  was  not 
altogether  without  exceptions,  as  in  the  case  of  Lewger, 
Gerrard,  Jenings,  and  of  the  two  Dulanys,  father  and  son. 
Such  exceptional  appointments  have  fortunately  left  a  few 
brilliant  names  to  illustrate  the  obscure  annals  of  the  Provin- 
cial Judiciary.  If  they  handed  down  to  the  veneration  of 
posterity  n(?  constellation  of  great  names  like  those  of  Hale. 
Mansfield,  Marshall,  and  Taney,  the  Maryland  contemporaries 
of  Scroggs  and  Jeffreys  furnished  at  least  no  parallel  to  their 
bad  fame.  Their  administration  of  individual  justice  apr)ears 
to  have  been  -sufficiently  impartial,  and  as  between  party  and 
party,  they  may  be  assumed  to  have  poised  the  sca-Ie.s  with 
an  even  hand. 


CHAPTER  X 

Some  Characteristics  of  the  Maryland 
Establishment^ 


TTHE  history  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  and 
church  law  in  Maryland,  falls  naturally  into  three 
divisions :  First,  from  the  settlement  of  the  Province  to 
the  English  Revolution,  of  1688;  second,  from  the  English 
Revolution,  of  1688,  to  the  American  Revolution,  of  1776; 
and,  third,  from  the  American  Revolution,  of  1776,  to  the 
present  day. 

In  the  first  of  these  periods  there  was  almost  no  church 
in  the  Province.  In  1642,  it  is  said  there  was  not  one 
Protestant  clergyman  in  Maryland.^  On  May  25,  1676,  the 
Rev.  John  Yeo,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  who 
had  arrived  in  Maryland  the  year  before,  wrote  his  well-known 
letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  complaining  that  there 
were  then  in  the  Province  "but  three  Protestant  ministers  of 

^  This  Chapter  consists  principally  of  the  brief  filed  by  the  author 
and  his  associates  (who  have  courteously  consented  to  its  use  in  this 
connection),  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Maryland,  in  the  case  of  Saint 
Matthew's  Parish  vs.  Rev.  F.  S.  Hipkins,  and  reported  in  vol.  75,  Mary- 
land Reports,  p.  5,  etc.  The  associate  council  in  the  case,  on  the  part  of 
the  parish,  were  the  Honorable  Henry  E.  Davis,  Governor  Wm.  Pink- 
ney  White,  and  Henry  Wise  Garnet,  to  each ,  and  all  of  whom  the 
fullest  recognition  is  accorded  and  acknowledgment  made,  and  particu- 
larly to  the  indefatigable  Davis,  to  whose  profound  learning  and  logic, 
as  displayed  in  the  preparation  of  the  brief,  special  credit  and  honor  are 
due.  Though  a  large  number  of  the  briefs  were  printed  at  the  time, 
the  demand  was  in  excess  of  the  supply,  and  the  reproduction  here  of 
the  historic  parts  of  it  has  been  strongly  urged. 

^  Winsor's  History  of  America,  Vol.  HI,  p.  531.  Neill,  the  Founders 
of  Maryland,  pp.  96.  99,  100. 


CHURCH     ESTABLISHMENT  155 

us  that  a're  comformable  to  the  doctrine  and  discipHne  of  the 
Church  of  England".' 

Yeo's  letter  was  referred  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  who 
in  turn,  referred  it  to  Lord  Baltimore,  with  an  application 
that  some  provision  be  made  for  a  Protestant  ministry.  To 
this  application  Baltimore  replied  that  the  Act  of  1649,  con- 
cerning religion,  tolerated  and  protected  every  sect,  and  added 
that  four  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England  were  in  posses- 
sion of  plantations  which  offered  them  a  decent  subsistence, 
and  that  from  the  various  religious  tenets  of  the  members  of 
the  assembly  it  would  be  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible 
to  induce  it  to  consent  to  a  law  that  should  oblige  any  sect  to 
maintain  other  ministers  than  its  own.''  The  privy  council, 
however,  directed  that  some  provision  should  be  made  for  the 
ministry  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  nothing  was  done, 
although  Baltimore  returned  to  Maryland  in  1680.^ 

The  situation  thus  revealed  shows  how  much  use  Balti- 
more was  disposed  to  make  of  the  power  given  him  by  his 
charter,  the  fourth  section  of  which  granted  him  "the  patron- 
ages and  advowsons"  of  all  churches  which  should  be  built 
in  the  Province,  "together  with  license  and  faculty  of  erecting 
and  founding  churches,  chapels,  and  places  of  worship  *  *  *  * 
and  of  causing  the  same  to  be  dedicated  and  consecrated 
according  to  the  ecclesiastical  laws  of  our  Kingdom  of 
England". 

Nor  was  there  any  church  law  save  the  "Toleration  Act", 
the  purport  of  which  was  only  to  guarantee  religious  liberty. 
The  Province  had  made  none,  and  the  English  ecclesiastical 
law  never  had  a  place  in  Maryland's  church  system. 

In   a   word,   then,   there  was   in    Maryland   prior   to    the 

'Neill,  p.  148. 
But  then  there  were  at  this  time  three  Protestant  churches,  one  on 
Trinity  (now  Smith's)  creek;  Saint  George's  church,  now  Poplar  Hill; 
and  one  on  Saint  Paul's  creek,  now  Church  Run,  on  Saint  Clement's 
Manor.  The  first  permanent  minister,  however,  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land— Rev.  William  Wilkinson— did  not  arrive  until  1650.  Allen,  "Who 
vi-ere  the  early  settlers  of  Maryland;"  "Day  Star,"  p.    145. 

=  Neill,  p.  151.  'Winsor,  p.  547- 


156  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

Revolution  of  1688,  neither  church  nor  church  law  worthy  of 
consideration.  But  the  events  of  1688  in  England  had  a 
direct  and  almost  immediate  effect  upon  the  Maryland  church, 
resulting,  first,  in  the  recognition  of  William  and  Mary  ( 1692, 
chap,  i),  and,  secondly,  in  the  passage  of  the  Act  of  1692. 
chap.  2.  (The  different  views  taken  of  the  causes  and  purpose 
of  this  latter  Act  do  not  now  concern  us,  but  the  curious  on 
the  subject  may  consult  with  interest  Browne's  Maryland,  pp. 
185,  190  et  scq;  Doyle's  English  Colonies  in  America,  first 
volume,  pp.  319-320;  Lodge's  English  Colonies  in  America, 
pp.  119  et  seq;  Davis'  Day-Star,  pp.  87  ct  seq;  McMahon's 
Maryland,  237  et  seq). 

The  Act  of  1692,  chapter  2,  which  may  be  said  to  mark 
the  beginning  of  the  second  of  the  periods  above  indicated, 
is  entitled  "An  act  for  the  service  of  Almighty  God  and  the 
establishment   of    the    Protestant    religion    in   this    Province."' 

Bacon  says  of  it:  "This  Act  laid  the  first  foundation  for 
the  establishment  of  the  Protestant  religion  in  this  Province 
and  contains  many  notable  particulars  relating  to  parochial 
rights  obtained  under  it".  He  proceeds  to  give  an  abstract 
of  its  provisions,  of  which  those  material  to  our  inquiry  are  as 
follows : 

"(i).  That  the  Church  of  England,  within  this  Prov- 
ince, shall  have  and  enjoy  all  her  Rights,  Liberties  and 
Franchises  as  now  is,  or  hereafter  shall  be,  established  by  law : 
And,  also,  that  the  Great  Charter  of  England  be  kept  and 
observed  in  all  Points. 

"(3).  The  County  Justices, to  meet,  by  Appointment,  at 
their  respective  County  Court-Houses,  giving  Notice  to  the 
principal  Freeholders  to  attend  them,  *  *  *  *  and  there,  with 
the  advice  of  the  said  principal  Freeholders,  lay  our  their 
several  Counties  into  Parishes,  *  =''  *  *  to  be  entered  upon 
record.  *  *  *  * 

"(4).  The  several  Parishes  being  thus  limited,  the  Free- 
holders of  each  parish  to  meet,  by  Appointment  of  the  Justices 
of  the  County  Courts,  and  make  choice  of  six  Vestrymen,  who 
shall  have  a  clerk  to  take  Accounts,  &c.,  and   witli   the  first 


CHURCH     E  S  T  A  1 1  L  1  S  H  M  !•:  X  I"  157 

Tobaccos,  Wares,  Goods,  &c.,  by  tbis  Act,  or  any  otbcr  Ways 
or  Means  whatsoever,  given,  granted,  raised  or  allowed  to  the 
use  of  the  Church  or  Ministry  of  the  said  Parish  to  which 
they  belong,  shall  erect  and  build  one  Church,  &c.,  in  the 
Parish  (such  Parishes  as  have  already  Churches  and  Chapels 
built  in  them  excepted).  *  *  *  * 

"(5).  Forty  per  Poll,  deducting  5  per  Cent,  for  the 
Sheriff's  salary,  on  all  Taxables ;  which  Tobacco  so  raised 
.(after  building  a  Church  or  Chapel  within  Each  Parish)  to  be 
appropriated  and  applied  by  the  Vestrymen,  to  the  Use  and 
Benefit  of  the  Minister.  But  if  no  Minister  be  Inducted,  then 
to  be  laid  out  for  the  necessary  Reparation  of  the  Churches, 
or  other  pious  Uses,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Vestry. 

"(6).  The  Vestry  were  impowered  to  take  Possession  of 
Any  Bequests,  Grants,  &c.,  by  any  Persons  piously  inclined, 
*  *  *  and  apply  the  same  to  the  Use  and  Intent  of  the  Donor 
or  Donors. 

"(7).  The  Vestries  impowered  to  prosecute  and  main- 
tain any  Actions  whatsoever,  real,  personal  or  mixed,  for  the 
Recovery  of  all  or  any  of  the  Premises  aforesaid,  from  any 
Persons  detaining  any  Goods  or  Chattels,  Tenements  or  Here- 
ditaments given  and  granted,  and  otherwise  appointed  to  the 
uses  aforesaid,  and  for  any  Damages.  Tresspasses,  &c.,  as 
amply  as  a  Body  Politic,  or  Corporate,  might  or  could  do,  for 
recovering  and  preserving  the  Premises  aforesaid :  The  princi- 
pal Vestryman,  with  other  of  the*\^estrymen,  to  be  mentioned 
in  the  Writ  and  Declaration,  and  other  Proceedings. 

"(8).  On  Death  or  Removal  of  any  Vestryman,  the 
other  Vestrymen,  at  their  next  Meeting,  were  impowered  to 
chuse  another  in  his  Room,  &c."' 

An  Act,  entitled  "An  Additional  Act  to  the  Act  for 
Religion",  was  passed.  October   18,   1694,  and  another,   with 

^The  Vestry' acted  for  the  State  in  the  erection  and  care  of  chiircli 
buildings,  and  as  preservers  of  the  peace  within  the  limits  of  the  church 
and  church  yard.  Later,  other  functions  were  added,  such  as  chbosing 
of  counters  to  prevent  the  excessive  production  of  tobacco,  the  nomina- 
tion of  inspectors  of  tobacco  for  the  warehouses  within  their  parishes, 
and  of  reporting  persons  liable  to  be  taxed  as  bachelors.  Vestrymen 
and  church  wardens  were  subject  to  a  fine  for  refusing  to  act. — Churcii 
Life  in  Colonial  Maryland. 


158  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

the  same  title,  was  passed  May  22,  1695.  Bacon  gives  none 
of  the  provisions  of  either  of  these  Acts,  stating  that  both 
were  repealed  by  Act  of  1696,  chapter  18. 

This  Act  of  1696,  bears  the  same  title  as  that  of  1692,  and 
purported  to  repeal  the  latter  as  well  as  the  Act  of  1695.  The 
Act  of  1694  is  not  mentioned,  probably  because  it  was,  in 
terms,  limited  in  its  operation  to  the  period  of  three  years. 

The  King  dissented  to  the  Act  of  1696,  on  November  30, 
1699,  assigning  as  a  reason  that  "therein  is  a  clause  declaring 
all  the  laws  of  England  to  be  in  force  in  Maryland;  which 
clause  is  of  another  nature  than  that  which  is  set  forth  by  the 
title  in  the  said  law"/ 

The  objectional  clause  provided  as  follows: 

"That  the  Church  of  England,  within  this  Province,  shall 
Enjoy  all  and  Singular  her  Rights,  Privileges  and  Freedoms, 
as  it  is  now,  or  shall  be,  at  any  Time  hereafter,  established  by 
Law  in  the  Kingdom  of  England:  And  that  his  Majesty's 
Subjects  of  this  Province  shall  enjoy  all  their  Rights  and 
Liberties,  according  to  the  Laws  and  Statutes  of  the  Kingdom 
of  England,  in  all  Matters  and  Causes,  where  the  Laws  of  this 
Province  are  Silent." 

On  the  King's  dissent  to  the  Act  of  1696,  and  within  six 
months  thereafter,  namely,  on  May  9,  1700,  another  Act  was 
passed,  entitled,  "An  Act  for  the  Service  of  Almighty  God 
and  Establishment  of  Religion  in  this  Province  according  to 
the  Church  of  England"."  This  Act  was  likewise  disapproved 
by  the  King,  and  was  returned,  as  Bacon  says,  "with 
amendments  proposed  which  were  accepted,  and  an  Act, 
pursuant  thereto,  passed  the  25th  of  March,  1702,  whereby 
this  Act  was  repealed". 

The  Act  of  1702,'  is  entitled  "an  Act  for  the  establish- 
ment of  religious  worship  in  this  Province,  according  to  the 
Church  of  England,  and  for  the  Maintenance  of  Ministers". 
It  is  printed  in  full  by  Bacon,  and  contains  twenty-two 
sections.    Its  material  provisions  are  as  follows : 

'  Bacon. 

"1700,  Chapter   i.  'Chapter  i. 


CHURCH     E  S  T  A  15 1.  1  S  H  M  l-  X  T 


159 


''That  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  and  Administration 
of  the  Sacraments,  with  other  Rites  and  Ceremonies  of  the 
Church,  according  'to  the  use  of  the  Church  of  England,  the 
Psalter  or  Psalms  of  David,  and  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer 
therein  Contained,  be  solemnly  read  by  all  and  every 
Minister  or  Reader  in  every  Church  which  now  is,  or  here- 
after shall  be  settled  and  established  in  this  Province ;  and  that 
all  Congregations  and  Places  of  Public  Worship,  according  to 
the  Usage  of  the  Church  of  England,  within  this  Province,  for 
the  Maintenance  of  whose  Ministers  and  the  Persons  officiating 
therein,  any  certain  Income  or  Revenue  is,  or  shall,  by  the 
Laws  of  this  Province,  be  established  and  enjoined  to  be  raised 
or  paid,  shall  be  deemed  settled  and  established  churches".' 

"That  a  Tax  or  Assessment  of  Forty  Pounds  of  Tobacco 
per  Poll  be  yearly  and  every  Year  successively  levied  upon 
every  taxable  Person  within  each  respective  Parish,  *  *  *  * 
which  said  Assessment,  of  Forty  Pounds  of  Tobacco  per  Poll, 
shall  always  be  paid  and  allowed  to  the  Minister  of  each 
respective  Parish,  having  no  other  Benefice  to  officiate  in, 
presented,  inducted,  or  appointed  by  his  Excellency  the  Gov- 
ernor or  Commander  in  Chief,  for  the  Time  being.'  *  *  *  * 

"That  Marriages  forbidden  by  the  Table  of  Marriages  of 
the  Church  of  England  be  not  performed,  under  penalty,  and 
that  no  marriage  be  performed  by  a  layman  in  any  Parish 
where  a  Minister  or  Incun^bent^shall  reside." 

"That  the  Sheriff  shall  collect  the  Forty  per  Poll  and  pay 
over  the  same  to  the  Minister  or  Incumbent  in  each  respective 
Parish.' 

"And  the  better  to  promote  the  execution  of  the  good 
Laws  of  this  Province,  so  far  as  concerns  the  respective 
Parishes,  and  for  the  more  easy  Dispatch  of  Parish  business, 
*  *  *  *  that  there  be  select  \'estries  in  each  Parish  of  this 
Province,  and  that  the  several  \'estrymen  of  the  several 
Parishes  within  this  Province,  that  now  are,  or  hereafter  shall 
be  chosen  by  such  select  Vestry,  of  which  \'estry  the  Number 


Act,    1702,   C.    I,    Section    2.  "  Ibid,  Section  3. 

Ibid,  Sections  4,  5.  *  Ibid,  Section  6. 


i6o  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

shall  always  be  six  at  least,  except  upon  Death  or  Resignation, 
or  other  Discharge  of  any  of  them  according  to  the  Provision 
herein  made  to  that  Purpose;  and  in  such  Case  of  Death  or 
Resignation,  or  other  legal  Discharge  from  serving,  the 
remaining  Part  of  such  Vestries  shall,  with  all  Convenient 
Speed,  summon  and  appoint  a  general  Meeting  of  all  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  said  Parish,  who  are  Freeholders  within 
the  same  Parish  and  contribute  to  the  Public  Taxes  and 
Charges  of  the  said  Parish,  who  shall,  by  Majority  of  Voices, 
elect  and  choose  one  or  more  sober  and  discreet  Person  or 
Persons,  Freeholders  of  each  respective  Parish,  to  supply  such 
Vacancies/  *  *  *  * 

"That  two  new  Vestrymen  shall  be  annually  chosen,  in 
the  Places  of  two  others,  who  shall  be  left  out ;  to  which 
Purpose,  all  the  Inhabitants  of  every  Parish,  being  Freeholders 
within  the  same  Parish,  and  contributing  to  the  Public  Taxes 
and  Charges  thereof,  or  such  of  them  as  shall  think  fit  to 
attend,  shall  repair  to  their  respective  Parish  Churches,  every 
Year  successively  upon  Easter  Monday,  and  there,  by  their 
free  choice,  declare  what  two  Persons  shall  be  discharged  from 
their  being  Vestrymen,  and  choose  two  others,  qualified 
according  to  this  present  Act,  in  their  Stead  and  Room ;  who 
taking  the  Oaths  and  performing  all  other  Thing  required 
by  this  present  Act,  or  other  Laws  of  this  Province,  for 
Vestrymen,  shall  be  deemed  and  taken  to  be  Members  of 
the  said  Vestry,  to  all  Intents  and  Purposes:  Provided  akcays, 
That  in  every  Parish  where  any  Minister  or  Incumbent  is,  or 
shall  be  lawfully,  according  to  the  Laws  and  Usages  of  this 
Province  appointed  and  in  Possession  of  any  Living,  invested 
zvith  the  Forty  Pounds  per  Poll,  and  residing  therein,  he  shall 
during  the  Continuance  aforesaid,  and  no  longer,  be  one  of  the 
Vestry  of  such  Parish,  and  Principal  of  such  Vestry,  although 
there  be  the  number  of'Six  Persons,  or  more,  besides"/ 

"That  each  Vestry  shall  appoint  a  Register  to  make  due 

'  Ibid,  Section  7.  The  remainder  of  the  section  prescribes  the  ves- 
trymen's oaths.  .  '  Ibid,  Sections  S,  9. 


CHURCH     KSTA15L  1  .^11  M  1-:XT  i6i 

entry  t)f  Vestry  Proceedings,  Births,  Marriages,  and  Burials, 
&c.,  and  provide  Books  accordingly,  under  penalty.' 

"That  each  \^estry  shall  meet  once  a  month,  &c.,  under 
penalty/ 

"That  tables  of  Marriages  be  set  up  in  the  several  Parish 
Churches.' 

"That  the  said  Vestrymen,  and  the  rest  of  the  Inhab- 
itants of  every  Parish,  being  Freeholders  within  the  same 
Parish,  and  contributing  to  the  Public  Taxes  and  Charges 
there,  do  once  every  year,  upon  Easter-Monday,  -Yearly,  make 
choice  and  appoint  two  sober  and  discreet  Persons,  Freeholders 
of  their  respective  Parishes,  to  be  Church  Wardens  for  that 
year;  all  the  inhabitants  of  every  Parish,  being  Freeholders 
within  the  same  Parish  and  contributing  to  the  Public  Taxes 


^  Ibid,    Sections   lo,   ii. 
The  following  is  the  decision  in  the  Saint  Margaret's  Vestry  case, 
Annapolis,   Maryland,   involving  the   interesting  question   of  the   rights 
and  duties  of  a  Parish  Register  in  Maryland,  decided  January  29,  1894, 
hy  Revell,  J. 

"The  petition  in  this  case  was  filed  on  the  nth  of  February,  1893, 
alleging  in  detail  that  the  relator  had  all  the  necessary  qualifications 
entitling  him  to  enrollment  on  the  parish  books  and  to  the  right  of 
suffrage  in  the  election  of  vestrymen  of  the  parish;  that  the  enrollment 
was  necessary  to  enable  him  to  participate  in  the  election  of  vestrymen 
at  the  next  election,  to  be  held  on  Easter  Monday  following,  April  3, 
1893;  that  the  register  was  fully  informed  of  the  qualifications  of  the 
relator,  but  refused  an  application  made  February  9,  1893,  to  enrol]  him, 
in  denial  of  his  rights  and  in  violation  of  the  plain  duty  of  the  register 
and  prayed  for  the   writ  of  mandamus. 

"The  Vestry  Act  of  1798,  chapter  24,  section  2,  provides  that  'every 
white  male  citizen  of  this  State  above  twenty-one  years  of  age,  resident 
of  the  parish  where  he  offers  to  vote  six  months  next  preceding  the  day 
of  election,  who  shall  have  been  entered  on  the  books  of  said  parish  one 
month  at  least  preceding  the  day  of  election  as  a  member  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  who  shall  contribute  to  the  charges 
of  said  parish  in  which  he  offers  to  vote  such  sum  as  a  majority  of  the 
vestry  in  each  parish  shall  annually,  within  ten  d^ys  after  their  election, 
in  writing,  make  known  and  declare,  not  exceeding  $2,  shall  have  a 
right  of  suffrage  in  the  election  of  vestrymen   for  such  parish'. 

'Ibid,  Section  12.  'Ibid,  Section  13. 


i62  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

and  Charges  thereof,  having  Liberty  also  to  vote  in  the  Choice 
of  Church  Wardens/ 

"That  the  Church- Wardens  and  Vestry  pay  the  Parochial 
Charges  and  Repairs  of  Churches,  etc.,  "out  of  such  Gifts, 
Goods,  or  Chattels  as  shall  come  to  their  hands  for  the  Church 
or  Parish  Use" ;  that  the  penalties,  etc.,  prescribed  by  the  Act 
be  levied  by  the  Church-Wardens  and  applied  to  the  Parochial 
charges ;  and  in  case  of  insufficient  effects  to  pay  the  Parochial 
charges,  etc.,  the  County  Courts  on  application  of  the  Parish 
Vestry  and  Church- Wardens,  to  assess  the  respective  Parishes, 
not  exceeding  ten  Pounds  of  Tobacco  per  poll  in  any  one  year." 

"That  no  Minister  or  Incumbent  shall  at  one  Time  hold 
more  than  two  parishes ;  nor  two  unless  by  the  desire  or 
Agreement  of  the  Vestry  of  the  said  adjacent  Parish  and  con- 
sent of  the  Vestries  where  he  resides  and  Appointment  of  the 
Ordinary".'' 

"Section  3  provides  that  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  register  to  en- 
roll any  person  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  who  shall  apply  for 
the  purpose  on  the  books  of  the  parish,  under  penalty,  etc. 

"Section  5  makes  a  majority  of  the  vestrymen  who  shall  attend 
judges  of  the  qualification  of  voters  and  of  the  qualification  of  the 
parishoners  proposed  to  be  elected  aS'  vestrymen. 

"The  vestrymen  under  section  6  and  the  register  of  the  parish, 
section  18,  are  required  to  take  and  subscribe  the  oath  of  support  and 
fidelity  and  for  the  faithful   execution   of  their   respective  offices. 

"Now,  in  this  case,"  continues  the  court,  "what  was  the  duty  of 
the  registrar  which  he  was  bound  to  perform,  not  only  under  penalty 
but  under  the  sanctity  of  an  oath?  Was  it  the  mer^  mechanical  act  of 
enrolling  the  name  of  any  person  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
applying  to  him  for  that  purpose  on  the  books  of  the  parish  ?  Were  this 
all,  then  his  duty  -would  be  plain  and  he  would  have  to  enroll  any  per- 
son, black  or  white,  male  or  female,  belonging  to  said  church  who  made 
application.  But  there  were  other  and  important  qualifications  of  the 
applicant  to  be  considered.  He  must  be  a  white  male  citizen  of  this 
btate,  above  twenty-one  years  of  age,  a  resident,  etc. 

"The  judges  of  this  conrt  well  know  the  difficulty  in  determining 
the  perplexing  questions  of  residence  and  citizenship  under  the  registra- 
tion law  of  this  State  from  the  numerous  appeals  arising  from  the 
action  of  the   officers  of   registration  which  the  court  has  been  called 

Mbid,  Section  14.  -?  Ibid,  Section  15. 

■''  Ibid,    Section    16.  ^- 


CHURCH     ESTABLISHMENT  163 

That  Vestries  may  appoint  Lay-Readers  in  certain  ca^es, 
such  Readers  "procuring  License  from  the  Ordinary" :  that 
the  first  Tuesday  in  Every  Month  shall  be  Vestry  day,  without 
notice ;  that  Vestrymen  may  be  removed  in  certain  cases, 
their  successors  to  be  elected  by  the  parishioners;  that  the 
Vestry  books  may  be  inspected  by  the  parishioners,  who  may 
appeal  from  any  Vestry  proceedings  to  the  Governor  in  Coun- 
cil and  thence  to  the  Crown ;  that  protestant  dissenters  shall 
have  the  benefit  of  the  Acts  of  Toleration  ;  and,  that  the  Act 
of  1700,  Chapter  i,  be  repealed/ 

By  the  Act  of  1704.  Chapter  34,  further  provision  was 
made  for  the  levying  of  the  "ten  p^r  poll"  for  parochial 
charges,  etc. 

And  the  Act  of  1730,  Chapter  23,  provides  for  the  election 


upon  to  decide,  involving  delicate  and  difficult  questions  of  law  and  fact. 
The  register  must  also  determine  whether  the  applicant  lives  within 
the  limits  of  the  parish,  whether  he  is  a  member  of  the  church,  and 
other  qliestions  may  arise  by  no  means  free  of  difficulty,  all  of  which 
involve  the  exercise  of  discretion  or  judgment.  Discretion  is  but  free- 
dom to  act  according  to  one's  judgment — the  prompting  and  exercise 
of   judgment,    cautious    discernment,    discrimination. 

"It  has  been  argued,"  adds  the  court,  "that  a  denial  of  relief  in 
this  case  'would  be  a  wrong  without  a  remedy;  that  a  vestry  in  collu- 
sion with  a  register  could  exclude  parishoners  from  all  participation 
in  the  church  government  and  perpetuate  their  powers  indefinitely.' 
This  condition  must  assume  a  corrupt  vestry.  Were  this  so,  such  a 
vestry  being  under  section  5  of  the  vestry  act,  judges  of  the  qualitica- 
tion  of  voters  and  of  the  qualification  of  the  parishoners  proposed  to 
be  elected  as  vestrymen,  could  strike  down  as  disqualified  any  one 
offering  to  vote  for  vestrymen  or  offering  himself  as  a  candidate,  not- 
withstanding the  register  had  enrolled  every  man  offering  himself  as 
a  voter. 

"But  an  applicant  offering  himself  to  the  register  as  a  qualified 
voter  in  said  church  is  no  worse  off  than  a  registered  voter  under  the 
laws  of  this  State  offering  his  ballot  at  an  election  for  President  of 
the  United  States  and  being  refused  by  the  judge  of  election,  and  as 
the  learned  counsel  says:  "What  is  he  going  to  do  about  it''  but  enforce" 
the  penalty  prescribed  by  law  and  sue  for  damages?  The  election 
is  over.  His  great  freeman's  right  of  suffrage  is  denied,  and  he  is 
without  other  relief.  I  shall  sustain  the  demurrer  upon  the  ground 
and   for  the  reasons  above  assigned." 


Ibid,   Sections   17-22. 


i64  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

by  the  Vestry,  of  \^estrymen  to  serve  in  the  place  of  those 
elected  who  may  decline  to  serve;  provides  a  penalty  for  those 
declining  to  serve ;  prescribes  that  the  two  eldest  Vestrymen 
shall  be  annually  left  out  and  not  liable  to  service  again  for 
three  years,  and  provides  for  the  collection  of  penalties  im- 
posed by  the  Act  of  1702. 

Such  remained  the  "Establishment"  down  to  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  except  as  affected  by  the  Acts  of  1763,  1771, 
and  1773,  to  be  noticed  hereafter/ 

^  The  Act  of  1692,  and  with  its  supplementary  provisions,  was  passed 
not  to  set  up  in  Maryland  any  particular  church ;  but  it  was  deemed  the 
best  way  to  establish  better  morals  and  good  order  in  the  province, 
for  religion  and  education  were  both  very  little  cared  for,  and  the  re- 
sult was  a  great  prevalence  of  immorality ;  and  though  irreligious  men, 
unbelievers  or  non-believers,  skeptics  or  agnostics,  may  scorn  the  claim? 
of  the  church,  yet  all  men  know,  who  are  at  all  in  the  tide  of  life,  that 
the  ministrations  of  the  church,  and  the  influence  of  the  gospel  through 
those  ministrations,  have  a  powerful  effect  upon  every  community  for 
peace  and  good  order.  Nor  are  we  called  on  merely  to  suppose  that 
immorality  abounded.  The  evidence  is  sufficient  of  its  prevalence  and 
of  its  gross  character.  It  might  be  inferred  from  general  experience, 
for  in  all  new  communities  before  order  has  settled  down  into  a  definite 
habit,  vice  flourishes.  *  *  *  in  the  year  preceding  the  Protestant 
Revolution  we  find  the  president  of  the  Assembly  drawing  a  picture  of 
the  vice  of  the  province  in  the  matter  of  drunkenness,  adultery.  Sabbath 
breaking  and  swearing.  *  *  *  Further  evidence  also  of  a  confirma- 
tory character  is  given  in  the  Act  of  1692  providing  for  an  established 
support  of  the  church,  for  among  the  functions  of  the  vestry,  as  then 
ordered,  was  one  providing  for  the  suppression  of  "adultery  within  the 
several  parishes,  a  function  that  was  performed,  and  their  records  show 
how  great  the  evil  was.  In  one  parish, -and  that  in  some  respects  ex- 
ceptionally well  placed  for  moral  living,  there  were  ten  separate  cases 
of  gross  immorality  passed  upon  in  one  month.  *  f  *  The  establish- 
ment of  the  church  was  a  police  measure,  and  a  very  good  police 
measure  it  was,  for  it  did  what  could  not  otherwise  be  done.  It  planted 
in  thirty-one  different  centers  in  the  colony  a  house  wherein  high  moral 
truths  were  taught — had  to  'be  taught — both  from  the  pulpit  and  from 
the  reading  desk,  and  in  this  way  it  created  a  standard  of  good  living. 
It  also  selected  a  council  for  morality  in  all  these  places,  and  bound 
the  members  to  see  to  the  morals  of  the  people ;  and  while  the  minister 
was  to  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort,  the  members  of  this  council,  or  vestry, 
were  to  liave  the  ability  to  enforce  the  lajys  of  right  living.  *  *  In 
considering   the   law   of    1692,   and   its   subsequent   amendment    of   1702, 


C  H  U  R  C  H     E  S  T  A  I '.  L  I  S  H  M  E  X  T  1 65 

WTiat  \va"s  the  character  of  tliis  "Establishment",  and  what 
its  government,  laws,  and  usages?  There  is  current  with 
some,  a  general  and  vague  conception  that  in  some  way  the  Eng- 
lish ecclesiastical  system — the  English  "Established  Church", 
if   you   please — lies   back   of  the   American   Church,    and    in 

we  must  always  remember  that  it  was  the  act  of  the  people  and  the 
people  only:  and  not  only  so,  but  that  what  was  done  was  not  that 
which  the  majority  of  the  people  would  have  desired,  but  what  they 
felt  was  the  best  that  their  circumstances  permitted  them  to  do.  For 
the  Church  of  England  which  they  established,  was  the  jrhurch  of  but 
a  part  of  one-fourth  of  the  people ;  the  three-fourths  being  made  up 
of  non-conformists  of  divers  names  and  principles,  who  had  during  the 
last  forty  years  done  what  they  could,  more  than  once,  to  put  down,  not 
only  popery,  but  prelacy  as  well.  The  Act  was  passed  at  a  time  when 
all  the  freeholders  of  the  colony  had  the  right  of  franchise,  so  that  the 
Assembly  was  not  a  packed  one.  but  represented  all  the  most  intelligent 
classes  of  the  people.  Their  Act  therefore,  must  have  been  contrary 
'to  their  preferences  and  could  they  have  avoided  it  they  would.  They 
did  not  love  the  Church  of  £ngland,  nor  did  that  church  love  them. 
They  had  been  subjected  for  many  year%  in  England,  and  especially 
since  the  Restoration,  to  many  and  grievous  penalties.  But  something 
had  to  be  done,  and  established  maintenance  had  to  be  provided  that 
they  might  have  ministerial  supervision  at  all.  They  were  broken  up 
themselves  into  many  names.  Maryland  was  now  a  ro3'al  colony,  and 
the  establishment  of  any  one  of  their  different  denominations  was  an 
entire  impossibility ;  and  yet  the  need  was  crying  and  imperative.  They 
met  their  difficulties  in  the  only  possible  way,  they  provided  a  mainten- 
ance for  the  clergy  of  the  Church  q{  England.  For  that  was  all  that 
was  done.  It  was  not  a  state  church  they  set  up.  No  church  func- 
tionary, clerical  or  lay,  had  any  part  in  the  administration  of  the  colony, 
saving  in  the  matter  of  suppressing  immorality.  *  *  It  was  in  no  degree 
a  state  church.  The  state  provided  maintenance,  and  in  return  ex- 
ercised jurisdiction  so  far  as  to  say  who  should  be  settled  in  the  par- 
ishes, and  to  supervise  accounts,  so  as  to  know  whether  the  money 
appropriated  was  properly  spent.  *  *  The  system  certainly  had  its 
defects,  as  all  systems  have;  and  society  also  afterwards  outgrew  it, 
so  that  it  became  an  achronism  and  was  removed ;  but  in  its  earlier  day, 
and  through  very  much  of  the  colonial  period,  it  was  an  unspeakable 
blessing  and  accomplished  high  purposes.  It  is  notable,  too,  that  though 
at  any  time  down  to  the  Revolution,  it  could  have  been  abrogated,  or 
could  have  been  rendered  inoperative  by  the  rescinding  of  the  provision 
for  the  annual  tax,  yet  it  was  not  only  continued  to  the  Revolution,  but 
was  shown  very  marked  favor  when  the  necessity  arose  for  its  repeal. 
Gambrall,  Earlv  Marvland.  Civil.  Social,  Ecclesiastical. 


i66  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

some  undefined  way  furnishes  its  rules  of  conduct  and  gov- 
ernment. That  this  is  not  so,  is,  we  venture  to  think,  abund- 
antly shown  by  what  is  above  set  forth. 

The  "English  Ecclesiastical  Law  could  have  been  of  no 
force  in  a  colonial  church  in  this  country,,  until  adopted  by  it, 
and  such  adoption  could  only  be  by  express  enactment,  or  by 
general  usage  for  so  long  a  period  of  time  as  to  ripen  into 
law" ;  for,  "if  disuse  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  proof  that  a 
law  was  inapplicable  to  the  condition  of  a  colony,  then  it 
follows,  that  for  more  than  one  hundred  years  prior  to  the 
Revolution,  the  Colonial  Churches  were  necessarily  subjected 
to  foreign  law  without  reference  to  their  consent  or  wishes. 
Surely  this  was  never  the  condition,  either  in  Church  or  State, 
of  any  English  colony"."" 

That  it  was  never  the  condition  of  Maryland  is  beyond 
peradventure.  It  would  be  threshing  very  old  straw  to  go 
over  the  question  of  the  English  law  in  force  in  Maryland. 
Kitty's  Report  on  the  Statutes,  bringing  to  approximate 
settlement  a  matter  long  open,  is  testimony  to  one  phase  oi 
the  question,  how  much  English  law  was  adopted  in  Mary- 
land ;  while  the  judicial  decisions  are  conclusive  that  nothing 
of  English  law  was  ever  in  force  unless  adopted  by  legislative 
acts,  judicial  decisions,  or  constant  usage." 

But  let  us  examine  the  Maryland  "Establishment"  and 
the  Church  in  Maryland,  with  this  conception  in  view.  And 
to  do  this  adequately  we  must  first  glance  at  the  English 
establishment. 

What  this  English  establishment  was  and  is,  will  the  thor- 
oughly understood  only  by  a  consideration  of  the  following 
matters:  i.  The  parishes  of  the  church;  2,  The  property 
and  support  of  the  church  in  each  parish ;  3,  The  government 
of  the  church ;  and,  4,  The  appointment  of  rectors,  their 
rights  and  tenure. 

I.  A  parish  is  that  circuft  of  ground  which  is  committed 
to  the  charge  of  one  parson  or  vicar,  or  other  minister  having 


^  Andrews,   pp.  42,  4.3. 

"See   opinion   of    Chase,    judge,    in   United    States   vs.    Worrall, 
Dall.  p.  384;  McMahon,  C.  3. 


CHURCH     ESTABLISHMENT  167 

care' of  souls-  therein.'  The  time  when  Enf;:lan(l  \va>  tirsi 
divided  into  parishes  is  unknown,  nor  is  it  material  to  our 
inquiry/ 

2.  The  property  of  the  church  in  each  parish  consisted 
of  the  parish  church  and  chapels,  a  "manse",  or  house  of 
residence  for  the  incumbent,  with  a  glebe  or  portion  of  land 
attached  to  it,  the  fittings,  furniture,  and  ornaments  of  the 
church  and  chapels,  and  the  tithes. 

As  respects  the  glebe  and  other  lands  of  the  churcli.  the 
source  thereof  was  as  follows : 

"Originally,  the  land  was  the  property  of  some  lay  person, 
which,  when  the  rectory  was  formed,  was  dedicated  to  the 
church,  and  conveyed  by  him  to  the  rector.  Thus  the  free- 
hold was  vested  in  the  rector,  and  he  was  entitled  to  the  land, 
including  the  grass,  herbage,  and  everything  else,  as  fully  as 
the  original  owner  had  been ;  but,  as  the  land  had  been  set 
apart  by  consecration  for  the  church  and  churchyard,  the 
right  which  the  rector,  as  the  owner  of  the  freehold,  had  in 
the  profits  was  proportionately  diminished,  because  he  could 
not  desecrate  it,  or  use  it  for  any  purpose  which  was  incon- 
sistent with  the  object  of  its  consecration.  Nevertheless,  the 
enjoyment  of  the  property,  so  far  as  it  could  be  exercised  by 
one  holding  a  sacred  office,  belonged  to  the  rector,  as  the 
owner  of  the  freehold".^ 

But  some  of  the  founders,  as  they  are  called,  were  ecclesi- 
astical corporations,  and  some  of  them  kings ;  in  every  case, 
however,  the  efifect  of  the  foundation  being  the  same.* 

The  fittings,  etc.,  were,  as  a  rule,  the  oflferings  of  "indi- 
vidual piety  or  munificence",  or  "provided  by  private  contri- 
butions".^ 

Tithes  were  paid  by  the  parishioners.  Originally,  says 
Blackstone,  "every  man  was  at  liberty  to  contribute  his  tithes 
to  whatever  priest  or  church  he  pleased,  provided  only,  that 

*  Blackstone,  Comm.  i,  pp.  iii-ii3- 

'Earl   of    Selborne's   Defense   of   the   Cluircli    of    England"  against 
Disestablishment,  pp.    115,    138. 

'Greenslade   vs.    Darby,    L.    R.   3    Q.    B.   p.   4-'i- 

'Selborne's  Defense,  p.   114.  '- lhu\,  p.   116. 


i68  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

he  did  it  some"/  and  in  the  absence  of  specifications  they  were 
distributed  by  the  bishop  in  his  discretion.  But  in  the  time  of 
Edgar,  about  the  year  970,  it  was  ordered  that  all  tithes 
should  be  given  to  the  mother  church  of  the  parish;  subject, 
however,  to  certain  provisions  for  the  support  of  chapels 
within  the  parish." 

"The  lords,  as  Christianity  spread  itself,  began  to  build 
churches  upon  their  own  demesnes  or  wastes  *  *  *  *  and,  in 
order  to  have  divine  service  regularly  performed  therein, 
obliged  all  their  tenants  to  appropriate  their  tithes  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  one  officiating  minister,  instead  of  leaving 
them  at  liberty  to  distribute  them  among  the  clergy  of  the 
diocese  in  general ;  and  this  tract  of  land,  the  tithes  whereof 
were  so  appropriated,  formed  a  distinct  parish.  *  *  *  *  Thus 
parishes  were  gradually  formed,  and  parish  churches  endowed 
with  the  tithes  that  arose  within  the  circuit  assigned".'' 

3.  The  government  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  in 
accordance  with  the  ecclesiastical  division  of  the  kingdom, 
which  was  as  follows:  Provinces,  of  which  there  were  two, 
Canterbury  and  York,  and  of  each  of  which  the  archbishop  was 
the  head ;  dioceses,  into  which  each  province  was  divided,  and 
of  which  the  bishops  were  the  respective  heads  ;  archdeaconries, 
into  which  each  diocese  was  divided,  and  over  which  the  arch- 
deacons respectively  ruled,  within  the  limitations  of  their  au- 
thority ;  rural  deaneries,  each  of  which  had  its  "rural  dean"  : 
and,  finally,  parishes,  into  which  every  deanery  was  divided.' 

The  archbishop,  who  was  also  called  the  Metropolitan, 
had  general  authority  over  the  clergy  throughout  his  prov- 
ince, besides  having  a  diocese  of  his  own  in  which  he  exercised 
Episcopal  jurisdiction. 

"The  power  and  authority  of  a  'bishop,  besides  the 
administration  of  certain  holy  ordinances  peculiar  to  that 
sacred  order,  consists,-  principally,  in  inspecting  the  manners 
of  the  people  and  clergy,  and  punishing  them  in  order  to 
reformation,  by  ecclesiastical  censures.     To  this  purpose,  he 


Blackstone,  Comm.    i,  p.   in.  'Ibid,  p.   112. 

Ibid,  p.    113.  *  Ibid,  p.  in. 


CHURCH     ESTABLISHMENT  169 

has  several  coifrts  under  him",  as  also  his  clean  and  chapter 
as  his  council.  "It  is,  also,  the  business  of  a  bishop  to  insti- 
tute and  to  direct  induction  to  all  ecclesiastical  livings  in  his 
diocese".* 

A  parson  had  full  possession  of  all  the  rights  of  the  paro- 
chial church ;  and  in  each  parish  there  might  also  be  a  curate, 
an  officiating  temporary  minister,  being,  as  Blackstone  says, 
of  "the  lowest  degree  in  the  church". 

A  title  very  common  in  the  English  ecclesiastical  system 
is  that  of  the  "ordinary",  who  is  defined  as  bfing  "one 
possessing  immediate  jurisdiction  in  his  own  right  and  not  by 
special  deputation" ;  as,  "a  bishop,  archbishop,  or  other 
ecclesiastic  or  his  deputy,  in  his  capacity  as  an  ex  officio  ecclesi- 
astical judge"." 

Each  parish  also  had  its  vestry,  church- wardens  anfl 
parish  clerks  and  sextons.  Of  these  the  church-wardens 
were  the  guardians  or  keepers  of  the  church  and  represent- 
atives of  the  body  of  the  parish.  They  were  sometimes 
appointed  by  the  minister,  sometimes  by  the  church,  sometimes 
by  both  together,  as  custom  might  direct.  They  were  deemed 
for  some  purposes  a  corporation,  having  a  property  in  the 
goods  and  chattels  of  the  parish  and  could  bring  actions  in 
relation  to  them.  They  also  levied  fines,  kept  order  in 
church,  etc. 

Vestries,  as  we  understand  them,  were  not  in  existence. 
Properly  speaking,  the  vestry  was  "the  assembly  of  the  whole 
parish  met  together  in  some  convenient  place  for  the  dispatch 
of  the  affairs  and  business  of  the  parish".  Every  parishioner 
who  paid  his  "rates"  had  a  right  to  come  to  these  meetings, 
over  which  the  parson  presided,  "for  the  regulating  arid 
directing  this  afifair".  "From  the  practice  of  choosing  a 
certain  number  of  persons  yearly  to  manage  the  concerns  of 
the  parish  for  that  year"  grew  up  what  were  known  as  select 
vestries.  But  neither  vestries,  in  the  proper  sense '  of  the 
word,  nor  select  vestries  had  any  powers  necessary  to  be 
noticed.' 

Mbid,  p.  377.  =  Century  Dictionary. 

'  Burn,  Ecclesiastical    Law. 


I70  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

4.  As  already  noted,  every  rector  or  person,  in  order  to 
procure  a  benefice,  had  first  to  be  presented,  that  is,  ofifered  to 
the  bishop  of  the  diocese  to  be  instituted.  The  presentation 
was  made  by  the  patron,  as  he  was  called,  of  the  cure,  the 
person  having  the  right  of  advowson,  "The  founders  of  parish 
churches  had  power,  when  parishes  were  first  formed  and 
endowed,  to  determine  in  whom  the  right  of  'advowson'  (i.  e., 
of  presentation  to  the  benefice  when  vacant)  should  be 
vested".  This  right  was  a  heritable  right,  passing,  on  death 
or  alienation,  to  the  heirs  or  successors  in  estate  of  him  having 
the  right.' 

Upon  presentation,  the  bishop,  if  he  had  no  objection  to 
the  person  presented,  instituted  him ;  that  is,  put  him  in  "care 
of  the  souls  of  the  parish".  Then  followed  induction,  by 
virtue  of  which,  the  parson  was  in  possession  of  the  temporali- 
ties of  the  benefice. 

At  common  law,  to  become  a  parson,  says  Blackstone — 
and,  as  he  declares,  "the  appellation  of  parson  (however  it  may 
be  depreciated  by  familiar,  clownish,  and  indiscriminate  use), 
is  the  most  legal,  most  beneficial,  and  most  honorable  that  a 
parish  priest  can  enjoy",  there  are  four  requisites  necessary: 
holy  orders,  presentation,  institution,  and  induction.  Presenta- 
tion, he  says,  is  the  offer  of  the  proposed  incumbent  to  the 
bfshop  for  institution.  Listitution  is  "a  kind  of  investiture  of 
the  spiritual  part  of  the  benefice",  but  induction  is  something 
of  more  importance. 

"Upon  institution,  the  clerk  may  enter  on  the  parsonage 
house  and  glebe  and  take  the  tithes;  but  he  cannot  grant  or 
let  them  or  bring  an  action  for  them  until  induction. 

"Induction  is  performed  by  a  mandate  from  the  bishop 
to  the  archdeacon,  who  usually  issues  out  a  precept  to  other 
clergymen  to  perform  it  for  him.  It  is  done  by  giving  the 
clerk  corporal  possession  of  the  church,  as  by  holding  the  ring 
of  the  door,  tolling  a  bell,  or  the  like ;  and  is  a  form  required 
by  law,  with  intent  to  give  all  the  parishioners  due  notice  and 
sufficient  certainty  of  their  new  minister,  to  whom  their  tithes 

^  Selborne,  p.    123.  •.  • 


CHURCH     E  S  T  A  1]  I.  I  S  H  M  !•:  X  T  171 

are  to  be'paid.  •  This,  therefore,  is  the  investiture  of  the  tem- 
poral part  of  the  benefice,  as  institution  is  of  the  spiritual. 
And  when  a  clerk  is  thus  presented,  instituted,  and  inducted 
into  a  rectory,  he  is  then  and  not  before,  in  full  and  complete 
possession,  and  is  called  in  law  persona  inipersonata,  or  parson 
imparsonee." 

And  one  might  cease  to  be  a  parson  in  one  of  several 
ways  only : 

I.  By  death;  2,  by  cession,  in  taking  another  benefice; 
3,  by  consecration  to  a  bishopric ;  4,  by  resignation,  accepted 
by  the  ordinary;  and,  5,  by  deprivation,  which  might  be  by 
sentence  ecclesiastical,  "for  fit  and  sufficient  causes  allowed  by 
the  common  law"  or  ipso  facto  in  certain  cases,  "in  pursuance 
of  divers  penal  statutes".' 

It  thus  appears  that  at  the  common  law  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  a  "severance  of  the  pastoral  relation"  for  differences 
between  parsons  and  their  congregations.  The  parson,  once 
in,  had  a  freehold  in  the  glebe,  and  the  right  to  tithes,  etc.: 
and  could  not  lose  his  rights,  except  by  ceasing  to  be  parson, 
as  above  indicated.  In  other  words,  if  not  deprived,  and  if 
he  did  not  resign  or  accept  another  cure,  or  become  a  bishop, 
his  tenure  was  for  life. 

Contrast  with  this  order  of  things  in  the  English  Church, 
the  Maryland  "Establishment". 

I.  The  parishes  in  MarylaryJ,  as  mere  territories  to  be 
committed  to  the  clergy,  were  well  enough  provided  for  by  the 
Act  of  1692;  that  is  to  say,  the  direction  of  that  Act,  if 
carried  out,  would  sufficiently  have  carved  the  State  into 
parishes.^     And,  in  the  main,  this  was  sufficiently  done  for 

'  Blackstone    Comm.    i,    p.    384-392. 

■  Under  this  Act  the  Province  was  divided  into  thirty  parishes,  and 
which  in  1694,  in  respect  to  churches  and  ministers,  stood  as  follows: 
Saint  Mary's,  two  parishes,  three  churches  and  one  minister ;  Kent,  two 
parishes  and  two  churches,  but  no  minister;  Anne  Arundel,  four  par- 
ishes, two  churches  and  one  minister;  Calvert,  four  parishes,- three 
churches  and  two  ministers;  Charles,  three  parishes,  two  churches  and 
one  minister;  Baltimore,  three  parishes,  two  churches  and  no  minister; 
Talbot,  three  parishes,  four  churches  and  two  ministers;  Somerset,  four 


172  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

all  practical  purposes.  We  find  throughout,  however,  that 
new  parishes  were  being  constantly  formed:  whether  by  the 
division  of  old  ones,^  or  the  erection  of  new  ones,"  or  by  the 
consolidation  of  two  or  more  already  existing/  And  it  was 
not  unnatural  that  the  boundaries  of  the  several  parishes 
should  thus  become  confused,  so  as  to  make  necessary  an  Act 
for  ascertaining  the  boundaries  of  all/ 

2.  But,  when  we  come  to  consider  the  property  and 
support  of  the  church  in  each  parish,  we  find  a  radically 
different  state  of  things  from  that  in  England. 

parishes,  one  church  and  one  minister;  Dorchester,  two  parishes^  one 
church  and  no  minister;  Cecil,  two  parishes,  two  churches  and  one 
minister.  (Allen,  "Who  were  the  early  Settlers  of  Maryland.")  Two 
years  later  three  more  churches  had  been  built,  and  nine  additional 
ministers  had  come  in,  making  in  all  eighteen.  (Ibid).  In  1720,  the 
number  of  parishes  had  increased,  to  thirty-eight,  and  in  1760  to  forty- 
two,  and  there  were  forty-one  ministers.  (Hawks  "History  P.  E. 
Church,"  p.  170;  Allen,  "Who  were  the  early  Settlers  in  Maryland.") 
A  majority  of  these  clergymen  were  of  English  birth,  but  a  large 
number  of  them  were  Scotch  and  a  few  of  them  Irish.  In  1720,  it 
was  estimated  that  there  were  "between  ten  and  eleven  thousand 
families  of  Episcopalians  in  the  Province."  (Hawks,  p.  170.)  According 
to  the  report  of  the  Governor  of  Maryland,  in  1696,  from  items  furnished, 
on  his  requisition,  by  the  Sheriffs  of  the  several  counties,  made  to  the 
Bishop  of  London,  there  were  in  Maryland  at  that  date  also,  eight  Roman 
Catholic  churches,  five  priests  and  two  lay  brothers,  limited  to  the 
Counties  of  Charles  and  Saint  Mary's;  three  Presbyterian  churches  and 
two  ministers,  limited  to  the  County  of  Somerset;  and  eight  Quaker 
meeting  houses,  three  meetings  in  private  houses  and  two  preachers, 
limited  to  the  Counties  of  Kent,  Anne  Arundel,  Calvert  and  Talbot. 
(Allen,  "Who  were  the  early  Settlers  in  Maryland.")  But  in  justice, 
it  should  here  be  noted,  that  the  'meagreness  of  this  report  as  to 
Roman  Catholic  Priests  and  places  of  worship  was  perhaps  due  to  the 
fact  that  they  were  in  Maryland,  at  that  time  under  "proscription,"  as 
the  number  of  Roman  Catholics  in  the  Province  a  few  years  there- 
after—1708— was  reported  to  be  2974,  and  located  as  follows:  Anne 
Arundel,  161;  Baltimore,  53;  Calvert,  48;  Prince  Georges,  248;  Charles, 
709;  Saint  Mary's,  1238;  Cecil,  49;  Kent,  40;  Queen  Anne,  179;  Talbot, 
89;  Dorchester,  79  and  Somerset,  81.  (London  Pub.  Rcc.  Office,  Mary- 
land, B.  T.  Red  No.  4,  H.  p.  79;  ScJiarf,  vol.  i,  p.  370. 

^Act,    1704,    C.   96.  -Act,    1706,    C.   4. 

'Act,    1722,    C.   3-  'Act,    1713,   C.    10. 


C  H  U  R  C  H     E  S  T  A  H  L  1  S  H  M  EXT  1 73 

Some  gifts  of  land  there  were,  but  gifts  were  not  the  rule. 
Prior  to  1704,  "several  pious  and  well-disposed  persons"  had 
"granted  unto  the  respective  parishes  whereto  they  [did] 
belong,  certain  parcels  of  ground  for  the  use  and  benefit  of 
a  church  and  church-yard",  but,  through  the  neglect  of  the 
vestries  selected  under  the  Act  of  1696,  no  deeds  to  such  lands 
had  been  taken.  Wherefore,  by  Act  of  1704,  Chapter  38, 
provision  was  made  for  confirming  the  titles  of  such  lands  to 
the  respective  parishes,  the  grand  juries  being  authorized  to 
make  inquiry  in  the  matter,  etc.,  and  where  lands  had  been 
given,  but  the  quantity  not  mentioned,  the  vestry  was  author- 
ized to  "take  of  such  lands,  for  the  use  of  the  church,  and 
thereto  adjacent,  two  acres  and  no  more". 

Similar  provision  was  made  by  the  Act  of  1722,  Chapter  4, 
for  confirming  lands  devised  for  the  use  of  the  church;  and, 
in  some  cases,  special  Acts  were  passed,  vesting  in  the  vestry, 
special  gifts  of  lands.^ 

Generally,  these  gifts>  and  devises  were  to  the  vestry  or 
parish,  but  in  one  instance,  at  least,  the  gift  or  devise  was  to 
the  rector  and  his  successors." 

Another  source  of  acquisition  of  lands  was  by  gift  or 
grant  of  public  lands ;  as  in  the  case  of  certain  lots  in  Annap- 
olis,' the  "Old  Stadt-house  in  St.  Mary's  city,  in  St.  Mary's 
county,  and  the  lot  whereon  the  same  stands",*  and  a  tract 
of  two  acres,  "parcel  of  fifteen  acres  laid  out  for  public  uses 
at  the  town  of  Vienna,  Dorchester  county".'' 

But  by  far,  the  chief  source  of  acquisition  was  in  pro- 
vision of  law,  mostly  in  specific  instances,  authorizing  the 
vestries  to  buy  lands,  and  levying  a  tax  of  tobacco  or  money 
to  pay  therefor  and  to  erect  churches  thereon."  The  Acts  of 
this  class  are  practically  innumerable  and  were  passed  as  lately 
as  1774.  In  some  cases  the  expression  "to  make  a  glebe",  or 
"to  be  made  a  glebe",^  was  used.     Resides,  the  vestries  were 


^\ct,  ,1700,  C.   5;   1701,  C.  5-  S'Vct.  1719,  C.  6. 

\^ct,   1718,  C.  8.  'Act,  1720,  C.  4- 

"Act,    1725.   C.  9.  "Act,    i7-'7.   C.    10. 
'  Act,  1750,  C.  17;  17.S1,  C.  6. 


174  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

empowered,  with  the  aid  of  commissioners,  to  acquire  lands 
by  condemnation/  in  all  cases  the  lands  and  churches  to  be 
paid  for  by  tax. 

As  respects  the  fittings,  etc.,  of  the  churches,  there  were 
some  few  gifts  of  these,  but  in  the  main  they  were  provided 
out  of  the  "forty  per  poll"  and  the  "ten  per  poll",  provided 
for  by  the  Act  of  1702/ 

The  tenure  of  the  land  acquired  in  the  several  ways  in- 
dicated, whether  in  the  rector  (as  was  the  case  in  very  rare 
instances),  or  in  the  vestry  (as  was  the  rule),  seems  to  hav«. 
been  such  that  neither  rector  nor  vestry  could  make  any  dis- 
position of  them  without  authority  of  the  legislature.  Thus 
we  find  acts  enabling  the  rector  to  sell  or  the  vestry  to  sell,  or 
to  lease  or  to  exchange  lands.  These  Acts  clearly  show  that 
the  vestries  were  treated  as  mere  trustees,  holding  the  church 
properties  for  the  one  purpose,  "the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
church" 

3.  As  for  government,  the  church  had  none.  The 
"ordinary"  was  mentioned  in  the  legislation  on  the  subject, 
but  there  was  no  ordinary ;  and  throughout  the  period  we  are 
considering  there  was  no  bishop,  the  first  bishop,  Claggett, 
not  being  elected  until  1792.' 

Respecting  the  government  of  the  Church  during  this 
period.  Hawks  says: 

•'Theoretically,  the  Bishop  of  London  was  the  diocesan: 
spiritual  jurisdiction  therefore,  including  the  important  par- 
ticular of  discipline,  belonged  to  him,  and  the  clergy  had  all 
along  been  accustomed  so  to  think.  But  they  were  embarrassed 
because  they  found  that  the  matter  of  jurisdiction  was  in  some 
mode  or  other  in  the  hands  of  the  praprietor  also  *  *  *  * 

\\ct.   1704.   C.  38;    1747,  C.   18. 

'It  has  been  said  that  the  "art  of  keeping  warm  is  of  modern 
invention,"  and  eminently  was  the  absence  of  this  art  seen  in  the 
house  of  God.  For  until  about  two  generations  ago,  the  churches  of 
Maryland  had  no  fires  in  them,  or  means  provided  for  making  fire. 
There  was  a  fire  in  the  Vestry  house,  a  detached  building,  but  at 
church  time  access  to  it  was  prevented  by  the  doors  being  closed 
and   locked.— Church    life   in  Colonial   Maryland,    120. 

^  Hawks,  p.  310. 


CHURCH     K  S  T  A  B  L  I  S  H  M  E  X  T  175 

Thus  L-ord  Baltimore  selected  a  clerf2:ynian  in  Eng^land,  and 
appointed  him  to  a  living;  the  Bishop  of  London  gave  him  a 
license;  the  Governor  of  the  Province  inducted  him;  if  he  did 
wrong,  the  commissary  tried  him,  if  they  happened  to  be  a 
commissary ;  and  when  convicted,  no  power  punished  him ;  for 
after  induction,  even  his  Lordship,  the  Proprietor,  could  not 
remove  him ;  and  the  Bishop  of  London,  nominally  his  diocesan, 
could  neither  give  nor  take  away  the  meanest  living  in  the 
Province"/ 

"As  long  as  no  clergyman  could  have  a  living  in  Mary- 
land without  Lord  Baltimore's  assent;  as  long  as  the  Governor 
had  the  sole  right  of  induction,  on  his  own  or  his  Lordship's 
presentation  and  as  long  as  the  legal  effect  of  induction  was  to 
fasten  the  incumbent  on  a  parish  for  life,  no  matter  what  might 
be  his  conduct;  it  is  perfectly  plain  that  to  talk  of  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  bishop  or  commissary  was  a  mere  farce"."' 

4.  Passing  now  to  the  appointment  of  rectors,  their  rights 
and  tenure,  it  is  first  to  be-observed  that  there  were  no  patrons 
in  Maryland,  in  the  sense  in  which  there  were  in  England. 
All  the  livings  were  in  the  gift  of  the  Lord  Proprietary,  a 
right  of  which  he  was  to  the  end  tenacious.  How  a  rector  got 
his  benefice  has  just  been  shown  by  the  extract  from  Hawks. 
And  what  his  rights  were  after  getting  his  place  may  be  stated 
in  few  words:  he  got  the  use  of  the  glebe  and  parsonage,  if 
any,  and  his  "Forty  per  poll".  These  he  enjoyed,  at  first, 
for  life ;  for  so  much  of  English  conception  of  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  a  rector  seems  to  have  been  adopted  by  ^Maryland 
as  to  give  to  the  formality  of  induction  the  same  legal  conse- 
quence in  Maryland  as  in  England. 

That  it  was  the  formality  of  induction  which  was  supposed 
to  work  the  life  tenure  is  made  clear  by  the  above  extract  from 
Hawks.  And  Eden,,  the  last  of  the  Proprietary  Governors, 
saw  the  matter  in  the  same  light:  "at  present",  said  he, 
speaking  in  1769  or  1770.  "when  a  clergyman  is  inducted,  he 
becomes  quite  unaccountable  and  independent".''  It  is.  impor- 
tant to  bear  this  in  mind ;  for  after  the  American  Revolution 

'Hawks,  p.   189.  "Ibid,  p.  193. 

'  Hawks,   p.   255. 


176  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

induction  ceased.  As  Hawks  says,  in  1807,  when  the  question 
of  the  canon  on  that  subject  was  under  consideration,  "of  the 
Maryland  clerg}%  not  one  had  been  inducted,  nor  was  one 
likely  to  be"/ 

Such  being,  in  general,  the  character  of  the  Maryland 
"Establishment",  it  is  necessary  in  order  fully  to  understand 
it  and  its  effects,  to  consider  briefly  the  character  of  the  clergy 
created  by  the  system,  and  the  attitude  of  the  people  of  the 
Province  toward  them. 

It  is  a  sad  story ;  that  of  the  Maryland  clergy  under  the 
"Establishment".  But  it  is,  unfortunately,  only  too  true. 
The  testimony  on  all  sides  is  in  one  direction  only. 

Dr.  Hawks,  an  esteemed  clergyman  of  the  Church  and 
once  a  candidate  for  the  Bishopric  of  Maryland,  cannot  be 
called  a  hostile  witness.     Hear  him : 

"It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  clergy,  thus  secure  in  their 
livings  after  induction,  and  with  but  feeble  powers  over  them 
for  punishment  when  they  did  wrong,  should  sometimes 
exhibit  but  a  sad  example  to  their  parishioners  *  *  '■'"  *  It 
must  be  remembered  that  it  was  too  much  the  fashion  to  send 
to  all  these  colonies  the  refuse  of  the  English  clergy,  insomuch 
that  our  wonder  is  less  that  the  Church  in  many  places  did  not 
grow  than  that  it  was  not  utterly  extinguished". 

•  "The  people  looked  around  among  the  clergy  and  saw 
every  man  doing  just  what  he  thought  best;  they  sought  for 
a  power  to  protect  their  spiritual  interests  by  punishing  the 
faithless  agents  of  the  government  in  things  spiritual,  and 
they  found  that  power — nowhere".' 

The  pages  of  Hawks  are  replete  with  matter  to  the  same 
effect.    We  are  not  surprised  to  see  him  write : 

"No  wonder  that  such  a  bastard  estabHshment  as  that  of 
Maryland  was  odious  to  so  many  of  the  people ;  we  think  their 
dislike  is  evidence  of  their  virtue.  It  deserved  to  be  despised, 
for   it   permitted    clerical   profligacy   to   murder   the   souls   of 


Mbid,  p.  363. 
'Ibid,  pp.   191,  235. 
^  Ibid,  p.  236. 


CHURCH     E  S  T  A  15 1 .  1  S  H  M  E  X  T  1 77 

•  Yeo's  le.tter,  above  mentioned,  written  before  the  "Estab- 
lishment", reveals  a  bad  enough  condition  of  things  : 

But  the  clerg>-  of  that  day  were  saintly  in  comparison  with 
those  of  the  period  we  are  now  considering.  A  less  friendly, 
and,  therefore,  perhaps  a  more  just  critic  of  the  clergy,  writes: 

"The  churcli  which  finally  drove  Catholicism  to  the  wall 
was,  perhaps,  as  contemptible  an  ecclesiastical  organization  as 
history  can  show.  It  had  all  the  vices  of  the  Virginian 
Church,  without  one- of  its  safe-guards  or  redeeming  qualities 
*  *  *  *  A  clergymen,  writing  in  1714,  describes  the  disregard 
of  holy  things  as  universal ;  the  sacraments  as  neglected  and 
sometimes  not  celebrated  at  all ;  the  manners  of  all  classes  as 
dissolute ;  and  the  laws  of  marriage  despised  *  *  *  *  Mary- 
land, like  Virginia,  had  also  the  misfortune  of  not -receiving 
ministers  through  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel.  The  patronage  w-as  badly  administered,  unworthy 
men  were  frequently  appointed,  and  the  whole  organization 
closely  resembled  a  corrupt  civil  service  *  *  *  *  It  is  not  easy 
to  conceive  the  utter  degradation  of  the  mass  of  the  Maryland 
clergy.  Secure  in  their  houses  and  glebes,  and  the  tax  settled 
by  law  and  collected  by  the  sheriffs  for  their  benefit,  they  set 
decency  and  public  opinion  at  defiance.  They  hunted,  raced 
horses,  drank,  gambled,  and  were  the  parasites  and  boon 
companions  of  the  wealthy  planters".'  *  *  *  * 

Truly  a  shocking  state  of  things;  which  is  here  revealed, 
not  because  the  picture  is  pleasant  to  dwell  upon,  but  because 
it  is  necessary  to  enable  us  to  understand  the  legislation 
presently  to  be  noticed.  Small  wonder  that  the  clergy  "were 
not  only  despised,  but  they  were  bitterly  disliked",  and  that 
they  were  constantly  opposed  by  government  and  people. 

Indeed,  the  patience  of  the  people  seems  to  have  been 
phenomenal.  It  was  not  until  1763'  that  the  "Eorty  per 
Poll"  was  seriously  interfered  with,  and  it  was  then  done  only 
as  part  of  an  enactment  for  amending  the  staple  of  tobacco. 

In  1771,^  however,  a  significant  Act  was  passed..    It  Avas 

^  Lodge,  p.  120.  'Act,  1763.  Chapter  18. 

'Act,    1771,    Chapter    .11. 


lyS  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

limited  in  effect  to  seven  years,  before  the  end  of  which  time 
the  American  Revolution  was  on  and  the  "Establishment" 
a  thing  of  the  past.  By  this  Act  it  was,  among  other  things, 
provided  as  follows : 

"Upon  a  complaint  in  writing,  by  a  majority  of  the  ves- 
trymen and  wardens,  exhibited  to  the  Governor  and  Council, 
setting  forth  that  the  incumbent  hath  willfully  neglected  to 
ofificiate,  or  hath  been  guilty  of  scandalous  immorality,  the 
Governor,  by  the  advice  of  his  Council,  may  appoint  three 
beneficed  ministers,  and  three  laymen,  in  conjunction  with  him- 
self, or  with  the  first  member  of  the  Council,  who  shall  be  of 
the  Church  of  England,  if  the  Governor  be  not  of  that  church, 
to  inquire  into  the  grounds  of  the  complaint,  by  taking  deposi- 
tions in  writing.  And  the  sentence  of  this  tribunal  may  be  to 
admonish,  to  suspend,  or  to  totally  deprive;  and,  at  discretion, 
they  may  further  award  the  oft'ender  to  pay  costs.  In  case  of 
a  suspension,  the  Governor  is  authorized  to  appoint  a  minister 
to  officiate  in  the  party's  stead,  and  to  receive  the  income  and 
profits".^ 

There  is  no  more  important  act  than  this  in  the  history 
of  the  Maryland  Church.  It  is  the  first  legislative  declaration 
of  the  Maryland  laity  against  a  life-holding  clergy,  and  was 
but  the  foreshadowing  of  what  was  shortly  to  come. 

The  last  Act  passed  during  the  Establishment,"  is  also  not 
without  its  significance.  The  Act  of  1763,  reducing  the 
"Forty  per  Poll"  to  thirty,  expired  by  limitation  in  1770. 
Governor  Eden  thereupon  took  the  .ground  that  the  "Forty 
per  Poll"  was  restored.  The  question  was  taken  up  by  the 
people,  Daniel  Dulany  leading  the  Governor's  side  and  Charles 
Carroll,  of  Carrollton,  the  other  side.  .  The  election  of  1773 
turned  largely  upon  the  question  and  was  decided  against  the 
Governor's  party." 

In  the  course  of  this  contest  there  developed  another, 
being  over  no  less  a  proposition  than  that  the  Act  of  Establish- 
ment of  1702  had  never  been  law.     The  ground  taken  was 

'Hanson.  'Act,    1773.   C.  28.  -   ^  Brown,  p.   266. 


CHURCH     ESTABLISHMENT 


179 


that  the  Assembly  which  passed  the  law  was  chosen  under 
writs  of  election  iji  King  William's  name  and  convened  March 
16,  1701 — 2,  whereas  the  King  had  died  eight  days'  before. 
The  Revolution  put  an  end  to  this  question,  but,  says  Hawks, 
had  it  not  been  so  determined  "it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that 
this  objection  would  so  far  have  prevailed  as  to  overthrow  the 
establishment  entirely":  a  striking  illustration  of  the  popular 
feeling  towards  the  clergy  and  the  "Establishment".' 

The  Act  of  1773.  Chapter  28,  mentioned,  provided, 
"Thirty  per  Poll"  for  the  clergy,  but  contained  a.  proviso  that 
it  w^as  "not  to  influence  the  determination  of  the  question 
respecting  the  40  per  poll  law".' 

Thus  stood  the  '"Establishment"  at  the  close  of  the 
period  under  consideration.  We  examine  it  in  vain  for  evi- 
dence of  the  adoption  of  any  feature  of  the  English  ecclesias- 
tical law,  save  only  as  to  the  supposed  legal  effect  of  the 
induction  of  a  rector.     "Lord  Baltimore  did  not  found,  build, 

'  This  was  probably  the  most  noted  political  controversy  within 
the  annals  of  Colonial  Maryland — more  so  even,  perhaps,  than  that 
over  the  famous  proclamation  of  1770  to  restore  the  "fee  bills*'  as 
established  by  the  Act  of  1763 — The  controversy  enlisted  the  most  dis- 
tinguished talent  of  the  Province,  and  was  characterized  by  a  display 
of  ability,  learning,  spirit  and  invective  not  often  brought  to  bear 
upon  any  cause  and  which  gave  it  unusual  prominence.  The  spirit 
of  resistance  ran  so  high  that  in  many  cases  payment  of  the  tax  was 
successfully  resisted — notably  in  the  case  of  Joseph  H.  Harrison,  a  rep- 
resentative in  the  House  of  Delegates,  from  Charles  County.  He  re- 
fused to  pay  the  tax  and  was  arrested.  He  then  paid  it  under  protest, 
to  redeem  his  person,  and  sued  Richard  Lee,  the  Sheriff,  for  false  im- 
prisonment, the  Act  of  1702,  under  which  the  sheriff  was  proceeding, 
being  as  alleged,  null  and  void.  Though  there  was  no  actual  impris- 
onment, such  was  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the -times  and  the  state 
of  public  feeling  upon  the  subject,  that  he  was  awarded  damages  to 
the  extent  of'  £60,  the  full  amount  claimed.  Charles  County  Court 
Records,  March  1774.  —  Essays  relating  to  this  controversy  may  be 
found  in  ist  Chalmers  "Collection  of  Opinions,"  p.  303,  343;  Maryland 
Gazette,  December  31st,  1772;  January  14th  and  28th;  February  4th. 
nth  and  25th;  March  iSth  and  25th;  April  ist,  13th,  .'Qth,  and  May 
27th,   1773. 

^Hanson. 


i8o  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

or  support  the  churches  and  chapels,  either  with  or  without 
license  from  the  King.  The  people  built  and  sustained 
them"/ 

Vestries  and  Church  Wardens  there  were,  but  with  powers 
and  duties  differing  from  those  of  similar  officers  in  England, 
and  all  carefuly  prescribed  by  statute.  There  was  no  arch- 
bishop, bishop,  nor  church  government  of  any  sort.  In  short, 
there  was  no  play  for  the  English  ecclesiastical  law.  And 
the  imperfectly  understood  incident  of  induction,  which  had 
been  borrowed,  in  a  blind  sort  of  way,  from  the  mother 
country,  could  not  itself  have  found  place,  had  the  people  and 
the  Proprietary  been  at  one,  instead  of  being  constantly  at 
odds. 

In  1774,  Maryland,  in  effect,  renounced  allegiance  to  the 
mother  country.  A  provincial  government  was  then  organ- 
ized, and  continued  its  sessions  until  the  close  of  1776,  when 
the  new  State  government  had  been  provided. 

On  November  3d,  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Rights  was 
adopted.  By  the  thirty-third  section  of  this  it  was  declared, 
that  no  person  ought  "to  be  compelled  to  frequent  or  main- 
tain, or  contribute,  unless  on  contract,  to  maintain  any  par- 
ticular place  of  worship,  or  any  particular  ministry".  But, 
proceeds  of  Declaration : 

"The  churches,  chapels,  glebes,  and  all  other  property 
now  belonging  to  the  Church  of  England,  ought  to  remain  to 
the  Church  of  England  forever.  And  all  Acts  of  Assembly 
lately  passed  for  collecting  monies  for  building  or  repairing 
particular  churches  or  chapels  of  ease,  shall  continue  in  force 
and  be  executed,  unless  the  Legislature  shall  by  Act  supersede 
or  repeal  the  same;  but  no  County  Court  shall  assess  any 
quantity  of  tobacco  or  sum  of  money  hereafter,  on  the  applica- 
tion of  any  A'estry  or  Church  Wardens ;  and  every  incumbent 
of  the  Church  of  England  who  hath  remained  in  his  parish, 
and  performed  his  duty,  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  the  pro- 
vision and  support  established  by  the  Act  entitled.  An  Act  for 
the  Support  of  the  Clergy  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  this 

'  Hawks,  p.  258. 


CHURCH     ESTADLJSH.MEXT  i8r 

Province,  till  "the  Xovember  Court  of  this  present  year,  to  be 
held  for  the  countv  in  which  his  parish  shall  lie,  or  partly  lie, 
or  for  such  time  as  he  hath  remained  in  his  parish,  and  per- 
formed his  duty". 

The  third  section  of  the  Declaration  continued  in  force 
existing  laws,  except  as  altered  by  the  convention  "or  this 
declaration  of  rights." 

These  provisions  destroyed  the  "Establishment",  root 
and  branch.  There  Vvas  no  "Established  Church"  after  the 
date  of  the  Declaration,  and  no  "Forty  per  Poll"- after  "Xo- 
vember Court".  More  than  this,  there  were  no  "patronages 
and  advowsons",  no  "induction".  The  Church  was  left 
without  law  and  without  order.  "The  Rev.  Jonathan  Bou- 
cher and  a  third  of  the  clergy  sided  with  the  Crown.  Ulti- 
mately, quite  all  the  churches  were  closed,  and  the  clergy,  for 
the  most  part,  left  the  country".' 

In  1779,  the  legislature  acted  on  the  subject  of  the  Church 
for  the  first  time  since  the  Declaration  of  Rights.  By  Act  of 
March,  1779,  Chapter  9,  select  vestries  in  each  parish  were 
provided  for.  The  sections  of  the  Act.  material  to  our  inquiry, 
are  the  following : 

•  "That  the  select  vestries  so  to  be  chosen,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, shall,  as  trustees  of  the  parish,  be  vested  with  an 
estate  in  fee  in  all  the  glebe-lands,  as  also  in  all  churches  and 
chapels,  and  the  land  thereunto  belonging,  late  the  property  of 
the  people  professing  the  religion  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  also  as  trustees  aforesaid,  shall  have  full  property  in  all 
books,  plate,  and  other  ornaments  belonging  to  said  churches 
and  chapels  or  any  of  them"." 

"That  the  said  vestrymen,  or  the  major  part  of  them, 
shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  employ  a  minister  or 
reader  of  the  Church  of  England,  to  officiate  in  their  respective 
churches  or  diapels  for  such  time  as  may  be  agreed  upon :  and 
may  take  in  subscriptions  from  all  persons  willing  to  contribute 
towards  the  support  of  such  minister  or  reader,  and  also  for 
the  support  of  a  clerk  to  such  minister,  and  giving  a  salary 
not  exceeding  30  pounds,  to  the  register  of  such  vestries.' 

^  Bishop    White's    Memoirs,    p.    34- 

*  Act,  -1779,    Section    15.  Mhid,    Section    16. 


i82  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

"That  the  possession  and  free  use  of  all  glebe-lands 
shall  belong  to  the  minister  of  each  parish,  from  the  time  of 
his  having  agreed  with  the  select  vestry  as  aforesaid,  for  and 
during  the  time  he  shall  continue  to  remain  therein  as  minister 
of  the  parish ;  and  he  shall  be  entitled  to  all  profits  thereof 
during  the  time  aforesaid,  anything  herein  contained  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding",^ 

By  Act  of  November,  1779,  Chapter  7,  this  Act  was 
amended  (as  to  Section  15),  by  vesting  in  the  select  vestries, 
all  property  of  the  church,  in  their  respective  parishes,  includ- 
ing debts,  etc.,  which,  it  was  thought,  the  earlier  Act  might 
not  cover. 

But  this  Act  failed  to  revive  the  church.  The  vestries 
complained  of  their  limited  control  over  the  church  property, 
and  other  objections,  to  the  system  created  by  the  Act,  were 
urged,  with  the  result  that  the  Act  of  1798,  Chapter  24,  was 
passed ;  which,  with  an  alteration  unimportant  to  our  consid- 
eration,^ remains  law  to  this  day. 

The  preamble  recites  the  inadequacy  of  the  earlier  Act,  to 
the  exigencies  of  the  church.  The  substantial  changes  made 
by  it,  which  are  material  to  our  consideration,  are  as  follows : 

The  number  of  the  vestry  is  fixed  at  eight,  in  additioi-Pto 
the  rector,  who  is  to  preside  at  all  meetings  and  have  a  vote  in 
case  of  a  tie,  but  not  in  any  matter  "in  which  he  is  in  any 
manner  particularly  interested".^ 

The  rector  is  to  "have,  except  he  may  otherwise  contract 
with  the  vestry,  the  possession,  occupation,  and  free  use  of  all 
the  glebe-lands,  houses,  ground-rents,  books  and  other  property 
belonging  to  his  parish,  and  be  entitled  to  the  benefit  thereof 
during  tine  time   he    shall  officiate  therein   as   rector".* 

The  vestry  is  given  a  fee  simple  in  all  4ands  and  a  good 
title  and  estate  in  all  other  property  of  the  church ;  "and  it 
shall  be  lawful  for  sach  vestry  so  to  manage  and  direct  all 
such  property  as  they  may  think  most  advantageous  to  the 
interests   of  the  parishioners,   and   they   shall   also   have   the 

'Ibid,  Section  17.  "'Act,  i8j8,  Chapter  1.^6,  Section  .^ 

^Act,  1798,  Chapter  24,  Sections  2,  H.  '  ll)i(l.  Section  8. 


CHURCH     1-:STA  IM.  1  S'il  M  KX  T  1S3 

property  in  aril  books,  plate  and  other  ornaments  bclon^^nnt;-  to 
said  churches  and  chapels,  or  any  of  them".' 

The  vestry  is  made  a  body  corporate,  with  power  to  re- 
ceive lands  and  goods,  and  to  rent  or  lease  the  lands  "'in  -uch 
a  manner  as  they  may  judge  most  conducive  to  the  interests" 
of  the  parish;  but  the  vestry  may. not  sell  any  of  the  property 
of  the  church  without  the  consent  of  five  at  least  of  the  i)0{ly, 
of  whom  the  rector  shall  be  one." 

"That  the  vestry- of  each  parish  shall  have  full  power  ant! 
authority,  from  time  to  time,  to  choose  one  or  mpre  ministers 
or  readers  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  (heretofore 
called  the  Church  of  England),  to  officiate  in  any  church  or 
chapel  belonging  to  the  parish,  and  to  perform  the  other  duties 
of  a  minister  therein,  for  such  time  as  the  said  vestry  may 
think  proper,  and  they  may  agree  and  contract  with  such 
minister  or  ministers,  reader  or  readers,  for  his  or  their  salary, 
and  respecting  the  use  of  the  parsonage  house,  or  any  glebe 
or  other  lands,  or  other  property,  if  any,  belonging  to  the 
parish,  and  on  such  terms  and  conditions  as  they  may  think 
reasonable  and  proper,  and  their  choice 'and  contract  shall  be 
entered  among  their  proceedings ;  and  upon  the  expiration  of 
such  contract,  the  said  vestry  may,  in  their  discretion,  renew 
their  choice,  or  make  a  new  contract,  but  if  they  do  not  incline 
so  to  do,  their  former  choice  and  contract  shall  remain  until 
they  declare  their  desire  to  make  a  new  choice  or  contract".^ 

Two  important  differences  between  these  two  acts  are  to  be 
noted.  By  the  earlier,  the  rector  is  given  absolute  possession 
of  the  glebe,  etc.,  whereas  by  the  latter,  the  vestry  may,  by 
the  terms  of  its  contract,  keep  him  out  of  such  possession. 
Again,  by  the  earlier,  provision  is  made  only  for  one  specific 
contract  between  rector  and  vestry,  Ijy  agreement  of  the  two 
parties,  whereas,  by.  the  latter,  the  vestry  is  given  power  to 
choose  the  rector  for  such  time  as  it  may  think  proper,  and  if 
a  time  limit  be  set,  the  vestry  may  allow  the  same  to  pass  . 
without  losing  the  right  at  any  time  thereafter,  to  ".'make  a 
new  choice  or  contract". 


'  Ihid,  Section  9.  'Ibid,  Sections  2S,  29. 

"  ll)ifl,   Section    15. 


V 


i84  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

What,  then,  is  the  power  of  a  Maryland  vestry  as  to  disso- 
lution of  the  pastoral  connection  of  a  rector  previously  chosen  ? 

It  is  shown  that  the  ecclesiastical  law  of  England  is  not 
and  never  was  in  force  in  Maryland.  As  matter  of  law,  it  has 
never  been  decided  by  any  tribunal  having  proper  jurisdiction 
that  even  the  incident  of  induction  above  noted  ever  had  place 
in  the  Maryland  system.  But  it  is  conceded  that  during  the 
"Establishment"  the  clergy  claimed  life-tenure  as  the  "legal 
effect  of  induction",  the  same  as  in  England,  and  that  the 
claim  was  so  far  acquiesced  in  that  no  clergyman  appears  ever 
to  have  been  removed  against  his  will. 

The  important  point  is,  that  the  claim  to  life-tenure  was 
always  based  by  the  clergy  upon  induction.  The  case  was  the 
same  in  Virginia.  "Without  induction,  the  clergy  was  held 
to  possess  no  freehold  in  his  living,  but  was  at  any  time  liable 
to  removal,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  vestry,  without  trial  or  even 
crime  alleged  against  him.  Under  those  circumstances,  there 
were  but  few  of  the  clergy  who  could  consider  their  situations 
as  permanent,  for  there  were  but  few  who  could  prevail  upon 
their  vestries  to  present  them  for  induction.  The  general 
custom,  therefore,  was  to  hire  the  minister  from  year  to 
year".^ 

What  was  this  induction,  that  it  should  work  such  a 
result?  The  very  act  of  induction  answers  the  question:  It 
was  the  investiture  of  the  parson  with  the  freehold  in  the 
church  lands,  the  tenure  of  which  was,  of  course,  for  life. 
The  ceremony  was  as  formal  as  the  old  livery  of  seisin,  per- 
formed before  the  eyes  of  all.  It  gave  the  parson  a  property 
interest  with  which  neither  vestry  nor  parish,  neither  patron 
nor  ordinary,  could  interfere  when  once  it  was  vested.  The 
only  way  in  which  it  could  be  lost  involuntarily  was  by  such 
conduct  of  the  parson  as  would  lead  to  deprivation. 

The  Maryland  article  of  induction  was  a  great  improve- 
ment on  the  English.  The  rector  got  no  freehold  in  anything, 
and  went  through  no  very  formal  ceremony,  but  when  the 
Governor  or  Proprietary  "inducted"  him,  he  was  in,  so  that  no 

^  Hawks,  Virginia,  p.  88. 


CHURCH     ESTABLISHMENT  185 

earthly  power"  could  ever  get  him  out.  Deprivations  had  no 
terrors  for  him. 

This  monstrous  assumption  produced  its  natural  fruit: 
hostility  to  the  church  and  worse  than  corruption  in  the  clergy. 
The  state  of  affairs  above  set  forth,  could  have  produced  but 
one  result,  /.  e.,  that  when  the  laity  should  ultimately  come  to 
deal  with  the  clergy  and  its  tenure  it  would  do  thorough  work. 
It  was  just  this  that  happened.  The  Vestry  Act  of  1779  not 
only  did  away  with  the  farce  of  induction ;  it  did  not  even  stop 
at  giving  the  vestry  the  right  to  select  a  minister  fonthe  parish  : 
but  it  gave  the  vestry  the  right  to  fix  the  term  of  the  rector's 
incumbency.  The  rector  was  to  be  employed — note  the  offen- 
sive word — for  such  time  as  might  be  agreed  upon. 

Let  it  be  remembered,  too,  that  at  the  time  this  Act  was 
passed  there  was  absolutely  no  ecclesiastical  authority  in 
Maryland.  There  never  had  been  a  bishop,  and  the  undefined, 
more  than  uncertain,  claim  of  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of 
London  had  wholly  disappeared.  Who  was  there  to  interfere 
between  rector  and  vestry  if  they  should  agree?  And  what 
rector  could  get  a  living  unless  he  agreed  with  some  vestr}-? 

There  was  no  diocesan  convention  to  keep  a  parish  un- 
represented in  its  meetings  if  it  did  not  happen  to  meet  the 
convention's  views.  In  a  word,  the  clergy  and  the  vestries 
were  at  large,  with  all  the  power  and  advantage  on  the  side  of 
the  latter. 

The  Act  of  1798  made  no  change  in  those  particulars 
except  to  intensify  them.  By  its  terms  the  vestry  was  to 
"choose''  instead  of  to  "employ"  its  minister,  but  the  rights 
of  the  vestry  are,  if  anything,  strengthened:  in  this,  that  the 
vestry  may  make  its  contract  and  let  it  continue  in  force  until 
it  sees  fit  to  change  it.  L^ider  the  Act  of  1779  some  question 
may  have  arisen  whether  by  allowing  the  rector  to  remain  over 
his  time  he  had  not  acquired  a  fresh  term  of  at  least  one  year. 
Under  the  Act  of  1798.  no  such  question  can  possibly  arise.' 

*  The  following  is  the  syllabus  of  the  decision  in  that  case  of  Saint 
Matthew's  Parish  vs.  E.  H.  Bartlett,  et  al.— 75  Maryland  Reports,  p.  5. 

I.  Under  the  Act  of  1798,  Chapter  24,  incorporating  the  Vestries 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  and  vesting  in  tlicni  the  title  and 
possession   of   all   lands   and   properties   hclonging   to   tlic   Chnrcli.   the 


i86  COLOXIAL    MARYLAND 

Thus  did  the  Acts  of  1779  and  1798  settle  the  question  of 
"severing  the  pastoral  connection"  in  Maryland.  The  great 
principal  of  life  tenure  had  been  broken  in  upon.  Maryland 
had  had  her  full  share  of  experience  with  a  life  holding  clergy, 
and  when  she  came  to  legislate  upon  the  '"new  conditions", 
as  created  by  the  Revolution,  she  knew  her  mind  on  that 
subject  quite  as  clearly  as  upon  the  subject  of  civil  liberty. 

But,  to  remain  secure  in  the  rights  thus  established,  it 
was  deemed  necessary,  at  a  later  date,  to  also  procure  amend- 
ments to  the  general  canon — canon  of  the  "National  Church" 
— on  the  subject. 

As  already  stated,  the  English  ecclesiastical  law  not  being 
in  force  in  this  country,  except  as  adopted;  and,  there  being 
no  ecclesiastical  courts,  or  other  authority  to  deprive  a  clergy- 
man of  his  benefice,  and  the  English  law  in  that  regard,  being 
incapable  of  adoption ;  and,  there  being  no  statutes,  penal  or 
otherwise,  governing  the  subject  of  deprivation,  or  "dissolu- 
tion of  the  pastoral  connection",  it  became  necessary  that 
some  provision  on  the  subject  be  made,  either  by  the  National 

vestry  is  not  only  authorized  to  "choose"  or  appoint  a  minister,  but  his 
tenure  and  the  termination  of  his  pastoral  relations  are  the  subject 
matter   of  contract  between  the  vestry  and  himself. 

2.  That  Title  Second,  Canon  Fourth,  of  the  Canons  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  is  inconsistent  with  the  Act  of  Maryland 
of  1798,  and  is  therefore  not  in  force  in  the  State  of  Maryland. 

3.  That  in  this  case  the  vestry  engaged  the  rector  in  compliance 
with  the  Act  of  1798,  and  under  its  provisions,  having  contracted  to 
pay  him  a  certain  sum  per  year,  no  other  reference  to  time  being 
made,  it  was  a  contract  for  a  definite  time,  /.  c,  from  year  to  year,  and 
if  such  contract  had  been  made  for  an  indefinite  time  it  would  have  been 
one    to   be    determined    at    the    will    of    either   party. 

4.  That  in  the  case  before  the  court,  th-e  vestry  acted  within  their 
powers  under  the  law,  and  the  complainant,  Hipkins,  is  no  longer  rector 
of    the    parish    and    his    bill    is    dismissed. 

The  Act  of  1798  is  not  to  be  found,  it  is  true,  in  the  code.  But  the 
code  is  a  codification  of  the  pub.lic  general  laws  and  the  public  local 
laws.  This  Act  is  neither  a  public  general  law  nor  is  it  a  public  local 
law.  It  is  a  mere  private  Act  incorporating  the  vestries  of  a  particular 
religious  denomination,  private  corporations,  and  being  a  private  law  it 
was  not  and  could  not  properly  ])e  codified  as  part  of  the  public  general 
laws. 


CHURCH     E  S  T  A  L5  L  I  S  H  M  I-:  X  T  187 

Church,'or  by  the  cliurches  in  the  several  dioceses,  or  l)v  botli 
of  them. 

Now,  it  happened,  as  of  necessity,  that  the  National 
Church,  or  General  Convention,  was  formed  by  the  union  of 
churches  in  various  dioceses:  at  first,  Connecticut,  Xew  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  \'irginia, 
and  afterwards,  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire.'  With- 
out going-  into  the  subject  in  detail,  it  is  a  matter  of  common 
knowledge  that  the  National  Church  was  modeled  upon  the 
Union  of  the  States,  with  the  familiar  incidents  of  granted  and 
reserved  powers.  Graduall}-.  the  constitution  took  form  and 
the  body  of  canons  grew.' 

Until  1804,  however,  there  was  no  canon  dealing  with  the 
dissolution  of  the  pastoral  connection.  In  the  year  mentioned, 
there  was  presented  to  the  General  Convention,  the  memorial 
of  Trinity  Church,  New  Jersey,  respecting  "an  unhappy  dis- 
pute between  that  parish  and  its  rector".''  The  result — very 
much  as  it  would  have  been  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  in  a  political  matter  originally  unprovided  for — was  a 
legislative  provision,  much  deprecated  by  some,  but  thought 
necessary,  and,  therefore,  advisable  by  the  majority. 

The  object  was  to  govern  the  matter  of  severance  of  the 
pastoral  connection  by  general  law.  The  original  of  the 
canon,  "Title  H,  Canon  4",  was  the  outcome.  This  canon 
took  very  much  the  form  it  now,  has,  in  1832,  and  was  finally 
put  in  its  present  form,  in   1877.' 

That  canon  professedly  deals  with  the  dissolution  of  the 
pastoral  connection,  and  it  prescribes  a  method  for  bringing 
about  such  dissolution.  It  enacts,  in  fact,  that  no  rector  shall 
be  removed  from  his  own  parish  against  his  will,  except  as 
provided  by  the  canon.  And  it  proceeds  to  provide  that  if 
the  rector  does  not  want  to  go.  he  may  appeal  to  the  bishop, 
or  other  proper  ecclesiastical  authority,  who  shall  be  "the 
ultimate  arbiter  and  judge"  in  the  matter.     And  if  the  bishop, 

^  Andrews,  pp.  24,  30. 

"See    Bishop    White's    Memoirs,    Bisliop    Perry's    History    of    the 
American    Episcopal   Church;    Hawk's    Ecclesiastical    Constitutions. 
^  Bishop  White's  Memoirs ;    Perry's  Handbook,  p.   104. 
*  Digest   of  Canons. 


i88  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

should  decide  in  favor  of  the  rector,  and  the  parish  should  not 
submit,  the  parish  shall  thereupon  become  disqualified  "from 
representation  in  the  convention  of  the  diocese,  until  it  shall 
have  been  declared  by  the  ecclesiastical  authority  to  have  given 
satisfactory  guaranties  for  the  acceptance  of  and  compliance 
with  the  arbitration  and  judgment".  But  it  provides  also 
that  it  shall  not  be  in  force  in  any  diocese  with  whose  laws  it 
may  interfere. 

From  the  very  first,  the  right  of  the  National  Church,  or 
General  Convention,  to  make  canons  was  very  guardedly 
allowed  and  its  exercise  was  most  jealously  watched  by  the 
several  dioceses.' 

In  the  same  General  Convention  of  1804,  there  were 
adopted  canons  requiring  the  induction  of  ministers  to  entitle 
them  to  be  considered  as  "regularly  settled",  and  also 
providing  for  the  "dissolution  of  the  pastoral  connection". 
Because  the  provisions  of  these  canons  interfered  with  the 
rights  of  certain  of  the  dioceses  under  existing  local  law  and 
usage  they  were  so  qualified  at  the  very  next  convention,  as  to 
save  all  local  rights. 

Maryland  was  one  of  the  dioceses  afifected  by  the  canons 
mentioned.  Says  Bishop  White,  as  to  the  requirement  of 
induction :"  "In  Maryland  the  measure  interfered  directly 
with  the  vestry  law".  Hawks'  says,  in  relation  to  the  same 
matter:  "This  justly  gave  alarm  to  the  Maryland  Church. 
The  vestry  Act  had  settled  the  rights  of  ministers  as  parochial 
clergymen,  and  there  was  consequently  some  uncertainty,  to 
say  the  least,  as  to  the  legal  efifect  in  Maryland  of  an  induction 
*  *  *  *  In  1807,  therefore,  the  delegates  from  the  diocese  to 
the  General  Convention  were  instructed,  if  possible  to  have  the 
canon  relating  to  induction  reconsidered  *  *  In  1808  it  enacted 
that  the  canon  should  not  be  obligatory  on  the  church  in  those 
States  with  whose  usages,  laws  or  charters  it  interfered". 

In  as  full  a  sense -and  to  as  full  an  extent  the  canon  relat- 
ing to  the  "dissolution  of  the  pastoral  connection"  en- 
croached   upon    the    rights    of    the    Maryland    Church    and 

^Andrews,  pp.  58,  59.  "  Bisliop  White's  Memoirs,  p.  231. 

'Hawks,  pp.   363,  364.     . 


CHURCH     ESTABLISHMENT  1S9 

"interfered  directly  with  the  vestry  law",  which  allowed  the 
vestry  to  contract  at  pleasure  with  its  minister.  Accordingly, 
this  canon  was  also,  at  the  same  time,  similarly  amended  by 
the  provision  now  contained  in  section  four,  to  wit :  That  it 
shall  not  be  in  force  in  any  State,  with  whose  laws  it  may  be 
inconsistent/ 

That  these  canons  are  not  in  force  in  ^Maryland,  is  evi- 
denced by  another  most  significant  consideration.  The  Con- 
vention did  not  like  to  make  these  amendments,  and,  in  acting, 
used  these  words:  'Tt  is  understood  the  church  designs  not 
to  express  an  approbation  of  any  law^s  which  make  the  station 
of  a  minister  dependent  on  anything  else  than  his  own  sound- 
ness in  the  faith  or  worthy  conduct'"." 

In  the  light  of  the  Convention's  protest,  in  amending  the 
canons  under  consideration,  what  becomes  of  that  loose,  but 
not  uncommon  assertion,  that  life-tenure  of  the  clergy  is  the 
-universal  underlying  principle  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church?  Hoffman's  remarks  upon  the  relations  of  rector 
and  Vestry  in  New  York,  are  not  inappropriate  here  : 

"In  closing  this  important  branch  of  the  subject,  I  beg  to 
remark  that  clergymen  too  often  forget  the  new  and  peculiar 
relation  in  which  they  place  themselves,  when  the  church  they 
belong  to  has  been  incorporated  by  the  State.  Whenever  the 
provisions  of  such  statutes  expressly,  or  by  necessary  implica- 
tion, govern  his  relations  with  a  vestry  or  congregation,  or 
otherwise,  they  form  the  absolut'e  law  for  him''.'' 

Nothing  can  be  plainer  than  that,  view  the  case  as  we 
may,  we  are  thrown  upon  the  Maryland  vestry  law  for  a 
solution  of  the  question  at  issue. 

Under  that  law,  the  vestry  may  choose  a  minister  for  such 
time  as  it  may  think  proper,  and  may  agree  with  him  as  to 
salary  on  such  terms  and  conditions  as  it  may  think  reasonable 
and  proper;  and,  upon  the  expiration  of  the  contract,  the 
vestry  may  renew  it,  but  if  not  renewed,  the  vestry's  choice 
and  contract  shall  remain  until  it  declares  its  desire  to  make  a 
new  choice  or  contract. 

'Hoffman,  p.   122.  'Ibid,  p.  332. 

'  Ecclesiastical    Law   of   New    York,    p.    77. 


CHAPTER  XI 
Some  of  Maryland's  Early  Churches 

TN  1692,  the  Church  of  England  became,  by  law,  the  estab- 
lished Church  of  the  Province.  Provision  was  made  for 
dividing  the  several  counties  into  parishes,  the  election  of 
vestrymen  for  each,  and  the  imposition  of  a  poll  tax  of  40  lbs. 
of  tobacco  upon  all  the  taxable  inhabitants  of  each  parish,  for 
the  support  of  the  same." 

Under  this  Act,  the. counties  of  the  Eastern  Shore  were 
divided  into  thirteen  parishes,  as  follows:  Kent,  into  Saint" 
Paul  and  Kent  Island;  Cecil,  into  North  Sassafras  and  South 
Sassafras ;  Talbot,  into  Saint  Paul's,  Saint  Michael's,  and 
Saint  Peter's ;  Dorchester,  into  Great  Choptank  and  Dorches- 
ter ;  and  Somerset,  into  Coventry,  Somerset,  Stepney,  and 
Snow  Hill.  The  counties  of  the  Western  Shore  were  divided 
into  seventeen  parishes,  as  follows :  Anne  Arundel,  into  Saint 
Margaret's,  Westminster,  Saint  Anne's,  Saint  James',  and  All 
Hallow's ;  Baltimore,  into  Saint  George's,  Saint  John's  and 
Saint  Paul's;  Calvert,  into  All  Faith,  Saint  Paul's,  Christ 
Church,  and  All  Saints ;  Charles,  into  William  and  Mary, 
Port  Tobacco,  Durham,  and  Piscataway  or  Saint  John's;  and 
Saint  Mary's,  into  William  and  Mary,  and  King  and  Queen.' 

The  following  is  the  record  of  proceedings  for  the  laying 
out  of  Saint  Mary's  County  into  parishes: 

"To  his  Excellency  the  Governor  and  Council. 

"The  bounds  and  limits  of  Saint  Mary's  County  par- 
ishes laid  out  the  5th  day  of  September,  Anno  Dom.  1692,  by 
virtue  of  a  late  Act  of  Assembly  thereunto  directing,  are  as 

^  Act,   1692,   C.  2. 

"Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1692)  pp.  472-475;  Perry's  American  Colonial 
Church;  Old  Brick  Churches  in  Maryland,  pp.  34,  127,  128. 


EARLY     CHL'RCIIKS 


191 


follows;  viz :  •  It  was  by  the  Justices  and  Freeholders  of  the 
said  County,  for  the  aforesaid  end  and  purpose  met  at  Newton 
the  day  and  year  above  said,  and  then  and  there  agreed  that 
Saint  Mary's  County  be  divided  into  two  parishes,  and  that 
the  same  be  divided  between  Newtown  hundred  and  Clement's 
hundred  by  :\Ir.  Lang-worth's  (Saint  Clement's)  branch  which 
leads  to  Pottuxen  majn  road,  the  lower  whereof  to  be  called 
by  the  name  of  William  and  Mary  Parish,  and  the  upper,  by 
the  name  of  King  and  Queen  Parish. 

"Certified  from  the  records  of  Saint  Mary's  County  Court, 
this  2nd  day  of  March,  in  the  fifth  year  of  their  Majesty's 
Reign,  Anno  Dom.  1692. 

"P.  me  Henry  Denton,  CI.'" 

By  this  division,  William  and  Mary  Parish  embraced  all 
that  part  of  the  County  lying  between  Saint  Clements  Bay  and 
Point  Lookout,  its  boundaries  being,  the  Potomac  River,  Saint 
Clement's  Bay  and  River,  the  Calvert 'County  line  (then  near 
Three  Notched  road  to  Pyne  Hill  Run,  and  with  it  to  the  bay), 
and  the  Chesapeake  Bay  to  Point  Lookout.  And  thus  it 
continued,  until  Saint  Andrew's  Parish  was  erected  in  1745, 
when  the  upper  boundary  was  changed  to  Poplar  Hill  Creek, 
on  the  Potomac,  and  from  thence  by  a  line  through  Clifton 
Mills,  (the  Factory)  to  Legrand's  Creek  on  the  Patuxent. 
The  records  in  which  the  boundaries  of  the  Parishes  of  Saint 
Mary's  County  were  recorded,  perished  when  the  Court  House 
was  burned  in  183 1,  but  the  above  mentioned  line,  separating 
William  and  Mary  Parish  from  Saint  Andrews,  was  ascer- 
tained and  again  defined  in  185 1,  when  William  and  Mary  was 
divided  into  two  parishes — Saint  Mary's,  all  that  part  on  the 
east  side,  and  William  and  Mary — all  that  part  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Saint  Mary's  River,  the  latter  parish  extending  up 
the  County  to  a  line  drawn  from  Poplar  Hill  Creek  to  Clifton 
Mills,  and  the  former  to  a  line  drawn  from  Clifton  Mills  to 
Legrand's  Creek  on  the  Patuxent." 

The  first  Vestry  of  William  and  Mary  Parish,  elected  i6q2, 
was  composed  of  John  Campbell,  Kenelm  Cheseldine,  Robert 

'Archives   (Pro.  CI.  1692)   p.  474- 

'See  Proceedings,  P.  E.  Convention,  185 1. 


192  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Mason,  John  Watson,  Thomas  Beall  and  John  LlewelHn.'  Its 
first  Parish  Church  was  "Poplar  Hill  Church",  (now  known 
as  Saint  George's),  and  which  continued  to  occupy  the  same 
relation  to  the  parish  as  it  now  does  to  that  part  of  it  which 
still  bears  the  original  name. 

Of  this  venerable  old  edifice — erected  as  early  as  1642, 
and  the  second  Church  of  England  built  by  the  Maryland 
Colonists^ — unfortunately,  but  little  is  known.  Its  location, 
however,  is  still  susceptible  of  identification.  It  was  a  brick 
building,  and  stood  about  fifteen  feet  north  of  the  present 
Poplar  Hill  Church,  and,  as  indicated  by  its  still  visible  out- 
lines, its  dimensions  were  about  thirty-six  by  fifty  feet. 

The  present  church  was  erected,  it  is  said,  about  1750. 
The  early  records  of  the  parish  are  no  longer  accessible ;  but, 
in  the  Whittingham  Library,  there  are  a  few  extracts  taken 
from  them,  shortly  before  their  destruction  by  fire,  early  in 
the  present  century.  Among  them,  is  the  following  order  'for 
some  repairs  to  Poplar  Hill  Church : 

"At  a  Vestry  held  at  Poplar  Hill  Church,  April  10,  172 1. 
the  vestry  agreed  wth  Mr.  Josh  Doyne  to  repair  the  windows 
of  Poplar  Hill  Church.  Vizt.  To  make  four  iron  casements 
to  be  fitted  to  ye  middle  light  of  ye  side  windows,  and  to  find 
glass  for  what  is  wanting.  In  consideration  thereof,  to  allow 
the  said  Doyne  300  lbs.  of  Tobo  for  the  iron  casements,  and 
for  what  glass  is  new,  measured  from  end  to  end,  each  light 
at  12  lbs.  of  Tobo  pr  foot.  And  for  what  is  only  mended  by 
putting  Paises  of  glass  into  the  old  lead,  the  lights  to  be  meas- 
ured and  to  be  allowed  6  tbs.  of  Tobo  pr  foot". 

"Likewise  the  same  did  agree  with  Mr.  Josh  Doyne  to 
place  a  window  in  the  west  end  of  Poplar  Hill  Church,  6  foot 
square  from  out  to  out,  and  a  new  frame,  the  said  Doyne  to  be 
allowed  400  tbs.  of  Tob.  for  the  same". 

At  this  time,  Messrs.  Richard  Hopewell,  George  Clark. 
William  Harrison,  Anthony  Semmes,  William  Canoday,  and 
James  Waughop,  appear  to  have  been  the  vestrymen  of  the 
parish. 


Perry's  American  Colonial   Church. 

Who  Were  the  Early  Settlers  of  Maryland— Allen. 


E  A  R  L  Y     C  H  U  R  C  H  E  S 


193 


In  the  same  library,  is  the  followinj^  letter,  from  an  early 
rector  of  the  parish,  which  shows  a  cordial  and  liberal  response 
of  its  parishioners  to  the  appeal  of  Governor  Sharp  in  behalf 
of  the  suffering  people  of  Boston,  consequent  upon  the  destruc- 
tive fire  there,  in  1760: 

"May  it  please  your  Excellency  : 

"Since  my  letter  of  the  17th  instant,  I  received  last 
Sunday,  at  Poplar  .Hill  Church,  (quite  unexpected)  after 
divine  Service,  some  more  Money  on  Account  of  the  Sufferers 
by  the  late  dreadful  Fire  at  Boston.  I  thought 'it  incumbent 
on  me  to  acquaint  your  Excellency  of  any  further  Sum  that 
shou'd  be  collected ;  that  thereby  you  may  be  informed  of  the 
Donations  received  by  me.  The  Sum  total  now  amounts  to 
Seventeen  pounds  eleven  Shillings  and  four  pence  half  penny, 
which  I  have  paid  the  Sheriff  in  Obedience  to  your  Commands, 
and  am 

"Sir,  wi,th  the  greatest  Duty  and  Respect 
"Your  Excellency's  Most  obedient  and  humble  Servant, 

"Moses  Tabus. 
"St.  Mary's  County 

"June  ye  25th  1760. 

"To  his  Excellenc}-.'' 

In  1724,  the  Rev.  Leigh  Alassey  reported  to  the  Governor 
that  the  parish  contained  two  churches,  about  500  parishioners 
and  "an  extraordinary  giel^e  oT  400  acres,  but  the  house  very 
indifferent"'.' 

In  the  chancel  of  the  old  church  was  a  horizontal  slab, 
still  in  good  preservation,  containing  the  following  inscription : 
"Near  this  place  lyes  inter'd  the  Revd.  Mr.  Leigh  Massey.  He 
was  educated  at  Oxford,  Rector  of  this  Parish,  the  darling  of 
his  Flock  and  Beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  dyed  Janu- 
ary  10,   1732-3:  aged  2()"'     In  the  isle  which  led  from  the 

*  Perry's    American    Colonial,  Church. 

n'hc  Rev.  Leigh  Massey,  for  many  years  the  close  friend  and 
spiritual  adviser  of  Washington,  was  the  nephew  of  Mr.  Massey,  of 
Poplar  Hill.  He  married  the  daughter  of  the  distinguished  lawyer 
and  patriot  of  Virginia,  Georjzc  Johnston,  and   was  the  grandfather  of 


194  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

front  door  to  the  altar,  is  still  to  be  seen  another  slab, 
which  is  to  the  memory  of  Joseph  Holt  who  died  in  1701. 
Near  these,  was  discovered  in  1886,  several  inches  below  the 
surface,  a  rectangular  slab,  to  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Francis 
Sourton.  On  it  is  engraved  a  curiously  quartered  shield, 
supposed  to  be  his  coat-of-arms,  and  an  epitaph  in  latin, 
translated  as  follows:  "Francis  Sourtin  Anglican  of  Devon- 
shire, son  of  Francis  minister  of  evangelic  truth.  He  was 
sedulous  in  a  life  often  afflicted,  and  was  buried  in  1679". 
The  legend,  also  in  latin,  has  been  translated  thus,  "And 
thou  reader  living  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  keep  the  faith,  and 
thou  also,  though  dead,  shall  live".' 

In  1675,  Robert  Cager,  of  Saint  Mary's,  devised  his 
property  "for  the  maintenance  of  a  Protestant  ministery  in 
Poplar  Hill  and  Saint  George's  hundred.  The  following  year 
the  legislature  confirmed  the  devise,  and  vested  the  title  in  the 
Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Council  of  Saint  Mary's  City  in  trust  for 
said  purposes".^  A  part  of  this  endowment — one  of  the 
earliest  in  Maryland — is  the  present  glebe  of  Poplar  Hill 
Parish  (separated  from  William  and  Mary  Parish  in  1850)  a 
tract  of  400  acres,  which  still  retains  its  original  name  "Itch- 
comb  Freehold".  It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  one  of  the 
executors  of  the  will  of  Robert  Cager  was  Mr.  Francis  Sour- 
ton,'  of  Devonshire,  England.  In  1701,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Baker 
also  devised  to  the  parish  a  tract  of  100  acres,  called  "Town 
Land"  and  situated  near  Saint  Marv's  Citv.^ 


the  late  Major  John  T.  Stoddert,  of  "Wicomico,"  Charles  County, 
Maryland.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a -ripe  scholar  and  a  great  wit. 
It  is  recorded  of  him  that,  he^  retired  from  the  law,  because  his  "con- 
science would  not  suffer  him  to  make  the  worst  appear  the  better 
reason ;''  ceased  preaching  because  of  the  "loss  of  his  fore  teeth ;" 
withdrew  from  medicine,  because  he  practiced  without  charge,  because 
he  was  "sent  for  by  everybody,"  and  declined  a  judgship,  because  it 
"took  him  too  much  frorn'his  family."  He  died  in  1814,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-six  years.^See  interesting  letters  about  him 
from    Major  J.   T.    Stoddert,   in   Meades   Virginia. 

^  For  data  as  to  Trinity  Church,  on  Trinity  Creek,  and  the  old 
State  House  at  Saint  Mary's,  which  was  dedicated  to  public  worship, 
and  both  within  the  limits  of  this  parish.— See  pp.  39,  40,  75,  76. 

-Archives,    Act,    1676,    p.    531.  ,  'Ibid. 

*Will,  Will  Record  Saint  Mary's  County. 


EARLY     CHURCHES  195 

A'  few  large,  well  bound  and  handsomely  marked  volumes 
of  the  old  "Parish  Library"  established  in  1701  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Bray,  Commissary  of  Maryland,  have  been  preserved." 

As  the  early  records  have  perished,  the  names  of  the 
clergymen  who  officiated  within  the  limits  of  the  parish,  before, 
as  well  as  after  its  organization,  and  obtained  from  other 
sources,  are  here  given. 

As  early  as  16^9,  the  Rev.  Thomas  White  was  at  Saint 
Mary's,  and  while  there  married  John  Hallis  and  Restitua 
Tu€,*  servants  of  Cornwaleys,  and  which  is  believed  to  be  the 
first  protestant  marriage  ceremony  performed  in  Maryland. 
In  1650,  the  Rev.  William  Wilkinson — the  first  permanent 
protestant  minister  in  the  Province — came  to  ^taryland, 
located  in  Saint  George's  hundred  and  for  thirteen  years 
officiated  at  Poplar  Hill  and  Saint  Mary's."  He  died  in  1663, 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Francis  Sourton.  Mr.  Sourton 
was  probably  in  the  parish  as  early  as  1676.*  He  died  in  1679.' 
In  1683,  the  Rev.  Duel  Pead  was  in  the  Parish,  and  in  Novem- 
ber of  that  year  the  Legislature  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to 
him  "for  the  learned  sermon  preached  before  the  two  Houses 
of  Assembly  on  the  14th  inst"."  In  1689,  the  Rev.  Paul 
Bertrand,  who  four  years  before  had  been  sent  from  England 
to  Calvert  County,  in  response  to  the  petition  of  Mary  Taney," 
was  at  Poplar  Hill,'  and  in  1692,  when  the  Parish  was  formally 
organized,  the  Rev.  Thomas  t)avis  was  in  charge.*  He  was 
succeeded  in  turn,  by  the  Revs.  James  Crawford  in  1694," 
Peregrine  Coney  in  1696,"  Ben j amine  Nobbs  in  1700,"  Joseph 
Holt  in  1701,''  Henry  Jennings  in  1706,"  Leigh  Massey  in 
1723  (died  there  in  1733),''  Lawrence  De  Butts  in  1735  (died 

*  In  the  possession  of  Mrs.   Charles  Grason.- 

"Rev.  George  A.  Leakin,  in  Maryland  Churchman,  September, 
1892;  Neill,  p.  78- 

'Day    Star,  p.    145.  'See   Will.    Robert   Cagcr. 

'See  tombstone  at  Poplar  Hill.         'Arch.  (Ass.  Pro.)  pp.  483,  562. 
'Gambrall,   p.   67.  *  Rev.    M.    H.    Vaiighan. 

"Allen.  '"Ibid.  "  Scharf,  i,  p.  352- 

'Mbid,   p.    366.  "Allen.  'Mbid. 

"Act,   1723;   Tombstone  at   Poplar   Hill. 


196  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

there  in  1752)  ;'  Moses  Tabbs  in  1752,  and  served  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1776;'  Rev.  Joseph  Messenger,  of 
Saint  Andrews  Parish,  officiated  in  WilHam  and  Mary  after 
the  death  of  Mr.  Tabbs  and  until  1786;^  Rev.  Benjamine 
Sebastine  in  1786,  from  Christ  Church,  Calvert  County;' 
Rev.  James  Simpson,  from  1788  to  1793;  Rev.  Andrew 
Elliott  in  1795;  Rev.  Charles  Smoot,  made  Deacon  by 
Bishop  Claggett,  June,  1793,  Priest,  November,  1795,  (died 
there  in  1805)  ;  Rev.  Francis  Barclay,  from  1808  to  1810;  Rev. 
James  Jackson,  from  1812  to  1816;  Rev.  John  Brady,  from 
1816  to  1822  (died  there  in  1822)  ;  Rev.  R.  Kearny,  from  1824 
to  1828;°  Rev.  H.  N.  Hotchkiss,  in  1829,  during  whose  min- 
istry the  proposition  to  pull  down  the  old  State  House  at 
Saint  Mary's  was  carried.  He  is  said  to  have  displaced  the 
first  bricks,  died  a  few  days  thereafter  and  is  buried  in  the 
Northwest  corner  of  the  lot  upon  which  it  stood." 

The  interesting  and  valuable  early  records  of  King  and 
Queen  Parish,  in  Saint  Mary's  County,  have  been  destroyed, 
and  all  that  can  now  be  obtained  of  its  earlier  history,  must  be 
gathered  from  scattered  documents,  references,  and  legislative 
enactments.' 

When  it  was  first  laid  out,  it  extended  from  Saint  Clem- 
ents Bay  and  Run  to  the  extreme  northern  end  of  the  county, 
and  then  defined,  and  which  embraced  within  its  limits,  the 
territory  known  as  "Newport  Hundred",  now  a  part  of 
Charles  County.  Its  boundaries  were  Saint  Clements  Bay 
Run  (the  latter  then  called  Langworth's  Branch),  the  Calvert 
County  line  (then  near  the  Three  Notched  Road)  to  the  upper 
extremity  of  Newport  Hundred,  thence  to  the  head  waters  of 
Wicomico  "River  (now  Zachiah  Swamp)  and  with  the  Wicom- 
ico and  Potomac  Rivers  to  the  beginning.'    • 

^  Maryland    Gazette,    July    9,    1752.  -  Allen. 

^Ibid;    Saint    Andrew's    Records.  ''Allen. 

'Ibid.  "Pilate  and  Herod,   13. 

'  The  substance  of  this  sketch  of  King  and  Queen  Parish,  was 
given  to  "The  Church  Militant,"  the  oflficial  organ  of  the  Bishop  of 
Washington,   and  was  published  by  it  in   December    1898. 

'Archives    (CI.    Pro.    1694)    p.   475.      x. 


EARI.V     CHURCHES  197 

In'  1706,"  Newport  Hundred  was  taken  away,  and  united 
to  William  and  Mary  Parish,  in  Charles  County,'  but,  in  171 5, 
"it  appearing  that  the  severance  had  been  obtained  by  mis- 
representation", it  was  again  united  to  King  and  Queen 
Parish,"  where  it  remained  until  1748.  In  1744,  an  Act  wa> 
passed  to  unite  all  that  part  of  King  and  Queen  Parish  lying 
in  Charles  County,  to  Trinity  Parish,  in  said  County."  The 
Act  went  into  effect  in  1748,'  thus  making  the  dividing  line 
between  Charles  and  Saint  Mary's,  the  upper  boundary  of  the 
parish,  as  it  is  to-day.  In  1745,  the  lower  boundary  of  the 
parish  was  extended  down  to  Bretton's  Bay  and  Run,  its  east- 
erly boundary,  as  established  at  the  same  time,  being  a  line 
drawn,  north  42^/3  degrees  west,  from  Major  Barnes  mill 
(on  Bretton's  Bay  Run,  about  half  a  mile  above  tlie  plank 
bridge),  to  the  upper  extremity  of  the  county,''  but,  in  1748, 
on  complaint  to  the  General  Assembly,  that  the  latter  line 
"did  not  leave  to  King  and  Queen  Parish  a  proportionable 
number  of  taxable  inhabitants",  it  was  changed,  and  a  line 
running  north  36  degrees  west,  fro  m]\Iajor  Barnes'  mill,  was 
adopted  in  its  stead,"  and  became  the  permanent  dividing  line 
between  the  Parishes  of  King  and  Queen  and  All  Faith. 

The  first  parish  church  was  probably  Newport  Church,  then 
located  in  about  the  centre  of  the  parish.  In  1735,  the  rector, 
vestry,  and  church  wardens,  were  authorized  by  the  General 
Assembly  "to  purchase  two  acres  of  ground  to  build  a  church 
on,  in  that  part  of  the  parish  lying  in  Saint  Mary's  County, 
and  to  raise  a  fund,  as  well  as  to  complete  the  said  purchase 
and  building,  as  to  repair  Newport  Church  within  said  parish".' 
The  following  year  a  special  assessment  was  ordered  for  these 
purposes,  and  the  freeholders  of  the  parish  were  directed  to 
meet  "in  order  to  choose  a  place  to  build  the  said  church 
upon".*  The  place  selected  was  Chaptico,  and  the  churcli 
was  completed  in  1737.  It  is  a  capacious  brick  buil5:ling.  with 
steep  roof,  arched  windows,  and  recess  chancel.     The  ceiling. 

'Act,  1706,  C.  7-  'Act,   1715.  C.  13. 

'Act,  1744.  C.   14-  'Act,   1748,   C.  9- 

'Act,  1745.  C.  4-  'Act,   1748.   C.   4- 

'Act,  1735.  C.   9-  'Act.   1736.   C.    13. 


198  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

from  front  to  rear,  on  both  sides,  is  square  to  the  outer  Hnes 
of  the  chancel,  and  is  supported  by  corinthian  cohmins.  From 
these  square  ceilings,  an  arched  middle  ceiling  rises  at  a  grace- 
ful angle,  and,  with  the  chancel  ceiling,  forms  an  arched 
ceiling  through  the  entire  middle  of  the  building.  It  still 
stands,  is  in  excellent  preservation,  and  is  an  uncommonly 
handsome  specimen  of  colonial  church  architecture. 

In  1750,  an  Act  was  passed  for  the  erection  of  "a  chapel 
of  ease  in  King  and  Queen  Parish,  in  which  the  minister  is  to 
officiate  every  third  Sunday".^  This  chapel  was  a  frame 
building;  was  called  All  Saints,  and  was  located  on  the  site 
of  the  church  still  bearing  that  name,  but  built  within  the 
present  century,  and  said  to  be  the  third  in  order  erected  on 
that  site. 

A  little  below  x^ll  Saints,  on  Saint  Paul's  Creek,  stood 
the  little  Episcopal  Church  of  Saint  Clement's  Manor,  erected 
as  early  as  1642 — the  third  Protestant  church  built  by  the 
Maryland  colonists.^  The  land  for  the  site  of  this  church, 
and  a  glebe,  was  given  by  Thomas  Gerrard,  the  lord  of  Saint 
Clements  Manor.  He  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  his  wife, 
Susannah,  a  sister  of  Justinian  Snow,  was  a  Protestant,''  and 
under  her  auspices  the  chapel  was  built.  How  long  this  little 
memorial  of  English  church  life  in  early  Maryland  stood,  is 
not  known.  In  1696,  the  Council  ordered  the  vestry  of  King 
and  Queen  Parish  "to  have  the  bounds  settled  of  the  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  given  to  the  church  by  Thomas  Ger- 
rard"." No  mention  is  made  of  the  chapel' at  that  time,  and, 
as  another  one  had  been  built  elsewhere,  it  may  be  assumed 
that  it  had  disappeared. 

The  latter  chapel  was  at  Wicomico  (between  Plowden's 
Wharf  and  Bluff  Point),  the  stream  on  which  it  stood  still 
being  known  as  "Church  Run".  In  1696,  Captain  Gerard 
Slye  complained  to  the.  Council  "that  the  chapel  built  for  the 
parish  at  Wicomico  was  on  his  land",''  and  asked  that  it  be 

^Act,    1750,   C.   21. 

''Who  Were   the   Early    Settlers   of   Maryland,  p.   29. 

'Day  Star,  p.  55.  "Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1696).  'Ibid. 


EARLY     C  11  UR  CUES 


199 


removed.  This,  however,  was  not  done,  and  the  chapel  was 
still  standing  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  It  was 
erected  in  1694.  'On  July  30th,  of  that  year,  it  was  reported 
to  the  Council  "that  it  was  then  going  forward  to  be  built 
nigh  Captain  Coades'" — the  Ijluff  Point  estate  before  men- 
tioned. 

In  1750,  the  vestry  was  authorized  to  sell  the  glebe  land 
given  by  Thomas  Gerrard,  and  to  purchase  a  glebe  nearer  the 
centre  of  the  parish.'-  In  1654,  William  Marshall  gave  "three 
heifers",  from  which  a  stock  of  cattle  was  to  be  raised  "for 
the  maintenance  of  a  minister  which  is  to  be  in  the  now 
known  neck  of  Wicomico".'  This,  and  the  donation  of  land 
by  Doctor  Gerrard,  are  worthy  of  mention  as  the  first  church 
endowments  in  Maryland.  That  part  of  the  parish  'in  which 
the  several  chapels  above  referred  to  were  located,  is  now 
wathin  the  limits  of  All  Saints'  Parish,  carved  out  of  King  and 
Queen,  and  erected  in  1893. 

Among  the  fragmenT:ary  extracts  from  the  early  records 
of  the  parish,  preserved  in  the  "Whittingham  Library",  is  a 
reference  to  the  purchase  in  1770  of  "one  silver  Chalice  Cup 
and  cover",  "a  marble  font  and  pedestal,  two  Baskerville's 
Bibles,  two  Royal  Common  Prayer  Books,  with  Psalms,  and 
two  pulpit  cushions".  Whether  the  handsome  communion 
service  and  marble  font  now  in  use  at  Chaptico  church  were  a 
part  of  this  purchase,  has  not  been  definitely  ascertained.  A 
tradition  prevails  that  they  were  presented  to  the  parish  by 
Queen  Anne,  and  that  the  service  and  font  purchased  in  1770, 
were  for  All  Saints'  Chapel.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  suscepti- 
ble of  proof  that  a  separate  communion  service  and  font  were 
in  use  at  the  chapel  from  an  early  date  and  the  further  fact 
that  there  is  no  evidence  extant  of  the  purchase  of  any  other 
service  for  the  parish,  lends  color  to  this  much  cherished  tradi- 
tion.*     In    1773,    an    organ,    said    to    have    been    a    superior 

'CI.    Pro.    1694.  'Act,    1750,   G.    17- 

'Archives    (Pro.  Ct.)    p.  393- 

*  Ridgely,    in    her    excellent    work,    "The    Old    Brick    Churches    of 
Maryland,"    says:    "the    design   of   this   church,    simple   but    in    perfect 


200  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

instrument  for  that  clay,  was  purchased  for  Chaptico  Church. 
The  following  year  the  General  Assembly  authorized  an 
annual  levy  of  five  pounds  of  tobacco  per  poll,  to  be  made  for 
the  support  of  an  organist.^  This  is  one  of  the  few  instances 
in  Alaryland  in  which  a  church  organist  was  paid  by  a  general 
taxation.  In  1813,  the  British  broke  into  Chaptico  Church, 
and  in  addition  to  other  depredations,  completely  destroyed 
this  old  organ. 

The  first  vestry  of  King  and  Queen  Parish  (1692)  was 
•composed  of  Nehemiah  Blackston,  Richard  Clouds,  John  Dent, 
Philip  Briscoe,  John  Coade  and  John  Bartcroft."  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  American  Revolution  the  vestry  consisted  of 
John  Eden,  William  Thomas,  Hanson  Briscoe,  Zachary  Bond, 
John  Dent,  Thomas  Bond  and  John  Briscoe.^ 

The  first  minister  in  the  parish,  after  its  organization  as 
such  in  1692,  was  the  Rev.  Christopher  Platts.'  In  1715,  the 
Rev.  John  Donaldson  was  inducted  rector  of  the  parish.  In 
his  report  to  the  Governor  in  1724,  he  stated  that  he  had  been 
in  the  parish  nine  years,  and  that  it  contained  two  churches,  a 
glebe  and  two  hundred  families."  that  "the  Parish  is  36  miles 
long  and  about  7  miles  wide".  Mr.  Donaldson  remained 
rector  of  the  parisli  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1747." 
He  .was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Brown.  In  1761.  it 
was  proposed  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Swift  of  Port  Tobacco  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Brown  of  King  and  Queen,  exchange  parishes. 
In  writing  Lord  Baltimore  on  the  subject, .Governor  Sharpe 
took  occasion  to  say,  "that  the  Parishioners  of  Port  Tobacco 
Parish  have  nothing  against  Mr.  Swift  except  that  he  is  a  very 
poor  and  heavy  preacher,  and  in  that  respect  they  would  be  no 
better  off  with  the  Rev.   Mr.   Brown".'     The  exchange  was 

harmony,  is  attributed  to  no  less  a  personage  than  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  the  architect  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  London."  As  Sir  Chris- 
topher Wren  died  in  1723,  this  error  must  have  proceeded  from  an  un- 
certainty of  the  date  at  which  the  Church  was  erected — 1735. 

'Act,    1774.    C.    7- 

"  Perry's    American    Colonial    Church.  ^  Hanson. 

'  .Scharf,  i,  p.  366.  ,°  Perry's  American  Colonial  Church. 

"  Bacon.  '  Archives,  Sharpe"^  Correspondence,  p.  529. 


KARLV     CHURCHES  201 

not  marie,  and"  Mr.  Brown  remained  in  the  parish  until  1773. 
when  he  resigned.  His  successor  was  the  then  Curate,  the 
Rev.  George  Goldie,'  who  continued  to  till  the  position  as 
rector  of  the  parish  until  the  Revolution.  There  is  some 
evidence,  indeed,  tending  to  show  that  he  remained  in  the 
parish  until  the  time  of  his  death,  1791,  with  the  exception  of 
the  year  1776,  but  this  has  not  been  definitely  ascertained. 
Mr.  Goldie  was  licensed  by  the  Bishop  of  London  in  February. 
1766,  and  had  been  Ctirate  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bacon  in  All 
Saints'  Parish,  Frederick  County.' 

Formerly  there  was  situated  on  the  northerly  side  of 
the  church,  and  near  the  front,  a  frame  vestry-house,  sur- 
mounted by  a  belfry,  and  which  was  used  also  as  a  school 
building.  At  the  rear  of  the  church,  and  immediately'  beyond 
the  chancel  is  the  Key  vault,  over  the  entrance  to  which  is  a 
stone  bearing  the   family  coat-of-arms. 

The  record  of  the  proceedings  for  the  laying  out  of  All 
Faith  Parish  is  as  follows :  "At  a  Court  held  at  Benedict — 
Leonardtown,  the  14th  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  God,  1692,  and  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  our 
sovereign  Lord  and  Lady,  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  King  and  Queen  of  England.  Scotland. 
France  and  Ireland,  defenders  of  the  faith,  etc..  by  the  justices 
therein,  authorized  and  appointed,  together  with  the  most 
principle  freeholders  thereunto  'called  for  the  laying  out  of 
Parishes  on  the  east  side  of  the  Patuxent  River,  in  Calvert 
County,  being  in  obedience  to  an  Act  of  Assembly,  entitled  an 
Act  for  the  service  of  Almighty  God,  and  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Protestant  Religion  in  this  Province,  made  at  the 
City  of  St.  Mary's,  the  loth  day  of  May.  Anno  Dom.  1692. 
present,  Mr.  Thomas  Tasker,  Mr.  Thomas  Holliday.  Mr. 
John  Bigger.  Mr.  Francis  Hutchins,  Mr.  James  Keech.  Mr. 
William  Parker,  and  Mr.  Francis  Freeman,  commissioners 
*  *  *  *,It  is  concluded  and  agreed  on  by  the  justices  above 
named  and  by  the  principal  freeholders  at  the  time  and  place 

'  Extract   in    Whittingham    Lilirary. 
"History,    Western    Maryland,    i,    p.    505. 


202  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

above  said,  met  together :  that  from  the  main  branch  of 
Swanston  Creek  to  the  lower  part  of  Harvey  Hundred,  be  in 
one  parish,  the  church  of  the  said  parish  being  already  built, 
standing  by  the  fork  of  Trent  Creek,  called  by  the  name  of 
All  Faith  Church.  This  remarkable  name  was  probably  cor- 
rupted from  Alt  Faith,  Alt  being  an  old  English  word  synon- 
ymous with  old,  meaning,  the  Old  Faith.  The  vestrymen 
appointed  and  chosen  by  the  principal  freeholders,  met  to- 
gether at  the  time  and  place  above  said,  being  Capt.  James 
Keech,  Mr.  John  Smith,  Mr.  Richard  Sotheron,  Mr.  John 
Gillam,  Mr.  Charles  Ashcom,  Mr,  Richard  Gardner.  Very 
Copia  pr  Henry  Jowles,  Clk.  of  Calvert  County".'' 

In  1695,  the  territory  embraced  within  the  limits  of  All 
Faith  Parish,  lying  between  Indian  Creek  and  the  lower  part 
of  Harvey  hundred,  was  annexed  to  Saint  Mary's  County,^ 
and  in  1744  that  part  of  the  parish  lying  north  of  Indian 
Creek,  was  united  to  Trinity  Parish  in  Charles  County,*  thus 
leaving  the  whole  of  All  Faith  Parish  within  the  domain  of  St. 
Mary's  County. 

The  first  westerly  boundary  of  the  parish,  was  the  original 
dividing  Hne  between  Saint  Mary's  County  and  Calvert  County, 
and  this  continued  for  many  years  and  until  the  new  dividing 
lines  between  All  Faith  and  King  and  Queen  Parishes,  fully 
described  in  sketch  of  the  latter  parish,  were  established.  The 
southerly  boundary  of  the  parish,  was  in  1745,  changed  from 
the  lower  part  of  Harvey  Hundred  to  Bretton's  Bay  run,  the 
line  as  thus  adopted,  extending  from  Major  Barnes'  mill  to 
Coles  Creek  on  the  Patuxent  River. 

In  1765,  the  Justices  of  Saint  Mary's  County  were  directed 
by  the  Assembly  to  make  a  levy  of  120,000  lbs.  of  tobacco  for 
the  use  of  the  vestry  of  All  Faith  Parish,  who  were  authorized 
to  "build  a  new  church  where  the  old  one  stands"  and  also  to 
"purchase  from  Mr.  Thomas  Reeder  an  acre  of  the  land 
whereon  John  Knott  formerly  lived,  and  to  contract  for  build- 

^  Archives    (Pro.    CI.    1692)    p.   473. 

^Act,  1695,  C.  13.  ^,  ^Act,  1744,  C.   14. 


EARLY     C  H  L"  R  C  H  E  S  203 

ing  thereon  a -chapel  of  ease".'  The  old  parish  church  was 
pulled  down  and  a  handsome  brick  edifice,  still  in  excellent 
preservation,  was  erected  on  the  same  site. 

The  land  upon  which  All  Faith  Church  stands  was  donated 
it  appears,  by  Mr.  John  Price,  who  gave  one  acre  of  ground 
for  that  purpose,  and  to  enlarge  the  lot,  Mr.  James  Keech,  in 
I734>  gave  an  additional  half  acre.' 

The  one  acre  of  ground  for  the  "Chapel  of  Ease" 
provided  for  in  the  Act  of  1765,  was  purchased  and  the  Chapel 
erected.  It  was  known  as  the  "Red  Church"  and  stood  on 
the  west  side  of  the  public  road  leading  from  Saint  Josephs  to 
Oakville,  about  fifty  yards  from  the  road,  and  about  two 
hundred  yards  below  the  fork  made  by  the  conjunction  of  the 
Patuxent  road  with  it.  This  little  chapel  has  long  since  dis- 
appeared, and  lives  only  in  the  memory  of  a  few,  but  its  site, 
and  that  of  the  adjoining  graveyard,  although  sadly  neglected, 
and  now  covered  with  a  wild  and  luxuriant  forest  growth,  are 
still  discernible. 

There  had  been  a  Chapel  of  Ease  in  the  parish  from  a 
much  earlier  date.  It  was  located  on  the  east  side  of  the  "three 
notched  road",  near  what  is  known  as  ''Sandy  Bottom",  then 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  parish.  When,  however,  the  bounds 
of  the  parish  were  curtailed  in  1745,  this  little  chapel  fell  with- 
in the  limits  of  Saint  Andrew's,  and  for  further  particulars  of 
it,  see  the  account  of  that  parish.  . 

In  1724,  the  Rev.  Robert  Scott,  the  then  rector,  reported 
to  the  Governor  that  the  parish  contained  "two  churches 
about  twenty  miles  apart",  a  "glebe  with  a  small  house  on 
it",  "two  setts  of  communion  service,  tw^o  flaggons,  cushions 
and  valance  for  the  pulpit"  besides  "152  protestant  and  ^2 
popish  families"." 

In  May,  1734.  the  Rev.  Arthur  Holt  wrote  the  Bishop  of 
London  that  "he  had  been  inducted  in  the  parish  that  year", 
and  that  though  in  "most  respects  an  agreeable  position",  it 

'Act,   1765,   C.  5- 

"  Records,  All  Faith  Parish. 

^  Perry's    American    Colonial    Church. 


204  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

was  "such  a  laborious  one",  that  he  was  compelled  to  ask  to 
be  relieved  from  the  charge.  The  parish,  he  stated  "is  but 
little  short  of  60  miles  in  length,'  and  is  very  mountainous  and 
hilly.  One  Lord's  day  I  must  ride  (going  and  coming)  about 
14  miles,  and  the  next  about  34  miles.  My  congregations  are 
much  larger  than  my  two  churches  can  hold,  so  that  the  people 
are  obliged  to  crowd  at  the  outside  of  the  doors  and 
windows".^ 

Than  the  last  mentioned  fact,  it  may  be  added,  no  other 
evidence  is  necessary  to  establish  the  position  which  Mr.  Holt 
occupied  in  the  parish  as  a  pulpit  orator,  whatever  may  be  the 
consensus  of  opinion  upon  his  unwillingness  to  traverse  the 
"gentle   hills  and   beautiful  valleys"   of  the   lower   Patuxent.' 

The  clergymen  who  officiated  in  All  Faith  from  its  organi- 
zation as  a  parish  to  the  Revolution,  were  Rev.  Thomas  Davis,' 
1694;  William  Dacres,  (clerk  of  the  vestry)  1695;  Rev.  Mr. 
Plats,  (six  sermons  at  500  tbs.  of  tobacco  per  sermon)  1698; 
Rev.  Benjamine  Nobbs,  (minister  for  lower  half  of  parish 
officiated  occasionally  at  the  Parish  church)  1698,  1699  and 
1700;  Rev.  Joseph  Holt,  (six  sermons)  1701 ;  Rev.  George 
Tubman,  (four  sermons)  1702;  Rev.  George  Trotter,  (one 
year)  1703;  Rev.  .  Mr.  White,  (six  sermons  on  Saturdays) 
1707;  Rev.  Henry  Jennings,  (at  the  chapel  one  year)  1708; 
Rev.  Robert  Scott,  served  from  1708  to  time  of  his  death, 
1733,  with  Rev.  Hugh  Jones  as  assistant,  at  both  churches 
from  1730  to  1733;  Rev.  Arthur  Holt,  (one  year)  1734;  Rev. 
John  Urquhart.  served  from  1734  to  time  of  his  death,  1764; 
Rev.   Mr.   Lander,    (eleven   months,   preaching  every   second 


Mbid. 

"In  1719,  the  vestry,  through,  Thomas  T.  Greenfield,  purchased  in 
London,  at  a  cost  of  £25,  15s.  "two  silver  Chalices,  two  silver 
Patens,  two  pewter  bottle  Flagons  washed  with  gold  or  laqncr." 
In  1725  Robert  Stoiirton  bequeathed  to  the  upper  church  of  the 
parish  a  silver  tankard  weighing  35  ounces.  In  1840  the  vestry  passed 
an  order  to  have  "the  plate  belonging  to  tlic  church  repaired  or  ex- 
changed" the  result  of  which  order  was  that  the  old  plate  was  ex- 
changed for  a  new  silver  Chalice,  Flagon  and  -Paten,  each  piece  being 
marked  "All  Faith  Church  1840."— RecoYd  All  Faith  Parish. 


E  A  R  L  Y     CHURCHES  203 

►  ■     - 

Sunday  only) '1764;  Rev.  John  Stephens,  Curate,  from   1765 

to  1769;  Mr.  Stephens  was  inducted  Rector  by  Governor  VaWu 

in  1769,  and  served  until  1777,  when  he  resigned.' 

In  1744,  an  Act  of  Assembly  was  passed  directing  the 
Justices,  Sherifif,  and  Surveyor  of  Saint  Mary's  County,  to  lay 
out  a  new  parish  in  the  county,  thus  increasing  the  number  to 
four.  The  Commissioners  were  to  meet  in  Leonardtown  on  or 
before  the  20th  of  August  of  that  year,  and  to  give  twenty 
days  notice  of  such  meeting.^  This  Act  not  having  been 
executed  within  the  time  prescribed,  the  followfng  year  a 
supplementary  Act  was  passed,  under  which  new  commis- 
sioners were  appointed,  and  the  county  laid  out  into  four 
parishes."  The  new  parish  thus  formed,  was  called  Saint 
Andrews,  and  was  made  up  of  parts  of  All  Faith  and  William 
and  Mary  Parishes,  the  dividing  line  between  it.  All  Faith  and 
King  and  Queen,  being  Bretton's  Bay  and  Run,  and  a  line 
drawn  from  Major  Barney'  mill  on  said  Run  to  Coles'  Creek 
on  the  Patuxent,  and  the  one  separating  it  from  William  and 
Mary,  being  a  line  drawn  from  Legrande's  Creek,  on  the 
Patuxent,  to  a  point  on  the  Potomac,  it  is  said,  between 
Hampton  and  Tower  Hill. 

While  the  parish  was  tiins  formally  laid  out  at  that  time, 
the  division,  it  appears,  did  not  actually  take  place  until  after 
the  death  of  the  then  incumbents  of  the  two  parishes  from 
which  it  was  carved,  the  Rev.  *Mr.  Urquhart,  of  All  Faith, 
continuing  to  serve  in  that  part  severed  from  his  parish,  as  did 
also  the  Rev.  Mr.  DeButts,  of  William  and  Mary.  In  1753. 
the  General  Assembly  authorized  the  parishioners  "in  that 
part  of  the  parish  made  vacant  b\-  the  death  of  the  Rev. 
Lawrence  DeButts,  to  elect  a  vestry,  church-wardens  and 
inspectors  for  such  vacant  part".'  In  September  of  the  same 
year  this  was  done,  the  Rev.  Moses  Tabbs  of  W'illiam  and 
Mary  agreeing  to  officiate  temporarily  in  such  vacant  part  of 
the  parish.     He  was  succeeded   there   in    1757,  by  the   Rev. 

'  Records  of  .Ml  Faith  Parish. 

''Act,  1744,  C.  14.  "Act.   1745,  C.  4. 

*  Act,    I7S.1.    C.    19. 


2o6  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Alexander  Williamson,  who  in  turn  was  followed,  in  1761, 
by  the  Rev.  Clement  Brooke.  The  place  of  worship  for  that 
part  of  the  parish  was  the  Court  House  at  Leonardtown,  while 
that  for  the  Patuxent  side  was  the  little  chapel  at  Sandy 
Bottom,  or  the  "Four  Mile  Run  Church"  as  it  was  called, 
and  which  had  hitherto  been  the  Chapel  of  Ease  of  All  Faith 
Parish. 

Upon  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Urquhart  of  All  Faith,  in 
1764,  Saint  Andrew's  Parish  was  organized  for  the  first  time, 
by  the  election  of  a  vestry,  etc.,  for  the  entire  parish,  and  the 
Rev.  Francis  Lauder,  by  appointment  of  Governor  Sharpe,  was 
inducted  as  its  first  minister.  Steps  were  then  taken,  looking 
to  the  erection  of  a  parish  church,  and  in  1765,^  the  General 
Assembly  authorized  a  levy  of  200,000  lbs.  of  tobacco,  for 
the  purpose.  The  site  selected  for  the  new  church  was, 
"Waldrums  Old  Fields".'  Two  acres  of  this  land  was 
purchased  of  Samuel  Bellwood,  the  then  owner,  the  price  paid 
being  £$  currency.  The  architect  was  Mr.  Richard  Boulton; 
the  contractors  were  Messrs.  Samuel  Abell,  sr.,  Samuel  Abell, 
jr.,  and  Stourton  Edwards ;  the  contract  price  being  160,000  lbs. 
of  tobacco,  and  f  100  sterling.  The  specifications  called  for  a 
"brick  building,  fifty-five  feet  long  in  the  clear,  exclusive  of 
the  chancel,  and  forty  feet  wide  in  the  clear,  with  a  porch  in 
front  connecting  two  pyramids,  or  low  towers,  which  orna- 
mented each  front  corner  of  the  church ;  the  walls  to  be  three 
bricks  thick  to  the  water  table,  and  two  bricks  thick  above; 
the  aisles  to  be  laid  with  flagstone,  and  the  ceiling  to  be  square 
on   the   sides  and   arched   in   the  center".     The   unique   and 

^  Act,-  1765.   C.  4- 

^  A  tradition  prevails  in  the  parish,  that  when  the  question  of 
where  the  Parish  Church  should  be  located,  was  first  before  the  con- 
gregation, some  years  before  it  was  built,  there  was  a  strong  sentiment, 
headed  by  the  Hon.  George  Plater,  (father  of  Governor  Plater)  the 
most  prominent  man,  perhaps,  in.  the  parish,  in  favor  of  building  it  on 
the  site  of  ,the  little  Sandy  Bottom  Chapel.  So  pronounced  were  Mr. 
Plater's  feelings  in  favor  of  that  location,  and  so  decided  his  convic- 
tions that  his  views  would  be  carried  out  and  his  wishes  gratified,  that 
he  requested  to  be  buried  in  the  chapel  yard  there,  which  was  accord- 
ingly done. 


PZARLY     CHURCHES  207 

artistic  alter-piece,  containing  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Ten 
Commandments  was  carved  by  Mr.  John  F.  Limner/ 

The  church  was  completed  in  1767.  It  still  stands,  is 
well  preserved,  and  is  a  pleasing  specimen  of  early  church 
architecture.  After  the  completion  of  Saint  xA.ndrews  Church, 
the  little  chapel  at  Sandy  Bottom,  having  survived  its  useful- 
ness, soon  went  to  ruin.  It  appears  for  the  last  time  upon 
the  parish  records,  as  having  been  the  place  of  meeting  of  the 
vestry  on  September  5th,  1764,  which  met  and  determined 
upon  the  erection  of  the  present  parish  church.  Xo  traces  of 
it  are  now  to  be  found,  even  in  the  recollection  of  the  oldest 
inhabitants,  except  as  imperfectly  indicated  by  its  old  grave 
ward,  which  though  neglected,  and  even  plundered,  it  is  said, 
of  its  once  substantial  brick  enclosures,  and  left  a  barren  and 
forsaken  spot,  it  is  still  susceptible  of  identification,  and 
relatively  points  out  the  site  once  occupied  by  this  early 
church — the  first  Chapel  of  Ease  of  All  Faith,  and  the  first 
place  of  Protestant  worship  in  Saint  Andrews  Parish. 

On  April  13th,  1769,  the  vestry  met  at  Saint  Andrews 
Church  to  dispose  of  its  pews.  Thirty  were  taken,  and  the 
sum  realized  for  them  w^as  ii50,  5  s..  the  highest  bidders 
being  Hon.  George  Plater  and  Col.  Abraham  Barnes,  who  con- 
jointly became  the  possessors  of  pew  No.  i  for  ii6  sterling. 

In  1755,  292  acres  of  land  were  purchased  from  Thomas 
Wheatty  and  Clement  Norris,  f6r  a  glebe  for  the  parish,  the 
price  paid  being  33,035  ^^-  oi  tobacco,  land,  in  1763,  the  ves- 
try contracted  with  Samuel  Abell.  to  erect  a  dwelling  house 
thereon,  for  the  sum  of  26,000  lt)s.  of  tobacco.  This  glebe,  it 
is  said,  w^as  located  on  the  road  which  leads  from  Leonardtown 
to  Saint  Andrews  Church,  and  about  three  miles  from  the 
latter.  After  many  years  of  service  it  was  sold,  and  another, 
situated  aboui  half  way  between  the  church  and  the  "Three 
Xotched  Road"  was  purchased  in  its  stead. 

On  April  11,  1757,  a  silver  Chalice  and  Salver  were  pur- 
chased for  the  parish,  which  are  said  to  be  the  same  now  in  use 

^  Parish  Records. 


2o8  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

at  Saint  Andrews  Church.  A  Bible,  prayer  book  and  surphce 
were  also  purchased.^ 

The  rectors  of  Saint  Andrews  Parish,  in  addition  to  those 
already  mentioned  were  Rev.  Robert  Ranney,  from  1765  to 
1767;  Rev.  William  West,  from  1767  to  1772;  Rev.  Joseph 
Hindman,  from  1772  to  1773;  Rev.  George  Gowndril,  curate, 
from  1773  to  1775;  Rev.  Joseph  Messenger,  from  1775  to 
1787;  (all  inducted  by  appointment  by  the  Governor),  the 
Rev.  John  Wilson,  (first  rector  elected  by  the  vestry,  1787) 
served  5  years;  Rev.  Francis  Walker,  from  1792  to  1818, 
when  the  Rev.  John  Brady  was  elected,  who  was  succeeded  in 
turn  by  the  Rev.  Clement  F.  Jones,  Rev.  John  Claxton,  Rev. 
James  A.  Buck,  Rev.  Mr.  Scull,  and  Rev.  George  R.  Warner.' 

One  of  the  most  historical  of  the  early  parishes  is  Prince 
George,  commonly  known  as  Rock  Creek  Parish.  It  was 
erected  in  1726,  and  embraced  within  its  limits  all  the  territory 
lying  between  the  Potomac  and  Patuxent  Rivers,  and  the 
eastern  branch  and  a  line  drawn  from  thence  to  the  Patuxent 
and  extended  westward  to  the  westerly  bounds  of  the  Province  ; 
thus  including  not  only  a  part  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  but 
Georgetown  and  all  the  Counties  of  Western  Maryland  and 

^  Parish  Records. 
•  While  digging  a  grave  in  Saint  Andrew's  Grave  yard  in  January, 
1894,  a  memorial  gold  breast  pin  was  found,  of  unique  design  with  hair 
settings  and  bearing  the  following  inscription :  "Edmund  Porteus  pb 
March  28th,  1752.  Aged  32."  There  was  a  Robert  Porteus,  from 
Baltimore  City  in  the  Continental  Army  in  1774,  But  the  name  in  Mary- 
land is  a  very  uncommon  one. 

°  Records  of  Saint  Andrews  Parrsh. 
The  vestry  men  of  the  parish,  during  the  same  period  were  Col. 
Abraham  Barnes,  Robert  Hammett,  John  Hammett,  James  Tarleton. 
John  Newton,  Samuel  Abell,  Matthew  Wise,  Enoch  Abell,  John  Hall, 
Thomas  James,  Cyrus  Vowles,  John  Black,  George  Plater,  Hugh  Hope- 
well, John  Hammond,  Michael  Wellman,  Stourton  Edwards,  Peter 
Urquhart,  Philip  Clarke,  Charles  King,  William  Martin,  John  Thomp- 
son, Cuthbert  Abell,  John  Hatton  Read,  Timothy  Bowers,  Robert 
Watts,  John  DeButts,  Archibald  Campbell,  William  Somerville,  Dr. 
Henry  Rceder,  William  H.  Brown,  Jarnes  Hopewell,  John  Abell,  Ed- 
ward Abell,  Thomas  Dillon,  Peter  Thompson,. Charles  Chilton,  Joseph 
Hammett,  Vincent  Thornton,  John   B.-v-.^bell,   Francis   Abell,  John   S. 


EAR  T.Y     CHURCHES  209 

from  it  all  the  parishes  now  within  that  domain  were  originally 
carved,  or  are  the, result  of  subdivisions.' 

The  first  Rector  of  the  parish  was  the  Rev.  George 
Murdock,  who  was  commissioned  by  Gov.  Charles  Calvert,  in 
December,  1726,  and  who  officiated  for  thirty-four  years,  and 
until  his  death,  in  1761.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Alexander 
Williamson  who  served  fourteen  years,  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Read,  who  had  previously  been  Curate  of  the 
parish,  and  also  Rector  of  Saint  Anne's,  Annapolis.  He  was 
inducted  in  1777,  and  continued  to  be  Rector  of  the  parish 
thirty-four  years,  when  he  resigned.  During  ^Ir.  Read's 
pastorate  of  Rock  Creek  Parish,  he  kept  a  record  of  the 
marriages  performed  by  him  within  the  parish,  and  as  well  also 
a  necrology  covering  the  same  period.  A  part  of  this  record 
has  been  preserved — from  1796  to  1808,  inclusive."  After  the 
,  death  of  yir.  Read  it  came  into  the  possession  of  his  son,  the 

Abeli,  J^mes  A.  Crane,  John  Rousby  Plater,  Matthew  W.  Simmonds, 
Dr.  William  Thomas,  Richard  Clark,  Robert  Hammett,  George  Clark, 
Joseph  Harris,  John  Leigh,  Adam  Wise,  G.  X.  Causeen,  H.  G.  S.  Key, 
George  Plater,  Bennett  Hanmiett,  John  R.  Plater,  Jr.,  George  Dent,  George 
Teal,  James  Forrest,  Thomas  Barbour,  Hatch  Turner,  George  S.  Leigh, 
Chapman  Billingsley,  Thomas  Hebb,  J.  M.  Hammett,  Dr.  Walter  H.  S. 
Briscoe,  Luke  E.  Barbour,  William  B.  Scott,  Benjamin  G.  Harris,  Dr. 
Thomas  J.  Franklin,  Enoch  Hammett,  John  R.  Thompson,  Hezekiah 
Dent,  Joseph  H.  Greenwell,  Edward  Plater,  Henry  Gough,  and  James 
R.  Thompson.  * 

^  A  detailed  and  interesting  sketch  of  this  parish  may  be  found  in 
Scharf's  History  of   Western  Maryland,  vol.  2,  p.  742. 

■  Marri.ages — Montgomery  County,  1796. 

Jan.    I2th,  John  Buxton,  To  Eleanor   Macoy 

Feb.     2d,  Theophilus  Roby  "  Ann    Willett 

"      9th,  James  Stewart,  "  Grace  Clarke 

"     nth,  Edw.  Medcalf,  "  Cloe  Butt 

"     i8th,  George  Bowman,  "  Sarah   Howse 

"    22nd,  Richd.  Dorsey^  "  Anne  Wayman 

"     28th-,  Wm.  Welsh  Cordingly,      "  Ann   Moore 

Mar.    3d,  Jno.    Campbell,  "  Polly  Craton 

"     6th,  Rich.  Thompson.  "  Eliz.   Pelly 

"      loth,  Jeremiah  Nicholson,  "  Hester  Nicholson 

"     22nd,  Jesse  Wilcoxen,  "  Ruth  Wilcoxen 


COLONIAL    MARYLAND 


late  Robert  Read,  of  Cumberland,  after  whose  demise  it  was 
presented  by  his  widow,  Sarah  Johns  Read,  through  the  author 
of  this  work,  to  the  Maryland  Historical  Society.  This  old 
record  is  singularly  valuable,  not  only  because  of  the  large 


Mar.  24th, 

Thomas  Moody, 

To 

Mary  Berry 

"     28th, 

Henry  Jones'  Geo., 

" 

Charles  Jones'  Polly, (Negroes) 

Apr.  2ist, 

Wm.  Wilson, 

" 

Anne   White 

"       2ISt, 

Thomas    Davis, 

" 

Catherine    Worthington 

May  isth, 

Mr.  Crabb's  James  and  Clary  (Negroes) 

"      15th, 

Mrs.  Johns'  Jerry  and 

MoUie 

June  i6th. 

Rev.   Nicholas  Lane, 

To 

Esther   Selby 

17th, 

,    Jonathan  Sparrow, 

" 

Priscilla  Smith 

July   24th, 

Wm.    Groom, 

" 

Maryann  Kelly 

Aug.    2d, 

Walter  C.  Williams, 

" 

Christiana  Heugh 

"     iSth, 

Richd.  Downes, 

" 

Eliz.    Rose 

"     30th, 

Benj.  Nicholls, 

" 

Drusilla   Culver 

Sept.  22d. 

William  Dowry, 

" 

Rebecca   Groome 

"     i8th, 

Henry  Lowe, 

" 

Ann   Macbee 

"     27th, 

Caleb  Windel, 

" 

Martha  Parker 

Nov.  17th, 

Thomas  Riggs, 

" 

Mary   Riggs 

"     24th, 

Thomas  Buxton, 

" 

Fanney  Macbeey 

Dec.     1st, 

Jno.  Riddle, 

" 

Susanna    Porter 

"      8th, 

James    Ray, 

" 

Eliz.  Warfield 

"    15th, 

Hezekiah   Austin, 

" 

Eliz.   Odle 

"      22d, 

Robert  Fish, 

" 

Eliz.  Jeans 

"     25th, 

John  Leach, 

" 

Rachel  Bowmen 

"      29th, 

Henry  Hardey, 

" 

Frances  West 

1797 

Jan.  17th, 

Andrew  Mudd, 

To 

Eleanor  Green 

"     17th, 

William  0.  Lodge, 

" 

Frances    Porter 

"    24th, 

Jno.    Roberts, 

" 

'  Eliz.   Heater 

"    26th, 

Lloyd   Dorsey, 

" 

Anna   Green 

"    31st, 

Erasmus  Riggs, 

" 

Eleanor  Wilcoxen 

Feb.    5th, 

Ely   Denoon, 

" 

Henny  Sanders 

"      9th, 

James  McCoy, 

" 

Eliz.    Brown 

"      2ISt, 

Clark  Higgins,   . 

" 

Margaret  Thomas 

"    26th, 

James    Ridgeway, 

" 

Rebecca  Hurdle 

"    2Sth, 

Nicholas  Minstalled, 

" 

Mary    Allison 

"    28th, 

Beale  WarHeld. 

Amelia  Ridgely 

Apr.  17th, 

Nicholas   Feburiere, 

" 

Susan  Tucker 

"     i8th. 

Brice  Warfield, 

" 

Sarah   Collins 

"      20tll, 

Jno.    P..    Allison. 

" 

Eliz.   Higgins 

EARLY     CHURCHES 


area  covered"  by  the  parish,  embracing,  even  at  that  date, 
nearly  the  whole  of  Montgomery  County,  but  more  especially 
by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  Montgomery  records  do  not 
begin   until    1798,   and    the   necrology   of   the    County   being 


May  4th, 

Jno.  Fields, 

To 

Mary  Madden 

"     2 1  St, 

Jno.  Wight, 

Gary  Boyd 

"    28th, 

Jno.    Hurley, 

'• 

Eliz.    Benton 

June  1st, 

Robt.    Ricketts, 

" 

Kezia    Ricketts 

July  20th, 

Zadoc   Ricketts, 

" 

Ann  Groome 

Aug.  3d, 

James    Higgins, 

" 

Virlinda    Wilcoxen 

"      5th. 

Sylvester  Sullivan, 

•' 

Rosanna    Hawse 

"      8th, 

Samuel  Lyon, 

" 

Linny   Davis 

Sept.  14th, 

Richd.  Bean, 

" 

Prudence  Kelly 

Oct.    14th, 

Benj.  Reeder, 

" 

Anne  Hungerford     , 

"      26th, 

William    Benson, 

" 

Rachel  Hensey 

Nov.   23d, 

Edw.  Archey, 

" 

Eliz.  Allison 

Dec.   21  St, 

Nicholas    Merriweather, 

" 

Eliz.  Hood 

"     26th, 

John  Gardner, 

" 

Cassandra   Dowden 

1798. 

> 

Jan.    4th, 

Jno.   Higgins   and   Eliz. 

Fisher 

gth. 

Henry    Culver, 

To 

Mary  Patterson 

"     nth, 

Charles    Bird, 

" 

Margaret    Barton 

"     16th, 

Amasa  Wellin, 

" 

Linney    Trundle 

'•     25th, 

Francis  Hutchison  and 

Sarah  Ball 

"     25th, 

Evan    Trundle, 

To 

Anna  Key 

Feb.    6th, 

Saml.  Love, 

" 

Sarah  Jones 

"      13th, 

Richd.    Snowden, 

" 

Eliza  Warfield 

•'     24th, 

Benj.    Davis, 

." 

Eliz.  Thrasher 

Apr.    1st, 

Christopher  A.  Coal, 

" 

Sarah    Claton 

9th, 

David    Crafford's    Edward 

and    Linny    (Negroes) 

Ma>     3d, 

Thos.  H.  Wilcoxon 

To 

Sarah   Prather 

"       22d, 

Ignatius  Davis, 

" 

Margaret  Woolen 

Sept.  nth. 

Amos    Scott, 

" 

Annoe  West 

Oct.     7th, 

Dawson    Cash, 

" 

Jemima   Beens 

"     nth, 

Benjamin    Summers, 

" 

Virlinder  Beckwith 

"      15th, 

David    O'Neal, 

" 

Rebecca  Lane 

"     30th, 

Robt.    Willoson, 

" 

Eleanor   Shekells 

Nov.  15th, 

Nathan    Wells, 

" 

Sophia  Duley 

Dec.   8th, 

Benjamin  Crecraft, 

" 

Nelly  Prather 

"      18th, 

Jno.   M.   Cox, 

" 

Eleanor  Gray 

"     20th, 

Geo.    Ward, 

" 

Ann  Redman 

"     23d, 

Wm.    Cox, 

" 

Liley    Kelly 

"     30th, 

John  Camobell, 

" 

Priscilla  Oden 

COLONIAL    MARYLAND 


exceedingly  meagre  and  limited.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that 
this  marriage  record  is  somewhat  more  comprehensive  than  the 
Montgomery  records  even  after  the  latter  were  started,  as  it  is 
not  confined  to  marriages  performed  by  license  issued  in  that 
county,  as  are  its  records. 


1799- 

Jan.      3d, 

Charles  Davis, 

To 

Laurady  Howse 

"       3d, 

Roby    Penn, 

•• 

Lucreta  Howse 

"     loth, 

Richd.  Turner, 

" 

Eliz.   Beall 

"     loth, 

Daniel  Carroll, 

" 

Ann  Maccnbbin 

"     19th, 

Jacob  Swavaley, 

" 

Eleanor  Fulks 

"       22d, 

John  Adams, 

" 

Eleanor   Collyer 

"       22d, 

Thomas  Gratton, 

" 

Ruth    Ray, 

"        24th, 

Charles  Offutt  Jones, 

" 

Rebecca  Offutt 

"       26th, 

Benj.  Thompson, 

" 

Eliz.   Haney 

"     27ih, 

Henry  Parnnion, 

" 

Eliz.  Sanders 

License  Granted — A; 

nne  Arundel  County. 

Feb.    5th, 

James  Groomes, 

To 

Sarah    King 

"     14th, 

Thos.  Garrott, 

And 

Elizabeth  Fee 

"     15th, 

John  Austin, 

" 

Cassandra  Odle 

"     26th, 

Barak  Ofutt, 

" 

Virlinder  Offutt 

Mar.  14th, 

James  B.  Crafford, 

And 

,    Ann  Allison 

"     19th, 

Basil  Waters, 

«' 

Ann  P.  Magruder 

Apr.  nth. 

John  Nicholson, 

" 

Tabitha    Oden 

"     iSth, 

Jesse  Leateh, 

" 

Mary   Letten 

May  23d, 

Edmund  Riggs, 

To 

Jane   Willson 

Aug.   8th, 

Solomon  Pelly, 

And 

,     Massy  Holland 

"     29th, 

Jacob  Kirkman, 

" 

Susanna  Hall 

Nov.   5th, 

Jno.  Magruder, 

" 

Mary  Linthicum 

"     24th, 

Jno.  Frey, 

" 

Turecia  Lucas 

Dec.   5th, 

Thos.,  Hood, 

" 

Rachel  Wayman 

"     loth, 

James  Magruder, 

" 

Eliz.  Linthicum 

Nov.  30th, 

Jonas  Parsley, 

" 

Eleanor  Clayton 

Dec.  I2th, 

Baruck  Prather, 

" 

Casandra  Swearingen 

"     19th, 

Jno.  Perry, 

" 

Jane   Alnutt 

"     26th, 

Richd.  Stewart, 

" 

Eliz.   Renneton 

1800. 

Jan.     2d, 

William    Ramsey, 

And 

1     Margaret  Hcrren 

"      14th, 

Jno.  Lanham, 

" 

Lucy  Ray 

"      i6th. 

Camden  Riley, 

" 

Anna  Ray 

"       2ISt. 

Nathan   Jones, 

" 

Anna  Buxton 

"      21  St. 

Edward  Porter, 

" 

Hary  Heiter 

E  A  R  L  Y     C  H  U  R  C  H  E  S 


As"  much'  of  the  data  contained  in  this  old  record  is  now- 
otherwise  inaccessible,  it  is  of  historic  interest  and  value,  and 
never  having  been  published,  it  is  here  reproduced  in   full. 


Jan.  21  St, 

Nathan  Orme, 

And    Polly   Beall 

"     23rd, 

Solomon  Holland, 

"       Margaret  Gatton 

"     25th, 

Jno.  Redman, 

Harriot  Ward 

"     30th, 

Benedict    Beckwitli, 

"       Eliz.   White 

Apr.  15th, 

Edw.  Harper, - 

"       Sarah   Ann   Boswell 

"      15th, 

Thos.  Nicholls, 

"        Priscilla  Mackey 

May  22d, 

Michael   Merrick, 

Virlinder   Bowman 

"       22d, 

Everrard  Gary, 

"       Ann   Cloud 

June  26th, 

John  H.  Riggs, 

"       Rebecca  Howard 

July  17th, 

Thos.    Odlo    Offutt, 

"       Charity  Benton 

Nov.  i8th, 

Doct.  Richd.  J.  Orme, 

"       Ann    Crabb 

"     20th, 

Elias   M.   Daniel, 

Margaret  Golden 

"     27th, 

Samuel  Inlose, 

Eliz.    Stone 

Dec.     4th, 

Edw.  0.  Williams, 

Eliz.   Clagett 

"      i6th, 

David  Porter, 

Mary   Ray 

"     20th, 

Daniel  Reintzel, 

"       Ann    Robertson 

"     23d, 

Arnold  Lashley, 

"       Eliz.   Lee 

"     2Sth, 

Notley    Lanham, 

Eliz.    Hopkins 

"     25th, 

Benj.  Kelley, 

"       Eliz.  Moore 

"     28th, 

William    Wallace, 

"       Margaret  Brookes 

"     30th, 

Wm.    Mullican, 

"        Eliz.    Dowdcn 

1801. 

Feb.     1st, 

Nathan   Moore, 

And  Eliz.   Hantz 

"      loth. 

Leonard  H.  Johns, 

Margaret  Williams 

"      17th, 

David    Clagett, 

"       Salley  Odle 

"     24th, 

Hatton    Fish, 

"       Sarah  Benton 

"     27th, 

Levin    Easton, 

Druzilla  Ricketts 

Mar.    3d, 

Leonard  Young  Davis, 

"       Achsah  Worthington 

"     I2th, 

Samuel  Magruder, 

"       Eliz.  Hawkins 

"     31st, 

Geo.  Magruder, 

Anna  Turner 

Apr.    5th, 

Jno.    Wiest. 

Lydia  Shuck 

'•     14th, 

John  Getty, 

Eleanor  Carey 

May  24th, 

Richd.  Langford, 

"       Amelia    Soper 

July    9th, 

Lewis   Beall, 

"       Eliza  Wootton 

Oct.    8th, 

William  Garrett, 

Eleanor  Higgins 

"      8th, 

WiUson  Walker, 

Deborah  Prather 

"      8th, 

Brice  Selby, 

"       Cathrine   Marker 

"    25th, 

Josiah  Bean, 

"        Eleanor  Wilson 

"    27th, 

Ezekiah    Linthicum, 

"       Mary   Hickman 

214 


COLONIAL     M A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 


except  the  necrology  as  well  as  the  curious  record  of  marriage 
and  funeral  fees,  which  were  combined  with  it,  are  omitted. 

The  first  Roman   Catholic  church   in    Maryland   was   at 
Saint  Mary's  City,  the  history  of  which  has  been  given  in  the 


Nov.  19th,    Joseph  Madden, 

And  Susanna  Sparrow 

Dec.     1st,    Fredrick  Linthicum, 

"       Rachel    Macklefresh 

"      8th,    Nathan    Dickerson, 

Margaret  Turnbull 

"     loth,    Jesse  Owings, 

Hannah   Hood 

"     17th,    William  Orr, 

Eliz.   Macklewain 

"    22d,     Nathan  Trail, 

"        Susanna  Buxton 

"    22d,     George  Heater, 

Charlotte  Porter 

"    31st,    Wm.  R.  Jones, 

Eliz.  L.  Richardson 

"     31st,    Henry   Fowler,             To 

Lewis    Beall's  Mulatto  Woman 

Nelly 

1802. 

Jan.  7th,    Benj.  W.  Jones, 

And    Margaret  Willson 

"    I2th,   Lawrence  0.  Holt, 

Sarah   Oden 

"    12th,    Thos.  Clagett, 

Rachel  Offutt 

"   2ist,    Thos.  Davis, 

"       Eliza  Bowie 

"   28th,    James    Northcraft, 

"       Rachel  Fryer 

"   30th,   James  Cooke, 

Patsey  Beeding 

Feb.  9th,    Barton    Harriss, 

Mary  Griffith 

Mar.  2ist,    Wm.  Sparrow, 

"       Eliza  Campbell 

Apr.  20th,    Andrew  Offutt, 

Eliz.   Warfield 

Aug.    3d,     Joseph  Astlin, 

"       Mary  Beard 

Sept,    2d,     Walter  Madden, 

Eliz.  Mudd 

"     I2th,   James  Groome, 

"       Eleanor  Fish 

"     2ist,    Joseph   Cox, 

Susanna  Hogan 

Nov.   9th,   Dr.  Jno.  M.  Read, 

"       Maryann  Clark 

"     2Sth,    Saml.   Bealmear, 

Priscilla  -Williams 

Dec.    7th,    George  Buxton, 

"       Maryann  Trail 

"      14th,    Azariah    Kindle, 

"  ,     Amelia  Nicholson 

"     2ist,     Wm.-M.  Elfresh, 

Sarah   Linthicum 

"     30th,  -  Adam   Klay, 

"       Sabina   Summers 

1803. 

Jan.  i8th,    Geo.  W.  Riggs, 

And    Eliza   Robertson 

"     20th,    James  Brown, 

"       Ann  Leek 

Mar.  loth,    James  Jarvis, 

"       Eliz.    Linch 

"     3Tst,     Archibald   Summers, 

Margaret  Pain 

Apr.  loth,    Cliarles    Porter, 

Polly  Fry 

May     5th,    Jeremiah  Browning, 

"        Eliz.  Summers 

June  19th,    Isaac    Forsythe, 

"       Anna  Letton 

"     28th,    William    Candler, 

"     .Rebecca  Rav 

EARLY     CHURCHES 


215 


chapter  entitled,  "The  Eirst  Capital".  The  next  one  in 
Saint  Mary's  County,  of  which  there  is  a  record,  was  at 
Newtown.  On  the  loth  day  of  August,  1661,  Mr.  William 
Bretton,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  Province,  executed  the 
following  deed : 


Aug.   7th, 

Edward  Magruder, 

And    Jane  Ayton 

"     28th, 

Benjamine    Lyon. 

Rachel  Davis 

Sept.  nth. 

Richd.  Brooke   Smith, 

"       Sarah  Letton 

"      15th, 

Nicholas    Hancy, 

Sarah  Golden 

"       22d, 

Brice  Letton, 

Hariot  Moore   - 

Oct.  20th, 

Elias    Elville, 

Elizabeth  Burress 

"     27th, 

Thos.  Linsted, 

Anna  Maria  Summers 

Nov.    1st, 

Zachariah  Linthicuni, 

"       Anna  Clagett 

"       3d, 

Warren   Magruder, 

"       Harriot  Holmes 

"      17th, 

Lloyd    Hammon, 

"       Elizabeth  Merriweather 

"     24th, 

Thos.   Hilleary, 

"        Sarah  Wheeler 

Dec.    1st, 

John    Crown, 

"       Eliz.  Ball 

"     29th, 

Ashford  Trail. 

"       Anne  Sanders 

"     31st, 

Hazil    Butt, 

"        Sarah  Richards 

1804. 

Jan.     5th, 

James  Alex.  Bcall, 

And    Eleanor  Culver 

Feb.     2d, 

Benj.    Perry, 

Eliz.  Magruder 

Feb.  nth, 

Joel  Ketchen, 

"       Sarah  Hurst 

"     I2th, 

Samuel    Horner, 

Mary  McFarland 

"     i6th. 

William  Burditt, 

Ruth   Fitzgerald 

Mar.  27th, 

Joshua  W.  Dorsey, 

"       Lucetta  Plummer 

Apr.   8th, 

Peter  Dent  :Moore, 

"       Louisa  Stanger 

May   6th, 

William  O'Neal, 

Anna  Bell 

June  9th, 

Wm.   Wheatley, 

"       Mary  Cashell 

"     17th, 

George   Cashell, 

Eliz.  B.  Edmonstone 

"     19th, 

James    Rawlings, 

"        Sarah  Richardson 

Sept.  6th, 

Saml.   Golden, 

"       Dollie  Haney 

•'      6th, 

Ninian  Clagett, 

"        Margret  Burgess 

"      8th, 

Hezekiah    Saffell, 

Lydia  Davis 

"    25th, 

Zachariah  MuncastcTj 

"       Harriott.  Magruder 

Nov.  29th, 

Waher  Bailey, 

"        Sarah  Ball 

Dec.    7th, 

Jesse  Wade, 

"        Mary  Fleming 

"    20th, 

Aquila    Gatton, 

"       Mary  Owen 

"    23d, 

Philip  Garlon, 

Sarah    W'illson 

1805. 

Jan.    8th, 

Wm.  Langville, 

And    Naney  Current 

"    31st, 

Thos.    Sparrow, 

"        Sarah  Sparrow 

2l6 


COLONIAL    MARYLAND 


"Ad.  perpetuam  memoriam 

"Forasmuch  as  divers  good  and  zealous  Roman  Catholic 
inhabitants  of  Newton  and  Saint  Clement's  Bay,  have  unan- 
imously agreed  among  themselves  to  erect  and  build  a  church 
or  chapel  *  *  *  *  and  the  most  convenient  place  for  that 
purpose,  desired  and  pitched  upon  by  them  all,  is  a  certain 
parcel  of  land  belonging  to  William  Bretton  gentleman.  Now 


Feb.  I2th, 

Reubin  Riggs, 

And    Mary  Thomas 

"    27th, 

Charles  Shook, 

"        Priscilla  Ball 

Apr.  i8th, 

William    Leemar, 

"        Sarah  Roberson 

"    23d, 

Archibald    Mullican, 

"       Anna  Mathews 

"    25th, 

Walter  Summers, 

"        Sarah  Swearingen 

"    30th, 

Abishai  Gray, 

Eleanor  Miller 

May   9th, 

Robert  Windsor, 

"       Eliz.   Thompson 

June  6th, 

Henry    Rabbett, 

"       Anne  Wilburn 

Oct.  15th, 

Azel    Waters, 

Cassandra  Williams 

Dec.  29th, 

James   Beall, 

"       Margaret  Smith  Benson 

1806. 

Jan.    2d, 

James  Deselem, 

And    Catherine  Fulks 

Feb.    4th, 

Elbert  Perry, 

"       Rebecca  Margruder 

"     nth, 

Daniel  Robertson, 

"        Sarah  Greenfield 

"     13th, 

Jno.   Heater, 

"       Frances  Shook 

Mar.   4th, 

Denton   Porter, 

"       Kitty  Heater 

Apr.    3d, 

Thos.  Gettings, 

"       Christiana  Perry 

May  .13th, 

Dr.  Peregrine  Warfield, 

Harriot  Sappington 

June  17th, 

Dr.  John  Wootton, 

"       Betsy  Lynn  Magruder 

Aug.  28th, 

Lawrence  O'Neal, 

"        Nany  Galworth 

Sept.  i8th. 

John  Dickerson, 

"       Eliz.   Turnbull 

Dec.    4th, 

Thos.  S.  Davis, 

"       Greece  Swearingen 

"     25th, 

Jno.  William^, 

Sarah  Neritt 

1807. 

Jan.     ist, 

Jacob  Miller, 

And     Naney  Ricketts 

"      13th, 

John  Wesley  Ward, 

To     Eleanor  Greentree 

Feb.  26th 

James  Case, 

And     Eliz.  Bowman 

Mar.    5th, 

George  Ray, 

"        Sarah  Robertson 

"      8th, 

Benj.  Grymer, 

Sarah   Lowery 

"     26th, 

Thos.  W.   Howard, 

Elizabeth   Crabb 

June  i6th. 

Henry  Woodward  Dorsey,       "       Rachel  Cooke 

Oct.  13th, 

Henry   Gassaway, 

Rachel   Griffith 

"     20th, 

Benj.  Sedgwick, 

Eleanor   White 

Nov.  I2th, 

Wm.  Elson  Wilson, 

"       Eleanor  Swearingen 

Dec.     I  St, 

David  Hammelton, 

"^,      Ann  Preston 

EA  RL  V     C  II  r  KCHES  217 

know  ye,  that  I  William  Bretton,  of  Little-Bretton,  in  ye 
county  of  Saint  Mary's  in  ye  province  of  Aid.  Gentlemen, 
with  the  hearty  good-liking  of  my  dearly  beloved  wife  Tem- 
perance Bretton,  *  *  *  ■■'-  have  given,  and  do  hereby  freely 
forever  give,  to  the  behoof  of  the  said  Roman  Catholic  inhabi- 
tants, and  their  posterity  or  successors,  Roman  Catholics,  so 
much  land  as  they  shall  build  ye  said  church  or  chapel  on  *  * 
with  such  other  land  adjoining  to  ye  said  church  or  chapel, 
convenient  likewise  for  a  church-yard  wherein  to  bury  their 
dead,  containing  about  one  acre  and  a  half  of  ground,  situated 
and  lying  on  a  dividend  of  land  called  Bretton's  Outlet,  and 
on  the  east  side  of  ye  said  dividend,  near  to  ye  head  of  the 
creek  called  Saint  Williams  creek,  which  falleth  into  Saint 
Nicholas  creek,  and  near  unto  the  narrowest  place  of  ,ye  free- 
hold of  Little-Bretton,  commonly  called  The  Straits".'  Upon 
this  ground  was  erected  Saint  Ignatius  Chapel,  the  first  Roman 
Catholic  church  at  Xewton.  It  was  apparently  a  frame  build- 
ing, though  a  few  scattered  brick  may  still  be  seen  around  its 
site,  and  which  are  the  only  traces  of  it,  that  are  to-day 
visible.  But  the  old  graveyard,  surrounding  the  spot  where 
once  it  stood,  has  been  used  as  a  place  of  Roman  Catholic 
burial  for  nearly  two  hundred  and  forty  years."  It  is  recorded 
that  upon  at  least  two  occasions,  the  little  chapel  of  Saint 
Ignatius  was  the  recipient  of  legacies,  one  in  1670  and  another 
the  following  year.*  • 


1808. 

Jan.     3d, 

John  Hurley, 

To 

Milly  Offutt 

Feb.  nth, 

John  Jenkins, 

Charlotte   Sparrow 

Apr.  i8th, 

Daniel   Golding, 

And 

Eliz.   Harris 

June   5th, 

Hosea  Edmonson, 

" 

Mary  Orme 

Oct.    8th, 

Allen  Warfield, 

" 

Mary    Dugan 

Dec.  27th, 

Wm.   Fish, 

" 

Hellen  Joy 

1809. 

Jan.  I2th, 

Walter  Stewart, 

And 

Eleanor  Gray 

Feb.  I2th, 

Joseph  Gittings, 

" 

Tabitha  Beans 

Lib.  S.  1658  to  1662,  p.  1026;  Day  Star,  p.  227. 

Shea,  pp.  78  &  349. 

Wills,   Wm.   Tattershall    &   Col.   Jarboe,    Annapolis. 


2i8  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

The  manor  of  Newtown  or  Little  Bretton,  patented  to 
William  Bretton  in  1640/  passed  out  of  the  family,  and  was 
purchased  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries.  In  their  hands  the 
house  and  handsome  chapel  Saint  Francis,  since  erected  near 
by,  have  long  been  a  centre  of  Catholicity.  The  house,  said 
to  have  been  built  by  Mr.  William  Bretton,  of  English  brick, 
is  still  standing,  its  original  story-and-a-half  having  had 
another  added,  making  it  an  imposing  and  stately  looking 
mansion.^  It  occupies  a  commanding  position,  over-looking 
Bretton 's  Bay,  Saint  Clement's  Bay  and  the  Potomac  River." 

In  1698,  the  Sheriff's  return  of  Saint  Mary's  County,  upon 
the  requisition  of  Governor  Nicholson,  states,  that  there  were 
then  in  the  county  four  places  of  Roman  Catholic  worship ; 
a  brick  church  at  Saint  Mary's  City,  a  frame  chapel  at  Saint 
Clement's  town,  a  frame  chapel  at  Mr.  Gulick's,  and  a  frame 
chapel  near  Mr.  Heywood's,  beyond  the  Patuxent  road. 
There  were  at  the  same  time  two  priests.  Rev.  Nicholas  Gulick, 
and  Rev.  John  Hall,  and  one  lay  brother  in  the  County." 

When  the  first  church  at  Saint  Inigoes  was  built  is  not 
definitely  known.  While  it  became  a  Jesuit  Mission  at  a  very 
early  period,  owing  to  its  projcimity  to  Saint  Mary's  City, 
where  there  was  a  Roman  Catholic  church,  it  is  not  probable 
that  Saint  Inigoes  had  a  church  for  many  years  after  the 
settlement  of  the  Colony.  The  site  of  the  first  chapel  there  is 
still  pointed  out.     The  present  Saint  Inigoes  church,  close  by 

'  Kilty,  p.  72>. 

=■  Shea,  p.  78. 

^  William  Bretton,  the  Lord  of  the  manor  of  "Little  Bretton/'  came 
to  Maryland  in'  1637,  with  his  wife  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Tabbs,  and  one  child.  He  was  a  member  of.  the  Assembly  in  1648  and 
1649;  was  clerk  of  the  Assembly  in  1650,  and  Was  clerk  of  the  Lower 
House  from  1661  to  1666  inclusive.  The  last  official  notice  of  him  ap- 
pears to  have  been  his  appointment  as  a  Justice  of  the  County  Court 
of  Saint  Mary's  in  1667.'  In  1651,  he  married  2d  Mrs.  Temperance 
Jay.  His  latter  life  is  veiled  in  obscurity,  and,  though  at  one  time  pos- 
sessed of  a  large  and  productive  estate,  he  is  supposed  to  have  died  in 
poverty.  His  children,  a  son  and  daughter,  became  objects  of  charity, 
being  reported  in  "extremity  of  want,"  and  from  this  fact,  it  has  been 


*  CI.  Pro.  H.  D.,  p.  5.39. 


EARLY     C  H  U  R  C  H  E  S  219 

is  said  to  be  the  third  in  order.'  The  Manor  of  Saint  Inigoes 
was  patented  to  Mr.  Thomas  Copley,  a  Jesuit  priest,  known 
officially  as  Father  Phillip  Fisher.  "  the  Superior  of  th.e  Mary- 
land Mission.""  He  died  in  1653,  leaving  the  Rev.  Lawrence 
Starkey  his  successor.'  It  contained  two  thousand  acres,  and 
is  still  retained  by  the  Jesuits,  almost  in  its  entirety.  It  is 
divided  into  small  farms,  which  are  rented  for  the  support  of 
the  church.  The  manor-house,  a  quaint  building,  is  beauti- 
fully located  at  the  juncture  of  Saint  Inigoes  Creek  and  the 
Saint  Mar)''s  River.  It  was  built  in  1705,  under  the  auspices 
of  Father  Ashbey,  of  the  bricks,  it  is  said,  from  the  old 
Catholic  church  at  Saint  Mary's ;  and  about  the  same  time  a 
small  church  was  erected  in  the  chapel-field,  and  a  graveyard 
was  laid  out  and  attached  to  it."  This  was,  in  all  probability, 
the  first  church  on  Saint  Inigoes  ]\Ianor.^    In  1778  the  British 

s'uggested,  arose  the  euphonius  name  which  that  beautiful  neck  of  land 
that  constituted  the  Manor  of*  Little  Bretton,  to-day  bears — "Beggar's 
Neck." — See  Liber  i,  p.  69;  Arch..  Ass.  Pro.  1648  to  1650,  and  1661  to 
1666,  inclusive;  Ibid,  CI.  Pro.,  1667.  p.  33;  Day  Star,  p.  226;  Old  Brick 
Churches,  p.  59. 

In  August,  1670,  the  Sheriffs  of  the  several  counties,  were  ordered 
by  the  Governor,  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Cosden,  at  Newtown, 
to  "make  up  their  accounts  with  Mr.  Thomas  Notley,  Receiver  Gen- 
eral."' and  to  "bring  a  list  of  taxables  within  their  respective  counties." 
— Archives,   (CI.  Pro.  1670)    p.  70. 

'  Bryant,  History  United  States,  p.  513. 

"That  Thomas  Copley  and  Father  Philip  Fisher  were  one  and  the 
same  person  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Both  are  represented  as  born  at 
Madrid  at  the  close  of  the  i6th  century;  each  came  to  Maryland  in 
1637,  (August  8)  with  Father  Knowles;  each  was  carried  off,  and  each 
died  in  1652.  Neither  recognizes  the  existence  of  the  other.  Copley 
took  up  lands  for  all  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  but  no  lands  for  Fisher,  and 
Fisher  as  Superior  alludes  in  his  account  of  the  mission  to  no  Father 
Copley — Shea,  p.  47,  note;  Foley  records,  7,  1146;  Woodstock  letters, 
II,  pp.  18,  24.    . 

The  Statutes  of  Mortmain  prohibited  the  taking  of  land  to  pious 
uses,  and  hence  a  necessity  for  this  separate  identity.     The  second  tract 

*"The  Foundation  of  Maryland,"  p.  2(X);  Shea,  p.  47. 

*Shea,  p.  75.  "Archives  (CI.  Pro.)    p.  418. 

'  Fenwick.  Brief  .Account,  Settlement  of  Maryland;  Shea.  p.  370. 


220  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

sloop  of  war,  General  Monks,  threw  a  shot  through  the  walls  of 
the  house,  the  Rev.  Father  Lewis  having  just  left  a  bed  over 
which  it  passed.  In  October,  1814,  this  house  and  chapel 
were  robbed  and  pillaged  by  the  crew  of  the  British  sloop 
Saracen,  who  not  only  took  all  that  was  valuable  of  the  house- 
hold furniture,  plate  and  clothing,  but  even  invaded  the  sacred 
precincts  of  the  church — desecrated  some  of  its  most  holy 
vessels,  and  carried  many  of  them  away.  Complaint  having 
been  made  to  the  Commander  of  the  vessel,  some  of  the 
property  was  returned,  but  the  loss  on  this,  and  a  former  like 
occasion,  was  estimated  at  about  twelve  hundred  dollars.' 

On  the  Manor  was  located  Fort  Saint  Inigoes,  erected  in 
1637.  It  stood  on  the  Point  still  known  as  "Fort  Point",, 
and  about  half  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  the  Saint  Mary's 
River,  which  it  was  intended  to  guard.  By  the  Act  of  1650^ 
all  ships  trading  within  the  Saint  Mary's  River,  were  required 
to  pay  a  half  pound  of  powder  and  two  pounds  of  shot,  as  a 
port  duty  to  Fort  Saint  Inigoes,  and  also  to  ride  at  anchor  for 
two  whole  tides,  both  coming  and  going,  within  command  of 
the  said  Fort."  Many  of  the  early  proclamations  were  dated 
at,  and  issued  from  this  Fort, ,  and  the  General  Assembly  of 
1646  met  there.''  It  was  also,  by  order  of  Governor  Calvert, 
made  the  place  of  general  refuge,  in  times  of  threatened  attack, 
for  the  women,  children  and  helpless  men  living  between  Saint 
Inigoes  Creek  and  Trinity  Creek.*  Captain  John  Price  was 
the  first  Commander  of  the  Fort,  and  he  h^ld  the  position  for 
many  years.  The  early  records  furnish  repeated  instances  in 
which    corn    and    cattle,    by    order    of    the    Governor,    were 

taken  up  in  Maryland  by  Copley  for  the  use  of  the  church,  was  Saint 
Thomas  and  Cedar  Point  Neck  in  Charles  County,  and  which,  with 
Saint  Inigoes  Manor,  has  gone  far  toward  supporting  Roman  Catholic 
worship  in  their  respective  counties,  for  more  than  two  centuries  and 
a  half. — "Foundation  of  Maryland."  For  further  particulars  as  to  the 
Statutes  of  Mortmain  in  Maryland,  see  chapter  on  'The  Land  Tenure 
of  Colonial  Maryland." 

^  Scharf,  3,  p.  127. 

^Archives   (Ass.  Pro.)    1650,  p.  293. 

Mbid   (Ass.  Pro.)- p.  209.  Ubid   (ist  CI.  Pro.)  p.  loS. 


EARLY     CHURCHES  221 

"pressed"  for  the  use  of  the  garrison  at  Eort  Saint  Iiiigoes, 
which  occurred  in  time  of  peace,  would  to-day  be  regarded  as  a 
somewhat  remarkable  exercise  of  executive;  power. 

How  the  Fort  was  built  and  mounted  the  records  do  not 
show.  Some  of  the  cannon  from  there,  however,  are  still  to- 
be  seen.  In  1824,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Carberry  drew  out  of  the 
river  several  of  them,  which,  either  from  the  washing  of  the 
Point,  or  the  force  of  the  current,  were  two  hundred  yards 
from  the  shore.'  One  of  these  early  muniments  of  war  and 
fortification,  is  now  on  the  State  House  grounds,  at  Annapolis ; 
two  of  them  are  at  Georgetown  College,  and  at  least  one"  of 
them,  it  is  said,  is  still  on  Saint  Inigoe's  Manor,  where  it  now 
performs  the  function,  painful  to  relate,  of  an  ordinary  boun- 
dary post.' 

In  speaking  of  this  Fort  and  its  situation,  Bryant  says: 
"at  the  lower  end  of  the  bay  of  Saint  Ignatius  (of  whose  name 
^aint  Inigoe's  was  an  old,  and  once  common  corruption),* 
was  a  bluff  much  like  that  at  Saint  Ad^ary's,  though  lower  and 
less  picturesque.  From  it,  looking  to  the  north,  across  the 
bay,  could  be  seen  the  point  of  the  first  landing,  and  to  the 
south,  the  view  extended  to  the  mouth  of  the  Saint  Mary's 
River.  It  was  a  commanding  site,  and  on  it  Governor  Calvert 
erected  a  Fort,  which  eft'ectually  guarded  the  approach  to  the 
town  above.  Near,  or  in  the  Fort,  stood  a  mill,  and  above  it 
a  few  scattered  buildings.  No  ruins  of  either  Fort  or  houses 
remain,  save  a  few  scattered  bricks  and  hewn  stone".' 


^  Scharf,  i,  p.  76. 

"To  the  Saint  Inigoes  Mission  is  due  the  credit  of  having  collected 
and  preserved  almost  the  only  relics  now  to  be  seen,  which  were  associ- 
ated with  the  early  history  and  first  Capital  of  the  Province.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned,  the  '"Council  Table,"  "the  old  bell,"  and  Gov- 
ernor Calvert's  "Cut  Lass  and  leather  scabbard"  as  well  as  some  of 
the  early  muniments  of  war  and  fortification.  The  most  of  these,  as 
well  as  the  records  of  the  order,  are  now  at  Georgetown  College. 

■■'  From  Ignatius  Loyola,  Inigoes  Lopez,  the  founder  and'  first  gen- 
eral superintendent  of  the  order  of  Jesuits,  organized  in  1534:  "Saint 
Inigoe's  Hill"  was  the  name  of  the  home  of  the  society,  where  it  owned 
a  large  estate.  Baltimore  refers  to  them  as  "those  of  the  Hill"'.  Calvert 
Papers,  number  i,  p.  216. 

*  Bryant,  United   States,   p.  312. 


222  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

Of  the  Roman  Catholic  churches  in  Saint  Mary's  County 
belonging  to  the  Colonial  period,  around  which  the  greatest 
local  interest  centres,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  its  graveyard, 
from  an  early  date,  became  the  place  of  interment  for  many  of 
the  more  prominent  Roman  Catholic  families  in  the  county, 
was  perhaps,  "old  Saint  Joseph's".  It  was  erected,  it  is  said, 
about  1740,  but  the  earliest  recorded  notice  of  its  existence, 
which  has  been  found,  is  the  fact,  that  Father  Joseph  Mosley 
was  officiating  there  in  1759.^  It  was  a  brick  building,  about 
25x45  feet,  with  steep  roof  and  square  windows,  and  though 
unpretentious  in  design,  it  was  a  substantial  and  church-like 
edifice.  About  three  hundred  yards  north  of  where  it  stood, 
a  large  and  handsome  church  has  been  erected  in  recent  years, 
after  which  the  old  building  was  allowed  to  crumble,  though 
its  site  can  yet  be  identified.  It  stood  near  the  centre  of  the  old 
graveyard,  still  used  as  a  place  of  Roman  Catholic  burial. 

When  Saint  John's,  Sacred  Heart  and  Saint  Aloysius 
churches  (the  latter'  situated  near  Leonardtown,  and  long 
since  disappeared)  were  built,  has  not  been  ascertained.  A 
legacy^  however,  to  "Saint  John's  Chapel"  in  1786,  a  tombstone 
in  the  graveyard  of  Sacred  Heart,  to  the  memory  of  Mrs. 
Susanah  Margan,  dated  1795,  and  one  in  the  graveyard  of 
Saint  Aloysius,  to  the  memory  of  Ignatius  Benedict  Drury, 
dated  1803,  prove  them  all  to  belong  to  an  early  period.  Owing 
to  the  stringent  laws  passed,  the  intolerant  spirit,  and  the 
ungenerous  policy  pursued  against  Roman  Catholics  in  Mary- 
land, from  1698,  to  the  Revolution,  it  is  -not  probable  they 
were  built  within  that  time,  though  they  appear  to  have  been 
erected  soon  after  the  latter  date. ' 

^  Old  Catholic  Maryland,  Tracey,  p.  134. 

^  Will  of  Mary  Henrietta  Taney.   Saint   Mary's  County. 


CHAPTER  XII 
The  Great  Seal  of  Maryland  and  Her  Flag 


J  T  has  been  aptly  noted,  that  Maryland  is  unique  in  her  Great 
Seal  and  presents  a  marked  contrast  to  those  of  the  other 
States  of  the  American  Union,  in  that  it  consists  of  armorial 
bearings  of  a  strictly  heraldic  character,  the  Great  Seal  of  most 
of  the  States  bearing  "emblems  indicative  of  agriculture  and 
commerce,  plenty  and  prosperity,  or  kindred  subjects,  repre- 
sented in  a  more  or  less  pictorial  or  allegorical  manner".' 

The  first  Great  Seal  of  Maryland,  brought  over  by  Gov- 
ernor Leonard  Calvert,  in  1643,  was  in  the  language  of  Balti- 
more, "treacherously  and  violently  taken  away  by  Richard 
Ingle  or  his  accomplices,  in  or  about  February,  Anno  Domini 
1644.  and  hath  been  ever  since  so  disposed  of  it  cannot  be  re- 
covered"." 

No  impression  of  this  Seal  appears  to  be  extant,  owing  per- 
haps, partly  to  the  destruction  of  the  records  of  the  times,  and 
partly  to  the  fact  that  its  use  was  more  limited  at  first  than  at  a 

^  The  great  seal  of  a  state  or  a  nation  stands  as  her  symbol  of  honor ; 
it  is  the  instrument  through  which  she  officially  speaks  and  the  signet 
by  which  her  official  acts  are  authenticated  and  accredited.  It  is  there- 
fore a  most  important  factor  in  governmental  administrations.  So  es- 
sentially so  was  it  regarded  at  the  time  of  James  II  of  England  that, 
when  that  monarch  fled  from  the  realm  before  the  wrath  of  his  infuri- 
ated subjects,  he  took  with  him  the  great  seal  of  England  and  threw 
it  in  the  river  Thames,  believing  that  without  it,  no -writs  could  be  issued 
for  a  new  Parliament  and  that  Parliament  alone  could  authorize  a  new 
great  seal.  A  thorough  and  interesting  treatise  on  the  Great  seal  of 
Maryland  was  read  before  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  by  Major  ' 
Clayton  C.  Hall,  and  published  by  the  Society  in  1886  as  "Fund  Publica- 
tion No.  23",  to  w^hich  the  author  is  indebted  for  much  of  the  material 
of  this  chapter. 

*  Archives    (CI.   Pro.)    1648,   p.  214. 


224  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

later  date,  it  not  having  been  attached  to  land  grants  until 
1644/  the  same  year  it  was  lost.  In  1648,  Baltimore  sent  to  the 
Province  through  Governor  William  Stone,  a  second  Great 
Seal  which  in  the  minute  description  accompanying  it  is  repre- 
sented as  "cut  in  silver"  like  its  predecessor,  and  very  similar 
to  it  in  size  and  design.  The  escutcheon  of  this  Seal  bore  the 
Calvert  and  Crossland  arms  quartered.  The  first  and  fourth 
quarters  consisted  of  "six  pales"  or  vertical  bars  alternately  gold 
and  black,  with  a  "bend  dexter  counter  charged" — that  is  a 
diagonal  stripe  on  which  colors  are  reversed — being  the  Cal- 
vert arms ;  the  second  and  third  quarters  consisted  of  a  quar- 
tered field  of  red  and  white  charged  with  a  greek,  or  equal, 
limbed  cross,  classified  as  "botonny" — its  arms  terminating  in 
trefoils — and  also  counter  charged,  that  is  with  the  colorings 
reversed,  red  being  on  the  white  ground  and  white  on  the 
red — the  latter  quarterings  being  from  the  Crossland,  Balti- 
more's maternal  arms  —  Alicia  Crossland  having  been  the 
mother  of  the  first  Baron  of  Baltimore.  These  quarterings 
were  surmounted  by  an  earl's  coronet  and  full-faced  helmet, 
which  indicated  his  rank  in  America  as  that  of  a  Count 
Palatine — his  rank  in  England  being  that  of  a  Baron  only — a 
distinction  which  no  other  American  colonial  charter  conferred. 
On  the  helmet  rested  the  Calvert  crest  —  a  ducal  crown 
with  two  half  bannerets,  one  gold  and  one  black.  The  escutch- 
eon was  supported  on  one  side  by  the  figure  of  a  farmer, 
and  the  other  by  that  of  a  fisherman  —  symboHcal  of  his 
two  estates,  Maryland  and  Avalon.  Below  them  was  a  scroll 
bearing  the  Calvert  motto :  "Fatti  Maschii  Parole  Femine" — 
manly  deeds,  womanly  words,  or  more  strictly  deeds  are  males, 
words  females.  Behind  the  escutcheons  and  coronets  was  en- 
graved an  ermine  lined  mantle,  and  surrounding  all,  on  a  border 
encirchng  the  seal,  was  the  legend:  "Scuto  Bona  Voluntatics 
Tue  Coronasti" — With  favor  will  thou  compass  him  as  with  a 
shield." 

The  heraldic  terms  used  in  describing  the  colors  in  the 

'  Bland,  Maryland  Report,  i,  p.  308. 

'Archives  (CI.  Pro.)   1648;  pp.  214,  215;  Hall.  pp.  17,  23. 


THE   GREAT    SEAL   AXD    FLAG        225 

Calvert  arms  are  or'  and  sable,  which  means  gold  and  black,' 
and  not  orange  and  black,  as  it  has  so  frequently  been  mis- 
interpreted.' 

Such  is  the  design  of  the  coat  of  arms  of  Maryland — 
armorial  bearings  either  connected  with  the  family  of  her 
founders,  or  reflecting  upon  the  nature  and  scope  of  her 
foundation — and  its  meaning  is  of  marked  significance  and 
deep  interest. 

The  most  prominent  part  of  the  coat  of  arms  is  its  escutch- 
eon, or  shield  as  it  was  formerly  called.  Shields  are  of  ancient 
origin  and  were  regarded  as  an  important  equipment  of  every 
soldier  until  the  invention  of  fire  arms  rendered  them  prac- 
tically useless  for  that  purpose.  At  first  they  were  of  plain 
metal  designed  for  protection  only,  but  later  they '  were  or- 
namented with  devices,  which  in  the  absence  of  modern  military 
trappings,  would  enable  friend  and  foe  to  distinguish  each 
other  on  the  field  of  battle,  or  in  the  language  of  the  poet 
"That  no  Norman  might  die  at  the  hand  of  a  brother,  nor 
that  one  Frenchman  be  killed  by  another".  Still  later,  designs 
and  colorings  were  used,  by  which  the  individual  bearing  them 
could  be  identified,  those  selected  for  the  purpose  being  some- 
thing suggestive  of  his  name  or  a  reminder  of  some  military 
achievement  for  which  the  bearer,  or  his  family,  had  become 
distinguished.  It  was  from  the  latter  kind  that  the  shield  or 
escutcheon  of  the  Maryland  coaj;  of  arms  was  designed.  In  the 
first  and  fourth  quarterings,  taken  from  the  Calvert  arms, 
the  six  vertical  payles  or  stockades,  signify  in  heraldry  a 
palisado  or  fortification,  and  the  diagonal  bend  or  band,  ex- 
tending from  the  bottom  to  the  top  represents  a  scaling  ladder 
by  which  Calvert  is  supposed  to  have  reached  the  top  of  the 
Bastile  fortification  and  demolished  it.  The  question  of  whether 
the  arms  were  granted  to  Calvert  for  destroying  rather  than 
for  building  forts,  is  determined  by  this  band  or  parti-colored 
field  as  it  is  called  in  heraldry,  having  its  colors  transposed,  • 

^  Ibid.  ■  Clark's  Heraldry,  p.  16. 

^  Most  prominently  of  all  by  the  State  itself,  in  the  handsome 
painting  of  the  Great  Seal  which  now  decorates  the  Senate  Chamber  of 
the  State  House  at  Annapolis. 


226  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

that  is  the  gold  on  the  black  and  the  black  on  the  gold,  meaning 
broken — scattered.  The  second  and  third  quarterings,  taken 
from  the  Crossland  arms,  also  have  a  parti-colored  field  with 
its  colors,  silver  and  red,  counter  charged,  that  is,  the  silver 
on  the  red  and  the  red  on  the  silver,  indicating  that  its  bearer 
had  been  valiant  and  successful  in  destructive  warfare.  The 
cross  is  suggestive  either  of  the  name  of  the  bearer,  or  the  time 
when  his  honors  were  won,  it  being  one  of  the  symbols  de- 
noting the  Christian  warrior.  The  arms  of  the  cross  termi- 
nating in  a  flower  full  bloom,  rather  than  a  botonny  or  budding 
design,  indicates  that  the  bearer  is  in  the  full  flower  of  his 
glory,  and  is  not  simply  a  bud  of  hope  and  promise.  The  earl's 
coronet,  which  surmounts  the  shield,  indicates  the  nature  and 
scope  of  the  Maryland  charter,  and  shows  it  to  have  been  a 
Palatine,  an  Earldom,  the  highest  grant  that  the  English  mon- 
arch could  confer,  and  one  which  was  not  conferred  upon  any 
other  American  colony.  Above  that  was  a  full  faced  helmet. 
As  the  earl's  coronet  indicated  the  nature  of  the  Maryland 
grant,  the  helmet  shows  the  rank  of  the  Proprietary  in  his  rela- 
tion to  his  Maryland  possessions.  Helmets  were  either  full 
faced  or  in  profile,  the  former  showing  a  jurisdiction  that  was 
absolute — looking  straight  ahead  at  the  possessions  over  which 
he  was  the  supreme,  ruler,  while  the  latter  showed  a  feudal 
allegiance,  as  though  looking  around  for  the  approach  of  his 
sovereign,  liege  or  lord.  An  earl's  coronet  was  a  crown  of  gold 
with  eight  prongs,  each  holding  a  pearl,  and  between  each  was 
a  strawberry  leaf.  The  full  faced  helmet  was  a  covering,  usu- 
ally of  steel,  for  the  face,  but  so  arranged  as  to  enable  the 
bearer  to  see  in  front  between  six  projecting  bars,  while  in  the 
helmet  in  profile  view  the  front  is  closed  and  only  that  on  the 
side  is  exposed. 

It  was  only  in  relation  to  Maryland  that  Lord  Baltimore 
could  use  either  the  earl's  coronet  or  the  full  faced  helmet. 
In  England  he  was  only  a  baron,  a  much  lower  order  in  the 
scale  of  nobility,  and  as  such,  he  could  only  use  the  helmet  in 
profile.  Above  the  helmet  was  a  ducal  coronet,  a  crown  of 
gold  with  eight  strawberry  or  parsley  leaves  projecting  at 
equal  intervals  above  the  rim — a  symbol  in  its  application  here 


Q 
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i  5 

o 

z 

^  o 


THE   GREAT    SEAL   AND    FLAG        227 

of  honorary  distinction  to  Maryland  and  her  Proprietor.  From 
this  flowed  two  pennons,  one  black  and  one  gold.  Pennons 
were  small  painted  flags  used  in  the  Medieval  period  on  spears 
or  lances  for  the  purpose  of  identification,  and  bearing  the 
owners  personal  colors.  It  was  from  these  pennons  that  the 
Maryland  colors,  "or  and  sable"  (gold  and  black),  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  derived.  Behind  the  escutcheon,  coro«net 
and  helmet  was  engraved  a  scarlet  ermine  lined  mantle,  fringed 
with  gold.  This  mantle,  was,  presumably,  only  to  furnish  an 
appropriate  back  ground  for  the  setting,  but  its  colors,  crimson, 
ermine  and  gold,  are  historic,  in  that  the  head  dress  of  a  baron 
at  the  time  Baltimore  was  knighted,  and  also  at  the  date  of  the 
^Maryland  charter,  was  a  crimson  velvet  cap,  turned  up,  lined 
with  ermine  and  having  a  plain  gold  band,  the  right  'of  a  baron 
to  wear  a  crown  not  having  been  conferred  until  the  reign  of 
Charles  II  of  England.^ 

On  the  obverse  side  was  a  representation  of  Baltimore  on 
horseback,  with  drawn  sword,  helmet  decorated  with  feathers 
and  in  full  armour,  adorned  with  his  paternal  coat  of  arms, 
below  which  was  engraved  a  seashore,  grass  and  flowers,  and 
around  the  whole  an  inscription  containing  his  name  and  titles : 
Cecilius  Absolutus  Dominus  Terrae  Mariae  et  Avaloniae  Baro 
de  Baltimore.^ 

In  the  accompanying  illustrations  of  the  Great  Seal  under 
the  Proprietary  government,  *it  should  be  noted,  that  on  the 
obverse  side  of  the  word  "Carlos"  appears  on  the  marginal 
circle  instead  of  "Cecilius".  Charles  Calvert,  became,  on  the 
death  of  his  father,  Cecilius,  Baron  of  Baltimore  in  1675,  and 
through  him  and  his  grandson  Charles,  the  fifth  Lord  Balti- 
more (except  from  February  20th,  to  April  5th,  171 5,  the 
length  of  time  which  Benedict  Leonard  suryived  his  father)  the 
title  to  the  Province  was  in  a  Charles,  Lord  Baltimore  until 
1 75 1,  when  the  last  of  that  name  died.  It  was  therefore  but 
natural  that  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Province  should 'have  borne 
the  word  Carlos  during  that  period.     When  the  change  was 

^  Edmonson's   Heraldry,   vol.    5,    p.    198. 
■*  Archives    (CI.  Pro.    1648)   pp.  214,  215. 


228 


COLONIAL    MARYLAND 


made,  the  records  do  not  disclose, 
but  a  careful  examination  of  the  old 
Seal  now  in  the  Land  Office,  at  An- 
napolis, clearly  shows  that  it  was 
accomplished  by  simply  substituting 
on  the  original  Seal  the  one  name 
for  the  other.  The  small  illustration 
shown  here,  corresponds  exactly  with 
the  description  which  accompanied 
the  Great  Seal  in  1648,  except  that 
it  is  reduced  in  size,  and  represents  it  as  it  appeared  when  used 
during  the  administration  of  Cecilius  himself. 

This  Great  Seal  passed,  with  the  government,  into  the 
hands  of  Cromwell's  commissioners  in  1652,  where  they  re- 
mained until  1657,  when  the  government  was  restored  to  the 
Proprietary.  The  conditions  of  surrender  provided  also  for 
the  return  of  the  Great  Seal,  but  the  records  do  not  distinctly 
show  that  this  was  done.^  Fearing  that  the  Great  Seal  may 
have  been  lost,  Baltimore  had  a  third  one  made  while  the 
negotiations  of  surrender  were  pending,  but  it  was  to  be  used 
only  in  the  event  of  its  predecessor  not  being  recovered.^  As 
no  description  accompanied  this  Seal,  and  as  no  impression 
appears  to  be  extant  of  the  Great  Seal  between  1648  and  1657, 
it  is  impossible  to  definitely  determine  which  of  the  two  was 
subsequently  used.  Bacon  however,  in  his  preface  to  "The 
Laws  of  Maryland",  published  in  1765,  says  the  one  of  1648, 
is  the  "same  which  is  in  use  at  present",  and  the  fact  that 
the  impressions  of  the  Great  Seal  used  after  the  Baltimore 
government  was  re-established,  many  of  which  still  exist,  cor- 
respond literally  with  the  description  which  accompanied  the 
Great  Seal  of  1648,  would  seem  not  only  to  justify  the  con- 
clusion reached  by  Bacon,  as  also,  that  the  one  of  1657  was 
never  used  at  all,  since  it  was  only  to  be  done  in  the  event  that 
the  former  Seal  was  not  restored. 

While  the  Province  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Crown,  the  seal  known  as  the  "Broad  Seal",  adopted  in  1692, 


Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1657)  pp.  333,  34Q_, 


Ibid,  pp.  322,  329. 


THE   GREAT    SEAL   AXD    F  L  A  CI         229 

and  anr>ther  i-n  1706,  were  used,'  and  the  Baltimore  Great  Seal 
was  limited  in  use.  during  that  period,  to  land  grants,  Balti- 
more's territorial  rights  not  having  been  disturbed.  But  upon 
the  restoration  of  the  Province  in  171 5,  the  old  Great  Seal 
again  came  into  use,  and  continued  to  be  the  Great  Seal  of 
Maryland  until  after  the  revolution. 

It  has  been  stated  that  a  new  Great  Seal  was  adopted  in 
1765,"  but  no  authority  for  the  statement  is  given,  and  none 
has  been  found.  There  is  no  doubt  that  there  were  other 
Seals  in  the  Province,  intended  and  used  for  different  and 
various  purposes,  but  not  as  the  Great  Seal.  A  wood  cut  of 
one,  modelled  somewhat  after  the  Great  Seal,  but  with  the 
motto  "Crescite  et  multiplicamini",  was  printed  on  the  title- 
page  of  Bacon's  "Laws  of  Maryland" — 1765 — but  Bacon,  in 
the  preface  to  the  work,  says  the  Great  Seal  of  the  Province 
then  in  use,  was  the  old  seal  of  1648. 

There  were  also  in  use  in  the 
Province,  Seals  known  a^  Lesser  Seals. 
One  of  these  appears  on  a  copy  of  the 
Laws  of  Maryland  between   1642  and 


at  Arms,  of  which  a  representation  is 

here  given,  was  used  in  connection  with 

the  Land  Office.     There  is  now  in  that 

office,  a  warrant  attested  with  this  seal. 

to  lay  out  land  in  Somerset  County,  for  George  Gale,  and  which 

concludes  as  follows :  "given  under  his  Lordship's  Lesser  Seal 

at  Arms,  this  14th  day  of  May,  An.  Dom.  1740". 

But  the  most  interesting,  perhaps,  certainly  the  one  less 
commonly  known,  of  the  smaller  Seals,  is  the  one  which  formed 
a  part  of  the  plate  used  in  printing  the  paper  money  of 
the  Province.  It  contained  the  escutcheon'  of  the  Great  Seal 
as  well  as  aJl  of  its  other  heraldic  devices,  but  bore  the  motto. 
"Crescite  et  multiplicamini" — a  motto  first  introduced  into. 
Maryland,  as  far  as  the  records  disclose,  in  1659,  it  having 
appeared  on  the  coin  struck  for  Maryland  at  that  time.     The 

'Hall,  p.  25.  'Scharf,  i,  p.  198— Note. 


230  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

accompanying  impression  of  this  little  Seal,  it  may  be  interest- 
ing to  note,  is  not  made  from  a 
copy  of  it,  as  would  be  necessarily 
the  case  with  printed  impressions  of 
other  Seals  of  the  Province,  but, 
through  the  courtesy  of  its  owner, 
is  here  reproduced  from  the  original 
itself,  just  as  it  was  blocked  and  used 
for  stamping  its  impression  on  the  money  of  its  time.  As 
bearing  upon  the  later  history  of  this  valuable  relic,  see  note 
below.^ 

When  the  Revolution"  swept  away  Proprietary  rights  in 
Maryland,  and  the  state  government  was  established,  it  was 

^  This  interesting  relic  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  John  E. 
McCuske,  of  Annapolis.  It  was  found,  he  informed  the  author,  under 
the  following  curious  circumstances :  by  direction  of  the  State  Treas- 
urer, about  fifteen  years  ago,  he  was  having  a  window  placed  in  the  end 
of  the  rear  wing  of  the  old  Treasury  Building,  at  Annapolis,  and  after 
cutting  through  the  outer  wall,  he  encountered  an  inside  wall,  about 
three  feet  distant.  In  the  space  between  these  two  brick  walls,  he  found 
the  quaint  old  iron  chest,  still  preserved  in  that  building,  and  in  it, 
among  other  things,  was  this  seal,  which  was  then  presented  to  him  by 
the  Treasurer,  together  with  other  parts  of  the  plate,  the  most  of  them 
have  since  unfortunately  been  lost. 

^THE  GREAT  SEAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
Shortly  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Congress  appointed 
a  committee  to  prepare  a  seal  for  the  infant  republic;  and  Franklin, 
Adams  and  Jefferson  emlpoyed  a  swiss  artist,  DuSimitiere,  to  furnish 
designs  and  to  illustrate  such  suggestions  as  were  made  by  the  commit- 
tee. The  artist  produced  a  device  cons.isting  of  a  shield  supported  on 
one  side  by  the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  and  on  the  other  by  a  rifleman  in 
hunting  costume.  The  shield  bore  the  armorial  ensigns  of  the  coun- 
tries from  which  America  had  mainly  drawn'  her  population. 

Franklin  proposed  for  the  device ;  Moses  lifting  his  wand  and  divid- 
ing the  Red  Sea  with  the  water  destroying  Pharaoh's  host,  borrowing 
the  motto  from  Cromwell,  '"Rebellion  to  tyrants  is  obedience  to  God." 

Adams  proposed  the  choice  of  Hercules;  the  hero  leaning  on  his 
club,  with  Virtue  pointing  to  her  rugged  mountains  on  one  hand  and 
Sloth  trying  to  persuade  him  to  follow  her  flowery  path  on  to  the  other. 

Jefiferson  suggested  the  Children  of  Israel  in  the  Wilderness,  led 
by  a  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night.     On  the  reverse  he 


THE  GREAT  SEAL  AND  FLAG     23. 

decided  to  retain  this  beautiful  relic  of  Maryland's  Colonial 
days/  and  it  continued  to  be  used  as  the  Great  Seal  of  the 
State  until  1794,  when  a  new  one  was  adopted.''  It  bore  on 
the  one  side,  a  figure  of  Justice,  with  the  scales  in  one  hand 


proposed  to  place  representations  of  Hengist  and  Horsa,  the  Saxons 
from  whom  we  are  descended,  and  whose  political  principles  are  the 
foundation  upon  which  our  government  is  built. 

As  a  sort  of  compromise,  Franklin  and  Adams  asked  Jefferson  to 
combine  their  ideas  in  a  compact  description  of  the  proposed  seal, 
which  he  did  in  a  paper  now  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State  at 
Washington. 

This  composite  design  is  a  shield  with  six  quarterings,  which  dis- 
play the  rose,  the  thistle  and  the  harp,  emblematic  of  England.  Scot- 
land and  Ireland;  the  lilies  of  France,  the  imperial  eagle  of  Germany 
and  the  crowned  red  lion  of  Holland.    This  was  DuSimitiere's  idea. 

The  shield  was  bordered  with  a  red  ground,  displaying  thirteen 
gold  stars  linked  by  a  chain  bearing  the  initials  of  the  States.  The 
supporters  were  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  in  a  corselet  of  armor,  in  allu- 
sion to  the  then  state  of  war,  and  the  Goddess  of  Justice  with  sword 
and  balance.  The  crest  was  the  eye  in  a  radiant  triangle,  and  the  motto 
E  Pluribus  Unum.  Around  the  whole  were  the  words,  "Seal  of  the 
United  States,  MDCCLXXVI;"  reverse:  Pharaoh  passing  through  the 
Red  Sea  in  his  chariot  in  pursuit  of  the  Israelites;  Moses  standing  on 
a  shore  illumined  by  rays  from  a  pillar  of  fire  in  a  cloud.  Motto, 
"Rebellion  to  tyrants  is  obedience  to  God." 

It  seems  that  no  part  of  Adam's  classic  allegory  was  embodied  in 
this  device. 

The  committee  reported  to  the  Continental  Congress  on  the  tenth  of 
August,  1776,  but  for  some  reason  the  affair  was  not  placed  on  record. 
On  March  24,  1779,  Mr.  Lovell  of  Massachusetts,  Mr.  Scott  of  Virginia 
and  Mr.  Houston  of  Georgia  were  appointed  to  make  another  design. 
Early  in  May  these  gentlemen  reported  in  favor  of  a  seal  four  inches  in 
diameter;  a  shield  with  thirteen  diagonal  red  and  white  stripes  with,  for 
supporters.  Peace  with  an  olive  branch  and  a  warrior  with  a  drawn 
sword.  Motto :  Bcllo  vel  pace, — For  war  or  peace.  The  reverse  side 
was  to  represent  Liberty,  seated  in  a  chair  holding  cap  and  staff.  Motto, 
Semper — Foreyer;  and  underneath,  the  date. 

The  report  was  submitted  and  resubmitted  with  slight  modifications, 
but  was  not  accepted;  and  so  the  matter  rested  until  April,  1782,  when 
Middleton,  Boudinot  and  Rutledge  were  appointed  a  third  committee  to 
prepare  a  seal.     But  their  work  seems  to  have  resulted  in  a  failure  to 

'CI.    Pro.    1777,    1779.  »C1.    Pro.   1794.    I799- 


232  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

and  an  olive  branch  in  the  other.  The  figure  was  surmounted 
by  rays  of  light,  and  at  its  feet  lay  the  fasces,  with  the  cap  of 
Liberty,  and  crossed  olive  branches.  The  inscription  was 
simply  "Great  Seal  of  Maryland".  On  the  opposite  side  was  a 
tobacco  hogshead,  with  bundles  of  leaf  tobacco  lying  on  top, 
two  sheaves  of  wheat  standing  by  the  side  and  the  cornu- 
copia of  plenty  lying  in  front.  In  the  background  was  a  ship 
approaching  the  shore,  and  surrounding  all,  the  motto:  "In- 
dustry the  means  and  plenty  the  result".' 

In  1817,  this  seal  was  superseded  by  one  fashioned  after 
the  Great  Seal  of  the  United  States,  containing  only  an  eagle, 
a  semicircle  of  thirteen  stars,  and  the  words,  "Great  Seal  of 
Maryland".^  This  seal,  in  1854,  was  ordered  to  be  changed 
for  one  showing  the  original  arms  of  the  State,  and  containing 
the  motto,  "Crescite  et  Multiplicamini",  and  the  inscription,  _ 
"1632.  The  Great  Seal  of  Maryland.  1854",  but  in  making 
this  seal,  the  eagle  was  retained  in  place  of  the  coronet  and 
other  emblems.^ 

In  1874,  it  was  decided  to  discard  this,  and  to  restore  the 
ancient  seal,  the  arms  of  which  were  to  conform  to  the  arms  of 
Lord  Baltimore,  as  represented  in  Bacon's  Laws  of  Maryland 
(1765).  Investigation,  however,  proved  that  Bacon's  repre- 
sentation of  the  Baltimore  arms  did  not  correspond  with  that 
given  by  Lord  Baltimore  himself  in  his  commission  to  Gover- 
nor Stone,  which  accompanied  the  Great  Seal,  in  1648.  This 
resulted  in  the  adoption,  in  1876,  of  the  present  Great  Seal  of 
Maryland,^  which  is  designed  after  the  original,  and  bearing 

satisfy  Congress,  and  on  June  thirteeftth  of  the  same  year,  the  whole 
matter  w.as  finally  referred  by  that  body  to  Charles  Thomson,  its 
secretary. 

He  procured  several  devices,  among  theiti  an  elaborate  one  by 
William  Barton  of  Philadelphia,  but  none  of  them  met  with  congress- 
ional approval  until  John  Adams,  then  in  London,  sent  him  a  design 
suggested  by  Sir  John  Prestwich,  an  Englishman  who  was  a  warm 
friend  of  America  and  an  accomplished  antiquarian. 

It  consisted  of   an  escutcheon  bearing  thirteen  stripes,  white  and 

'Hall,  p.  31.  'CI.  Pro.  1813,  1817. 

n^all,  p.  35-  -  'I^id'  P-  ^T- 


THE  PRESE^n'  GREAT  Sf:AL  OF  MARVLAXl), 
ADOPTED   l«7r>. 


T  H  E   G  R  EAT    SEAL   AND    FLAG  233 

the  same  arms,  emblems,  motto,  and  inscriptions ;  and  thus 
Maryland  to-day  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having  this  historic 
seal,  emblematic  alike  of  the  "nature  of  her  foundation  and 
the  lineage  of  her  founder"  as  the  symbol  of  her  honor,  and 
as  the  signet  by  which  her  official  acts  are  authenticated  and 
accredited. 

In  executing  the  order  for  the  present  Great  Seal,  the 
date  of  the  Maryland  charter — 1632 — which  did  not  appear  on 
the  old  seal,  was  inserted  at  the  base  of  the  marginal  circle. 
The  pennons,  or  bannerets,  were  also  changed,  being  made  to 
flow  towards  the  dexter  (right),  instead  of  the  sinister  (left) 
side,  as  they  appeared  on  the  old  seal.  The  latter  change, 
unauthorized  by  the  resolution,  and  of  doubtful  propriety,  was 
made,  presumably,  in  order  that  the  seal  would  conform  in 
that  respect,  to  the  Baltimore  family  arms,  on  which  they  are 
represented  as  flowing  toward  the  dexter  side,  which  latter 
may  have  been  the  result  either  of  an  error  of  the  engraver,  or 
Baltimore's  fancy,  as,  in  heraldry,  they  are  most  universally 
represented  as  flying  toward  the  left  side,  as  if  being  carried 
toward  the  right.^ 

The  obverse  of  the  old  seal  was  not  included  in  the  order 

red  on  a  blue  field,  displayed  on  the  breast  of  an  eagle  holding  in  his 
right  talon  an  olive  branch,  and  in  his  left  a  bundle  of  thirteen  arrows; 
in  his  beak  a  scroll  inscribed,  E.  Pluribus  Unum.  For  a  crest  it  had 
over  the  head  of  the  eagle  a  golden  glory  breaking  through  a  cloud, 
surrounding  thirteen  white  stars  on  a  blue  field.  Reverse :  An  unfin- 
ished pyramid;  in  the  zenith,  an  eye  in  a  triangle;  over  the  eye  the 
words :  Annuit  caeptis — God  favors  the  undertaking.  On  the  base  of 
the  pyramid  are  the  Roman  numerals  MDCCLXXVI,  and  underneath 
the  motto,  Novus  ordo  secloruni — which  may  be  translated  freely,  A 
new  era. 

This  design  was  accepted,  and  thus,  after  six  years  of  fruitless 
effort  on  the  part  of  our  own  countrymen,  we  became  indebted  for 
our  national  arms  to  a  titled  aristocrat  of  the  kingdom  with  which  we 
were  then  at  war.  Francis  Zuri  Stone — "The  Companion." 

*  In  1884,  while  searching  for  historic  relics  in  the  vault  of  the  old 
Treasury  Building,  at  Annapolis,  the  old  seal,  of  1648,  was  found,  as 
well  as  one  of  the  lesser  seals  and  the  Great  Seal,  adopted  in  1694, 
all  of  which  are  now  preserved  in  the  Land  Office,  at  Annapolis. 


234  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

adopting-  the  present  Great  Seal.  The  representations  upon 
that  side  were  wholly  personal  to  Baltimore,  apart  from  the  fact 
that  it  possesses  no  practical  value  under  the  existing  method 
of  using  the  Great  Seal,  the  old  pendant  seal  of  wax,  and  im- 
pressed on  both  sides  having  been  superseded  by  the  impres- 
sion of  the  seal  being  made  on  the  document  itself. 

The  Maryland  flag,  like  the  Great  Seal,  is  unique,  in  that 
it  is  strictly  of  heraldic  design.  It  is  composed  of  the  armorial 
bearings  and  colors  of  the  Calvert  and  Crossland  arms,  quar- 
tered as  displayed  on  the  escutcheon  of  the  Great  Seal." 

It  has  been  stated,  and  is  generally  believed,  that  no 
design  was  ever  formally  adopted  for  the  official  flag  of  Mary- 
land, and  that  it  was  simply  accepted  by  common  consent. 
This  would  appear  to  be  true  as  to  the  State,  until  adopted  by 
Act  of  1904,  Chapter  48,  but  not  so  with  respect  to  the  Propri- 
etary government.  The  Maryland  flag,  like  the  Great  SeaU 
was  evidently  designed  and  adopted  by  Cecilius,  Lord  Balti- 
more, and  sent  out  by  him  with  the  colony,  as  it  was  unfurled 
and  officially  used  a  few  days  only  after  taking  formal  posses- 
sion of  the  Province,  when  Governor  Calvert,  to  more  forcibly 
impress  the  natives,  ordered  the  "colors  to  be  brought  on 
shore",  and  a  military  parade." 

In  honor  of  Sir  John  Harvey,  Governor  of  Virginia,  who 
visited  Governor  Calvert  shortly  after  his  arrival,  the  flag  was 
also  used.    On  that  occasion,  says  the  Relation,  of  1634,  "Wee 

^  For  a   minute   description   of  these   see   pages  224-225. 

'^  British  Empire  in  America,   i,  pf.   184.     Bozman,  pp.  525,  697. 

ORIGIN  AND  HISTORY  OF  THE  STARS  AND  STRIPES. 

In  1775,  Congress  appointed  a  committee  of  three  gentlemen — Benj. 
Franklin  and  Messrs.  Harrison  and  Lynch — to  consider  and  devise  a 
national  flag.  The  result  was  the  adoption  of  the  "King's  Colors"  as  a 
union  (or  corner  square),  combined  with  thirteen  stripes,  alternate  red 
and  white,  showing  "that  although  the  colonics  united  for  defense 
against  England's  tyranny,  they  still  acknowledged  her  sovereignty." 

The  first  public  acceptance,  recognition,  and  salute  of  this  flag  oc- 
curred January  2,  1776,  at  Washington's  headquarters,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
It  was  named  "The  Flag  of  the  Union,''  and  sometimes  called  the 
"Cambridge  Flag." 


THE    GREAT    SEAL    AND     FLAG       235 

kept  the  "solemnity  of  carrying  our  colours  on  shore".  The 
next  recorded  instance  in  which  the  Maryland  flag  was  used, 
■was  in  1638,  when  Governor  Calvert  made  his  expedition  to 
Kent  Island  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the  Claiborne  forces 
to  subjection,  when  he  and  his  followers,  as  he  reported  to 
Baltimore,  marched  "with  your  ensign  displayed",  Robert 
Clarke  being  the  colour  bearer.  In  the  famous  battle  also  upon 
the  Severn,  in  1655,  between  the  Parliamentary  Party  and  the 
•  Baltimore  forces,  the  former  set  up  the  standard  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  England,  while  the  latter  marched  "with  Lord 
Baltimore's  colours  displayed",  or  as  expressed  by  Heamans, 
master  of  the  ship  Golden  Lyon,  then  in  the  harbor,  and  who 
took  part  in  the  battle.  Baltimore's  forces  marched  "with  drums 
beating  and  colours  flying,  the  colors  being  black  and  yellow, 
appointed  by  the  Lord  Proprietary".' 

While  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  distinct  record  of  the 
design  of  the  colonial  flag  of  Maryland,  it  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  same  as  the  one  now  in  use.  Maryland  as  a  state, 
did  not  at  first  formally  adopt  an  official  flag,  but  by  common 
consent  continued  to  use  the  one  designed  for  the  Provincial 
Government,  just  as  it  did  the  old  great  seal  of  Maryland. 
The  latter  was  adopted  by  the  Governor  and  Council,  who, 
under  the  first  constitution  of  the  state,  were  invested  with  the 
power  to  make  the  great  seal,  but  this  power  did  not  extend 
to  the  flag.  The  legislative  department  of  the  new  govern- 
ment had  the  unquestioned  right  to  adopt  a  standard  for  the 
state,  but  it  did  not  exercise  that  right.  It,  therefore,  must 
have  been  done  by  common  consent  and  by  the  continuous 
use  of  the  flag  which  had  always  been  the  standard  of  Mary- 
land. It  is  true  in  July  1754,  Governor  Horatio  Sharpe  of  Mary- 

In  the  spring  of  1777  Congress  appointed  another  committee,  "au- 
thorized to  design  a  suitable  flag  for  the  nation."  This  committee  con- 
sisted of  General  George  Washington  and  Robert  Morris.  They  called 
upon  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ross,  who  was  a  dressmaker,  milliner,  and  uphol- 
stress,  and  who  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  finest  needle  worker  in 
America,  and  from  the  pencil  drawing  made  by  General  Washington, 
engaged  her  to  make  a  flag. 

'  Heamans  Narrative,  Bosman,  697. 


236  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

land  was  commissioned  by  the  King  of  England  as  commander  of 
the  Maryland  and  other  forces  to  be  engaged  in  the  French 
and  English  war,  and  that,  in  August  of  that  year,  he  and  the 
council  ordered  a  large  quantity  of  powder  and  flints,  and  a 
"black  and  yellow  flag  24  feet  long  and  16  feet  broad,  with  the 
union  in  one  corner".  This  flag  was  most  likely  intended 
for  use  in  the  military  expedition  to  be  undertaken  in  the 
interests  of  the  cross  of  Saint  George  and  Saint  Andrew,  which 
constituted  the  Union  Jack  after  the  union  of  England  and 
Scotland.  It  most  probably,  too,  was  never  used,  as  Maryland 
refused  to  send  her  troops  to  a  war  which  did  not  concern 
the  state  or  its  people,  and  which  only  meant  a  struggle  be- 
tween England  and  France  for  mastery  over  the  great  Mis- 
sissippi valley. 

Maryland  was  not  a  royal,  but  was  a  proprietary  colony, 
and  it  is  highly  improbable  that  Baltimore  would  have  used 
on  his  Maryland  standard  the  Union  Jack  of  Great  Britain, 
instead  of  his  own  official  arms.  This  is  still  more  apparent, 
when  the  fact  is  considered,  that  he  took  such  painstaking 
care  to  work  out  for  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  province  a  de- 
sign which  was  distinctively  applicable  to  Maryland,  display- 
ing the  arms  of  its  founder  and  the  nature  and  scope  of  its 
charter:  and  it  would  have  been  most  natural  for  him,  in 
designing  an  official  standard  for  the  province,  to  have  also 
adopted  the  escutcheon  of  his  arms,  as  he  certainly  did  its 
colors. 

Had  the  flag  contained  a  Union  Jack,  or  any  other  dis- 
tinctive emblem,  it  would  assuredly  not  have  escaped  the  ob- 
servant Heamans,  who  described  it  so  minutely  when  waving 
at  the  battle' of  the  Severn. 

It  is  stated  that  a  Maryland  flag  .was  borne  by  the  ^Tary- 
land  volunteer  troops  that  accompanied  Braddock.  in  1756,  in 
his  expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne,  and  also  that  one  was 

This  flag  was  the  first  legally  established  emblem,  and  was  adopted 
by  Congress,  June  14,  1777,  under  the  following  act: 

"Resolved,  That  the  flag  of  the  United  States  be  thirteen  stripes, 
alternate  red  and  white;  that  the  Union  be  thirteen  stars,  white  in  a 
blue  field,  representing  a  new  constellation." 


THE    GREAT    SEAL    AND    FLAG      237 

carried  throughout  the  entire  civil  war  by  the  Frederick  voUm- 
teers,  which  became  part  of  the  First  Maryland  Regiment.  Con- 
federate States  of  America.' 

Apart  from  its  historic  interest,  the  Maryland  flag,  as  may 
be  seen  from  the  accompanying  illustration,  possesses  marked 
symmetry  and  beauty.  The  parallel  and  diagonal  lines  of  the 
Calvert  quarterings  being  in  singular  harmony  with  the  crosses 
and  transposed  colors  of  those  of  the  Crossland  arms.  The 
.  combination,  too,  of  the  colors  of  the  former — gold  and  black 
— while  in  brilliant  contrast  with  those  of  the  latter  quarter- 
ings— silver  and  red — is  both  effective  and  pleasing. 

The  first  American  flag  was  first  unfurled  by  Captain  John  Paul 
Jones,  on  the  Ranger,  when  it  became  the  standard  of  the  new  American 
Republic. 

In  May,  1777,  Congress  made  an  order  on  the  Treasurer  to  pay  Mrs. 
Ross,  £14,  I2S,  2d,  for  flags  for  the  fleet  in  the  Delaware  River,  and  gave 
h^r  a  contract  to  make  all  government  flags. — Historical  Publishing 
Company,  Chicago,  1893. 

The  first  American  flag  unfurled  in  Maryland,  was  the  one  sent 
from  Philadelphia,  November,  1776,  by  Commodore  Hopkins  to  Com- 
modore Joshua  Barney,  for  use  on  the  Hornet.  "The  next  morning  at 
sunrise,  Barney  had  the  enviable  honor  of  unfurling  it  to  the  music  of 
drums  and  fifes,  and  hoisting  it  on  a  staff,  planted  with  his  own  hands, 
at  the  door  of  his  rendezvous.  The  heart-stirring  sounds  of  the  musical 
instrument,  then  a  novel  incident  in  Baltimore,  and  the  still  more  novel 
sight  of  the  rebel  colors  gracefully  waving  in  the  breeze,  attracted 
crowds  of  all  ranks  and  sizes  to  the  §ay  scene  of  the  rendezvous,  and 
before  the  setting  of  the  same  day's  sun,  the  young  recruiting  officer  had 
enlisted  a  full  crew  of  jolly  rebels  for  the  Hornet." — Memoirs  of  Com- 
modore Barney,  p.  30. 

^  Hollander,   Political   Institutions. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Force  and  Value  of  the  Maryland  Line  in  the 
American  Revolution 


TTHE  part  which  the  Maryland  Line  played  in  the  drama  of 
the  American  Revolution  was  one  of  distinctive  importance. 
Its  history  indeed,  stands  out  in  bold  relief  and  shows  "a  match- 
less splendor  and  unsurpassable  bravery",  a  military  bearing 
and  a  degree  of  heroism  and  valor,  both  of  its  officers  and  men, 
which  promptly  won  for  it  the  high  and  merited  distinction 
of  being  regarded  as  the  "very  flower"  of  the  American  Army. 
While  Maryland  had  not  yet  renounced  her  allegiance  to 
England,  and  was  indeed,  still  fondly  indulging  the  hope 
of  reconciliation  with  the  mother  country,  she  was  firmly  re- 
solved to  actively  resist  the  threatened  encroachment  upon  her 
rights  and  liberties,  and  to  that  end  took  decided  steps  to 
place  her  provincial  militia  upon  a  more  efficient  footing,  as 
well  also  to  the  manufacture  and  purchase  of  arms  and  am- 
munition. As  early  as  the  14th  of  June,  1775,  the  day  before 
Washington  was  made  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  and 
just  three  days  before  the  disastrous  engagement  at  Bunker 
Hill,  Congress  ordered  two  cornpanies  to  be  raised  in  Mary- 
land to  serve  as  light  infantry  and  to  join  the  camp  at  Bos- 
ton. Western  Maryland  responded  promptly  to  this  requisi- 
tion and  the  two  companies  were  raised  principally  in  that  sec- 
tion of  the  State.  The  first  company  was  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Michael  Cresap,  with  Thomas  Warren,  Joseph  Cresap  and 
Richard  Davis  lieutenants,  and  the  second  company  by  Cap- 
tain Thomas  Price  with  Otho  Holland  Williams,  and  John 
Ross  Key,  lieutenants.  Both  companies,  each  130  strong, 
were  made  up  of  chosen  men  and  expert  riflemen,  but  Cresap's 


THE     M  A  R  Y  L  A  X  D     L  I  X  E  239 

company,  was  composed  of  sturdy  mountaineers,  who,  with 
him,  had  become  schooled  in  IncUan  warfare  and  accustomed 
to  the  severest  hardships.  The  place  of  rendezvous  was 
Frederick  City,  Md..  from  whence  they  started  on  the  i8th 
of  July,  being-  the  first  troops  to  arrive  from  the  South.  Cre- 
sap's  company  reached  Cambridge  on  the  9th  of  August,  thus 
making  the  then  difficult  journey  of  550  miles  in  twenty  two 
days.  By  the  13th,  Price's  company  had  arrived,  as  well 
also  Captain  Morgan's  company,  recruited  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Shepherdstown,  Virginia,  and  which  left  Fred- 
erick at  the  same  time.  They  all  started  that  day  for  Boston, 
where  they  became  a  part  of  the  Continental  Army.  These 
troops  had  a  brilliant  career  and  rendered  a  most  efficient  ser- 
vice. After  serving  before  Boston,  they  were  incorporated 
into  a  rifle  regiment,  consisting  of  two  other  Maryland  and 
four  Virginia  companies,  and  formed  a  part  of  the  garrison  of 
Fort  Washington,  under  command  of  colonel  Moses  Raw- 
lings  and  Major  Otho  Holland  Williams  at  the  time  of  the 
memorable  attack  upon  it  by  Sir  William  Howe.^ 

^  In  a  letter  dated  August  1st,  1775,  the  writer  in  speaking  of 
Captain  Cresap's  Company,  says:  "I  have  had  the  happiness  of  seeing 
Captain  Michael  Cresap  marching  at  the  head  of  a  formidable  company 
of  upwards  of  130  men  from  the  mountains  and  backwoods,  painted  like 
Indians,  armed  with  tomahawks  and  rifles,  dressed  in  hunting  shirts 
and  moccasins,  and  though  some  of  them  had  travelled  nearly  eight 
hundred  miles  from  the  banks  of  the*  Ohio,  they  seemed  to  walk  light 
and  easy,  and  not  with  less  spirit  than  the  first  hour  of  their  march 
*  *  Yesterday  the  Company  was  supplied  with  powder  from  the 
magazine  which  wanted  airing,  and  was  not  in  good  order  for  rifles ; 
in  the  evening,  however,  they  were  drawn  out  to  show  their  dexterity 
at  shooting.  A  clapboard,  with  a  mark  the  size  of  a  dollar,  was  put 
up;  they  began  to  fire  off  hand,  and  the  bystanders  were  surprised, 
few  shots  being  made  that  were  not  close  to  or  in  the  paper.  When 
they  had  shot  for  a  time  this  way,  some  lay  on  their  backs,  some  on 
their  breasts  or  sides,  others  ran  20  or  30  steps,  and  firing,  appeared 
to  be  equally  certain  of  the  mark.  With  this  performance  the  Com- 
pany was  more  than  satisfied,  when  a  young  man  took  up  thp  board 
in  his  hand,  not  by  the  end  but  by  the  side,  and  holding  it  up  his 
brother  walked  a  distance  and  very  coolly  shot  into  the  white;  laying 
down  his  rifle,  he  took  up  the  board,  and  holding  it  as  it  was  held 


240  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

While  the  Maryland  declaration,  in  which  it  was  declared, 
"That  the  King  of  Great  Britain  had  violated  his  compact  with 
this  people,  and  they  owe  no  allegiance  to  him",  was  not  issued 
until  the  sixth  of  July,  1776,  early  in  January  of  that  year 
Maryland  began  more  formidable  preparations  for  war  than 
had  hitherto  been  made.  The  Maryland  convention  or- 
dered 1444  men  to  be  raised,  equipped  and  prepared  for  ser- 
vice. These  were  to  be  arranged  in  one  battalion,  composed  of 
nine  companies,  and  into  seven  independent  companies  of  reg- 
ular troops,  two  of  artillery  amd  one  of  marines,  to  serve  dur- 
ing the  war.  The  battalion  was  placed  under  command  of 
Colonel  William  Smallwood,  and  with  him  were  appointed  Fran- 
cis Ware,  lieutenant-colonel;  Thomas  Price,  first  major;  Mor- 
decai  Gist,  second  major,  and  Jacob  Brice,  adjutant. 

On  the  3rd  of  June,  Congress  requested  that  a  Flying 
Camp  of  10,000  men  be  raised  to  serve  until  the  first  of  Decem- 
ber, of  which,  Maryland's  quota  was  3,400,  and  on  the  27th  of 
June,  Congress  sent  in  a  further  requisition  for  two  additional 
companies  of  rifle  men  for  Colonel  Rawling's  rifle  regiment, 
and  four  campanies  of  Germans,  to  form,  wiith  a  like  number 
from  Pennsylvania,  a  German  regiment  for  the  united  colonies. 

The  two  rifle  and  the  four  German  companies  were 
promptly  recruited  for  three  years,  but  owing  to  its  size,  the 

before,  the  second  brother  shot  as  the  former  had  done  *  *  But  will 
you  believe  me  when  I  tell  you,  that  one  of  the  men  took  the  board, 
and  placing  it  between  his  legs,  stood  with  his  back  to  the  tree 
while  another  drove  the  center.  What  would  a"  regular  army  of  con- 
siderable strength  in  the  forests  of  America  do  with  1,000  of  these 
men,  who  want  nothing  to  preserve  their  health  and  courage  but  water 
from  the  spring,  with  a  little  parched  corn  and  what  they  can  easily 
procure  in  hunting,  and  who,  wrapped  in  their  blankets  in  the  damp 
of  the  night,  would  choose  the  shade  of  a  tree  for  their  covering, 
and  the  earth   for  their  beds.     Forces   Archives. 

Mr.  Thatcher,  in  his  Military  Journal  of  August,  1775,  says :  "these 
men  are  remarkable  for  the  accuracy  of  their  aim,  striking  a  mark 
with  great  certainty  at  200  yards  distant  *  *  They  are  now  stationed 
on  our  line,  and  their  shot  have  frequently  proved  fatal  to  British 
officers  and  soldiers  who  exposed  thernselves  to  view,  even  at  more 
than   double   the   distance   of   common   musket   shot." 


THE     M  ARYLAND  .  LINE  241 

Flying.Camp. could  not  be  fully  recruited  until  the  fall,  though 
the  jMaryland  convention,  exerted  its  best  energies  to  expedite 
the  movement.' 

On  the  6th  of  July,  two  days  after  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence had  been  issued,  Colonel  Smallwood  was  ordered  to 
march  at  once  with  his  battalions  to  Philadelphia  and  place 
himself  at  the  command  of  Congress.  The  independent  com- 
panies from  the  counties  of  Saint  Mary's,  Talbot,  Kent  and 
Queen  Anne's,  were  ordered  to  immediately  proceed  to  Phila- 
delphia and  place  themselves  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Smallwood,  and  a  little  later  all  of  the  remaining' independent 
companies  were  ordered  to  also  place  themselves  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Smallwood,  and  to  march  with  expedition. 

^  In  all  of  the  leading  events  which  immediately  preceded,  -and  which 
led  up  to  the  American  Revolution,  Maryland  was  in  the  forefront.  It 
was  her  patriotic  and  courageous  sons,  who  determined  that  her  soil 
,  should  not  be  poluted  by  the  English  Stamp  Act,  met  at  the  Annapolis 
harbor,  four  years  in  advance  of  the  Boston  tea  party,  the  ship  "Good 
Intent",  loaded  with  dutiable*  goods,  and  compelled  her  to  put  back  to 
sea  and  return  to  the  kingdom  of  George  III  her  cargo  of  unwelcome 
merchandise ;  and  who  a  little  later,  not  under  cover  of  mask  or  dis- 
guised as  Indians,  but  in  the  open  lime-light  of  day,  compelled  her 
owner  to  burn  the  Peggy  Stewart,  loaded  with  tea,  to  the  water's  edge. 
And  to  their  unalterable  determination  and  unflinching  courage,  may 
also  be  ascribed  the  fact,  that  there  were  not  only  no  British  stamps 
distributed  in  Maryland,  but  that  the  stamp  distributor,  Zachary  Hood, 
fled  panic  stricken  from  the  state,  and  soon  thereafter  surrendered  his 
commission.  It  was  her  Frederick  County  Court  that  had  the  sagacity 
to  see  and  the  courage  to  decide,  that  the  Stamp  Act  was  illegal,  null 
and  void.  It  was  a  Maryland  man,  Daniel  Dulany,  who  issued  that 
masterly  contribution  to  ante  revolutionary  literature  against  the  right  of 
the  British  government  to  tax  the  American  colonies.  James  Otis  of 
Massachussetts  and  Patrick  Henry  of  Virginia,  those  brilliant  cham- 
pions of  American  liberty,  by  their  peerless  oratory,  had  kindled  the 
latent  spark  of  patriotism  into  a  blazing  flame  of  .enthusiastic  indigna- 
tion, but  Daniel  Dulany,  that  great  oracle  of  the  law  and  wonder  of  the 
age,  struck  at*  the  very  root  of  the  trouble,  and  bearded  the  lion  in 
his  own  den.  By  his  famous  essay,  designed  for  the  British  Parlia- 
ment and  the  English  people,  and  which  for  boundless  .  learning, 
powerful  logic,  scholarly  attributes  and  convincing  eloquence,  is  un- 
excelled in  the  annals  of  American  revolutionary  literature,  demon- 
strated that  under  the  British  constitution,  under  the  very  fundimental 


242  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

This  placed  under  the  command  of  Smalhvood  the  whole 
quota  of  1,444  men,  who  constituted  the  troops  which  first 
composed  what  came  to  be  commonly  known  as  "The  Aviary- 
land  Line." 

On  August  i6th,  such  part  of  the  Flying  Camp  as  had 
been  recruited  and  armed,  was  ordered  to  the  front,  under  com- 
mand of  Brig.-General  Rezin  Beall,  and  on  that  day  the  Mary- 
land Council  of  Safety,  as  indicating  its  zeal  and  interest  in 
the  cause,  amd  especially  in  the  defense  of  New  York,  wrote 
the  Maryland  delegates  in  Congress  that,  with  the  troops 
already  in  the  field,  "We  shall  have  nearly  4,000  men  with  you 
in  a  short  time  *  *  We  are  sending  all  that  can  be 
armed  and  equipped,  and  the  people  of  New  York,  for  whom 
we  have  great  affection,  can  have  no  more  than  our  all." 

Colonel  Smalhvood,  after  the  order  of  July  6th,  at  once 
made  ready  his  battalions  and  began  his  march  on  the  loth 
of  July.  Upon  his  arrival  at  Philadelphia,  he  reported  to 
President  John  Hancock,  who  on  the  17th  instant,  directed  him 
to  proceed  to  New  York  and  report  to  General  Washington. 
President  Hancock  communicated  this  fact  to  General  Wash- 
ington, and  represented  to  him  that  it  was  "An  exceedingly 
fine  body  of  men," 

principles  upon  which  the  English  government  was  founded,  and  as 
expounded  by  her  highest  judicial  tribunals,  American  colonial  rep- 
resentation in  the  English  Parliament  was  an  impossibility,  either  in 
theory  or  in  fact,  and  that  a  tax  on  the  colonies  without  their  consent 
for  the  single  purpose  of  revenue,  was  unconstitutional  and  destructive 
of  the  very  foundation  itself  upon  which  the  colossal  statute  to  Eng- 
lish liberty  stood.  Not  only  that,  byt  to  bring  the  support  to  his 
cause  of  the  industrial  and  commercial  interests  of  wie  British  Empire, 
so  eager  to  command  American  trade,  he  sounded  the  signal  of  danger 
by  giving  expression  to  that  patriotic  thought,  then  as  new  as  it  later 
became  effective,  of  non  importation  and  honre  manufacture.  "Let  the 
goods  of  American  manufacture  be  the  symbol  of  dignity  and  the  badge 
of  virtue",  he  proclaimed,- "and  it  will  soon  bring  the  commercial  in- 
terests of  England  to  the  support  of  our  cause".  This  note  of  warn- 
ing, this  essay,  this  master-piece  in  American  literature,  vibrated 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  British  Empire;  it  furnished 
power  to  the  great  Pitt  in  his  immortal  and  triumphant  effort  to  have 
the   Stamp   Act    repealed;    it   brought   the   industrial   interests   of  Great 


T  1 1  1-:     M  A  R  Y  L  A  X  D     LI  X  1^ 


243 


On  reaching  New  York,  Washington  ordered  Smallwood's 
Maryland  to  be  attached  to  the  brigade  of  Brig.-General  Stir- 
hng.  This  battahbn,  says  Fields,  "Was  one  of  the  few  uni- 
formed and  well  disciplined  organizations  in  the  American 
Army,  and  was  at  once  relied  ujxtn  by  Washington  for  per- 
forming the  most  hazardous  and  important  duties".  Its  first 
engagement  was  the  battle  of  Long  Island — August  27th, 
1776,  a  most  crucial  turning  point  in  the  war  for  independence 
and  a  most  exhaustive  test  of  the  material  of  which  this  well 
appointed  and  well  drilled  battalion  was  composed.  The 
British,  augmented  to  30,000  disciplined  troops  by  the  recent 
arrival  of  the  Hessians,  resolved  upon  the  capture  of  New 
York,  hoping  thus  to  cut  ofif  New  England  from  the  Southern 
colonies.  Washington  realized  that  his  only  chance  to  defeat 
such  an  attack  was  to  occupy  Brooklyn  Heights  on  Long  Island, 
which  eminence  commanded  the  city  from  the  water  side.  It 
'was  a  dangerously  exposed  position,  and  owing  to  Ihe  im- 

Britain  to  the  side  of  the  colonies,  and  it  stamped  Daniel  Dulany  not 
only  as  one  of  the  foremost  statesmen  and  brilliant  scholars  of  the  age, 
but  distinctly  marked  him  as  the  father  of  what  commonly  come  to  be 
known  as  the  great  American  system..  It  was  Maryland  that  first 
proposed  a  Continental  Congress,  and  elected  the  first  delegates  to  it. 
It  was  a  Maryland  man.  Thomas  Johnson,  who  placed  in  nomina- 
tion George  Washington  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Continental  Army 
and'  it  was  a  Maryland  man,  Charles  Carroll,  who,  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  war,  defeated  the  histo/ic  Conway  cabal,  designed  to  put 
Gates  in  Washington's  place.  And  when  the  closing  struggle  came, 
and  the  master  stroke  was  struck  at  Yorktown,  it  was  a  Maryland  man. 
Colonel  Tench  Tilghman,  Washington's  aide,  who  had  the  honor  of  be- 
ing selected  by  the  commander-in-chief,  to  bear  the  important  news  to 
Congress.  With  his  horse  in  an  open  boat  he  sailed  down  the  York 
and  up  the  Chesapeake  to  Rock  Hall,  and  riding  on  horseback  from 
thence  to  the  seat  of  the  Continental  Congress — one  hundred  miles — 
thundered  into  Philadelphia  at  midnight  and-  laid  before  that 
tribunal  the  pleasing  intelligence  that  Cornwallis  had  been  taken  and  that 
the  crowning  effort  for  American  liberty  had  been  won.  It  was  a 
Maryland  man,  too,  John  Hanson,  who,  as  "the  First  President  of  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled",  had  the  distinction  of  receiving 
Washington's  official  report  of  the  surrender  at  Yorktown.  and  of  pre- 
senting him,  as  the  Father  of  His  Country,  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gres-;. 


244  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

mense  area  of  exposure,  it  was  one  that  it  was  difficult  to 
garrison.  He  fortified  it  as  best  he  could  and  concentrated  on 
Long  Island,  under  command  of  General  Putnam,  7,500  troops, 
the  half  of  his  army,  the  other  half  being  left  for  the  defense 
of  New  York.  General  Howe,  the  British  commander,  was 
convinced  that  he  could  destroy  either  half  of  the  American 
Army  and  that  would  end  the  war  for  independence.  While 
pretending  to  be  preparing  to  attack  the  city,  he  realized  he 
could  not  do  so  without  placing  himself  between  two  fires,  the 
army  in  New  York  in  front,  and  that  on  Brooklyn  Heights  in 
the  rear.  He  therefore,  determined  to  storm  the  latter  and  to 
do  it  so  effectually  as  to  stampede  all  further  efforts  at  resis- 
tance, and  with  an  army  of  30,000  men  and  400  ships,  the 
task  of  subjugation  would  seem  to  have  been  simple  and  easy. 
To  that  end,  he  began  on  August  22nd,  the  debarkation  of 
20,000  troops  on  Long  Island.  A  few  days  were  spent  in  recon- 
noitering  and  in  learning  the  points  of  locality.  On  the  night 
of  the  26th,  he  began  to  form  his  lines  of  march  which  by 
midnight  were  completed  and  the  start  was  made  for  the 
American  works.  Knowing  that  it  was  quite  impossible  for 
Washington,  with  a  limited  force,  to  have  securely  barricaded 
all  of  the  roads,  Howe  proceeded  by  four  different  routes,  se- 
lecting those  that  were  most  likely  to  offer  the  least  resistance. 
The  Gowanus  Road  was  given  to  General  Grant  with  his  High- 
land regiments;  the  Flatbush  Road  was  assigned  to  the  Hes- 
sians, under  General  De  Heister ;  the  Bedford  Road  to  General 
Cornwallis,  some  bridle  paths  across  the  eastern  end  of  the 
island  to  General  Clinton,  while  the  rest  of  the  army,  conducted 
by  Howe,  in  person,  was  to  take  the  Jamaica  Road.  Howe's 
purpose  was  to  draw  the  American  army  outside  of  the  lines, 
get  it  scattered  and  its  attention  diverted  by  attacks  from 
Grant,  De  Heister,  Cornwallis  and  Clinton,  while  he,  sweeping 
around  the  Jamaica  Road,  would  encircle  the  enemy,  close  it  in 
and  cut  off  its  retreat.  Thus  completely  hemmed  in  and  en- 
trapped, the  whole  army  must  suffer  either  surrender  or 
death.  General  Putman  blundered  and  fell  into  the  trap  and 
sent  out  5,000  men,  all  that  were  available,  to  check  the  ad- 


THE     M  A  R  Y  LAND     LINE  245 

vance,  under  Sullivan,  who  was  to  guard  the  Flatbush  Road  and 
Stirling,  who  was  to  meet  the  enemy  on  the  Gowanus  Road. 
Sullivan,  attacked  Sy  De  Heister  in  front  and  Clinton  in  the 
rear,  was  soon  routed,  and  he,  with  many  of  his  men,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Stirling,  commanding  Smallwood's 
Maryland,  Atlee's  Pennsylvania  and  Haslett's  Delaware  troops, 
took  position  by  break  of  day  near  the  stone  house  on  the 
Gowanus  Road.  A  line  of  battle  was  formed,  and  then  and 
there  on  the  27th  of  August,  1776,  was  fought  the  first  open 
field  and  regularly  pitched  battle,  as  well  as  one  oi  the  most 
heroically  contested  and  critically  important  battles  of  the 
American  Revolution.  For  six  hours  the  battle  raged  fiercely, 
but  Stirling  maintained  his  ground  well  and  kept  back  Grant 
and  his  Highlanders,  though  outnumbered  five  to  one.'  News 
now  reached  him  of  Sullivan's  capture  and  that  Cornwallis 
had  entrenched  himself  in  and  around  the  Gowanus  stone 
house,  mounting  guns  where  they  could  be  used  through  its 
windows  and  around  its  corners,  and  was  about  to  attack  him 
in  the  rear.  Stirling  now  realized  his  extremely  perilous  posi- 
tion and  that,  as  against  such  greatly  superior  numbers,  it  was 
a  question  of  surrender  or  martyrdom.  Surrender  meant  the 
total  loss  of  the  American  Army  on  Long  Island,  and  to  a 
certainty,  the  end  of  the  Revolution;  martyrdom,  while  awful 
to  contemplate,  might  mean  that  the  army  could  be  saved  and 
the  hope  for  American  liberty  sfill  be  kept  alive.  He  chose 
the  latter  course  and  ordered  all  of  his  men  to  retreat  and  get 
within  the  lines,  except  400  of  the  Maryland  Line.  This  could 
only  now  be  done  by  wading  across  Gowanus  marsh  and 
creek,  all  other  avenues  of  escape  being  cut  off,  and  as  the  tide 
■was  fast  coming  in  no  time  could  be  lost.  Nor  could  this 
even  be  done  unless  the  British  army  could  be  driven  back  or 
held  at  bay.  Maryland's  immortal  four  hundred  were  now 
called  upon  by  Stirling  and  Gist  to  make  the  sacrifice.  With  a 
military  bearing  and  a  sublimeness  of  spirit  and  valor,  and  a 
self  sacrificing  devotion  to  country  and  to  duty  no  where 
surpassed,  they  undertook  this  appalling  task,  and  plunging 
into   that   fearful    carnage    of   battle   and    tempest   of   death, 


246  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

held  back  the  enemy  until  the  rest  of  the  army  had  made  its 
escape.  And  yet,  to  a  man  they  never  faltered,  not  even  when 
their  ranks  had  become  badly  thinned  and  shattered,  nor  yet, 
when  the  last  call  from  their  gallant  leader  rang  forth  over  the 
heat  and  fire  of  battle  and  the  din  and  roar  of  musketry  and 
cannon,  "Close  up,  close  up",  one  more  charge  and  the  army  is 
safe,  though  half  their  number  were  dead  or  dying,  and  though 
to  obey  meant  only  a  march  into  the  eternal  jaws  of  an  almost 
inevitable  death.  Five  times  they  charged  with  bayonets  upon 
the  powerful  forces  of  the  enemy,  closing  up  over  their  dead 
and  dying,  each  time  gathering  renewed  energy  for  a  still 
fiercer  assault,  until  the  sixth  charge  was  made  when  the 
heavy  columns  of  Cornwallis  recoiled  and  was  about  to  give 
way  in  confusion.  Assisted  at  this  moment  by  fresh  troops — 
the  Hessians — also  by  a  British  brigade  in  the  rear,  the  fierce- 
ness of  the  attack  became  too  severe  for  human  endurance." 
More  than  half  of  their  number  were  dead  or  dying,  and  a  por- 
tion of  what  was  left  of  this  little  band  surrendered  with  Stir- 
ling, though  a  part  of  three  companies,  with  Major  Gist,  ani- 
mated by  a  most  unconquerable  determination,  cut  their  way 
through  the  British  ranks  and  made  their  escape.  A  heavy 
cannonade  was  not  only  kept  up  against  them,  but  they  were 
vigorously  pursued  by  the  Hessians,  who  would  doubtless  have 
destroyed  the  last  man  of  them  while  crossing  Gowanus  marsh 
and  creek,  except  that  Colonel  Smallwood,  was  happily  in 
position  to  save  them.  When  the  Maryland  troops  were  sent 
over  to  Brooklyn  the  day  before  the  battle,  Smallwood  was  held 
in  New  York,  by  order  of  Washington,  on  Court  Martial  duty. 
But  he  hurried  over  early  the  next  morning,  and  when  Stirling 
ordered  his  whole  brigade  to  retreat  across  the  marsh  and  creek 
and  get  within  the  lines,  except  Maryland's  four  hundred,  who 
were  to  hold  back  Cornwallis,  Washington  ordered  Smallwood 
to  cover  the  retreat,  sending  him  for  the  purpose  some  field 
pieces,  a  Connecticut  regiment  and  the  Maryland  Company  of 
Captain  John  Allen  Thomas.  This  order  was  successfully  exe- 
cuted, even  to  the  extent  of  enabling  the  retreating  troops  to 
carry  off  with  them  twenty-eight  prisoners,  except  that  a  few 


THE     .MARY  LAX  D     LINE  247 

men  eaeh  from  the  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Delaware  rcj^i- 
ments  were  drowned  while  crossing  the  creek,  and  Smallwood 
was  still  on  the  ground  to  render  the  same  service  to  the  little 
remnant  of  his  badly  shattered  but  gallant  brigade,  who,  with 
their  comrades,  now  either  fallen  or  captured,  had  saved  Ster- 
ling's division  of  the  American  Army. 

Such  was  the  sacrifice  made  by  those  brave  young  sons  of 
Maryland,  and  which  for  heroism,  courage  and  valor,  stands 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  American  Revolution. 
A  sacrifice  made  in  order  to  defeat  and  wash  away  with  their 
own  patriotic  blood  the  well  laid  plans  of  General  Howe  to 
make  the  battle  of  Long  Island  the  closing  act  in  the  drama 
of  the  American  Revolution ;  made  in  order  that  the  spirit 
of  liberty  might  bask  in  the  sunshine  of  another  day,  aijd  draw- 
ing from  it  a  decree  of  renewed  vitality  and  inspiration,  which 
might  in  their  fullness  lead  on  to  certain  victory ;  made  in 
-order  to  bequeath  to  their  country,  and  to  those  to  whom  the 
great  majority  had  bid  th&ir  final  adieu,  the  assuring  hope  that 
American  independence  might  yet  be  won,  and  with  it  the  price- 
less heritage  of  American  liberty. 

Of  this  crucial  turning  point  in  the  war  for  independence, 
the  Long  Island  Historical  Society,  in  its  estimable  work,  the 
Battle  of  Long  Island,  by  Thomas  W.  Fields,  says:  "Fired 
with  a  common  emulation  of  slaughter,  Hessian  and  British 
troops  were  now  pressing  forward,  to  enclose  Stirling's  di- 
vision between  them  and  Grant,  in  the  same  fatal  embrace 
which  had  crushed  the  life  out  of  Sullivan's  corps.  The  right 
wing  of  the  enemy,  commanded  by  Lord  Cornwallis  in  person, 
was  hastening  forward  *  *  Cornwallis  had  proceeded  as 
far  as  the  Cortelyou  house  '^■'  '■'  This  house  he  proceeded  to 
at  once  occupy  as  a  redoubt.  It  thus  became  apparent  to  Lord 
Stirling  that  his  position  was  no  longer  defensible.  The  gigan- 
tic extent,  and  the  consummate  skill,  of  the  British  combination, 
was  apparent  to  the  General  at  a  glance.  In  order,  says  Stir- 
ling, to  render  the  escape  of  the  main  body  (of  the  army) 
-across  the  creek  more  practicable.  I  found  it  absolutely  nec- 
essary to  attack  the  body  of  troops  commanded  by  Lord  Corn- 


248  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

wallis,  posted  at  the  house  at  the  upper  mills,  which  I  in- 
stantly did  with  about  half  of  Smallwood's  reg-iment,  first  or- 
dering all  the  other  troops  to  make  their  way  across  the  creek/ 
The  onset  of  the  victorious  foe  must  be  checked,  while  his  re- 
treating columns  toiled  through  the  soft  marshes,  and  across 
the  deep  tide  water  creek,  in  their  rear.  *  *  Fortunately  for 
his  purpose,  the  noblest  instruments  for  his  design  were  at 
hand.  The  Maryland  regiment,  now  commanded  by  Major 
Gist,  *  *  was  burning  with  patriotism.  *  *  This  body  of  young 
men  *  *  had  been  emulous  of  the  praise  of  being  the  best 
drilled  and  disciplined  of  the  revolutionary  forces,  and  their 
high  spirit,  their  courage,  their  self  devotion,  as  well  as  the 
discipline  of  which  they  were  proud,  were  now  to  be  proved 
in  the  fierce  furnace  of  battle.  Flinging  himself  at  the  head 
of  these  brave  lads,  who  on  that  day  for  the  first  time  saw  the 
flash  of  the  enemy's  gun,  Stirling  determined  to  stem  the 
advance  of  the  foe. 


"On  all  sides  the  enemy  were  now  closing  around  the 
ifeeble  band   commanded   by    Stirling,   with   the   intention   to 

^  Colonel  Smallwood  in  his  official  report  to  the  Maryland  Con- 
vention, says :  "By  this  time  they  had  so  secured  the  passes  on  the 
road  to  our  lines  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  retreating  that 
way.  Between  the  place  of  action  and  our  lines  there  lay  a  large  marsh 
and  deep  creek,  not  above  eighty  yards  across  at  the  mouth,  *  * 
towards  the  head  of  which  creek  there  was  a  mill  and  bridge,  across 
which  a  certain  Colonel  Ward,  from  New  England,  who  is  charged 
with  having  acted  a  bashful  part  that,  day,  passed  over  with  his  regi- 
ment, and  then  burned  them  down,  though  under  cover  of  our  cannon, 
which  would  have  checked  the  enemy's  pursuit  at  any  time,  otherwise 
this  bridge  might  have  afforded  a  secure  retreat.  There  then  remained 
no  other  prospect  but  to  surrender  or  attempt  to  retreat  over  this  marsh 
and  creek  at  the  mouth,  where  no  person  had  ever  been  known  to 
cross  *  *  He  (Washington)  immediately  sent  for  and  ordered  me 
to  march  down  a  New  England  regiment  and  Captain  Thomas's  Com- 
pany, which  had  just  come  over  from  N«w  York,  to  the  mouth  of 
the  creek,  opposite  where  the  brigade  was  drawn  up,  and  ordered 
two  field  pieces  down  to  support  and  cover  their  retreat  *  *  Thomas' 
men  contributed  much   in  bringing  over   this  party." 


T  II  E     M  A  R  \'  L  A  X  D     LINE  249 

crush  it,  ^s  they  had  done  Sullivan's  unfortunate  army.  The 
situation  was  terrible,  but  Stirling  did  not  lose  his  self-posses- 
sion. The  remnant 'of  Sullivan's  forces  were  endeavoring  to 
escape  through  the  morasses  and  thickets,  and  dense  masses 
were  crowding  the  dam  at  Freeke's  mill.  Many  were  shot 
while  struggling  through  the  mud  and  water ;  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  some  were  drowned". 

"Forming  hurriedly  on  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  Fifth  ave- 
nue and  Tenth  street,  the  light  colunin  advanced  along  the 
Gowanus  road  into  the  jaws  of  battle  with  unwavering  front. 
Artillery  plowed  their  fast  thinning  ranks  with  the  awful  bolts 
of  war ;  infantry  poured  its  volley  of  musket  balls  in  almost 
solid  sheets  of  lead  upon  them,  and  from  the  adjacent  hills  the 
deadly  Hessian  Jagers  sent  swift  messengers  of  death  into 
many  a  manly  form. 

"At  the  head  of  this  devoted  band  marched  their  general, 
to  whom  even  victory  had  now  become  less  important  than  an 
honorable  death,  which  m'ight  purchase  the  safe  retreat  of 
his  army.  Amid  all  the  terrible  carnage  of  the  hour  there  was 
no  hurry,  no  confusion,  only  a  grim  despair,  which  their  cour- 
age and  self-devotion  dignified  into  martyrdom.  The  advance 
bodies  of  the  enemy  were  driven  back  upon  the  Cortelyou 
house,  now  become  a  formidable  redoubt,  from  the  windows 
of  which  the  leaden  hail  thinned  the  patriot  ranks  as  they  ap- 
proached. Lord  Cornwallis  hurriedly  brought  two  guns  into 
position  near  one  corner  of  the  house,  and  added  their  canister 
and  grape  to  the  tempest  of  death". 

"At  last  the  little  column  halted,  powerless  to  advance  in 
the  face  of  this  murderous  fire,  yet  disdaining  to  retreat  with 
the  disgrace  of  a  flight.  Again  and  again  these  self-devoted 
heroes  closed  their  ranks  over  the  bodies  of  their  dead  com- 
rades, and  still  turned  their  faces  to  the  foe.  But  the  limit 
of  human  endurance  had  for  the  time  been  reached,  and  the 
shattered  column  was  driven  back.  Their  task  was  not,  how- 
ever, yet  fully  performed". 

"As  Stirling  looked  across  the  salt  meadows,  away  to  the 
scene  of  the  late  struggle  at  Buckie's  Barracks,  and  saw  the 


250  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

confused  masses  of  his  countrymen  crowding  the  narrow  cause- 
way over  Freek's  mill-pond,  or  struggling-  through  the  muddy 
tide-stream,  he  felt  how  precious  to  their  country's  liberty  were 
the  lives  of  his  retreating  soldiers,  and  he  again  nerved  himself 
for  a  combat  which  he  knew  could  only  prove  a  sacrifice.  Once 
more  he  called  upon  the  survivors  of  the  previous  dreadful  as- 
sault, and  again  the  noble  young  men  gathered  around  their 
General.  How  sadly  he  must  have  looked  upon  them — scarcely 
more  than  boys — so  young,  so  brave,  and  to  meet  again  the 
pitiless  iron  hail !" 

"The  impetus  and  spirit  of  this  charge  carried  the  battalion 
over  every  obstacle  quite  to  the  house.  The  gunners  were  driven 
from  their  battery,  and  Cornwallis  seemed  about  to  abandon 
the  position ;  but  the  galling  fire  from  the  interior  of  the  house, 
and  from  the  adjacent  high  ground,  with  the  overwhelming 
numbers  of  the  enemy  who  were  now  approaching,  again  com- 
pelled a  retreat". 

"Three  times  more  the  survivors  rallied,  flinging  themselves 
upon  the  constantly  re-enforced  ranks  of  the  enemy ;  but  the 
combat,  so  long  and  so  unequally  sustained,  was  now  hastening 
to  its  close.  A  few  minutes  more  of  this  destroying  fire  and 
two  hundred  and  fifty-six  of  the  noble  youth  of  Maryland  were 
either  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  or  lay  side  by  side 
in'  that  awful  mass  of  dead  and  dying.  The  sacrifice  had  been 
accomplished,  and  the  flying  army  had  been  saved  from  com- 
plete destruction.  Amid  the  carnage  Stirling  was  left  almost 
alone,  and  scorning  to  yield  himself  to  a-  British  subject,  he 
sought  the  Hessian  General  De  Heister,  and  only  to  him  would 
he  surrender  his  sword". 


"On  the  shore  of  Gowanus  Bay  slet^p  the  remains  of  this 
noble  band.  Out  upon  the  broad  surface  of  the  level  marsh 
rose  a  little  island  of  <lry  ground,  then  and  long  after  covered 
with  trees  and  undergrowth.  Around  this  mound,  scarcely 
an  acre  in  extent,  clustered  a  few  of  the  survivors  of  the  fatal 
field  and  of  the  remorseless  swamp,  and  here  the  heroic  dead 
were  brought,  and  laid  beneath  its  sod,  after  the  storm  of  bat- 


T  II  E     M  A  R  V  L  A  X  I )     \A  X  E  25 1 

tie  had  swept  by.  Tradition  says  that  all  the  dead  of  the  Mary- 
land and  Delaware  battalions,  who  fell  on  and  near  the  meadow, 
were  buried  in  this  Miiiniature  island,  which  promised  at  that 
day  the  seclusion  and  sacred  (|uiet  which  befit  the  resting  place 
of  the  heroic  dead.  Third  avenue  intersects  the  westerly  end 
of  the  mound;  and  Seventh  and  Eighth  streets  indicate  two  of 
its  sides". 

"The  very  dust  of  these  streets  are  sacred."  for  far  below 
-"lies  the  dust  of  those  brave  boys  who  found  death  easier  than 
flight,  and  gave  their  lives  to  save  their  countrymen".  "And  our 
busy  hum  of  commerce,  our  grading  of  city  lots,  our  specula- 
tions in  houses  reared  on  the  scene  of  such  noble  valor,  and 
over  the  mouldering  forms  of  these  young  heroes,  seem  almost 
sacrilege"  ;  '^  *  "but  that  cannot  rob  the  nation  of  tjie  sad, 
sweet  thought:  'She  is  Maryland,  OUR  Maryland".  Her 
dead  on  the  field  of  battle  are  our  dead.  Her  fame  and  her 
gdory  are  our  own  pride  and  our  rejoicing". 

To  those  patriotic  heroes,  sons  of  Maryland,  let  it  be 
said :  The  sacrifice  which  you  made  at  Long  Island,  you  did 
not  make  in  vain.  An  hour  more  precious  to  American  Liberty 
than  any  other  in  your  country's  history,  there  you  gained.  In 
the  sublimeness  of  that  hour  you  saved  the  army  of  your  coun- 
try from  the  jaws  of  destruction  which  were  fast  closing 
around  it,  and  you  thereby  left  the  way  still  open  for  your 
country's  freedom.  Sacred  forever  be  thy  memory,  and  hal- 
lowed be  the  sjxjt  where  now  you  rest. 

On  Long  Island,  and  within  the  shadows  of  its  battle 
ground  now  stands  a  massive  granite  shaft,  erected  on  August 
27th,  1895,  by  the  Maryland  Society  of  the  Sons  of  The 
American  Revolution,  to  commemorate  forever  the  superb  ac- 
tion and  the  matchless  valor  of  the  Maryland  Line  in  this  crisis, 
this  turning  point  in  the  great  struggle  for  American  freedom, 
and  to  "mark  the  spot  for  all  time,  where  lay  the  ashes  of  that 
Immortal  Band  of  heroes  who  were  willing  to  die  that  the 
cause  of  liberty  might  live,  and  in  honor  of  Maryland's  400, 
who  on  this  battlefield,  on  August  2j,  177^).  saved  the  .\meri- 
can  Armv". 


252  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Washington  was  in  command  of  the  New  York  division  of 
the  army,  and  not  knowing  when  the  city  would  be  attacked 
by  the  British  fleet,  could  not  absent  himself  from  that  impor- 
tant post  of  duty.  He  did,  however,  risk  the  time  on  the  24th, 
to  personally  inspect  the  conditions  on  Long  Island,  and  on 
the  26th  to  confer  with  General  Putnam,  who  had  just  been 
put  in  command  to  relieve  General  Green  who  was  ill  with 
fever.  On  the  27th  also,  as  soon  as  he  knew  the  battle  was  on, 
he  hurried  over  to  Long  Island  with  re-inforcements,  but  be- 
fore he  reached  there,  Howe's  girdle  around  the  army  had  been 
formed  and  he  could  not  have  gotten  within  the  lines  even  if 
he  had  possessed  the  temerity  to  attempt  it,  and  the  presump- 
tion to  suppose  that  he  could  save  the  day.  But  from  Conical 
Hill,  beyond  the  lines,  he  could  plainly  see  the  awful  catastro- 
phe and  how  his  men  were  surrounded  and  slaughtered.  He 
was  deeply  touched,  and  wringing  his  hands  exclaimed,  "Great 
God,  what  brave  fellows  I  must  lose  this  day" ! 

While  exulting  over  a  supposed  victory,  General  Howe 
had  not  yet  attained  his  object,  and  he  never  did.  He  had  not 
captured  the  American  Army  on  Long  Island,  but  had  simply 
driven  it  within  its  lines.  Instead  of  following  up  his  vantage 
ground  and  promptly  storming  the  American  works,  now  in  a 
state  of  almost  helpless  confusion,  he  ignored  this  golden  mo- 
riient  of  opportunity,  and  let  slip  by  him  a  more  than  hopeful 
chance  to  end  the  war  with  a  single  blow.  The  long  march 
the  night  before,  and  the  severe  fighting  that  day,  made  him 
and  his  men  feel  in  need  of  rest  and  they  determined  to  take 
it  and  let  the  storming  go  over  to  another  day.  Washington, 
assuming  that  of  course,  it  would  come  the  following  day, 
brought  over  re-inforcements  from  New  York,  increasing  his 
army  to  10,000  men  and  otherwise  preparing  himself  for  it. 
Though  exhausted  by  the  terrific  fighting  of  the  day  before, 
the  Maryland  Line  was  again  called  into  requisition  and  placed 
on  duty,  with  some  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts  troops, 
to  guard  the  entrenched  lines,  a  position  w'hich  they  main- 
tained throughout  the  day  and  night.  But  the  storming  still 
did  not  come.    Washington  now  concluded  that,  being  wedged 


THE     MARYLAND     LINE 


^53 


in  on.  Long  Island  by  the  British  Army  on  the  land  side  and 
the  British  Navy  on  the  water  side,  he  had  better  try  to  effect 
a  retreat.  This  was  a  perilous  undertaking  and  a  most  diffi- 
cult feat,  the  enemy  on  both  sides  being  only  a  few  hundred 
yards  away,  and  that  it  was  successfully  accomplished,  marks 
the  event  as  a  most  notable  military  achievement.  Collecting 
every  craft  and  boat  available  for  the  purpose,  he  selected  the 
expert  Gloucester  and  Marblehead  fishermen  and  sailors  from 
Glover's  Massachusetts  regiment,  to  man  them.  To  Small- 
wood's  Maryland,  the  Pennsylvania  battalions  of  Shea  and 
Magaw  and  Haslett's  Delaware  troops  were  assigned  the  duty 
of  covering  the  retreat.  At  eight  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the 
29th,  the  boats  were  brought  over  and  the  embarkation  was 
started  as  quietly  as  possible.  All  night  long  the  Gloucester 
and  Marblehead  men,  with  muffled  oars,  were  plying  to  and 
fro,  the  waters  of  the  East  river,  conveying  the  patriot  soldiers 
and  their  stores  from  Long  Island  to  New  York.  By  seven 
in  the  morning,  the  seemingly  impossible  task  had  been  per- 
formed, and  without  the  loss  of  a  man  or  gun,  and  Long  Island 
was  as  completely  bereft  of  the  American  Army  and  its  mun- 
iments of  war,  as  if  it  had  never  been  occupied.  The  troops 
covering  the  retreat  were  the  last  to  embark,  and  they,  with 
Washington,  who  personally  superintended  the  entire  move- 
ment, and  who  was  the  last  man  to  leave  the  ground,  were 
half  way  across  the  river  and  beyond  range  of  both  land  and 
naval  forces,  before  the  British  became  aware  of  what  had 
taken  place.  The  night  was  cloudless  and  bright,  but  a  heavy 
fog  hung  over  the  river  in  the  morning  and  also  on  the  even- 
ing before,  when  preparations  were  being  made,  and  which 
materially  aided  in  conceiling  the  movement,  but  that  an  army 
of  10,000  men,  its  stores,  cannon,  horses  and  all  accoutrements, 
could  have  been  so  skillfully  and  noiselessly-  moved  from  the 
entrenchment^  and  across  the  river  without  attracting  the 
attention  of  a  single  sentinel,  either  on  land  or  water,  when 
both  were  so  close  at  hand,  was  indeed  nothing  short  of  a.  marvel 
in  military  strategy.  In  his  report  to  Congress,  Washington 
said  :  "He  had  scarcely  been  out  of  the  line  from  tlie  27th  until 


254  COL  O  N  I  A  L     MARYLAND 

the  morning-  of  the  evacuation,  and  for  the  forty-eight  hours 
preceding,  he  had  hardly  I:)een  off  of  his  horse  and  had  never 
closed  his  eyes". 

Shortly  after  landing  in  New  York,  the  Maryland  Line 
was  ordered  to  Harlem  Heights  to  protect  the  military  stores, 
the  most  of  which  had  been  sent  to  that  point.  Keenly  realiz- 
ing that  New  York  could  not  be  held  against  such  a  large 
army  and  powerful  fleet,  Washington  decided  upon  its  evacu- 
ation. This  was  at  once  commenced,  and  on  the  13th  of  Sep- 
tember the  main  body  of  the  army  moved  to  Harlem,  then 
about  ten  miles  distant,  but  now  well  within  the  city  limits. 
Washington  occupying  as  his  headquarters  there,  the  splendid 
but  deserted  mansion  of  Colonel  Roger  Morris,  a  loyalist, 
who  with  his  family  had  fled.  A  rear  guard  of  4,000  men, 
under  Putnam,  was  left  to  garrison  the  city.  On  the  15th, 
a  part  of  the  British  fleet  sailed  up  the  Hudson,  and  under' 
its  cover,  a  large  force  was  landed  at  Kips  Bay  to  take  the 
city.  Washington,  hearing  the  cannonading,  hurried  to  the 
scene  and  to  his  horror  and  disgust  met  the  troops  placed  there 
to  guard  the  landing  panic  stricken,  and  fleeing  in  every  direc- 
tion and,  in  the  greatest  confusion.  The  thought  of  his  respon- 
sibility to  his  country  and  his  reputation  as  a  General  resting 
upon  men  displaying  such  cowardice  and  want  of  military 
bearing,  drove  him  into  a  state  of  despair  amounting  almost 
to  desperation.  But  it  was  a  critical  moment  and  he  must  be 
equal  to  its  exigencies.  The  British  had  been  permitted  to 
land,  and  it  would  be  easy  to  completely  cut  off  Putnam's  re- 
treat from  the  city,  and  no  time,  must  be  lost.  Putnam  was 
ordered  to  leave  New  York  immediately,  and  a  messenger  was 
hurriedly  dispatched  for  Smallwood  to  bring  down  the  Mary- 
land Line  and  cover  the  retreat.  The 'order  was  promptly 
carried  out  and  the  retreat  was  successfully  made.  In  this, 
Putnam  was  materially  aided  by  a  cleverly  executed  ruse  of 
Mrs.  Lindley  Murray,  who  extended  the  hospitality  of  "Mur- 
ray Hill"  that  day  to  General  Howe  and  some  of  his  officers. 
The  unsuspecting  Howe  fell  into  the  trap,  and  while  thus  being 
"dined  and  wined",  a  general  ha|t  was  ordered.     This  gave 


T  H  E     M  A  R  Y  L  A  X  D  •  L  I  X  K  255 

Putnam  more  than  an  hour  of  respite  and  safety,  and  yet,  the 
position  of  the  Maryland  Line  was  perilous  in  the  extreme, 
for  though  delayed,  the  retreat  was  discovered  in  time  for  ser- 
ious trouble  for  the  Maryland  troops,  a  mere  hand  full,  as  com- 
pared to  the  enemy.  A  determined  effort  was  made  to  flank  and 
surround  them.  This  was  happily  averted,  and  Smallwood 
held  his  ground  until  the  last  of  Putnam's  4000  men  had  passed, 
w'hen  he  ordered  a  retreat  and  the  Maryland  Line  was  soon 
safely  within  the  lines  of  Harlem. 

The  next  morning  a  detachment  of  British  made  its  ap- 
pearance at  Harlem  in  front  of  the  American  line.  Vir- 
ginia and  Connecticut  troops  were  sent  out  to  get  in  the 
rear  and  cut  the  enemy  off  from  the  main  body  of  the  army, 
but  before  this  could  be  done,  the  British  were  heavily  re-in- 
forced.  The  Maryland  troops,  Colonels  Richardson's  and 
Griffith's  regiments,  and  Price's  rifle  company  were  now  ad- 
vanced to  the  scene  of  action.  The  battle  lasted  about  an  hour, 
and  again  the  Maryland^  men  behaved  with  great  gallantry. 
Three  times  the  enemy  was  dislodged,  and  was  being  driven 
from  the  field,  when  moving  too  closely  to  the  enemy's  lines. 
Washington  ordered  their  recall.  Of  the  action  of  the  Mary- 
land men  on  this  occasion,  Washington,  in  his  letter  to  Con- 
gress on  the  i8th  of  September,  says:  "These  troops  charged 
the  enemy  with  great  intrepidity,  and  drove  them  from  the 
woods  into  the  plain,  and  were  pushing  them  from  thence, 
having  silenced  their  fire  in  a  'great  measure,  when  I  judged 
it  prudent  to  order  a  retreat".  The  loss  in  the  battle  of  Harlem 
was  sixty  Americans  and  three  hundred  British. 

Howe  now  moved  about  nine  miles  above  Harlem,  with 
a  view  of  striking  at  the  American  rear  and"  cutting  off 
its  supplies  from  Xew  England.  But  the  strategy  of  Washing- 
ton was  again  to  be  met.  The  only  bridge  over  which  Howe 
could  cross  -the  creek  at  Frog  Neck,  the  point  of  destination, 
Washington  had  destroyed,  thus  delaying  Howe  sev^eral  days. 
Availing  himself  of  this  delay  and  knowing  that  he  might  be 
surrounded  by  the  enemy,  now  more  powerful  than  ever  by 
the   arrival   of  another  instalment   of   Hessians,   Washington 


256  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

slipped  away  from  Harlem  and  entrenched  himself  at  White 
Plains,  about  thirteen  miles  distant,  and  a  more  formidable 
position."  The  British  promptly  followed,  and  on  the  28th, 
was  fought  the  spirited  battle  of  Chatterton  Hill,  commonly 
known  as  White  Plains,  but  which  in  fact  was  across  the  river 
from  the  American  encampment.  General  McDougall,  with 
1,600  men,  including  Smallwood's  Maryland,  was  in  charge 
of  this  outpost,  and  against  him  the  attack  was  made.  Shortly 
after  the  fight  commenced,  the  "Massachusetts  troops  fled  in 
confusion  without  firing  scarcely  a  random  shot".  Soon  the 
entire  brigade  followed,  except  the  Maryland  Line  and  a  New 
York  regiment,  which  were  left  alone  on  the  field.  For  half 
an  hour  these  deserted  troops  displayed  great  steadiness  and 
courage,  and,  "twice  repulsed  the  enemy  horse  and  foot". 
Against  such  immense  odds,  it  was  deemed  unwise  to  take 
further  risk,  and  a  retreat  was  ordered.  Putnam  had  been 
advanced  to  the  support  of  MacDougall,  but  when  he  reached 
there  the  battle  was  over  and  the  enemy  was  in  control  of  the 
hill.  The  British  lost  229  and  the  Americans  140  men.  General 
Smallwood,  who  conducted  himself  with  great  gallantry,  was 
twice  wounded  and  the  loss  to  his  battalion  was  over  a  hundred 
killed  and  wounded.  Washington  spent  that  night  in  strength- 
ening his  fortification  and  giving  them  the  appearance  of 
strength  which  they  did  not  really  possess.  In  front  of  the 
enemy,  this  was  partly  done  with  corn  stalks  pulled  up  by  the 
roots,  in  laying  which,  the  roots  and  earths  were  placed  on 
the  outside.  This  completely  deceived  Howe  and  looked  to 
him  so  formidable,  that  he  concluded  to  defer  an  attack  until 
he  could  get  r^-inforcements.  Another  opportunity  lost  by  the 
overly  cautious  Howe.  Washington,  knowing  that  North 
Castle,  five  miles  away,  was  practically  unassailable,  that  night 
quietly  moved  liis  army  and  stores  there  and  secured  them 
safely  within  the  linesof  that  strong  position.  Howe  bitterly 
realizing  that  he  had  been  outwitted  by  the  resourceful  Amer- 


^  On  the  night  of  the  21st,  Maryland  and  Delaware  troops  were 
sent  out  to  surprise  the  "Queen's  Rangers".  Eighty  were  killed  and 
captured.     The  spoils  were  60  stands  of  q.nns,  provisions  and  clothing. 


THE     M  A  R  Y  L  AND     1.1  X  E  257 

lean  General",  and  that  he  could  not  risk  an  attack  on  North 
Castle,  changed  his  plan  of  operations  and  moved  away,  re- 
turning down  the  Hudson  as  far  as  Dobbs  Ferry.  By  this  time 
Stirling  and  Sullivan,  who  had  been  taken  at  Long  Island, 
were  back  with  the  army,  the  former  having  been  exchanged 
for  Governor  Brown  and  the  latter  for  General  Prescott,  both 
of  whom  had  been  captured  some  months  before. 

Washington,  now  fearing  that  Howe's  next  move  would  be 
against  Fort  Washington,  ordered  Green  to  remove  his  stores 
and  garrison  there,  and  also  to  evacuate  Fort  Lee,- on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river.  They  were  no  longer  important  as  mili- 
tary posts ;  were  very  much  exposed,  being  assailable  on  three 
sides  from  the  water,  and  too  small  to  be  sufficiently  garrisoned 
to  hold  them.  But  Congress  thought  differently,  and  took 
upon  itself  the  responsibility  of  directing  Green  to  main- 
tain them,  which,  as  might  have  been  expected,  proved  to  be 
a  most  unwise  and  disastrous  decision.  The  American  com- 
mander, who  in  the  meantime  had  been  busy  distributing  his 
forces,  did  not  know  of  the  action  of  Congress  until  his  return 
on  the  14th  of  November,  ten  days  after  he  had  issued  the  or- 
der to  evacuate,  and  which  he  supposed  had  been  done.  It  was 
then  too  late  to  ignore  the  order  of  Congress  and  to  have  his 
own  carried  out,  at  least  as  to  Fort  Washington,  for  Howe's 
fleet  arrived  that  evening  ready  to  storm  it.  The  next  morning 
he  demanded  its  surrender,  which  the  veteran  Colonel  Magaw, 
who  was  in  command,  declined  to  do.  He  was  supported  by 
Colonel  Rawlings,  with  his  now  famous  Maryland  and  Virginia 
regiments  of  riflemen,  though  reduced  then  to  274  men,  and 
by  Colonel  Calwalader  with  his  Pennsylvania  regiment,  in  all 
about  2,6(x>  men.  Howe  advanced  5,000  Hessians,  under 
Knyphausen  to  attack  Rawlings,  Cornwallis  and  Percy  were  to 
direct  their  energies  upon  other  quarters,  all  to  be  supple- 
mented by  a  general  assault,  both  from  the  land  and  the  walcr. 
It  was  a  desperately  hot  encounter,  lasting  about  two  hours. 
Magaw  and  Calwalader  were  ultimately  driven  in,  but  Raw- 
lings, who  was  stationed  on  an  eminence  just  beyond  the  lines, 
heroically  held  his  ground.    He  continued  to  pour  such  a  mur- 


258  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

derous  fire  upon  the  Hessians  that  they  were  twice  repulsed. 
At  last  by  sheer  force  of  overwhelming  numbers,  and  having 
no  support,  he  too,  after  receiving  a  severe  bullet  wound,  was 
compelled  to  retreat  within  the  lines,  but  not  until  it  had  "cost 
Knyphausen  800  men  to  force  the  single  regiment  of  Rawlings 
back".  Magaw,  seeing  that  further  resistance  was  useless,  sur- 
rendered. This  was  a  most  distressing  blow  to  the  cause  of 
independence,  for  besides  its  far  reaching  moral  efifect,  the 
Americans  lost  valuable  arms  and  stores  and  had  to  give  up 
2,500  men.  The  British  lost  about  1,200  men  and  the  Ameri- 
cans about  150,  killed  and  wounded.  Howe  determined  now 
to  capture  Fort  Lee,  and  to  that  end,  dispatched  5,000  men  un- 
der Cornwallis,  but  this  move  he  put  off  for  two  days,  by  which 
time  Washington  had  the  fort  evacuated  and  had  the  garrison 
with  him  in  New  Jersey. 

The  ranks  of  the  Maryland  Line  had  now  become  badly 
thinned,  and  many  of  its  men  unfit  for  duty.  In  less  than  two 
months  they  had  borne  the  brunt  of  three  hotly  contested  bat- 
tles, each  of  which  being  at  such  close  range  that  they  charged 
the  enemy  with  fixed  bayonets,  the  first  revolutionary  troops 
to  thus  meet  the  British  veterans  face  to  face.  On  these  troops 
Washington  had  confidently  relied,  and  that  so  many  of  them 
had  fallen,  added  gloom  to  a  situation  which  he  regarded  with 
extreme  apprehension  and  despondency.  His  army  was  half 
clothed,  poorly  armed,  much  discouraged  and  greatly  reduced, 
and  with  the  time  of  many  of  the  enlisted  men  about  to  expire, 
still  heavier  encroachments  upon  its  ranks  would  soon  be  made. 
To  add  still  further  to  his  troubles,  much  sectional  feeling  had 
sprung  up  in  the  army,  or  as  Washington  deploringly  described 
it,  "unhappy  and  pernicious  distinctions  and  jealousies"  existed 
between  the  troops  of  the  dififerent  States.  The  remarkable 
deportment  of  many  of  the  New  England  troops  made  them 
objects  of  derision  and  scorn  among  the  Southern  brethren,  in 
arms,  and  the  equipment,  discipline  and  conduct  of  the  South- 
ern troops  generally,  and  especially  the  steady  bearing  and 
splendid  achievement  of  the  Maryland  men  at  Long  Island, 
Kips  Bay,  Harlem  Heights  and  White   Plains,  as  contrasted 


T II  E     .MARYLAND     LIN  E  259 

with  the  crude  soldiery  qualities  of  many  of  the  Northern  men, 
and  the  cowardice  of  some  of  them,  excited  on  their  part  a 
feeling  of  chagrin  as  to  themselves,  spite  toward  the  Southern 
troops,  and  a  jealousy,  which  meant  nothing  less  than  a  deep 
sectional  antipathy. 

The  spirit  of  peculation  too,  which  was  in  evidence  in  that 
branch  of  the  army,  was  a  source  of  the  keenest  annoyance 
to  Washington,  for  apart  from  its  moral  aspect,  he  regarded 
it  as  a  serious  element  of  weakness  to  the  entire  service.  Gray- 
don  says:  "The  sordid  spirit  of  gain,  was  the  vital  principle 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  army,  the  only  exceptions  I  recollect 
to  have  seen  to  these  miserably  constituted  bands  from  New 
England,  was  the  regiment  of  Glover,  from  Marblehead".  To 
this  Gordon,  another  writer  of  the  times,  adds:  "It  is  a  mortify- 
ing truth  that  some  of  the  Massachusetts  officers  disgraced 
-the  colony  by  practicing  the  meanest  acts  of  peculation.  Every 
subtlety  that  avarice  can  invent,  or  rascality  carry  on,  are  used 
to  cheat  the  public,  by  men  who  procured  commissions,  not  to 
fight  for  the  liberties  of  their  country,  but  to  prey  upon  its  dis- 
tresses". General  Smallwood,  in  his  report  to  the  Maryland 
Council  of  Safety,  October  17th,  1776,  in  referring  to  the 
flight  of  the  Connecticut  troops  from  Kips  Bay,  where  he 
was  afterwards  sent  to  cover  the  retreat  of  Putnam  from  New 
York,  says:  "I  have  scarce  an  officer,  myself  included,  or 
soldier,  who  did  not  lose  more  of  less  of  their  baggage,  pillaged 
by  these  runaways.  Indeed  I  believe  many  of  them  never  had 
any  other  views  than  flight  and  plunder,  at  both  of  which  they 
are  extremely  dextrous  *  '^'-  *'  I  have  since  stripped  from 
these  patroons  several  of  our  soldiers  coats,  and  had  them 
severely  scourged.  Supplementing  all  this,  is  the  letter  of 
Washington  from  Camp  Cambridge,  in  which  he  says:  "The 
people  of  this  (Massachusetts)  government  have  obtained  a 
character  which  they,  by  no  means  deserve ;  their  offi'cers,  gen- 
erally speaking,  are  the  most  indifferent  kind  of  people  I  ever 
saw.  I  have  already  broke  one  colonel  and  five  captains  for 
cowardice  and  for  drawing  more  pay  and  provision  than  they 
had  men  in  their  companies,  and  there  are  two  more  colonels 
now  under  arrest  and  to  be  tried  for  the  same  offense". 


26o  COLO  X  I  A  L    .MARYLAND 

Under  these  deplorable  and  discouraging  conditions,  Wash- 
ington commenced  his  masterly  retreat  through  New  Jersey, 
his  destination  being  Philadelphia,  then  the  seat  of  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  and  which  Howe  was  next  to  attack.  Stir- 
ling's brigade,  composed  in  part  of  the  Maryland  Line,  cov- 
ered the  retreat,  and  a  perilous  post  it  was,  as  Cornwallis,  with 
8,000  men,  was  in  hot  pursuit  and  at  very  close  range — so 
close  indeed,  that  several  times  just  after  a  bridge  had  been 
crossed  and  destroyed,  the  advance  force  of  the  enemy  was  on 
the  other  shore  of  the  stream.  He  was  then  pursuing  the  Amer- 
ican commander  with  the  full  expectation  of  effecting  his  cer- 
tain capture.  Washington,  after  a  march  of  ten  days,  on  the 
2nd  of  December,  reached  Trenton,  where  he  concluded  to 
place  the  waters  of  the  Delaware  between  him  and  the  enemy. 
The  stores  and  baggage  were  promptly  moved  across,  but  to  pro- 
tect Stirling,  who  had  covered  the  retreat,  and  who  was  then 
being  fiercely  pursued,  he  remained  at  Trenton  until  Stir- 
ling arrived  on  the  8th,  when  the  whole  army  crossed,  the  last 
boats  reaching  the  Pennsylvania  shore  just  as  Cornwallis 
marched  into  Trenton.  There  he  was  completely  checked, 
for  the  wary  Washington  had  collected  every  boat  and  craft 
on  the  Jersey  side  of  the  river  for  a  distance  of  thirty  miles, 
in  each  direction,  and  had  them  with  him  on  the  Pennsyl- 
vania shore.  While  Cornwallis  was  debating  and  deploring 
his  situation.  General  Howe  arrived  and  settled  the  question 
by  ordering  the  army  to  be  distributed  along  the  banks  of 
the  river  between  Trenton  and  Princeton  and  wait  until  the 
river  froze  over  hard  enough  to  cross — a  freeze  that  did  not 
come. 

General  Charles  Lee,  a  Welchman,  and  not  of  the  family 
of  Light  Horse  Harry  Lee,  who  with  about  5,000  troops,  had 
been  left  at  North  Castle,  with  orders  to  at  once  march  to  the 
aid  of  Washington,  wilfully  disregarded  the  order,  though 
peremptorily  given  several  times.  This  disloyalty  and  treach- 
ery, as  subsequently  proven,  exposed  Washington  to  a  posi- 
tion of  the  most  eminent  danger,  and  but  for  his  strategy, 
disaster  and  ruin  to  the  remnant  of  jhc  armv  then  with  him 


THE     ]\I  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D     LINE  261 

must  ultimately  have  come,  while  Lee,  sulking  in  his  tent,  was 
holding  back  all  re-inforcements.  Though  ordered  on  the 
17th  of  November  to  cross  the  Hudson  and  come  to  the  as- 
sistance of  Washington,  he  did  not  attempt  to  move  until  the 
2nd  of  December,  and  even  then  he  moved  so  slowly  that  on 
the  13th  he  had  only  gotten  as  far  as  Morristown.  There, 
fortunately  for  the  American  cause,  he  was  captured.  Sulli- 
van then  took  the  Command  and  hastened  to  the  support  of 
the  Commander-in-chief,  reaching  him  on  the  twentieth.  With 
these  re-inforcemertts,  and  some  additional  men  for  the  Mary- 
land Line,  just  arrived,  Washington  determined  to  strike  a 
blow,  and  it  turned  out  to  be  one  of  telling  effect  and  far 
reaching  results.  Howe  and  Cornwallis,  still  waiting  for  the 
river  to  freeze,  had  gone  to  New  York  for  the  Christmas  fes- 
tivities. Colonel  Rahl,  commanding  a  body  of  Hessians,  was 
stationed  at  Trenton.  On  Christmas  night,  when  the  revelries 
of  the  season  would  likely  make  the  enemy  less  active  and 
vigilant,  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware,  nine  miles  above 
Trenton.  The  night  was  dark  and  stormy  and  the  river  was 
filled  with  heavy,  floating  ice,  but  in  spite  of  the  difficulties, 
and  dangers,  Glover's  fishermen  sailors,  of  Long  Island  fame, 
got  the  little  army  safely  over,  after  ten  hours  work,  and  the 
march  upon  Trenton  was  started  amid  a  terrific  storm  of 
bHnding  hail,  snow  and  sleet.  As  expected,  the  enemy  was 
"caught  napping".  Colonel  Rabl  was  himself  so  absorbed  in 
a  social  game  of  cards  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  that  he  would 
not  even  take  the  time  to  read  a  note  sent  in  by  a  Tory  inform- 
ing him  of  Washington's  approach,  but  put  it  in  his  pocket 
to  be  read  at  a  more  convenient  hour.  The  movement  proved 
a  complete  surprise,  and  threw  the  enemy  into  a  state  of  su- 
preme consternation,  but  they  rallied  and  fought  with  desper- 
ation. Colonel  Rahl  soon  fell  mortally  wounded,  and  Wash- 
ington captured  i.ooo  of  his  men,  6  brass  field  pieces  and  all 
his  valuable  stores  and  arms,  except  the  arms  carried  by  the 
men  who  escaped.  The  Hessians  lost  six  officers  and  about  30 
men  killed,  while  Washington  lost  only  4,  two  killed,  and  two 
who  froze  to  death.     It  was  a  splendid  victory,  but  it  would 


262  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

have  been  even  more  so  had  the  two  divisions  of  the  army  in- 
tended to  support  him,  have  gotten  there.  They  were  to  cross 
the  Delaware  at  different  points  and  march  by  different  routes, 
but  the  night  was  so  stormy  and  the  river  so  treacherous,  that 
the  attempt  to  cross  was  not  made.  Washington  was  ap- 
prised of  this  when  he  first  reached  the  river,  but  he  was  bent 
on  a  fight,  and  having  with  him  Smallwood's  Maryland  and 
the  Virginia  and  Delaware  troops,  he  determined  to  risk  it 
with  the  limited  force  at  his  command. 

The  same  day  Washington  recrossed  the  Delaware  into 
Pennsylvania  with  his  prisoners  and  prizes,  but  on  the  30th, 
returned  and  occupied  Trenton.  Cornwallis,  with  8,000  men, 
was  sent  forward  from  Princeton  to  dislodge  him.  To 
check  the  advance,  harrassing  parties  of  riflemen,  sent  out 
by  Washington  and  stationed  in  the  woods  along  the  way, 
so  retarded  him  that  he  did  not  reach  Trenton  until  nearly 
night,  by  which  time  Washington  had  retired  beyond  the 
Assunpink  river,  a  tributary  of  the  Delaware  just  below 
Trenton,  and  had  the  bridge  over  it  securely  mounted  and 
garrisoned.  After  several  attempts  to  cross  and  each  being 
repulsed  with  heavy  loss,  Cornwallis  concluded  to  wait  un- 
til the  next  morning,  order  2,000  more  troops  from  Princeton 
and .  make  quick  his  work  of  demolition.  But  again  he 
failed  to  reckon  the  strategy  of  Washington.  Realizing  that 
he  could  not  cope  with  such  an  overwhelming  force  in  a 
drawn  battle,  and  also  the  danger  of  being  hemmed  in  between 
the  Delaware  and  Assunpink  rivers,  he  completely  foiled  the 
enemy  by  playing  a  game  which  was  a  marvel  in  its  concep- 
tion and  no  less  wonderful  in  its  execution.  He  had  large 
camp  fires  started,  and  set  a  lot  of  men  to  work  apparently 
throwing  up  entrenchments,  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  thus 
removing  all  suspicion  that  everything  would  not  be  ready  in 
the  morning  for  a  battle,  and  one  which,  to  Cornwallis  meant 
certain  victory  and  the  capture  of  Washington.  The  camp 
fires,  and  the  make  believe  entrenchments  having  served  their 
purpose  and  lulled  the  enemy  to  sleep,  Washington  about  mid- 
night slipped  away,  and  by  a  route  fcom  which  alarm  was  not 


THE     MARYLAND     LINE  263 

likely  to  be  given  proceeded  to  Princeton,  then  garrisoned,  as 
he  believed,  by  only  a  few  thousand  men.  As  he  entered 
Princeton  at  sunrise  on  the  2nd  of  January,  the  2,000  troops 
ordered  to  the  support  of  Cornwallis  at  Trenton,  were  just 
preparing  to  march  and  a  sharp  encounter  with  them  ensued. 
Soon  the  entire  force  there  was  in  the  field,  and  a  fierce,  gen- 
eral engagement  followed,  Washington  personally  leading  and 
rallying  on  his  men  until  the  British  were  completely  routed, 
with  a  loss  of  200  killed  and  300  prisoners  and  all  their  cannon 
and  stores.  The  American  loss  was  about  30  killed  and  wounded, 
among  the  former  being  General  Mercer,  who  with  a  part  of 
the  Maryland  Line  and  Delaware  troops,  formed  the  advance 
guard  in  the  march  upon  Princeton.  The  brave  colonel  Has- 
lett  was  also  mortally  wounded.  When  Cornwallis  awoke  in 
the  morning  great  was  his  surprise  and  chagrin  when  he  real- 
ized the  trick  which  Washington  had  played  on  him,  the  whole 
army  gone,  even  to  the  last  man  of  those  left  to  keep  up 
the  fires,  throw  up  the  earthworks  and  make  the  noise.  They 
had  kept  up  their  work  until  about  day  break,  when  they  took 
to  the  by-paths  and  started  to  join  the  army  at  Princeton, 
leaving  only  an  empty  camp  and  a  feint  at  breastworks  in 
front  of   Cornwallis.^ 

^  This  campaign  was  the  most  brilliant  one  of  the  war  of  the 
revolution.  Stonewall  Jackson's  valle'y  campaign,  in  1862,  reminds  the 
military  student  of  it.  Cornwallis — the  ablest  soldier  the  British  fur- 
nished—gentleman and  knight  as  he  was,  generously  expressed  his  ad- 
miration for  it.  Stedman,  his  historian  and  comrade,  considers  that 
Washington's  most  remarkable  and  strongest  marked  characteristic  was 
his  supreme  and  unfaltering  courage.  To  cross  a  wide  and  rapid  river 
in  winter,  by  night,  with  an  inferior,  half  clad  and  half  fed  force,  sur- 
prise and  capture  a  veteran  commander  of  regulars,  to  make  off  with 
his  booty,  and  then  re-occupy  his  position  in  front  of  Cornwallis  with 
thrice  his  numbers,  fighting,  holding  back,  eluding  and  strike  his  rear, 
and  make  him  give  up  all  the  territory  won  by  the  preceding  cam- 
paign, was  an  achievement  of  tactics  and  strategy,  of  endurance  and 
of  courage,  nothing  but  supreme  audacity,  pugnacity  and  courage  could 
accomplish  *  *  The  courage  displayed  by  Washington  in  this  short 
campaign,  not  the  physical  courage  of  the  fighter,  but  the  intellectual 
intrepidity   of  the   thinker,   at   once   won   him   the   respect   of   military 


264  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

The  army  being  greatly  fatigued,  having  fought  two  bat- 
tles within  a  week,  and  exposed  during  the  whole  time  to 
most  trying  hardships,  Washington  occupied  Princeton  for 
a  few  hours  only,  when  he  recrossed  the  Delaware  with  his 
prisoners  and  trophies,  and  by  easy  marches  went  into  quarters 
at  Morristown,  a  strong  position,  and  spent  the  rest  of  the 
winter  in  recruiting  his  shattered  army,  and  otherwise  pre- 
paring for  the  spring  campaign. 

The  battle  of  Trenton  was  a  distinctive  turning  point  in 
the  American  Revolution,  for  through  its  brilliant  results, 
Washington  was  able  to  hold  his  army  together.  On  New 
Years  day,  six  days  only  after  the  eventful  crossing  of  the 
Delaware  on  that  memorable  Christmas  night,  the  term  of  ser- 
vice of  the  most  of  his  men  would  expire  and  it  was  certain 
that  they  would  disband.  But  Trenton  dispelled  their  gloom,, 
revived  their  spirits  and  inspired  fresh  hope,  and  for  a  small 
premium,  which  he  personally  guaranteed,  Washington  pro- 
cured an  extension  of  the  term  of  enlistment  six  weeks.  This 
made  possible  the  battle  of  Princeton,  which  gave  still  further 
buoyancy  and  inspiration  to  the  army,  and  so  enhanced  its 
confidence,  as  well  as  that  of  the, entire  country,  in  Washington 
as  a  military  leader,  that  it  greatly  facilitated  and  aided  in  the 
work  of  preparing  for  the  ensuing  campaign. 

But  it  was  truly  a  critical  period  in  the  history  of  the  Revo- 
lution. The  terms  of  enlistment  of  the  most  of  his  army 
were  about  to  expire,  and  the  conditions  w.ere  such  as  to  call 
forth  the  most  unremitting  efforts  and  pathetic  appeals  from 
the  Commander-in-chief.  In  a  letter  to  Governor  Johnson  of 
Maryland,  he  said :  'T  have  no  army,  the  men  with  me  are  to^:) 
few  to  fight,  and  not  enough  to  run  .away  with."     He  also 

men  and  military  nations  all  over  the  world,  and,  what  was  of  equal 
importance,  the  confidence  of  the  people  at  home.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  there  was  a  widespread  dissatisfaction  with  his  caution  and  his 
slowness.  The  gentlemen  who  sit'  at  a  safe  distance  studying  the  map, 
unshaken  by  responsibility,  always  know  more  about  war  than  the 
Generals  who  are  fighting,  and  are  liberal  with  their  advice — after  the 
event.  The  debaters  are  the  most  impatient  for  action  by  others. 
General  Washington  by  General  Bradley  T.  Johnson,  page  155. 


'1-  1 1  !•:     M  A  R  V  L  A  X  D     LINE  2^5 

appealed  most  urgently  to  Patrick  Henry,  Governor  of  \'ir- 
ginia,  and  Jonathan,  Trumbull,  Governor  of  Connecticut.  To 
the  latter  he  wrote  on  March  6th:  "I  tell  you  in  confidence 
that  after  the  15th  of  this  month  I  shall  be  left  with  the  re- 
mains of  five  Virginia  regiments,  not  amounting  to  more  than 
as  many  hundred  men,  and  parts  of  two  or  three  other  conti- 
nental battalions.  The  remainder  of  the  army  will  be  composed 
of  small  parties  of  militia  from  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania, 
on  which  little  dependence  can  be  put,  as  they  come  and  go 
when  they  please".  On  March  14th,  from  Morristown,  he 
wrote  the  president  of  Congress:  "From  the  most  accurate 
estimate  I  can  now  form,  the  whole  of  our  numbers  in  Jer- 
sey fit  for  duty  at  this  time  is  under  three  thousand.  'These, 
nine  hundred  and  eighty-one  excepted,  are  militia,  and  stand 
engaged  only  until  the  last  of  this  month".  He  was  thus  re- 
duced to  about  five  hundred  continentals  from  Virginia  and 
four  hundred  and  eighty-one  from  Maryland  and  a  very  small 
remnant  of  Haslett's  brave  Delaware  troops.  New  England, 
New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  w-ere  now  extremely 
quiet  and  inactive. 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1777 

Congress,  now  in  Baltimore,  having  changed  the  seat  of 
the  National  Capital,  concluded  to  invest  Washington  with 
practically  dictatorial  powers  in  the  matter  of  the  organization 
and  management  of  the  army — a  power  which  he  should  have 
had  from  the  beginning. 

The  Commander-in-chief  deeply  impressed  with  the  ex- 
treme importance  of  having  a  regular  standing  army  to  take 
the  place  of  the  hastily  recruited  and  short  termed  enlistments 
of  the  militia  which  most  of  the  states  were  sending  in,  pre- 
vailed upon  Congress,  near  the  close  of  the  previous  year, 
to  organize  an  army  of  eighty  battahons  of  regulars,  and  to 
call  upon  the  states  to  furnish  them.     Congress  also  ordered 


266  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

sixteen  additional  battalions  to  be  raised  on  its  own  account 
and  wherever  the  men  could  be  found  to  fill  them.  These 
were  independent  of  the  several  state  lines,  or  troops  of  lines, 
as  they  were  sometimes  called.  Many  of  these  battalions  were 
never  raised,  but  the  order  resulted  in  bringing  into  the  field 
a  considerable  re-inforcement  and  of  placing  the  army  upon 
a  much  more  efficient  footing.  Maryland's  quota  was  eight 
battalions,  of  500  men  each,  one  tenth  of  the  whole  requisi- 
tion upon  the  states,  and  seemingly  an  undue  proportion,  but 
Maryland  determined  to  exert  every  effort  to  comply  with  the 
order.  The  independent  companies,  then  in  the  field,  were  com- 
bined into  one  battalion.  Commissioners  were  hurried  to  camp 
to  try  to  induce  the  Maryland  militia  of  the  Flying  Camp, 
whose  term  was  about  to  expire,  to  re-enlist  for  the  war,  and. 
to  a  large  degree  they  were  successful.  This,  together  with 
a  most  marked  activity  in  the  recruiting  station  of  the  state, 
enabled  Maryland  to  comply  with  the  requisition  of  Congress. 
That  is,  she  furnished  five  new  battalions,  which,  with  Small- 
wood's  battalion,  and  the  one  formed  of  the  independent 
companies,  made  seven,  the  remnant  of  the  rifle  regiment  of 
Colonel  Rawlings,  to  which  her  four  German  regiments  were 
added,  constituting  the  eight.  These  battalions  constituted  two 
brigades,  the  one  being  under  the  command  of  General  Small- 
wood,  whom  Congress  had  promoted  in  October  to  a  Brig- 
adier-General, and  the  other,  that  of  Brigadier-General  De- 
boore  the  whole  division  being  commanded  by  Major-General 
Sullivan. 

The  season  was  well  advanced  before  any  movement  of 
importance  occurred.  Washington,  now  with  8,000  men,  moved 
down  from  Morristown  to  Middlebrook,  a  central  and  strong 
position,  from  whence  he  would  endeavor  to  check  any  advance 
of  the  enemy  upon  Philadelphia,  while  Gates,  Schuyler,  Arnold, 
and  Morgan,  with  about  the  same  force,  were  on  the  upper 
Hudson  to  anticipate  the  descent  from  Canada  into  New  York 
of  the  army  of  General  Burgoyne.  x-Howe  had  been  instructed 


THE     MARYLAND     LINE  267 

by  the  British  -Board  of  War  to  form  a  juncture  at  Albany 
with  Burgoyne  and  with  the  combined  forces  endeavor  to 
capture  the  State  of  New  York,  use  it  as  a  mihtary  center 
and  thus  completely  cut  off  the  States  lying  south  of  it  from 
those  on  the  north.  It  was  a  long  March  for  Burgoyne,  and 
Howe  concluded,  in  the  meantime,  to  slip  down  and  capture 
Philadelphia,  apparently  easy  to  do  with  18,000  men.  To  that 
end,  he  left  New  Brunswick,  his  winter  quarters,  on  the  12th 
-of  Jwne,  but  'he  never  got  beyond  Middlebrook,  where  Wash- 
ington was  so  securely  entrenched  that  Howe  could  neither 
get  by  him  or  successfully  assail  him.  By  a  series  of  marches 
and  counter-marches,  skirmishes  and  strategic  movements, 
Washington,  with  his  8,000  men  and  strong  position,  not  only 
prevented  the  further  advance  of  the  British,  but  so  harrassed 
and  perplexed  Howe  that  dismayed  and  worn  out,  on  the  30th 
of  June,  he  abandoned  his  project  and  returned  to  Staten 
Island.  In  those  eighteen  days  there  was  not  a  battle  fought, 
and  yet,  the  superlative  gehius  of  Washington  brought  to  its 
cause  one  of  the  most  notable  achievements  of  the  American 
Revolution. 

But  as  great  a  marvel  in  military  skill  as  it  was,  it  meant 
vastly  more  than  simply  driving  Howe  from  his  course. 
It  meant  even  more  than  saving  for  the  time,  Philadelphia 
from  capture,  which  after  all  was,  as  a  war  measure,  of 
but  little  importance,  as  it  was  neither  a  governmental  position 
or  a  military  center,  but  was  simply  the  seat  of  Congress, 
which  could  hold  its  session  as  easily  elsewhere ;  but  it  carried 
with  it  the  significant  fact,  as  will  be  seen,  that  Howe  was 
foiled  in  his  plans  to  reach  his  objective  point  and  get  back  in 
time  to  form  the  expected  union  with  Burgoyne  at  Albany. 
Howe  was  now  so  eager  to  get  to  Philadelphia  that,  unmind- 
ful of  Burgoyne,  he  sailed  away  with  his  18,000  men  down  the 
Ocean,  passed  the  Delaware,  which  he  feared  was  obstructed, 
and  up  the  Chesapeake  Bay  to  Elkton,  consuming  24^  days, 
from  whence  he  expected  to  march  upon  Philadelphia.  Wash- 
ington now  had  Howe  where  he  wanted  him,  for  though  he  could 


268  COLONIAL     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

scarcely  hope  to  win  a  battle  against  an  army  of  veterans  more 
than  twice  the  size  of  his  own  and  consisting  chiefly  of  new  re- 
cruits and  raw  militia,  he  felt  that  he  could  obstruct,  check  and 
retard  his  progress,  and  thus  gain  time,  until  it  would  be  too 
late  for  Howe,  now  400  miles  away,  to  get  back  and  re-inforce 
Burgoyne.  And  he  did  it,  for  while  Howe  in  time  reached 
Philadelphia,  he  had  been  held  back  nearly  a  month,  and  had 
been  so  harrassed  before  and  after,  that  before  he  could  give 
a  thought  as  to  how  he  could  get  away,  Burgoyne  had  fallen 
and  Saratoga  had  been  won. 

While  waiting  for  Howe  to  complete  his  sea  voyage,  Sul- 
livan, with  the  Maryland  Line,  determined  upon  an  attack 
upon  Staten  Island  in  the  hope  of  capturing  about  1,000  Tories 
stationed  there,  some  distance  from  the  regular  army.  The 
attempt  was  made  on  the  night  of  the  22nd  of  August,  but 
owing  to  the  mistake  of  Smallwood's  guide  in  leading  him  in 
the  darkness  in  front  of  the  enemy  instead  of  its  rear,  the 
movement  became  known,  a  general  alarm  was  sounded  and 
a  retreat  was  ordered.  It  was  made  in  the  midst  of  .sharp 
skirmishing,  with  a  small  loss  on  both  sides,  and  the  Americans 
brought  away  with  them  two  Colonels  and  about  thirty  men. 
On  the  24th,  Washington,  learning  that  Howe  had  reached 
Elkton,  and  that  he  was  preparing  to  land  there,  at  once  took 
up  his  line  of  march  to  meet  him.  The  two  armies  met  at 
Wilmington,  Delaware.  Sharp  skirmishing  ensued,  but  Wash- 
ington slowly  retreated  in  front  of  the  enemy  until  the  Brandy- 
wine  was  reached,  whence  he  determined  to  give  him  battle. 
On  the  nth  of  September  the  Hessian  troops  as  an  advance 
reached  the  opposite  side  of  the  Brandywine  at  Chads  Ford, 
but  did  not  attempt  to  cross  in  the.  face  of  the  American 
Army.  Nor  did  Washington  deem  it  wifee  to  make  an  offen- 
sive movement  at  that  moment,  not  knowing  just  where  Howe 
anfl  the  main  Army  were  stationed.  Washington  was  now  in- 
formed that  Howe  had  crossed  the  Brandywine  much  higher 
up  and  was  making  a  circuitous  marcli  of  seventeen  miles 
to  Chads  Ford,  hoping  to  trap  and  hedge  in  the  Americans 
between   the   two   wings  of   the   British   Army.      He   ordered 


THE     MARVl.AXl)     I.  1  X  K  269 

Sullivan  "with  the  Maryland  Line,  Stirling's,  Stephen's  and 
Hager's  regiments  to  advance  and  check  Howe's  march,  while 
he  in  front,  ^nd  Green  in  the  rear,  would  cross  the  Brandywine 
and  capture  the  Hessians  at  Chads  Ford.  As  this  order  was 
being  executed,  Sullivan  received  information  that  Howe 
was  not  advancing  as  at  first  alleged,  and  his  whereabouts  not 
being  known,  for  though  in  a  thickly  settled  country  not  a 
soul  would  reveal  Howe's  movements,  the  plan  of  attack  thus 
ordered,  and  which,  if  properly  executed,  must  have  brought 
brilliant  results,  was  countermanded.  Amid  the  confusion  in- 
cident to  these  conflicting  reports  and  ignorant  of  the  real  po- 
sition of  the  enemy.  Howe  was  found  to  be  within  a  few  miles 
only  of  Chads  Ford.  It  was  now  too  late  to  carry  out  Wash- 
ington's first  plan,  but  Sullivan  met  Howe  and  a  terrific  and 
murderous  battle  followed.  With  such  immense  odds  against 
him,  Sullivan  could  not  of  course,  hold  out,  and  to  prevent  the 
useless  loss  of  life  of  his  men,  retreated,  the  movement  being 
covered  by  Washington  arid  Green  in  such  a  masterly  way 
that  Sullivan's  troops  did  not  even  know  they  were  retreat- 
ing, but  thought  they  were  simply  falling  back  to  a  stronger 
position.  The  enemy  not  further  pursuing  the  attack,  the  bat- 
tle of  Brandywine  thus  ended — a  battle  which  is  generally 
recorded  as  a  British  victory.  In  so  far  as  the  secrecy  of 
Howe's  movements  having  prevented  the  capture  of  the  Hes- 
sians at  Chads  Ford  it  was,  but  tjie  chief  value  of  that  splen- 
didly planned  and  carefully  executed  march  was  thrown  away 
and  forever  lost  when  Howe  failed  then  and  there  to  completely 
annihilate  the  American  Army.  He  had  18,000  men,  and  now 
had  Washington  wedged  in  between  the  two  divisions  of  the 
r.riti>h  Army,  and  yet  he  allowed  Washington  to  escape, 
'"horse,  foqt  and  dragoon"  with  the  loss  of  only  about  1,000 
men,  his  own  loss  being  largely  in  excess  of  that  number. 
Though  only  a  few  miles  away,  by  the  surprise  of  Paoli,  and 
some  eflfe.ctive  manoeuvers  and  skirmishes, .  Washington  de- 
layed Howe's  entrance  into  Philadelphia  until  the  22nd  of  Sep- 
tember. Congress  on  the  i8th,  had  adjourned  to  Lancaster, 
Pa.    But  Washington  still  did  nnt  intend  to  give  Howe  time  to 


270  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

consider  how  he  could  get  back  and  form  the  juncture  with  Bur- 
goyne.  Howe  did  not  occupy  Philadelphia,  but  was  stationed 
with  the  main  army  at  Germantown,  nearby.  On  the  night 
of  the  3rd  of  October,  Washington  began  a  march  of  42  miles 
to  put  into  execution  a  boldly  conceived  plan  to  either  cap- 
ture Howe's  army,  or  to  completely  route  it,  and  he  came  within 
an  ace  of  doing  it.  He  was  to  enter  Germantown  in  four  divis- 
ions and  by  four  different  routes  and  the  enemy,  thus  hemmed 
in,  would  be  forced  to  surrender.  Sullivan  was  in  command 
on  the  right,  Green  on  the  left  while  Armstrong  was  to  attack 
in  front  and  Smallwood  and  Foreman  in  the  rear.  The  attack 
was  to  be  made  at  day  break  by  all  the  divisions  at  the  same 
moment,  but  owing  to  unforeseen  difficulties,  this  simultaneous 
movement  could  not  be  made.  Green  had  found  obstructions 
which  delayed  him  more  than  an  hour,  and  Smallwood  and 
Foreman  encountered  breast  works  in  their  line  of  march 
which  had  to  be  overcome  and  they  did  not  reach  the  ground 
until  the  battle  was  practically  over.  But  in  spite  of  Wash- 
ington's plans  being  thus  upset,  Germantown  came  marvel- 
lously inear  being  an  American  victory.  Sullivan  at  the  ap- 
pointed time,  sent  forward  the  Maryland  Line  to  attack  the  out- 
posts of  the  enemy.  This  was  done  with  such  vigor  and  steadi- 
ness that  the  British  light  infantry  fled  from  the  field  and  their 
whole  encampment  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  advancing  col- 
umn. Sullivan's  whole  division  now  came  up  with  great  resolu- 
tion and  behaved,  throughout,  as  Washington  said,  "With  a 
degree  of  gallantry  that  did  them  the  highest  credit".  The 
British  were  stampeded,  and  such  as  could  do  so,  took  refuge 
in  the  Chew  Stone  house.  By  this  time  Green  had  arrived, 
and  threw  himself  with  powerful  force  into  the  engagement. 
The  enemy  was  fast  recoiling  under  a  terrific  fire,  when  a 
Virginia  brigade,  under  Stephens,  owing  to  an  almost  opaque 
fog  and  the  thick  and  dense  smoke,  mistook  Wayne's  division 
for  the  enemy,  and  opened  fire  upon  them  in  the  rear,  thus 
causing  a  panic  in  that  division,  which,  not  being  understood, 
rapidly  spread,  causing  a  general  disorder  and  the  day  was 
lost.     Sullivan,  who  was  in  the  advance,  finding  that  in  the 


T  H  E     M  A  R  Y  L  A  X  D     L  I  X  E  271 

confusion  he  Oould  get  no  support,  retreated,  and  returned 
with  the  rest  of  the  army  to  its  encampment.  The  loss  on  each 
side  was  about  800  men.' 

Howe  now  wanted  to  get  into  communication  with  his 
fleet,  but  to  do  so  he  had  to  reduce  Fort  Mififen  and 
Fort  Mercer  in.  the  Delaware,  but  General  Samuel  Smith, 
of  JMaryland,  in  command  of  the  former  and  the  one  first 
attacked,  maintained  his  ground  with  such  determined  cour- 
age that,  long  before  the  reduction  could  be  accomplished, 
the  crowning  glory  of  the  campaign  of  1777  had  come  and 
Washington  had  his  coveted  goal.  Howe  had  been  success- 
fully held  back  until  Burgoyne,  unsupported,  had  surrendered, 
and  Saratoga,  with  its  significant  bearing  upon  the  cause  of 
American  independence,  had  triumphantly  been  won.     ■ 

Washington  now  retired  to  White  Marsh.  Howe  sent 
a  force  to  draw  him  out,  but  after  a  short  but  desperately  sharp 
attack  by  the  JMaryland  Line  and  Morgan's  riflemen  the  enemy 
returned  to  Philadelphia.     ^ 

In  December,  Sir  William  Howe  resigned  as  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  British  Army,  and  Washington  went  into  his 
memorable  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge.  Sullivan  was 
relieved  of  his  command  of  the  Maryland  Line,  which  now 
devolved  upon  Smallwood  who  went  into  winter  quarters 
at  Wilmington  to  protect  the  State  of  Delaware.  While  there 
he  captured  a  British  vessel  loaded  with  provisions  and  stores, 
and  a  sloop  loaded  with  tents  and  arms,  and  which  materially 
contributed  to  the  comfort  and  cheer  of  Smallwood  and  his 
troops  during  that  eventful  season. 

CAMPAIGX  OF  1778 

The  winter  at  Valley  Forge  was  one  of  acute  distress 
and  anxiety  to  Washington  and  of  intense  suffering  for  his 
men,  many  of- whom  were  barefooted  and  almost  naked.    One 

'  Lossing,  and  other  historians  quoting  him,  say,  the  Maryland 
Militia  did  not  come  into  action.  This  is  misleading.  The  Maryland 
Militia — raw  recruits,  then  being  marched  to  the  front,  were  delayed 
by  breast  works,  but  the  Maryland  Line,  then  seven  full  regiments, 
under  Sullivan,  was  the  first  in  action  at  Germantown,  was  constantly 
engaged,  and  for  its  gallantry  and  resohition  received  the  higlicst  com- 
mendation.    Sparks  V — 80;  Life  of  General  Sullivan,  64. 


272  C  O  L  O  X  I  A  L     ^I  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

suit  for  two  men,  wearing  it  alternately,  was  not  uncommon, 
the  one  staying  in  when  the  other  was  out.  They  rudely 
constructed  for  themselves  huts  built  of  poles  with  mud  dob- 
bing  and  roof,  but  even  they  were  little  more  than  an  apol- 
ogy for  the  name.  Blankets  too,  were  scarce,  one  frequently 
sufficing  for  two  men,  the  one  sitting  up  by  the  fire  while  the 
other  slept,  and  the  question  of  food  even  became  a  serious, 
and  at  times,  a  most  alarming  one.  This  seemed  the  harder  be- 
cause apparently  unnecessary  and  the  result  of  an  insufficient 
commissary  department,  which,  after  getting  clothes,  shoes 
and  blankets,  failed  to  have  them  transported  while  the  army 
was  suffering  and  dying  from  severe  exposure.  Washington's 
pathetic  appeal  for  his  men  was  most  powerful,  but  it  failed 
of  results  until  a  degree  of  hardship  had  been  endured  that 
would  almost  defy  accurate  description  and  yet,  those  who 
survived,  bore  it  with  a  fortitude  and  spirit  which  could  only 
be  done  by  the  exercise  and  the  display  of  the  highest  and 
noblest  sense  of  patriotic  duty. 

But  the  clouds  that  hung  so  heavily  over  Valley  Forge 
had  their  silver  lining.  The  masterly  strategy  of  Washington 
in  handling  Howe  during  the  previous  summer  and  fall,  and 
the  winning  of  Saratoga,  had  deeply  impressed  France,  and 
had  paved  the  way.  for  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance 
with  that  power.  This  was  promptly  effected,  and  France 
began  immediate  preparations  to  send  to  America  both  men 
and  money.  The  intrigues  too,  which  Horatio  Gates  had  been 
plotting,  through  the  Conway  Cabal,  to  get  himself  put  in 
Washington's  place,  were  now  brought  to  an  end.  When  it 
became  known  that  Gates,  who  by  similar  plotting  had  sup- 
erceded S.chuyler  in  the  command  of  the  Northern  Army,  was 
not  really  in  active  service  in  the  heat  of. the  battle  of  Sara- 
toga, and  that  at  its  most  critical  moment  he  was  not  on  the 
field  at  all,  but  in  his  headquarters,  and  that  Schuyler  and 
Arnold  and  Morgan  hacl  really  fought  the  battle  and  won  it, 
and  yet,  that  in  his  report,  which  he  had  the  discourtesy  to 
send  to  Congress  instead  of  to  his  Commander-in-chief,  he  had 
not  even  had  the  frankness  and  generosity  to  mention  the 
names   of   those   officers,   and   that   lie   was   implicated   in   the 


T  1 1  1-:     M  A  K  ^'  L  A  XI)     LI  N  E  273 

Conway  Cabal,  he  was  dismissed  from  the  Board  of  War 
and  assigned  to  duty  at  the  forts  on  the  Hudson. 

The  presence  too,  of  Baron  Von  Stubens,  a  German  officer 
of  high  rank  and  a  mihtary  teacher  of  great  renown,  at  Valley 
Forge,  proved  to  be  a  genuine  ray  of  sunshine.  He  had 
come  to  help  the  American  cause,  and  to  do  so,  he  spent 
that  winter  in  instructing  the  troops  with  painstaking  care 
in  the  military  tactics  by  which  the  best  results  could  be 
won,  and  by  the  advent  of  spring,  he  had  an  army,  though 
small  and  ragged,  that  was  well  drilled  both  in  the, use  of  arms 
and  in  movements. 

Maryland,  during  the  winter  and  spring,  raised  2,902  men, 
the  quarto  demanded  by  Congress,  and  by  June  they  were 
with  the  Maryland  Line  on  the  field. 

General  Howe  having  resigned.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  early 
in  May  reached  Philadelphia  to  assume  command  of  the 
British  forces.  Fearing  that  Washington  on  the  land  side 
and  the  French  fleet  on  the  water  side,  and  which  was  destined 
soon  to  arrive,  might  bottle  him  up  there,  he  determined  to 
evacuate  Philadelphia,  and  on  the  i8th  of  June,  having  sent 
his  sick  and  stores  by  water,  set  out  on  the  march  to  New- 
York,  with  his  army  of  12,000  men.  Washington  started  after 
him  in  hot  pursuit,  and  on  the  28th  occurred  the  battle  of 
Monmouth,  one  of  the  most  hotly  contested  engagements  of 
the  Revolution,  and  on  one  of 'the  hottest  days  of  the  year. 
General  Charles  Lee,  shortly  afterwards  dismissed  from  the 
army,  with  4,000  men  was  ordered  to  make  the  advance, 
while  Washington  with  the  rest  of  the  main  army  assumed 
position.  Lafayette,  who  had  become  suspicious  of  Lee,  hur- 
ried a  messenger  for  the  Commander-in-chief.  When  he 
dashed  upon  the  scene,  he  was  astounded  to  fijid  Lee  in  confus- 
ion and  rapidly  retreating,  instead  of  making  the  attack  as  or- 
dered. In  thundering  and  withering  tones  he  demanded  of 
Lee  the  reason  for  such  conduct,  but  receiving  none  that  really 
explained  it.  he  ordered  colonels  Ramsey  and  Stewart  of  the 
Maryland  Line,  to  form  under  Wayne  and  hold  the  enemy 
imtil  he  could  restore  order  in  Lee's  broken  and  fugitive  col- 
umns,  and    form   the   line   of   battle,   saying   to   Ramsey   and 


274  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

Stewart:  *'If  you  can  stop  the  British  for  ten  minutes,  until 
I  form,  you  will  save  my  army".  Under  a  most  galling  and 
deadly  fire,  the  brave  Marylanders  undertook  the  task,  and  with 
undaunted  defiance  threw  themselves  upon  the  enemy  and 
checked  the  advance,  not  for  ten  minutes  only  but  for  half  an 
hour  and  until  order  had  been  restored.  In  this  engagement, 
which  came  to  be  a  hand  to  hand  fight,  Colonel  Ramsey  fell 
after  having  received  a  number  of  fatal  wounds.  The  line 
formed,  with  Stirling  on  the  left,  Green  on  the  right  and 
Washington  in  the  center,  the  battle  soon  became  general 
and  was  fought  with  desperate  spirit  and  vigor  on  both  sides. 
In  the  heat  of  it,  Wayne,  who  had  done  such  effective  work 
with  the  Maryland  brigade  in  the  morning,  was  now  destined 
to  win  further  laurels.  He  boldly  attacked  the  British  cen- 
ter, occupied  by  the  "Royal  Grenadiers"  and  repeatedly  re- 
pulsed them,  in  the  final  charge  pouring  such  a  volley  of  de- 
struction into  their  ranks  that  nearly  every  officer  fell,  in- 
cluding their  gallant  Commander,  Colonel  Monckton.  A  des- 
perate hand  to  hand  fight  occurred  over  his  body,  but  Wayne 
carried  it  off  the  field.  But  even  with  this  brilliant  victory, 
the  scales  were  still  only  about  evenly  balanced.  Washington 
now  ordered  his  right  wing,  consisting  of  Small  wood's  Mary- 
land and  Patterson's  Massachusetts,  to  action.  They  came 
forward  with  resolution  and  steadiness,  and  in  the  language 
of  Captain  Jacobs,  of  the  6th  Maryland  regiment,  they  "had 
the  pleasure  of  driving  the  enemy  off  the  field  of  Monmouth''. 
That  night,  Clinton,  under  cover  of  darkness,  slipped  away 
and  finally  landed  in  New  York.  Washington,  by  slow  marches, 
through  the  intense  heat,  went  up  to  White  Plains  on  the  Hud- 
son, and  there  occupied  his  former  strong  position. 

The  battle  of  Monmouth,  it  is  conceded,  was  most  skill- 
fully conducted  on  both  sides,  Washington  and  Clinton  both 
displaying  extraordinary  generalship.  Considering  its  intens- 
ity and  the  length  of  time  it  was  raging,  the  mortality  of  the 
day  was  surprisingly  low,  owing  in  part,  to  the  sheltered  posi- 
tion that  both  sides  much  of  the  time  occupied.  The  British 
loss  was  about  400  and  the  American  about  ^00.     The  teni- 


T  n  E     M  A  R  Y  L  A  X  I)     LINE 


275 


perature  was  around  96  in  the  shade  nearly  all  day,  and  many 
men  on  both  sides  ,died  from  sunstroke. 

Monmouth  was  the  only  battle  of  the  Revolution  in  which 
troops  from  all  of  the  thirteen  colonies  participated,  and  the 
only  one  in  which  a  woman  acted  the  part  of  a  cannoneer, 
Mollie  Pitcher,  seeing  her  husband  fall,  rushed  to  his  aid  and 
finding  him  dead,  gallantly  took  his  place  and  bravely  main- 
tained it  during  the  rest  of  the  battle.  For  her  heroism  Wash- 
ington made  her  a  lieutenant  and  Congress  placed  her  on  the 
roll  at  half  pay  for  life. 

Washington,  now  advised  of  the  arrival  of  the  French 
fleet  of  twelve  ships  and  six  frigates,  and  a  land  force  of  4,000 
men,  determined  to  call  the  new  allies  into  action  and  by  form- 
ing a  juncture  with  them,  strike  a  crushing  blow  upon  New 
Port,  where  the  British  had  6,000  men  under  Sir  Robert 
Pigat.  The  expedition  was  assigned  to  Sullivan,  who  was  sta- 
tioned nearby,  and  whom- Washington  re-inforced  with  1,500 
picked  men  under  Green,  Lafayette  and  Glover.  To  these  were 
added  a  large  number  of  yeomanry  from  New  England,  which 
had  been  greatly  harassed  by  the  garrison  at  Newport,  thus 
giving  Sullivan  an  army  of  about  9,000  men.  With  this  force, 
aided  by  the  French  fleet  and  the  4,000  French  troops,  the  game 
seemed  to  be  one  which  ought  to  be  easily  and  quickly  won. 
The  plan  of  attack  was  admirably  arranged,  but  it  was  destined 
to  fall  through.  The  land  forces  were  to  enter  the  Island  from 
three  sides,  while  the  fleet  was  to  lay  to  the  south  side.  Count 
D'Estaing,  Commander  of  the  allies,  reached  there  on  the  29th 
of  July  and  began  unloading  his  troops  when  the  British  navy 
arrived  on  the  scene.  D'Estaing  at  once  ordered  his  troops 
aboard  the  ships  and  sailed  off  to  meet  the  enemy,  leaving  Sul- 
livan to  cope  with  the  situation  as  best  he  could.  A  terrific 
storm  now  came  up  and  drove  both  fleets  so  far  out  at  sea  that 
D'Estaing  did  not  get  back  for  twenty  days,  and  when  he 
did  return,  promptly  sailed  away  with  his  entire  navy  and  army 
for  Boston  to  repair  his  ships.  Sullivan,  thus  deserted,  the 
New  England  men  having  become  disheartened  and  gone  home, 
and  learning  that  Clinton  was  hurrying  5,000  additional  troops 


276  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

there,  recrossed  to  the  main  land  and  the  briHiantly  planned 
siege  of  Newport  was  over. 

D'Estaing  now  moved  down  the  coast  to  the  West  In- 
dies, to  join  his  countrymen  there  at  war  with  England,  declared 
almost  as  soon  as  the  Franco-American  alliance  had  been 
formed.  This  conduct  of  D'Estaing  aroused  intense  indignation 
all  over  the  country  and  greatly  shattered  the  hopes  that,  the 
French  alliance  would  speedily  end  the  war.  Indirectly,  it 
did  materially  help  the  American  cause  from  the  beginning, 
for  it  brought  on  war  between  England  and  France,  thus  not 
only  preventing  England  from  sending  additional  troops  to 
America,  but  made  it  necessary  that  a  part  of  those  already 
here  be  withdrawn  for  other  fields  of  battle.  These  indirect 
results,  were  destined  to  be  followed  later  on,  as  will  be  seen, 
by  the  most  active  service  and  splendid  achievement  of  the  . 
French  army  and  navy  in  the  cause  of  American  independence. 
It  opened  the  way  too,  by  which  that  dashing  naval  Com- 
mander, John  Paul  Jones,  with  a  little  fleet  fitted  up  by  France, 
proclaimed  to  the  world  the  rise  of  a  new  American  sea  power, 
and  with  which,  he  won  a  victory  so  brilliant  in  its  achieve- 
ments that  it  produced  a  most  profound  and  salutary  moral 
effect  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Cruising  in  the  British 
seas,  off  the  coast  of  Scotland,  he  encountered  a  fleet  of  British 
merchantmen,  under  convoy  of  the  powerfully  armed  cruiser, 
the  Serapis,  carrying  sixty-three  guns  and  320  trained  seamen. 
Though  his  own  flagship,  the  Richard,  was  neither  mounted 
or  manned  so  strongly,  on  the  night  of  the  23rd  of  September, 
1779,  by  a  skillful  manoeuver  Jonjes  got  the  Serapis  lashed  to 
the  Richard,  and  thus,  muzzle  to  muzzle,  he  fought  and  won 
the  most  desperate  and  murderous  sea  battle  ever  recorded,  per- 
haps, in  naval  history. 

After  the  failure  of  the  attack  upon  Newport  nothing  fur- 
ther occurred  during  the  fall  of  importance,  except  that  the 
opposing  armies  successfully  held  each  other  at  bay,  neither 
caring  to  risk  a  drawn  battle. 

Early  in  December.  Washington  went  into  winter  quar- 
ters in  New  Jersey  for  the  protection  of  that  State — the  Mary- 
land Line  being  stationed  at  Middlebrook,  that  place  being  also 
the  headquarters  of  the  Commaiidcr-in-chief. 


THE     MARYLAND     LINE  277 

CAMPAIGN   OF    177., 

Maryland's  qifota  for  the  campaign  of,  1779,  as  apijortioned 
by  Congress,  was  2,849  "len,  and  Washington  was  urged 
to  send  forward  promptly  efficient  officers  to  properly  effect 
the  enlistment  and  thus  hasten  the  recruiting  service,  the 
sum  of  $2,000  being  appropriated  for  that  purpose.  The  de- 
preciation in  Continental  currency  had  become  so  great  that 
Smallwood,  on  behalf  of  the  officers  of  the  Maryland  Line, 
was  now  constrained  to  ask  that  better  provision  be  made 
for  their  support  and  addressed  to  the  Governor  and  General 
Assembly  of  Maryland,  an  appeal  in  which  he  says :  "We  beg 
leave,  most  respectfully,  to  represent  to  your  Excellency  and 
Honors  that  the  several  provisions  heretofore  made  by  the 
Legislature  for  the  subsistance  of  her  officers,  have  by  no 
means  been  adequate  *  *  *  that  a  zeal  for  the  public  cause, 
'and  an  ardent  desire  to  promote  the  happiness  and  interest  of 
their  country  have,  notwithstanding,  induced  them  to  con- 
tinue in  the  service  to  the  very  great  prejudice  of  their  pri- 
vate fortune ;  many  of  which  being  now  entirely  exhausted, 
we  find  ourselves  under  the  painful  and  humiliating  necessity 
of  soliciting  *  *  *  further  support  and  the  disposition  of 
a  generous  and  grateful  people  to  reward  the  services  of  the 
faithful  sons  and  servants  of  the  State.  The  very  great  de- 
preciation of  the  Continental  currency  renders  this  absolutely 
necessary  *  '"^  =■'  to  enable  us*  to  continue  a  service  in  which 
nothing  but  a  love  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of  mankind  can 
contain  us".  This  communication  received  immediate  atten- 
tion and  an  Act  was  passed  for  the  relief  of  the  officers  and  sol- 
diers of  The  Maryland  Line  which  seemed  to  be  just  and 
adequate. 

The  winter  at  Middlcbrook  was  a  severe  and  trying  one, 
though  the  arm}-  was  in  better  condition  than  when  at  Valley 
Forge,  and  the  suffering  was  less  intense.  Both  armies  were 
content  to  simply  watch  each  other,  though  the  British  did 
make  in  February  an  attempt  to  take  Elizabethtown,  New 
Jersey.  Smallwood.  with  the  Maryland  Line  and  Saint  Clare's 
Pennsylvania   division,   was   ordered   out    to    form   a   juncture 


278  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

with  Maxwell,  stationed  nearby,  and  repulse  the  enemy,  but 
no  engagement  took  place.  The  British  changed  their  minds 
and  retreated  to  Staten  Island. 

The  atrocities  which  had  been  perpetrated  the  year  be- 
fore upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  and  North- 
western New  York  by  bands  of  Tories  and  certain  tribes  of 
the  six  nations,  led  by  Colonel  John  Butler  of  the  British 
Army  and  Sir  William  Johnson,  English  Agent  at  New  York, 
stood  almost  without  a  parallel  in  savage  warfare.  The  coun- 
try was  pillaged  and  devastated,  aged  men  and  innocent  chil- 
dren were  butchered,  burned  and  tortured  to  death,  while 
the  women  shared  either  the  same  fate  or  were  left  to  the 
passions  of  a  brutal  soldiery.  Skirmishing  parties  which  had 
been  sent  out  to  assist  in  protecting  the  frontier  settlement, 
when  surprised  and  captured,  as  frequently  occurred,  were 
treated  with  a  cruelty  that  beggared  description.  Among 
those  called  upon  to  share  this  horrible  fate,  was  Pulaski's 
legion,  composed  principally  of  Maryland  men,  and  whose 
heroism  and  gallantry  had  been  so  often  proven.  Fifty-five 
of  them  were  surrounded  and  captured  by  Ferguson  at  night, 
and  after  a  most  wanton  and  cruel  torture,  fifty  of  them  were 
in  cold  blood  bayonetted  and  massacred.  Such  marooning  ex- 
peditions were  unworthy  of  an  enlightened  people  or  of  a 
civiHzed  soldiery,  and  yet,  the  English  War  Secretary,  urged 
that  the  raids  be  continued  and  in  the  appropriations  for  the 
support  of  the  war,  was  one  for  scalping  knives,  a  lasting 
shame  and  a  reproach  to  a  boasted  civilization.  Washington 
determined  to  send  out  a  force  sufficient  to  put  an  end  to  this 
terrible  carnage,  even  though  it  should  leave  the  rest  of  the 
army,  for  the  time  being,  too  weak  for  a  drawn  battle  with 
Clinton.  He  ofifered  the  command  to  Gates,  but  he  declined 
the  perilous  undertaking.  Sullivan,  however,  was  equal  to 
the  occasion  and  early  in  the  summer  he  started  with  am  army 
of  5,000  men  on  his  long  march,  with  instructions  "To  lay 
waste  to  country  of  the  hostile  Iroquois  and  capture  the  nest 
of  Tory  miscreants",  and  he  executed  the  order  both  in 
letter  and  spirit.  At  New  Town,  now  Elmira,  he  encountered 
1.500  Tories,  gave  them  a  battle  anrl  routed  them  with  enor- 


THE     AI  A  R  Y  L  A  ^  D     LINE  279 

mous  loss,  and  following  up  this,  he  waged  upon  the  Iroquois 
and  their  country,  a  war  of  such  furor  and  destruction  that 
their  country  was  left  a  desert,  and  the  tribe  itself  too  weak, 
both  in  numbers  and  prestige,  to  ever  again  become  a  disturbing 
factor  in  the  American  Revolution.  This  accomplished,  Sul- 
livan returned  with  his  army  after  a  march  of  seven  hundred 
miles. 

While  these  events  were  going  on  in  the  north,  Washing- 
ton resolved  upon  the  capture  of  Stony  Point,  a  high,  bold, 
rocky  formation  projecting  out  into  the  Hudson  below  West 
Point,  and  which  was  cut  off  from  the  mainland  except  at 
low  tide.  It  was  heavily  mounted  and  strongly  garrisoned. 
The  dauntless  Anthony  Wayne  asked  to  be  permitted  to  lead 
the  assault  and  he  was  given  1,200  men,  Washington  having 
first  personally  inspected  the  situation  and  its  surroundings. 
The  attack  was  as  skillfully  planned  as  it  was  heroically  exe- 
cuted. The  dogs  in  the  neighborhood  w^ere  quietly  destroyed, 
every  gun  w-as  ordered  u-nloaded  for  fear  that  a  bark  or  an 
accidental  shot  might  sound  the  alarm,  and  a  fruit  vendor 
whose  habit  it  was  to  visit  the  garrison,  was  employed  as  a 
guide.  O'n  the  night  of  July  15th  the  start  w^as  made.  Be- 
fore reaching  the  point,  Wayne  arranged  his  men  of  whom 
150  volunteers,  under  Colonel  Fleury,  were  to  form  the  right 
vanguard,  and  100  volunteers  chiefly  Marj-land  men,  under 
Major  Stewart,  of  the  Maryland  Line,  were  to  form  the  left. 
The  two  were  to  scale  the  poinf  on  opposite  sides,  and  at  the 
same  time,  each  being  preceded  by  a  "forlorn  hope"  of  20 
men,  led  by  lieutenants  Gibben  and  Knox.  At  the  hour  of 
low  tide  the  marshy  causeway  w-as  crossed  and  the  guide  was 
advanced  w^ith  a  few  men,  dressed  as  farmers,  to  give  the 
countersign  and  arrest  and  gag  the  sentinels.  This  done,  each 
wing  with  fixed  bayonets,  stealthily  made  its  way  to  the  top 
of  the  precipice  and  had  nearly  reached  it  before  they  were 
discovered.  The  pickets  opened  fire,  and  the  garrison  now^ 
aroused,  was  soon  in  an  uproar  and  every  man  at  his  place 
pouring  a  volley  of  musketry  and  grape  into  the  assaulting 
columns.  But  by  a  deadly  use  of  the  bayonet  they  overcame 
every   obstacle,   and    with   n    resistless   rush   swept   everything 


28o  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

before  them  and  Stony  Point  was  taken.  "The  storming  of 
Stony  Point",  says  Irving,  "stands  out  in  high  reUef,  as  one 
•of  the  most  brilliant  achievements  of  the  war.  The  Americans 
had  effected  it  without  firing  a  musket.  On  their  part  it  was 
a  silent,  deadly  work  of  the  bayonet ;  the  fierce  resistance  they 
met  at  the  outset  may  be  judged  by  the  havoc  made  in  their 
forlorn  hope ;  out  of  22  men,  17  were  either  killed  or  wounded. 
The  whole  loss  of  the  Americans  was  15  killed  and  83  wounded. 
Of  the  garrison,  83  were  slain,  including  two  officers,  553 
were  taken  prisoners,  among  whom  were  a  lieutenant-colonel, 
four  captains  and  twenty-three  subaltern  officers''.  This  act 
of  heroism  was  warmly  applauded,  and  Congress,  in  testi- 
mony of  its  appreciation  of  their  brave,  prudent  and  soldiery 
conduct,  ordered  a  gold  medal  to  be  struck  and  presented  to 
General  Wayne  and  a  silver  one  each  to  Colonel  Fleury  and 
Major  Stewart.  The  ordnances  and  stores  captured  at  Stony 
Point  were  estimated  to  be  worth  $158,640,  and  these  were 
divided  among  the  officers  and  troops,  in  accordance  with  their 
rank. 

The  capture  of  Stony  Point  was  soon  followed  by  another 
daring  venture,  the  surprise  of  Paulus  Hook,  now  Jersey 
City,  and  within  cannon  shot  of  the  main  army  with  Clinton 
in  New  York.  The  expedition  was  entrusted  to  light  horse 
Harry  Lee,  who  had  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  con- 
ditions of  the  garrison  there,  and  it  was  executed  in  true 
military  order.  On  the  night  of  the  19th  of  July,  a  march 
of  twenty  miles  was  started,  with  a  detachment  of  the  Mary- 
land Line,  under  Captain  Levin  Handy  in  front.  Paulus  Hook 
was  reached  at  four  o'clock.  The  advance  upon  it  was  in 
three  columns,  and  it  was  made  so  noiselessly  that  the  works 
had  almost  been  gained  before  the  movenient  was  discovered. 
A  determined  dash,  with  fixed  bayonets,  threw  the  sleepy  and 
careless  enemy  into  consternation  and,  after  a  loss  of  50  men 
by  the  deadly  bayonet,  for  not  a  shot  was  fired  by  the  assault- 
ing party,  the  garrison  surrendered.  Fearing  that  the  firing 
had  aroused  Clinton  in  New  York,  Lee  now  beat  a  hasty 
retreat,  and  though  he  had  a  long  marsh  to  cross  and  water 
*'l)reast  deep"  to  wade,  he  reached  tl\e  line  early  the  next  morn- 


'I"  1 1  !•:     M  A  R  \'  L  A  X  D     L  1  X  E  2S1 

iiiij.  having-  taken  with  him  164  prisoners.  inckuUng  several 
officers.  This  surprise  was  a  marvel  in  execution,  for  the 
storming  and  gaining  of  Paulus  Hook  were  made  with  the 
loss  of  only  two  men.  From  Colonel  Lee's  report  to  Con- 
gress, the  Maryland  men  sustained  their  record  for  valor  and 
steady  bearing.  In  it  he  says:  "In  my  report  to  General 
Washington  *  *  '■■  I  did  not  tell  the  world  that  nearly 
half  of  my  countrymen  left  me.  That  was  reported  to  me  by 
Major  Clark  as  I  was  "entering  the  marsh,  but  notwithstand- 
ing this  and  every  other  dumb  sign,  I  pushed  on  to -the  attack. 
*  *  The  brave  Marylanders  stood  by  me  faithfully.  Major 
Clark,  with  his  Virginians,  exerted  himself,  but  their  efforts 
to  second  his  endeavors  were  not  the  most  vigorous". 

After  this  Washington  moved  up  to  West  Point,'  where 
he  and  Clinton  watched  each  other,  both  fearinjg  to  risk  an 
open  battle,  until  December,  when  Washington  went  into  win- 
ter quarters  again  at  Morristown,  where  the  Maryland  Line 
and  the  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  troops,  under  Putnam, 
formed  the  right  wing  of  the  army. 

THE  CA:\IPAIGX  of  1780 

The  winter  of  1780  in  Maryland  was  one  of  great  activity. 
The  [Maryland  Line  was  to  have  1,400  new  men,  who  had  to 
l)e  recruited  and  ready  for  servipe  by  the  ist  of  April.  The 
extreme  severity  of  the  weather  and  the  great  scarcity  of  pro- 
vision around  Morristown,  and  indeed,  throughout  New  Jer- 
sey and  Pennsylvania,  which  states  had  also  been  severely 
taxed  to  feed  the  enemy,  made  it  essential  that  the  deficiency 
should  be  made  up  and  supplied,  as  largely  as  possible,  by 
Maryland.  To  that  end,  commissioners  were  appointed  in 
each  county  in  the  State  to  collect  wheat,  rye,'  corn,  oats,  flour 
and  other  provision,  and  to  employ  wagons  and  vessels  to  con- 
vey them  to  their  destination,  arid  through  the  earnestness 
and  activity  of  these  commissioners,  the  suffering  condition 
of  the  army  was  soon  relieved. 

Though  the  American  Revolution  had  been  in  progress 
for  more  than  three  vears,  the  P.ritish  were  not  in  control  of 


282  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

a   single   one  of  the   Northern   or  Middle   States,   which   had 
chiefly  been  the  scene  of  the  conflict.     All  that  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  had  been  able  to  do,  was  to  occupy  New  York  City, 
and  in  that,  the  resourceful  Washington  had  held  him  prac- 
tically cooped  up  for  more  than  a  year.     Every  one  of  the 
invaded  states  was   under  self  government,  and   still   in  the 
Confederation.   Clinton,  thus  realizing  his  utter  failure  at  con- 
quest, resolved  to  try  his  fortune  in  the  Southern  states.     If 
he  could  not  succeed  at  the  strongholds,  he  might  do  so  at 
the   weaker  points    of  the   Confederacy.     He   had   the  most 
cogent  reasons  for  knowing  that  Maryland,  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  of  the  Southern  states,  had  a  most  proficient  militia, 
but  their  troops  were  in  the  north  with  Washington  and  too 
far  away  to  be  available  in  the  extreme  south,  and  he  knew 
that  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  did  not  have  a  strong  mili- 
tary organization,   and    were    practically   defenseless.     There 
was  a  large  Tory  element  there  too,  that  could  be  counted  on, 
and    it    was    quite   possible    that   an   insurrection    of   negroes 
against  the  whites  could  be  excited.     Florida  also,  lay  next  to 
Georgia,  and  as  it  was  an  English  possession,  could  be  relied 
upon  through  its  military  officer,  that  inhuman  monster,  Augus- 
tine Prevost,  and  the  Cherokee  Indians,  for  effective  aid.     To 
this  plausible  reasoning,  was  added  the  alluring  hope,  that  if 
the"  Southern  States,  or  most  of  them,  could  be  thus  subdued 
and  made  to  withdraw  from  the  Confederation,  it  would  so 
weaken  the  rest  of  the  Union  that  it  could  not  stand,  and 
that,  one  by  one,   the   states   would  fall  asunder  and   resume 
their  places  in  the  sisterhood  of  the  American-English  colonies. 
With  this  bright  picture  before  him.  Clinton  set  out  from 
New  York  with  13,000  men  in  transports,  heavily  convoved. 
for  the  south,  reaching  Charleston  early  in  May.     The  garri- 
son at  Charleston  was  under  comma^nd  of  General  Benjamin 
Lincoln,  who  instead  of  evacuating,  and  thus  saving  his  army, 
when    he   realized    what   an   overpowering   force   was   against 
him,   as   Washington    would    likely   have   doine   under    similar 
circumstances,  determined   to   hold   his   ground.     On   the  6th 
of  May,   Clinton  began   preparations   for  the   siege   and   soon 
had   Charleston  completely  encircled,  and  was  readv  to  crush 


T  H  E     iM  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D     LI  X  E  283 

it.  The  fssue,  with  such  a  disparity  of  forces,  could  have  liad 
but  one  result,  and  on  the  T2th,  after  some  heavy  connonading. 
to  save  a  useless  slaughter  of  men,  Charleston  was  surrendered 
and  the  whole  garrison,  3,000  men.  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
British.  Pulaski's  legion,  still  chiefly  composed  of  Maryland 
men,  had  hurried  to  the  defense  of  Charleston,  and  in  the  siege, 
Count  Pulaski  was  mortally  wounded,  and  his  legion  shared 
the  unhappy  fate  of  the  rest  of  the  garrison.  Clinton,  deem- 
-ing  this  a  fatal  blow,  now  hastened  back  to  New  York,  to 
watch  the  movements  of  Washington,  leaving  Cornwallis  with 
5,000  men  at  Charleston,  with  instructions  to  set  up  a  Royal 
Government  in  South  Carolina,  and  then  proceed  against  North 
Carolina.  Savannah  had  already  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  and  Georgia  was  under  Royal  rule,  but  South-  Caro- 
lina had  not  been  subjugated,  and  she  was  destined  never 
to  be.  Marion  and  Sumter,  Pickens,  Williams  and  Clark, 
each  with  a  mere  handful  of  men,  less  than  a  thousand 
all  told,  and  miserably  equipped,  but  burning  with  patriotic 
ardor  and  of  undaunted  courage,  by  eflfective  surprises,  un- 
expected skirmishes  and  skillful  manoeuvers,  harassed,  de- 
layed and  checked  the  advance  of  the  enemy  until  re-inforce- 
ments  reached  the  state  and  gave  Cornwallis  something  more 
serious  to  think  about  than  setting  up  a  Royal  Government  in 
a  state  which,  though  having  practically  no  organized  army,  he 
had  not  yet  been  able  to  conquer.  Washington  was  greatly 
perplexed.  His  presence  in  the  South  was  badly  needed,  and 
yet,  to  go  there  meant  the  probable  loss  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  the  most  important  military  center  and  the  most  powerful 
state  in  the  Union.  He  settled  the  question  by  retaining 
enough  troops  to  hold  New  York,  and  sending  the  Maryland 
Line  and  the  Delaware  troops  to  the  South.  There  were  no 
transports  to  convey  them,  and  if  there  had  been,  there  were 
no  men  of  wan  to  protect  them,  so  the  long  journey  had  to  be 
made  chiefly  by  an  overland  march.  They  started  from  Mor- 
ristown  on  the  15th  of  April,  reaching  Elkton,  Maryland, 
on  the  3rd  of  May,  from  whence  they  were  taken  in  vessels 
to  Virginia.  To  the  men  of  the  Mar>dand  Line,  2,000  strong, 
this   passage   through   their   native   state   must    have   been   a 


284  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

melancholy  scene,  conscious,  as  they  must  have  been,  that  at 
least  to  the  great  majority,  it  was  a  lasting  farewell.  On  the 
20th  of  June  they  reached  Hillsboro,  North  Carolina,  where 
Baron  DeKalb,  commanding  them,  halted  for  a  greatly  needed 
rest,  and  also  to  await  the  arrival  of  troops  from  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina,  under  Stevens  and  Caswell,  that  were  to  form 
a  juncture  there.  Congress,  against  the  advice  of  Washing- 
ton, had  given  the  commands  of  the  Southern  army  to  Gates 
and  early  in  July  he  arrived  at  Hillsboro,  assumed  the  com- 
mand and  at  once  began  a  series  of  blunders  which  brought 
intense  suffering  to  his  men,  enormous  loss  of  life  in  his  ranks 
and  soon  his  own  downfall.  Fresh  from  his  Virginia  farm, 
to  which  he  had  some  time  before  retired,  he  seemed  utterly 
incapable  of  appreciating  the  condition  and  the  needs  of  an 
army  that  had  endured  the  tribulations  of  such  a  march,  chief 
among  which  being  a  lack  of  food,  which  much  of  the  time 
was  so  marked,  that  it  could  scarcely  subsist.  His  ob- 
jective point  was  Camden,  the  chief  land  gateway  of  South 
Carolina,  and  about  200  miles  away.  In  spite  of  the  run  down 
condition  of  that  part  of  the  army  which  had  made  the  long 
journey  from  the  north,  and  against  a  protest  of  the  sub- 
ordinate officers,  he  selected  a  line  of  march  through  a  barren 
wilderness  in  which  food  and  forage  were  so  scarce  that  when 
he  reached  Camden,  he  had  nearly  1,000  men  from  the  Mary- 
land Line  alone  on  the  sick  list,  either  from  insufficient  food, 
or  from  having  largely  to  subsist  on  green  fruit  and  corn. 
too  yoiing  to  eat,  the  first  crop  of  the  season  being  over  and 
gone,  and  his  horses  were  in  such  a  miserable  condition  that 
they  were  unfit  for  service.  The  reason  assigned  for  this 
wantonly  cruel  decision  was  that  it  was  a  little  nearer,  though 
it  was  freely  admitted  that  the  route  by  Charlotte,  was 
through  a  rich,  fertile  country,  with  an  abundance  of  food, 
no  Tories  to  molest  the  travel  and  patriotic  friends  to  care 
for  the  sick  and  injured.  When  he  reached  Camden  there 
was  only  a  small  body  of  the  British  there,  and  they  could 
easily  have  been  routed,  and  the  South  Carolina  gateway  taken, 
but  the  irresolute  Gates  hesitated  and  put  off  action  until  it  was 
too  late,  for  soon  Cornwallis,  with  his  armv  of  veterans  was 


THE     M  A  R  Y  L  A  XI)     LINE  285 

on  the  M:ene  and  occupying  the  choice  of  positions.  After 
a  council  of  war,  Gates  was  strongly  advised  to  move  to 
Claremont,  near  by,  where  a  strong  jx)sition  could  be  ob- 
tained, and  force  a  battle  there,  but  in  his  egotism  and  over- 
weening confidence  in  himself,  he  ignored  the  suggestion. 
Not  only  that,  but  to  still  further  weaken  his  already  badly 
crippled  army  he  sent  400  of  his  best  Maryland  men  to  join 
Sumter  in  an  effort  to  capture  a  British  wagon  train  on  its 
way  from  Charleston.  Under  these  contlitions,  the  line  of  bat- 
tle was  formed,  and  early  in  the  morning  on  the  i6th  of 
August,  the  engagement  commenced,  DeKalb,  with  the  sec- 
ond Maryland  and  Delaware  troops  formed  the  right  wing, 
the  X'irginia  militia,  under  Stevens,  the  left,  the  North  Caro- 
lina militia  under  Caswell,  the  center,  the  first  Maryland  un- 
der Smalhvood,  being  the  reserve,  Gates  himself  occupying  a 
position  between  the  right  wing  and  the  reserve.  The  order 
w^as  for  the  American  left  to  open  fire  on  the  British  right,  in 
other  words,  a  lot  of  ravv  Virginia  recruits  who  had  just 
been  mustered  in  and  who  had  never  seen  a  battle,  were  ex- 
pected to  start  the  engagement  against  the  seared  veterans  of 
England,  a  plan  almost  certain  to  insure  defeat.  It  has  been 
aptly  said :  "This  work  should  have  been  given  to  those  splen- 
did Maryland  troops  that  had  gone  to  help  Sumter"  and  yet, 
so  confident  was  Gates  of  success  that  he  did  not  even  take 
the  always  wise  precaution  of  providing  for  a  retreat,  should 
he  be  routed.  Colonel  Otho  Ho!land  WiUiams  of  the  Mary- 
land Line,  in  order  to  re-assure  the  young  Virginians,  took 
the  advance  with  about  fifty  volunteers  and  drew  the  enemy's 
fire.  Stevens  now  moved  forward,  but  when  the  enemy  opened 
upon  his  untried  men,  they  did  so  with  such  a  furious  rush  that 
the\'irginians  at  once  became  panic  stricken,  and  throwing  down 
their  arms,  fled  in  wild  confusion.  The  panic  spread  and  the 
North  Carolina  troops  soon  followed  their  example,  except  two 
regiments,  and  they  did  not  tarry  Jong.  Gates,  too,  \yas  car- 
ried off  by  this  wave  of  excitement  and  disorder,  and  he  did 
not  stop  until  he  reached  Hillsboro.  nearly  200  miles  away. 
This  left  the  Maryland  Line  and  the  Delaware  troops  alone 
on   the   field.      Smallwood's   Maryland    was   quickly   advanced 


286  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

to  take  the  place  of  the  flying  miHtia,  and  a  desperate  struggle 
ensued.  The  enemy,  time  and  again,  recoiled  under  the  gall- 
ing fire  and  deadly  bayonet  charges  which  DeKalb  and  Small- 
wood,  Gist,  Howard  and  Williams,  poured  into  its  ranks, 
and  at  times  it  seemed  as  if  the  day  might  yet  be  retrieved. 
Cornvvallis,  knowing  the  vigor  and  the  valor  of  the  men  be- 
fore him,  'now  brought  his  whole  army  to  bear  upon  them,  and 
with  such  inequality  in  numbers,  the  attack  could  not  longer 
be  resisted,  and  what  was  left  of  the  brave  Maryland  and 
Delaware  heroes  beat  a  retreat  into  the  dismal  swamps  of 
South  Carolina.  An  order  to  retreat  was  long  past  due,  and 
had  DeKalb  known  that  Gates  had  fled,  as  the  officer  second  in 
command,  he  would  doubtless  have  given  the  order  and  thus 
saved  a  useless  slaughter  of  gallant  men,  and  perhaps  his  own 
life,  of  honored  memory  and  so  important  to  the  cause  of 
American  Liberty,  for  it  was  not  until  the  final  bayonet  charge 
was  made  on  that  eventful  day,  when  at  the  head  of  the  sec- 
ond Maryland  and  Delaware,  he  drove  back  the  heavy  columns 
of  the  British  and  took  fifty  prisoners,  that  the  manly  figure 
of  the  French  patriot  and  soldier,  General  Baron  DeKalb, 
fell,  after  receiving  eleven  wounds,  and  from  which,  on  the 
third  day  thereafter,  he  died. 

The  loss  of  the  Maryland  Line  in  this  disastrous  engage- 
ment was  about  600  killed,  wounded  and  taken  prisoners, 
with  about  1,000  stand  of  arms  and  all  their  field  pieces,  while 
the  Delaware  troops,  co-operating  with  it,  were  sadly  reduced 
to  two  companies.  The  British  loss  was  about  350  killed  and 
wounded.  For  their  "Exemplary  skill  and  bravery",  at  Cam- 
den, Smallwood  and  Gist  received  a  vote  of  thanks  from 
Congress,  and  Smallwood  was  promoted  from  a  Brigadier  to 
a  Major-General.  John  Fiske  says  r  "Gates'  flight  was  a 
singular  dramatic  and  appropriate  end  to- his  silly  career,  but 
our  censure  should  be  directed  to  the  wretched  generalship 
by  which  the  catastrophe  was  prepared :  to  the  wrong  choice 
of  roads,  the  fatal  hesitation  at  the  critical  moment,  the  weak- 
ening of  the  army  on  the  eve  of  battle,  and  above  all,  to  the 
rashness  of  fighting  at  all  after  the  true  state  of  aflfairs  had  be- 
come known     •'"     *     *     Tf  the  400  Maryland  regulars  who  had 


THE     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D     LI  X  E  287 

been  sent  to  hjclp  General  Sumter  had  remained  with  the  main 
army  and  been  entrusted  with  the  assault  on  the  British  right, 
the  result  of  thi^  battle  would  doubtless  have  been  very 
different.  It  might  not  have  been  a  victory,  but  it  surely  would 
not  have  been  a  rout". 

The  seemingly  senseless  and  criminally  careless  conduct 
of  Gates  at  Camden  was  made  the  subject  of  investigation  by 
Congress.  He  was  acquitted,  but  before  he  was  re-instated, 
two  years  after,  the  war  was  practically  over. 

General  Nathaniel  Green  superceded  Gates  in  command 
of  the  Southern  Army  at  the  suggestion  of  Washington,  who 
had  urged  his  appointment  upon  Congress  when  Gates  was  first 
assigned  to  that  position.  He  assumed  the  command  early  in 
December.  In  the  meantime,  Smallwood,  who  had  succeeded 
DeKalb  as  Commander  of  the  Maryland  Line,  and  as  such, 
had  become  the  second  in  command  of  the  Southern  Army, 
-was  active  in  collecting  and  assigning  to  their  respective  com- 
mands, the  broken  and  shattered  fragments  of  the  army,  the 
places  of  rendezvous  being  Salisbury  and  Hillsboro,  North 
Carolina.  Of  the  Maryland  Line  there  were  only  1052  men, 
officers,  rank  and  file,  who  reported  for  duty,  and  only  189, 
all  told,  of  the  Delaware  regiment.  Gist,  with  a  corps  of 
officers,  was  hurried  to  Maryland  to  recruit  the  greatly  shat- 
tered Maryland  Line,  504  new  men  being  Maryland's  ap- 
portionment. 

Early  in  October  this  hacf  been  accomplished  and  Gist 
was  on  his  way  to  the  field  with  his  men,  and  new  clothes 
for  those  already   there. 

Virginia  and  the  Carolinas  now  fully  realized  that  they 
were  distinctly  in  the  war  zone  and  that  there  was  imperative 
need  for  action.  There  recruitinig  stations  became  exceedingly 
active  and  large  bodies  of  men  were  mustered  in  and  armed. 
The  legislature  of  North  Carolina  at  this  critical  period,  paid 
General  Smallwood  the  high  and  very  unusual  compliment 
of  requesting  him  to  take  charge  of  the  military  department 
of  that  state.  This  he  did  for  a  time,  long  enough  at  least  to 
discipline  and  prepare  her  army  for  effective  service.  Colonel 
Otho  H.  Williams  in  the  meantime  being  placed  in  command 
of  the  Maryland  Line. 


288  COLONIAL     M  A  R  Y  L  A  X  D 

While  these  preparations  for  the  ensuing  campaign  were 
going  on,  much  transpired  at  the  center,  some  of  the  events 
being  of  great  importance.  The  provision  train  of  forty  wag- 
ons under  heavy  convoy,  which  had  been  captured  by  Sumter 
and  the  four  hundred  Maryland  men  which  Gates  had  sent  to 
his  aid  the  day  before  Camden,  was  surprised  by  the  dashing 
Tarleton  with  his  British  cavalry  and  completely  routed  with 
heavy  loss,  the  train  re-captured  and  the  prisoners  released. 
Sumter  narrowly  escaping  with  about  300  men,  and  Colonel 
Woolford,  of  the  Maryland  Line  was  wounded  and  taken  pris- 
oner. As  a  counterpart  of  this,  Sumter,  a  little  later,  fell  upon  a 
detachment  of  British,  took  26  prisoners  and  released  150 
Maryland  men  taken  at  Camden,  and  who  were  being  conveyed 
down  the  coast. 

Next  came  King's  Mountain,  the  7th  of  October.  The 
sturdy  mountaineers  living  on  the  frontiers  of  North  Carolina* 
and  Southwestern  Virginia,  had  been  appealed  to  for  aid 
to  the  American  cause,  but  in  vain,  until  they  received  a  mes- 
sage from  the  British  that  upon  the  first  attempt  at  military 
organization,  their  country  would  be  invaded  and  devastated 
and  the  leaders  of  the  movement  hung,  a  threat  which  their 
Scotch-Irish  and  Huguenot  blood  would  not  stand.  They  did 
not  have  to  organize,  for  they  had  been  brought  up  on  war, 
and-  Indian  war  at  that,  and  the  first  lessons  in  their  code 
were :  "Become  a  sharp  shooter,  have  the  rifle  always  ready 
and  be  prepared  to  march  on  a  moment's  notice".  Hearing 
that  the  distinguished  British  ofificer.  General  Ferguson,  with 
about  i,iCKD  men,  was  in  the  vicinity  of  King's  Mountain,  on 
the  westerly  border  line  of  North-  and  South  Carolina,  about 
1,000  of_  these  daring  yeomanry  under  Campbell,  Seiver, 
Shelby,  Williams  and  McDowell,  ha:F)tily  made  ready  and 
started  in  hot  pursuit  to  let  Ferguson  know  that  the  time 
for  the  threatened  hanging  to  commence  was  now  at  hand. 
Ferguson  keenly  appreciated  the  gravity  of  the  situation  and 
determined  to  take  refuge  on  the  top  of  King's  Mountain, 
a  position  which  he  regarded  as  unassailable,  and  so  it  proba- 
bly would  have  been  to  ordinary  troops,  but  not  so  to  the 
mountain   climbers   before    him.      The   cone   shaped   mountain 


T  H  E     M  A  R  Y  L  A  X  D  •  L  I  X  K  289 

was  approachable  on  three  sides,  the  fourth  being  a  precipice. 
Dismounting  and  tying  their  horses,  they  divided  into  three 
columns.  The  center  was  to  engage  the  enemy,  and  the  right 
and  left,  ascending  by  different  directions,  were  to  press  for- 
ward and  thus  completely  hem  in  Ferguson  on  three  sides, 
the  precipice  taking  care  of  the  fourth  side.  Like  hungry 
wolves  after  prey,  they  started  on  the  mountain  climb.  As 
soon  as  discovered,  Ferguson  poured  a  heavy  fire  upon  the 
approaching  center  column,  but  using  the  trees  as  breastworks 
as  far  as  possible,  this  had  but  little  effect,  while  darting  out 
here  and  there,  Ferguson's  men  one  by  one  were'  felled.  The 
summit  reached  by  all  three  divisions  and  the  enemy  was  sur- 
rounded, but  a  terrific  battle  ensued,  lasting  over  an  hour.  The 
brave  Ferguson  was  killed,  and  the  enemy  completely  dis- 
concerted, the  entire  force  that  survived  the  fearful  attack 
surrendered.  Of  the  British  389  were  killed  and  wounded 
and  716  were  taken  prisoners  with  i,0(X>  stand  of  arms.  The 
Americans  lost  28  killer}  and  60  wounded.  The  yeomanry 
after  delivering  up  their  prisoners  and  captured  arms,  returned 
to  their  homes.  With  this  one  crushing  blow  to  Cornwallis, 
they  seemed  supremely  satisfied,  and  with  the  exception  of 
William  Campbell,  do  not  again  appear  in  the  drama  of  the 
Revolution. 

CAMPAIGN  OF  1781 

The  Southern  campaign  of  1781.  destined  to  be  so  fruit- 
ful in  results,  started  out  under  unfavorable  auspices.  The  army 
was  small  and  much  sickness  prevailed.  But  the  spirits  of 
the  men  were  bright  and  hopeful,  and  they  had  with  them 
the  sagacious  and  resourceful  Green  in  command,  with  Small- 
wood,  Gist,  Williams  and  Howard,  Morgan,  Light  Horse 
Harry  Lee  and  William  Washington,  at  the  head  of  their 
respective  commands.  Green's  army,  however,  was  too  small 
to  fight  Cornwallis  in  a  drawn  battle,  and  he  wanted 'to  get  the 
forces  of  the  enemy  divided.  To  that  end,  Green  divided  his 
own  army,  placing  Morgan  in  command  of  a  division  consisting 
of  the  Maryland  Line,  the   X'irginia  troops  and  Colonel  Wil- 


290  COLONIAL     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

liam  Washington's  Cavalr}^  and  sent  him  in  the  western 
section  of  South  CaroHna.  This  left  the  position  of  Corn- 
walHs  a  critical  one.  He  could  not  permit  Morgan  to  run 
around  unopposed,  and  yet,  to  go  after  him,  would  leave 
Green  with  the  coast  clear  to  fall  upon  Charleston.  He 
was,  therefore,  compelled  to  do  what  Green  wanted,  di- 
vide his  army.  This  he  did  and  dispatched  that  daring 
British  Cavalryman  Tarleton,  at  the  head  of  one  division 
of  the  British  Army  in  pursuit  of  Morgan,  himself  remaining 
to  look  after  Green.  Tarleton  overtook  Morgan  at  Cowpens. 
then  a  noted  mountain  cow  pasture,  and  not  far  from  the  fam- 
ous battle-ground  of  King's  Mountain.  The  lines  were  drawn, 
and  there  on  the  17th  of  January,  was  fought  one  of  the  most 
desperate  battles  of  the  Revolution.  Colonel  John  Eager  How- 
ard was  in  command  of  the  Maryland  Line,  which  again  cov- 
ered itself  with  glory.  After  the  battle  had  been  raging  for  over 
an  hour,  with  varying  fortunes,  Morgan  ordered  that  a  stronger 
position  be  taken.  This  the  enemy  construed  as  a  retreat,  and 
rushed  down  upon  Howard's  Maryland  with  such  fearful  fe- 
rocity, that  he  was  compelled  to  check  it.  Howard  quickly 
ordered  his  men  to  "Bout  face",  and  the  turn  being  as  quickly 
made,  he  poured  such  an  irresistible  and  deadly  volley  into 
the  enemy's  ranks  that  it  soon  made  the  astonished  British  re- 
coil, and  at  this  crucial  moment,  he  gave  the  order  to  charge, 
and  a  desperate  charge  it  was.  With  fixed  bayonets  and  with 
unfaltering  determination  and  overpowering  impetuosity,  they 
dashed  double  quick  upon  the  enemy,  broke  their  ranks  and 
forced  the  surrender  of  every  regiment  of  infantry  on  the 
field,  the  hero  of  Cowpens  having  at  one  time  the  swords  of 
seven  officers  who  had  surrendered  to  him.  While  Howard 
was  thus  engaged  with  the  infantry.  Colonel  Washington  was 
waging  a  fearful  warfare  upon  the  cavalry  of  Tarleton,  and 
which  after  being  badly  cut  to  pieces,  surrendered,  only  Tarle- 
ton himself,  with  a  wound  inflicted  by  Col.  Washington's  own 
sword,  marvelously  escaping  with  a  few  men.  The  British 
loss  was  230  killed  and  wounded  and  600  prisoners,  two  field 
pieces  and   1,000  stand  of  arms.     The   American   loss  being 


THE     MARYLAND     LINE 


291 


less  than  100  killed  and  wounded.  Congress  ordered  a  gold 
medal  for  Alorga^i  and  silver  medals  each  for  Howard  and 
Washington. 

This  was  an  irreparable  blow  to  the  enemy  and  one  that 
changed  its  entire  course  of  events.  Cornwallis,  believing  that 
Morgan,  with  his  prisoners,  could  not  move  rapidly,  deter- 
mined to  follow  him  up  and  re-capture  his  men,  but  Morgan, 
suspecting  this,  lost  no  time  in  moving  northward.  The  pur- 
suit was  a  hot  one.  When  the  Catawba  river  was  reached, 
Morgan  had  only  two  hours  before  passed  over-.  The  river 
was  high,  and  as  it  was  now  night,  Cornwallis  concluded  to 
wait  until  morning,  but  during  the  night  rain  had  so  swollen 
the  river  that  he  was  delayed  there  two  days,  a  similar  ex- 
perience having  been  encountered  when  he  reached  'the  Yad- 
kin. But  the  British  commander  was  bent  upon  his  prey 
and  as  soon  as  he  could,  crossed  the  river  and  resumed  his 
march.  By  this  time  Green  had  heard  of  the  victory  at  Cow- 
pens  and  knew  of  Morgan's  movement  and  of  the  pursuit  of 
Cornwallis.  Ordering  his  main  army  to  move  north  as  far  as 
Guilford,  he  dashed  across  the  country  over  a  hundred  miles 
with  a  few  cavalrymen,  to  join  Morgan  and  to  take  charge 
himself  of  the  retreat.  Cornwallis,  to  hasten  his  movements, 
burned  his  heavy  baggage,  but  Morgan  had  now  sent  the 
prisoners  on  ahead  to.be  hastened  to  Virginia,  and  no  longer 
encumbered  with  them,  he  could  travel  as  fast  as  Cornwallis, 
and  yet,  he  need  only  move  fast  enough  to  keep  beyond  the 
lines  of  danger,  for  each  day  that  Cornwallis  followed  under 
the  deluded  hope  that  the  next  would  bring  him  his  coveted 
goal,  drew  him  that  much  further  from  his  base  of  supplies, 
weakened  his  power  and  diminished  his  chances  of  obtaining 
re-inforcements.  At  Guilford  a  juncture- was  formed  with 
Green's  main  army,  which  he  had  ordered  to  meet  him  there. 
It  had  been  Green's  intention,  if  Cornwallis  followed  him  as. 
far  north  as  Guilford,  to  halt  there  and  give  him  battle,  and 
to  that  end,  several  days  before  had  requested  that  he  be  re- 
inforced with  Virginia  troops  then  quite  nearby.  But  Steu- 
bens  and  Smallwood,  who  had  been  sent  to  Virginia  to  check 


292  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

the  invasion  of  Arnold,  could  not  spare  the  troops.  Green, 
knowing  that  a  new  regiment  from  Maryland  was  on  its  way, 
and  that  one  from  Virginia  just  recruited,  would  soon  reach 
him,  concluded  to  move  on,  get  within  the  lines  of  Virginia 
about  seventy  miles  away,  and  there  await  tlie  arrival  of  his 
re-inforcements.  This  became  the  desperate  part  of  the  strug- 
gle, for  Green  now  had  the  main  army  to  move,  which  being 
encumbered  with  its  artillery  and  heavy  stores,  could  only 
be  moved  slowly,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Cornwallis 
had  caught  up  and  was  right  on  his  heels.  It  was  a  despeJ'ate 
situation,  and  the  only  way  to  prevent  the  little  Southern 
army  now  from  being  crushed,  was  to  re-enact  the  part  which 
the  Maryland  Line  had  played  in  the  drama  of  Long  Island 
and  hold  the  enemy  at  bay  while  the  retreat  could  be  made. 
This  perilous  duty  was  assigned  to  Colonel  Otho  Holland 
Williams  of  Maryland,  commanding  Howard's  Maryland, 
Washington's  Cavalry  and  Lee's  Legion,  in  all  about  700  men, 
but  the  very  flower  of  the  army,  and  his  skillfullness  in 
strategy  and  masterly  manoeuvers  mark  it  as  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  achievements  of  the  war.  Williams  throwing  himself 
between  the  two  armies,  so  harassed  and  held  back  Cornwal- 
lis, and  so  baffled  and  foiled  him,  misleading  and  enticing 
himat  one  time  twenty  miles  away  from  Green's  line  of  march, 
that  on  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day  Green  had  reached  and 
crossed  the  river  Dan  and  was  safely  within  the  lines  of 
Virginia  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  Tliis  accomplished,  Wil- 
liams again  built  his  campfires  in  front  of  the  enemy,  but  at 
midnight  slipped  away,  crossed  the  river  and  joined  the  army 
on  the  Virginia  side,  taking  with  him  the  last  boat  on  the 
North  Carolina  shore.  And  thus,  too,  if  was  that,  by  the  great 
military  genius  of  Williams  and  the  soldierly  bearing  of  his 
men,  with  only  time  for  one  meal  a  day  and  six  hours  out 
of  every  forty-eight  for  rest, .the  Southern  army  was  saved, 
and  that  against  British  veterans  under  the  ablest  of  all  the 
English  commanders.  When  Cornwallis  awoke  in  the  morning 
great  was  his  chagrin  and  dismay  to  find  that  Williams  had 
played  the  same  elusive  camp  fire  trick  on  him  that  W'ashington 


THE     MARYLAND     L  I  X  I-: 


293 


had  done  at  Tfenton.  He  started  in  pursuit,  but  when  he  reached 
the  Dan  he  found  its  broad  and  turbulent  waters  bid  him  defi- 
ance, that  the  Southern  Army  was  resting-  within  the  fines  of 
hospitable  Virginia  and  that  every  boat  was  securely  moored 
to  her  friendly  shores. 

The  British  commander,  fatigued,  dejected  and  chafed 
with  disappointment,  now  fell  back  upon  Hillsboro  to  rest  his 
men  and  to  contemplate  his  own  predicament,  into  which  his 
enthusiasm  to  regain- his  captured  men  had  caused  him  to 
be  led.  In  a  hostile  state  w'here  he  could  not  stay,  and  yet 
knew  not  how  or  where  to  go,  his  army  greatly  reduced,  and 
more  than  200  miles  from  his  supplies,  were  the  chilling  facts 
that  stared  him  squarely  in  the  face — truly  a  critical  condi- 
tion. But,  he  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  for  a  time  -at  least. 
He  shortly  issued  a  proclamation  that  he  had  driven  the  Amer- 
ican Army  out  of  North  Carolina,  had  conquered  the  state 
'and  invited  all  Tories  to  organize  and  join  the  Royal  stand- 
ard. Green,  now  re-infcJrced  with  the  new  Maryland  regi- 
ment, under  Colonel  Benjamin  Ford  and  the  Virginia  militia 
under  General  Law^son,  fearing  the  effect  of  the  proclamation 
and  to  prove  that  it  was  only  the  empty  clamor  of  despera- 
tion, re-crossed  the  Dan  and  fell  back  upon  Guilford  Court 
House,  not  far  from  the  lines  of  the  enemy.  Hearing  that 
Tarleton,  w4io  so  narrowly  escaped  at  Cowpens,  was  recruiting 
large  numbers  of  Tories,  Green  dispatched  Lee,  with  his 
dragoons,  two  companies  of  Maryland  men  and  some  South 
Carolina  troops,  to  intercept  him.  On  their  way  they  met 
about  400  Tories  who  thought  they  were  meeting  Tarleton  and 
before  they  realized  the  mistake,  they  were  surrounded  and 
cut  to  pieces,  and  thus  for  a  time  was  put  an  end  to  Tory 
enlistments  in  North  Carolina. 

Green  was  now.  ready  for  another  battle  and  invited  it 
at  Guilford  .Court  House,  where  on  the  13th  of  March,  a 
desperate  engagement  was  fought.  The  enemy  opened  on  the 
Americans'  first  line,  composed  of  North  Carolina  tro.ops,  but 
they  gave  way  in  wild  confusion,  though  sentinels  were  posted 
in  the  rear  to  shoot  any  that  attempted  to  run.  Tlie  attack 
was  now  concentrated  on  the  second  line,  composed  of  \'irginia 


294  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

militia  and  well  did  they  maintain  their  position.  But  it  be- 
came too  severe  and  after  a  most  stubborn  resistance  they 
were  driven  back  and  compelled  to  give  way.  This  left  the 
third  line,  consisting  of  the  first  and  second  Maryland,  flanked 
by  the  Delaware  troops,  some  Virginia  continentals  and  Wash- 
ington's cavalry  alone  on  the  field.  Cornwallis,  greatly  cheered 
by  the  action  of  the  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  regiments 
fell  upon  the  Maryland  Line  with  terrific  force,  but  like  a 
roaring  torrent  the  first  Maryland,  that  steady  old  guard  of 
the  Revolution,  broke  through  the  ranks  of  the  opposing  column 
with  fixed  bayonets  and  drove  it  headlong  from  the  field,  mor- 
tally wounding  the  brave  Colonel  Stewart,  its  commander.  In 
the  heat  of  the  attack  Colonel  Gunby  of  the  Maryland 
Line,  had  his  horse  shot.  He  now  attempted  to  follow  on 
foot,  but  such  was  the  impetuosity  of  the  charge  Howard 
was  making,  he  never  caught  up.  The  second  Maryland,  raw 
recruits  and  who  had  just  enlisted  and  who  had  never  seen  a 
battle,  moved  forward  with  alacrity  and  resolution,  but  early 
in  the  action,  Colonel  Ford,  its  commander  fell,  and  left  with- 
out a  leader,  when  the  heavy  artillery  was  turned  on  them  they 
fell  back,  Washington's  cavalry  retrieving  the  moment  of  dis- 
order and  saved  their  cannon.  Green  realizing  that  he  could 
not  win  the  battle  with  his  limited  force  without  risking  the 
loss  "of  his  best  men,  ordered  the  army  to  withdraw  from  the 
field,  and  the  retreat  was  made  in  splendid  order.  The  Amer- 
ican loss  was  about  400  killed  and  wounded,  and  the  British 
about  600,  a  loss  which  so  crippled  Cornwallis  and  knowing 
that  he  could  not  get  back  to  his  base  of  supplies,  left  such  of 
his  wounded  as  could  not  travel  to  the  mercy  of  the  Southern 
Army,  and  hurried  ofif  to  Wilmington,  which  was  heavily 
garrisoned.  Green  thought  of  following,  him,  but  much  of 
his  army  being  barefooted  and  literally  nothing  less  than  a 
set  of  "ragamuffins'"  it  was  in  no  condition  to  make  another 
rapid   march. 

Cornwallis  now  concluded  to  abandon  the  Carolinas  and 
proceed  to  Virginia  to  join  Arnold,  and  with  the  combined 
force,  try  to  reduce  the  Old  Dominion  to  a  state  of  submission 
to  the  Royal  Government. 


THE     MARYLAND     LINE  295 

Wfiile  the  departure  of  Cornwallis  left  North  CaroHna 
free  from  British  invasion,  South  Carohna  and  Georgia  were 
still  within  the  grasp  of  the  enemy,  and  Green  now  proposed 
to  redeem  them  by  forcing  the  evacuation  of  the  inland  forts 
and  strongholds  through  which  both  states  were  being  largely 
held.  Camden  was  the  first  of  these  in  importance,  and  Green 
started  out  to  besiege  it,  but  finding  Lord  Rawdon  who  was  in 
command,  too  heavily  suported  to  warrant  an  attack,  moved  oflf 
to  Hobkerk's  Hill,  two  miles  away.  The  next  morning,  while 
the  Americans  were  getting  breakfast,  and  some  washing  their 
clothes  after  their  long  march,  Rawdon  surprised  and  routed 
them.  In  this  engagement,  Gunby,  then  at  the  head  of  the  first 
Maryland,  made  the  mistake  of  ordering  his  men  while  bravely 
charging  the  enemy  to  retire  to  another  position,  whidi.  being 
misunderstood  for  an  order  to  retreat,  resulted  in  confusion, 
and  perhaps  in  the  loss  of  the  day,  at  least  the  latter  was  of 
the  opinion  of  Green.  In  his  report  to  the  President  of  Con- 
gress, he  said :  "The  troops  were  not  to  blame.  Gunby  was  the 
sole  cause  of  the  defeat  *  *  We  would  have  had  Lord  Raw- 
don and  his  whole  command  prisoners  in  three  minutes  if 
Colonel  Gunby  had  not  ordered  his  regiment  to  retire  the 
greater  part  of  which  were  advancing  rapidly  at  the  time  they 
were  ordered  off.  Simultaneously  with  Green's  intended  siege 
of  Fort  Camden,  Lee,  with  his  cavalry,  was  sent  to  co-operate 
with  Marion  in  the  reduction  of.  Fort  Watson,  standing  about 
half  way  between  Camden  and  Charleston,  which  was  success- 
fully accomplished.  Rawdon's  line  of  communication  with  the 
coast,  by  the  fall  of  Fort  Watson,  being  thus  cut  off,  he  was 
compelled  after  all  to  vacate  Camden,  leave  it  to  the  Ameri- 
cans and  move  a  little  nearer  Charleston.  While  Green  was 
now  giving  his  men  a  much  needed  rest  after  a  march  of 
nearly  two  hundred  miles,  Lee,  Marion  and  Sumter,  were 
occupied  in  storming  the  numerous  strong  holds  in  th^  interior 
of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  in  quick  succession  re- 
duced all  of  them,  Augusta  included,  except  the  one  known  as 
"Ninety  Six".  This  Green  now  proceeded  to  attack,  but  it  was 
too  heavily  entrenched  and  manned,  for  besides  its  own  gar- 


296  COLONIAL     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

rison,  Rawdon  was  there  with  2,000  men,  and  Green  did  not 
deem  it  wise  to  risk  a  battle.  Like  Camden,  however,  the 
enemy  could  -not  hold  it  with  its  lines  of  communication  with 
Charleston  cut  off,  and  it  too,  was  now  abandoned,  the  enemy 
moving  to  Orangeburg,  quite  near  its  base  of  supplies.  Green 
followed  right  on  their  heels  and  they  fell  back  on  Eutaw 
Springs,  where  on  the  8th  of  September,  the  memorable  bat- 
tle of  that  name,  one  of  the  most  hotly  contested  engage- 
ments of  the  Revolution,  was  fought.  The  North  Carolina 
troops,  under  Sumner,  formed  the  right  wing,  the  Maryland 
Line  under  Williams  and  Howard  the  left  and  the  Virginia 
militia  under  Campbell,  the  center.  The  battle  soon  became 
general  and  raged  furiously.  The  right,  unable  to  hold  its 
position,  began  to  fall  back.  Seeing  this,  Green  ordered  the 
Maryland  men  to  charge.  "Let  Williams  advance",  he  said., 
"and  sweep  the  field".  With  fixed  bayonets  and  a  shout  they 
obeyed  and  by  a  rapid  advance  in  the  face  of  a  terrific 
fire.  They  were  soon  mingled,  each  with  the  other  in  deadly 
strife,  Campbell,  commanding  the  Virginia  troops,  fell,  and  this 
seemed  to  increase,  if  possible,  the  impetuosity  of  the  Mary- 
land men.  Williams  soon  broke  the  British  center  and  then 
its  right.  Its  left,  composed  of  the  famous  Irish  buffs,  was  in 
the-  conflict  with  Howard  and  would  not  yield,  but  grappled 
unto  death  with  the  Maryland  men.  At  length,  no  longer 
able  to  stand  the  fury  and  fierceness  of  Howard's  attack,  and 
seeing  that  they  were  alone,  the  brave  buffs  fled  from  the 
field,  and  the  whole  of  the  British  encampment  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  valiant  and  victorious  little  army.  But,  while 
revelling  and' feasting  over  British  stores,  the  enemy  again 
formed  and  posted  in  a  brick  house  and  picketed  garden,  from 
which  Green  had  not  been  able  by  niglit  to  dislodge  them. 
Before  morning  they  had  saved  him  from  all  further  trouble 
by  getting  away  from  Eutaw  Springs  and  placing  themselves 
within  the  lines  of  Charleston.  The  British  lost  about  500 
killed  and  wounded  and  about  the  same  number  taken  pris- 
oners, and  the  Americans  about  140  killed  and  wounded. 

General  Green   in   his   official  ^report  of  this  engagement 
savs:   "The   ]\[arvlanders.   under  Colonel   Williams,   were   led 


THE     :\IARYLAXD     LIXE 


2y: 


on  to  a  brisk  charge,  witli  trailed  arms,  through  a  heavy 
cannonade  and  a  shower  of  musket  balls.  Nothing  could  ex- 
ceed the  gallantry  and  firmness  of  both  officers  and  soldiers 
upon  this  occasion".  To  General  Smalhvood  he  wrote:  "Noth- 
ing could  exceed  the  gallantry  of  the  Maryland  Line.  Colonels 
Williams.  Howard,  and  all  the  officers,  exhibited  acts  of  un- 
common bravery,  and  the  free  use  of  the  bayonet  of  this  and 
some  other  corps,  gave  us  the  victory  *  *  *  The  Maryland 
Line  made  a  charge  that  exceeded  anything  I  ever  saw".  Of 
Colonel  Howard  he  wrote :  "He  has  great  ability  ahd  the  best 
disposition  to  promote  the  service.  My  own  obligations  to 
him  are  great — the  publics'  still  more  so.  *  *  *  He  has 
been  wounded,  but  has  happily  recovered". 

This  virtually  closed  Green's  masterly  campaign  in  the 
South.  In  less  than  twelve  months  after  taking  charge  of 
Gate's  badly  shattered  and  crippled  army,  he  had  completely  re- 
deemed the  two  Carolinas  «and  Georgia  from  British  invasion, 
except  Charleston  and  Savannah,  where  a  few  of  the  enemy 
were  still  cooped  up. 

In  strategy  and  in  high  military  genius,  as  well  as  in  results, 
it  could  hardly  have  been  surpassed.  It  is  true  he  had  with 
him  Williams  and  Howard,  Morgan,  \\'illiam  Washington  and 
Lee,  Marion  and  Sumter,  and  much  of  the  time  Smalhvood 
and  Gist,  each  a  power  within  himself,  but  above  and  beyond 
all  this,  he  had  the  patriotic  ardor  and  the  deadly  bayonet 
of  the  indomitable  old   Maryland  Line. 

While  these  events  had  been  going  on  in  the  Carolinas 
and  Georgia,  Virginia  was  being  invaded  and  pillaged  by 
Benedict  Arnold.  Steuben s  and  Smallwood  had  been  sent 
there  to  check  it,  but  they  did  not  have  force  enough  to  do 
more  than  harass  him,  and  now  and  then  to  capture  an  outpost, 
or  compel  the  enemy  to  give  up  its  booty.  The  only  plan 
of  operations  they  could  pursue  was  to  drive  back  detachments 
sent  out  here  and  there  to  plunder  and  destroy.  Steubens  did 
effective  work  along  these  lines,  and  Smallwood  compelled 
the  enemy  to  abandon  a  prize  captured  at  Broadways  on  the 
James,  and  later  with  300  men  and  a  few  cannon,  drove  .\r- 


298  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

nold's  force  out  of  the  Appamatox  and  down  as  far  as  City 
Point  to  its  fleet.  Cornwallis,  who  had  gone  to  Virginia  after 
reaHzing  that  he  could  no  longer  successfully  cope  with  Green 
in  the  Carolinas,  was  now  in  command  of  all  the  Virginia 
forces,  7,000  strong.  He  had  supplanted  Arnold,  in  whom 
he  had  no  confidence,  and  had  sent  him  back  to  New  York. 
His  headquarters  were  at  Yorktown,  which  was  powerfully 
fortified  and  a  very  strong  position  if  supported  by  a  navy 
which  could  afford  means  of  escape  should  he  be  cut  ofif  on 
the  land  side  by  closing  up  the  narrow  strip  lying  between 
the  York  and  the  James  River.  Without  such  support  it  was 
exceedingly  weak,  being  assailable  on  the  two  sides  skirted 
by  the  Chesapeake  and  the  York.  The  post  was  not  of  Corn- 
wallis' selection,  but  that  of  Clinton.  Washington  now  con- 
ceived the  bold  idea  of  availing  himself  of  this  element  of  weak- 
ness— try  to  catch  him  when  he  had  no  navy.  Lafayette  was 
in  command  in  Virginia  with  about  4,000  men,  not  enough  to 
seriously  disturb  Cornwallis,  and  yet  enough  to  retard  and 
hinder  any  hasty  movement  which  he  might  desire  to  make. 
Count  Rochambeau,  the  distinguished  Frencli  commander,  was 
also  now  here  with  4,000  men  and  ready  to  co-operate,  and  the 
able  French  Admiral,  Count  De  Grasse,  had  advised  Rocham- 
beau that  he  would  leave  the  West  Indies  about  the  middle 
of  August,  headed  for  the  Chesapeake  with  29  men  of  war, 
heavily  mounted  and  3,000  men  for  duty  on  land.  These 
were  ideal  conditions  for  the  success  of  Washington's  scheme, 
which  was  to  transport  his  army  from  New  York  to  Yorktown, 
get  behind  Cornwallis  on  the  land  side,  and  with  the  French 
navy  on  the  water  side,  "bottle  him  up".  It  was  a  prodig- 
iously bold  undertaking  and  one  that  was  going  to  require  ex- 
traordinary strategy  and  skill  to  carry  out,  as  well  as  profound 
secrecy.  So  impressed  was  Washington  as  to  this  latter  essen- 
tial fact,  that  he  would  confer  with  no  one  about  it  except 
Count  Rochambeau,  who  had  to  know  the  secret  if  his  co-op- 
eration was  to  be  effective.  Clinton  in  New  York  must  be 
misled,  and  Cornwallis  of  course,  must  be  kept  in  the  dark. 
To  bewilder  Clinton,  he  gave  every  indication  of  preparing 


T  H  E     MAR  Y  L  A  X  D     L  I  X  E  299 

for  an  aftack  on  Xew  York  with  the  combined  American  and 
French  army  and  the  French  navy.  To  make  this  appear  more 
certain,  he  began  and  kept  up  preparations  on  a  very  large 
scale,  seemingly  intended  for  a  long  encampment  in  Xew  Jer- 
sey, just  what  he  would  have  done  if  a  siege  on  Xew  York  had 
really  been  contemplated.  Leaving. a  sufficient  force  to  hold 
West  Point,  Washington  now  set  out  on  his  long  march  of  four 
hundred  miles  with  2,000  continentals  and  4,000  French  reg- 
•  ulars,  and  so  carefully  had  the  movement  been  guarded,  that 
the  enemy  did  not  have  the  remotest  idea  whei:e  he  was 
going.  He  had  gotten  nearly  to  Maryland  before  Clinton 
knew  of  it,  and  even  then  he  thought  it  was  only  a  ruse  and 
that  he  was  surely  coming  back,  hoping  by  this  little  piece  of 
strategy  to  surprise  and  catch  him  napping.  Cornwallis  was 
of  this  opinion  too.  and  so  confident  of  it  that  he  offered 
to  send  Clinton  re-inforcements,  as  he  only  had  the  small  force 
u'nder  Lafayette  to  look  after.  Elkton,  at  the  head  of  the 
Chesapeake,  was  reached  atid  from  there  the  army  was  con- 
veyed in  transports,  which  had  been  secretly  provided,  to 
the  Virginia  shore.  Washington  and  Rochambeau  and  their 
staffs,  going  over  land  by  way  of  Mount  Vernon,  which  the 
former  had  not  seen  for  nearly  six  years.  In  addition  to  the 
4,000  Frencli  regulars  with  Washington,  the  3,000  troops 
for  land  service  under  Admiral  De  Grasse  at  the  proper  time 
were  landed  and  placed  with  the  Commander-in-chief.  By  this 
time  Cornwallis  began  to  hear  rumors  of  what  was  going  on. 
but  he  did  not  believe  them.  To  hurl  an  army  four  hundred 
miles,  and  to  do  it  so  as  to  effectually  elude  the  points  both 
of  departure  and  destination  as  to  its  purpose,  involved  a 
series  of  bold  adventure  and  daring  effrontery  which  he  could 
not  quite  take  in.  and  when  he  did,  the  thing  so  dazed  him  that 
he  could  not  correctly  focus  its  meaning.  When  at  length  its 
full  significance  dawned  upon  him,  his  first  impulse  was  to  cut 
through  the  lines  of  Lafayette  and  get  into  the  highlands, 
where  the  French  navy  could  not  go.  But,  as  he  had  so  often 
done  before,  he  put  it  off.  The  next  day  it  was  too  late, 
for  De  Grasse  was  in  front  of  Yorktown,  and  Washington  was 


300  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

at  Williamsburg,  close  by,  with  12,000  men  and  rapidly  ar- 
ranging those  segments,  which,  with  the  French  fleet,  were 
to  form  the  circle  by  which  Cornwallis  was  to  be  surrounded 
and  within  which  Yorktovvn  was  to  fall.  Each  moment  the 
cordons  were  drawn  tighter  and  tighter  and  soon  Yorktown 
was  besieged.  But  it  was  not  like  Cornwallis  to  give  up  with- 
out a  fight  and  a  desperate  struggle  ensued,  lasting  several 
days.  Seeing  his  works,  one  after  another,  shattered  and 
crumbling,  and  knowing  now  that  he  could  neither  win  or  get 
away,  to  prevent  the  further  loss  of  life,  Cornwallis,  on  the  19th 
of  October,  surrendered  and  Yorktown  was  taken.  During 
the  siege  the  allied  forces  lost  about  300  killed  and  wounded, 
and  the  British  about  550,  and  surrendered  7,000  troops,  2,000 
sailors,  1,500  Tories,  8,000  muskets  and  235  cannon,  besides 
a  large  quantity  of  ammunition  and  stores.  In  the  afternoon 
of  that  eventful  day  the  British  Army  marched  out  of  York- 
town  with  colors  cased,  between  lines  formed  by  the  French 
on  the  left  and  the  Americans  on  the  right,  extending  about 
a  mile  in  length,  and  laid  down  their  arms.  It  was  a  dramatic, 
military  scene,  and  here,  too,  the  greatness  and  grandeur  of 
Washington  again  shown  forth.  The  brave  Lord  Cornwallis, 
who  had  been  his  relentless  antagonist  for  all  these  years, 
now  lay  prostrate  at  his  feet,  but  he,  who  had  the  head  to 
contrive  and  the  hand  to  execute  the  most  brilliant  and  stren- 
uous strategic  movements  of  modern  times,  had  also  the  heart 
to  "temper  justice  with  mercy"..  To  avoid  unnecessary  humil- 
iation, he  ordered  that  all  attempts  at  ~  exultation  be  sup- 
pressed, and  permitted  Cornwallis  to  surrender  his  sword  by 
the  hand  of  O'Hara,  through  whom  it  was  returned  to  the 
fallen  chieftan,  who  now,  with  his  principal  officers,  were 
paroled,  each  taking  his  side  arms  and  , all  personal  property. 
The  British  prisoners  were  sent  to  Fort  Frederick,  Md..  and 
to  Winchester,  V'a. 

In  this  final  struggle  for  American  Liberty- — this  master 
stroke  of  the  war — Smallwood  and  Gist  were  there  with  the 
third  and  fourth  Maryland  battalions,  and  all  gallantly  sus- 
taining the  zeal  and  dignity  of  Maryland  and  adding  fresh 
lustre   to   tlic  honor   and   glory  oi   the   Maryland    Line. 


TJl  E     M  AR  Y  LAN  D     LIN  E 


301 


The  surrender  at  Yorktown  practically  ended  the  war. 
It  brought  about  the  downfall  of  the  personal  government 
of  (jeorge  III  of  England  and  it  secured.  American  Indepen- 
dence. Throughout  this  prolonged  struggle  for  political  jus- 
tice and  national  freedom,  the  Maryland  Line  was  animated 
by  a  high  sense  of  patriotic  duty,  valor  and  courage.  In  the 
heat  and  fire  of  battle  from  Long  Island  to  Yorktown,  at 
times  turning  defeat  into  victory  almost  single  handed  and 
alone,  by  its  discipline  and  heroism  it  won,  both  for  its  officers 
and  its  men,  the  applaudits  of  the  enemy  and  the  gratitude 
of  those  of  its  countrymen  who  espoused  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
can Liberty. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  the  remnant  of  the  [Maryland 
Line  turned  its  face  homeward  to  be  disbanded.  Maryland, 
now  almost  exhausted  in  resources  by  the  strains  of  the  war, 
could  not  afiford  to  be  generous  to  her  soldiers,  however  strong 
the  desire,  except  in  the  expression  of  her  feeling  of  profound 
gratefulness  for  their  splendid  military  achievement,  and  her 
approbation  for  the  gallantry  which  they  had  displayed 
throughout  that  long  and  eventful  struggle.  She  did,  however, 
try  to  be  just.  Congress  had  been  discussing  the  question 
of  bounties  for  the  Continental  troops  after  the  close  of  the 
war,  nearly  all  of  whom  it  was  known  would  be  penniless, 
and  the  great  majority  broken  down  in  health.  Half  pay  for 
life  was  proposed,  but  full  pa^^  for  seven  years  was  what 
was  ultimately  provided.  Maryland,  appreciating  the  quality 
of  her  soldiers  and  the  value  of  their  services,  added  to  this. 
half  pay  for  life,  to  commence  at  the  end  of  the  seven  years 
of  whole  pay  as  provided  by  Congress,  extending  the  act  to 
the  widows  of  those  who  would  have  been  entitled  to  such 
pensions.  In  addition  to  this,  Maryland  divided  an  immense 
area  of  land  lying  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  into  military 
lots  of  50  acres  each  and  apportioned  them  among  her  sold- 
iers or  their  representatives,  one  lot  being  awarded  to  the 
privates  and  four  lots  to  the  officers. 

General  Nathaniel  Green,  who  fully  realized  that  his  ])ril- 
liant  achievements  in  the  .Southern  campaign   had   >o  largely 


302  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

depended  upon  the  Maryland  Line,  in  his  report  to  Governor 
WilHam  Paca,  of  Maryland,  pays  this  high  tribute  to  the 
worth  and  valor  of  its  men:  "I  should  be  wanting  in  gratitude 
not  to  acknowledge  their  singular  merit  and  the  importance  of 
their  services.  They  have  spilt  their  blood  freely  in  the  service 
of  their  country,  and  have  faced  every  danger  and  difficulty 
without  a  murmer  or  complaint.  *  *  *  *  j^  afifords  me 
the  highest  satisfaction  to  hear  of  the  generous  measures 
which  this  state  is  pursuing  for  rewarding  that  band  of  vet- 
erans who  have  been  the  greatest  support  of  our  Southern 
operations,  in  our  most  critical  situation;  nor  should  I  do 
justice  to  their  merit,  not  to  add  my  highest  approbation  of 
their  general  conduct.  Their  patience  and  bearing  have  been 
equalled  by  few  and  excelled  by  none". 

Maryland  furnished  during  the  Revolution  15,229  regulars 
and  5,407  militia.  When  measured  by  the  standard  of  example 
and  results,  their  record  will  ever  be  one  of  honor  to  them  and 
of  grateful  remembrance  to  the  American  people.  The  Mary- 
land Line  was  not  only  a  brilliant  contribution  to  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  but  it  was  a  most  essential  factor  in  the  win- 
ning of  American  Independence  and  to  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
can Liberty. 

Authorities :  Proceedings  Maryland  Convention ;  Proceedings  Mary- 
land Council  of  Safety;  Proceedings  Maryland  Council;  Journals  Con- 
tinental Congress;  McSherry's  History  of  Maryland;  Scharf's  Hist, 
of  Maryland ;  J.  B.  Lossing,  Field  Notes  of  the  Revolution ;  Memoirs 
of  Long  Island  Historical  Soc,  The  Battle  of  Long  Island,  Thos.  W. 
Fields ;  The  American  Revolution,  John  Fiske ;  The  Revolutionary 
War,  Francis  Vinton  Greene ;  Sparks  Life  of  Washington ;  Irving's 
Life  of  Washington ;  General  Washington,  Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnson ; 
Hist,  of  our  Country,  Edward  L.  Ellis;  Sketches  of  North  Carolina, 
Simms;  Hist,  of  the  Late  War,  Perkins;  Hist,  of  Virginia,  Howison; 
Hist,  of  Georgia,  McCall ;  American  Archives;  Life  of  Nathaniel 
Green;  G.  W.  Greene;  Thatcher's  Military  Journal;  Stedman ;  Dawson; 
Sullivan's   Indian   Expedition. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Western  Reserve  and  Maryland's 
Part  in  it 


JN  the  vast  expanse  of  country  known  as  "The  Western  Re- 
serve", bounded  by  the  Alleghany  Mountains  on  the  east, 
and  the  Mississippi  River  on  the  west,  and  extending-  from  the 
Great  Lakes  on  the  north  to  the  Gulf  on  the  south,  constituting 
a  distinct  unit  in  the  drama  of  American  History,  and  in  the 
act  of  making  it  a  part  of  the  American  Commonwealth  Mary- 
land became  not  only  the  central  figure,  but  the  leading  actor. 
First  explored  by  La  Salle,  who  in  1682,  proclaimed  formal 
possession  of  the  great  Mississippi  valley  in  the  name  of 
France,  and  in  honor  of  his  King  called  it  Louisiana.  Thus 
discovered  and  later  colonized,  it  became  the  subject  for  the 
final  struggle  between  France  and  England  for  North  Ameri- 
can supremacy,  and  at  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian 
War  in  1763,  that  part  of  the  great  valley  lying  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River  as  far  down  a^  New  Orleans,  but  not  includ- 
ing it,  was  ceded  to  England,  to  which  country  it  belonged  at 
the  time  of  the  American  Revolution,  that  portion  of  the  valley 
lying  west  of  the  Mississippi  at  the  same  time  being  ceded  to 
Spain,  an  ally  of  France  in  that  struggle,  in  whose  possession  it 
remained  until  1802,  when  it  again  fell  into  the  hands  of  France 
through  her  first  consul  Napoleon.  At  the  close  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution  the  disposition  of  this  territory  furnished  one  of 
the  most  difficult  and  troublesome  questions  that  came  before 
the  American  and  English  commissioners  for  adjustment  at 
the  treaty  of  Paris  in  1783. 

That  part  of  it  known  as  "The  Northwest  Territory "  was 
the  first  public  domain  owned  by  the  thirteen  confederated 
colonies  of  America,  and  its  historv  as  such  has  a  marked,  in- 


304  COL  O  X  I  A  L     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

deed,  a  unique  bearing  upon  our  national  development.  The 
part  that  Maryland  played  in  obtaining  this  domain  for  the 
confederated  colonies,  and  the  significant  results  flowing  from 
its  obtention  as  reflected  upon  our  national  life,  are  not  gener- 
ally understood,  nor  are  they  clearly  defined  or  fully  portrayed 
in  the  most  of  our  state  and  national  histories.  In  none  of  them 
is  full  and  ample  justice  done  to  Maryland,  while  in  many 
of  them  she  is  not  even  accorded  the  "cold  respect"  of  an  hon- 
orable mention. 

It  was  never  seriously  contemplated  that  England  should 
be  allowed  to  control  this  territory  if  the  American  Revolu- 
tion resulted  in  independence,  and  the  treaty  of  Paris  of  1783. 
ratified  by  Congress  in  the  old  Senate  chamber  at  Annapolis. 
January  14th,  1784,  definitely  settled  that  question.  But  to 
whom  did  it  belong?  North  Carolina  had  already  annexed 
the  Tennessee  country  and  Virginia  had  settled  and  taken  pos- 
session of  Kentucky.  This,  however,  still  left  a  vast  territory 
north  of  the  Ohio  River  debatable  ground.  Massachusetts, 
New  York  and  Connecticut  each  claimed  portions  of  it,  be- 
cause their  western  charter  line,  it  was  alleged,  extended  to 
the  Mississippi  River,  and  Virginia,  spurning  and  ridiculing 
those  pretensions,  claimed  practically  the  whole  of  it  for  the 
reason  that  her  charter  ante-dated  them  all  and  made  the 
great  Father  of  Waters  her  western  boundary,  and  upon  the 
further  ground  that  during  the  Revolution  she  had,  through  the 
military  expeditions  of  George  Rogers  Clark,  taken  possession 
of  that  territory  and  had  established  trading  posts  in  much  of  it. 
Such  was  the  situation  when  Maryland  came  to  the  front  in 
the  Continental  Congress,  set  on  foot  and  pushed  to  a  success- 
ful conclusion  a  plan  by  which  these  conflicting  and  irrecon- 
cilable claims  could  be  adjusted  in  a  way  at  once  consistent 
with  the  law  and  the  facts,  and  in  harmony  with  that  spirit 
of  equity  which  the  conditions  of  the  times  demanded.  Mary- 
land's position  was  that  the  original  charters  of  the  claimant 
states  never  contemplated  the  Mississippi  River,  then  unknown, 
as  their  western  boundaries  ;  that  England  did  not  at  the  date  of 
those  charters  own  the  territory  in  question,  and  did  not  in  fact 
acquire  it  until  by  the  treaty  of  Paris  in   1763;  that  England 


THE     WESTERN      R  ES  E  R  X"  E 


305 


had  hefself  decided  that  those  grants  did  not  extend  beyond 
the  Alleghany  .Mountains  and  had  expressly  forbidden  the  as- 
sumption of  any  jurisdiction  by  the  claimant  states  of  any  ter- 
ritory west  of  that  line ;  that  X'irginia's  pretensions,  based  upon 
conquest  at  a  time  when  the  United  Colonies  were  engaging 
a  common  foe  for  results  to  be  equal  weal  of  all,  was  too 
vague  a  claim  for  serious  consideration ;  that  this  vast  domain, 
therefore,  having  belonged  to  Great  Britain  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution,  and  having  been  won  from  her  by  the  united  effort 
and  by  the  common  blood  and  common  treasure  of  the  thir- 
teen colonies,  it  should  be  owned  by  them  in  common,  and  held 
as  a  territorial  commonwealth  of  the  new  Confederation,  and 
over  which  the  new  Confederation  alone  should  exercise  jur- 
isdiction and  control.  To  this  end,  Maryland  on  the  15th  of 
October,  1777,  moved  in  the  Continental  Congress  that  "The 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  have  the  sole  and 
'exclusive  right  and  power  to  ascertain  and  fix  the  western 
boundary  of  such  states  as  claim  to  the  Mississippi  or  South 
Sea,  and  lay  out  the  land  beyond  the  boundary,  so  ascertained, 
into  separate  and  independent  states,  from  time  to  time  as 
the  numbers  and  circumstances  of  the  people  may  require"' 

This  has  aptly  been  described  as  a  "pioneer  thought"  and 
a  "path-breaking  idea"  for  at  that  time  national  sovereignty 
had  not  been  much  thought  of  by  Congress,  or  by  the  people, 
and  the  suggestion  met  with  but  little  favor.  Maryland  alone 
offered  the  resolution  and  Maryland  alone  voted  for  it.  The 
claimajnt  states  could  have  hardly  been  expected  to  give  prompt 
approval  of  such  a  measure,  and  the  smaller  states,  such  as 
Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  did  not  seem  to 
appreciate  the  overwhelming  consequences  and  dangers  to 
them  of  permitting  such  enormous  inequality  in  territory  as 
the  claim  of  the  larger  states  would  have  eng-endered.  Mary- 
land, however,  had  well  considered  her  course,  and  for  more 
than  three  years  she  pursued  it  earnestly  and  relentlessly  in 
spite  of  the  most  violent  opposition  and  threatened  vengeance 
if  she  did  not  relent.  She  even  went  to  what  was  charged  as 
the  "most  unreasonable  and  unwarrantable  length"  in  posi- 
tively refusing  to  assent  to  and  sign  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 


3o6  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

tion  unless  she  received  satisfactory  assurances  that  this  claim 
to  the  Northwest  territory  would  be  abandoned  by  the  claimant 
states.  This  was,  indeed,  a  drastic  step  in  the  interest  of  her 
resolution,  for  the  Articles  of  Confederation  could  not  become 
effective  at  all  unless  ratified,  not  by  a  majority,  but  by  all 
the  states,  and  which  meant  of  course,  that  if  she  persisted  in 
such  a  stand,  there  could  be  no  confederated  government.  But 
Maryland  was  inflexible  and  her  efforts  were  destined  soon  to 
be  rewarded.  By  February,  1779,  all  the  states  except  Mary- 
land had  signed  the  Articles  of  Confederation;  but  standing 
alone  as  she  was,  she  proved  fully  equal  to  the  occasion. 

In  May  of  that  year  the  famous  "instructions''  and  the 
"declaration"  from  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland  to  her 
representatives  in  the  Continental  Congress,  and  which  set 
forth  clearly  and  boldly  the  reasons  why  Maryland  should  not 
sign  the  Articles  of  Confederation  until  the  western  land  ques- 
tion was  put  upon  a  satisfactory  basis,  were  presented  to  Con- 
gress, the  latter  document,  having  been  printed  and  gener- 
ally distributed  among  the  delegates  and  the  people  of  the 
several  states.  These  were  closely  followed  by  an  Act  of  the 
Virginia  Legislature  to  establish  a  land  office  for  the  purpose 
of  issuing  patents  for  her  so  called  "vacant  western  lands", 
and  for  which  Maryland  was  making  her  fight  in  the  interest 
of  the  new  Confederation.  Maryland  promptly  protested 
against  this  movement,  and  through  a  resolution  offered  in 
Congress,  urged  Virginia  to  reconsider  this  step.  This  motion 
prevailed,  all  the  states  voting  for  it  except  Virginia,  North 
Carolina  and  a  part  of  New  York,  a  most  significant  acqui- 
sition of  strength  as  bearing  upon  the  Maryland  movement, 
which  at-  first  had  no  support  except  that  of  her  own  vote. 
The  issue  thus  squarely  made  soon  became  the  subject  of  gen- 
eral discussion  in  Congress,  in  the  state  legislatures  and  among 
the  people.  Shortly  after  this  came  the  "Virginia'  Remon- 
strance", in  which  Virginia,  vyhile  scorning  the  suggestion  of 
the  Confederation  exercising  jurisdiction  over  the  w-estern 
lands,  declares  her  willingness  to  listen  to  any  "just  and  reason- 
able proposition"  for  removing  Maryland's  excuse  for  delay 
in  ratifying  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  thus  showing  that 


THE     W  E  S  T  E  R  X      K  !•:  S  E  R  V  E 


307 


the  force  of"  Maryland's  position  was  being  decidedly  felt. 
The  first  important  break,  however,  in  the  ranks  of  the  oppo- 
sition came  from  New  York.  General  Schuyler,  a  delegate 
from  that  state,  seeing  the  drift  of  things  and  realizing  that  the 
Maryland  policy  of  making  the  western  lands  a  great  national 
commonwealth,  to  be  ultimately  divided  into  free,  independent 
sovereign  states,  was  inevitably  to  prevail,  so  reported  to  the 
legislature  of  his  state.  Acting  upon  this  report,  the  General 
Assembly  of  New  York  in  February,  178Q,  passed  an  Act 
"to  facilitate  the  completion  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation", 
and  directed  her  representatives  in  Congress  to  make  the 
cession  of  her  western  lands.  This  action  on  the  part  of  New 
York  acted  as  a  great  tidal  wave,  destined  to  sweep  before  it 
and  neutralize  the  force  and  power  of  all  the  oppositi6n  to  the 
Maryland  movement.  Even  Congress  now  thought  it  was 
time  to  divulge  its  hand,  and  the  committee  to  which  had  been 
'referred  the  Maryland  declaration  and  the  Virginia  remon- 
strance, on  the  6th  of  September,  1780,  made  its  report,  with  the 
proposal  that  a  general  cession  of  all  the  western  lands  be 
promptly  made.  This,  on  October  loth  was  followed  by  the 
further  proposal  by  Congress,  that,  when  so  ceded,  the  new 
Confederation  should,  in  due  time,  divide  it  into  free,  inde- 
pendent and  sovereign  states — the  identical  plan  which  Mary- 
land three  years  before  had  inaugurated  and  set  out  so  earnestly 
to  accomplish.  Connecticut  prpmptly  fell  into  line,  and  on 
January  2nd,  1781,  Virginia  gracefully  yielded,  it  being  under- 
stood that  she  would  be  rc-imbursed  for  the  expense  she  had 
borne  in  subduing  and  defending  the  territory  she  claimed 
under  the  expedition  led  by  George  Rogers  Clark  during  the 
Revolution. 

Maryland,  now  assured  of  the  strength  of  her  position  and 
the  success  of  her  contention  and  that  the  great  domain  of  the 
Northwest  would  become  the  commonwealth  of  the  Confed- 
erated States,  on  the  first  of  March  following  signed  'the  .Arti- 
cles of  Confederation,  and  thus  completed  the  circle-  within 
which  was  formed  the  union  of  the  states.  The  delegates  to 
the  Continental  Congress  from  Maryland  during  this  eventful 
period  were.  John  Hanson.  George  Plater.  William  Paca.  Sam- 


3o8  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

uel  Chase,  Thomas  Stone,  Charles  Carroll  of  CarroUton,  Wil- 
liam Carmichael,  James  Forbes,  Daniel  Carroll,  Daniel  of  St, 
Thomas  Jenifer,  Benjamin  Rumsey  and  Robert  Alexander. 

It  has  been  naively  suggested  that  it  was  not  really  the 
Maryland  policy  that  ultimately  prevailed  in  obtaining  the 
Northwest  territory  for  the  new  Confederation,  but  that  it  was 
the  result  of  plans  formulated  by  the  Continental  Congress.' 
The  truth,  if  it  must  be  revealed,  is  that  the  Continental  Con- 
gress did  not,  directly  or  indirectly,  make  a  single  movement 
or  even  a  suggestion,  as  far  as  its  records  disclose,  on  the 
subject  of  the  Northwest  territory  until  the  6th  of  September, 
1780,  when  a  general  land  cession  was  recommended.  But 
this  was  seven  months  after  New  York,  convinced  that  Mary- 
land's course  was  right  and  would  inevitably  prevail,  surren- 
dered her  claim  and  thus  through  the  strength  of  her  position, 
and  the  force  of  her  example  had  virtually  settled  the  question. 
The  motive  which  prompted  New  York,  as  alleged  by  her 
General  Assembly  in  yielding  to  the  demands  of  Maryland, 
was  to  "facilitate  the  completion  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion", and  as  Maryland  was  the  only  state  whose  assent  it 
was  necessary  to  obtain  in  order  to  accomplish  that  end,  and 
as  the  surrender  of  the  western  lands  by  the  claimant  states 
was  a  condition  precedent  to  the  obtaining  of  her  consent,  as 
she  had  so  long  and  vigorously  asserted,  it  necessarily  followed 
that  it  was  the  Maryland  policy  and  not  that  of  Congress  that 
brought  it  about.  Both  the  Mafyland  resolution  of  1777  and 
the  Marylamd  instructions  of  1778  boldly  asserted  title  to  the 
Northwest  territory  in  the  new  Confederation,  and  they  both 
demanded  that  it  be  nationalized,  but  to  do  so,  control  of  it  must 
first  be  obtained  as  against  the  claimant,  states,  and  it  was  to  get 
this  control  that  Maryland  directed  her  'efforts  and  bent  her 
energies  in  prevailing  upon  the  states  in  control  to  surrender 
it. 

The  importance  of  this  action  of  Marxland  in  thus  obtain- 
ing for  the  new  Confederation  this  vast  domain  of  country  can 


'Notably  by    Prof.    B.    A.   Hinsdale,   in  his  work  The   Old   North 
"West,  Page  198. 


T  II  E     W  E  S  T  E  R  X     R  i:S  !•:  R  \-  !•:  309 

not  be  measured  alone  by  its  commercial  \^luc,  or  even  by  it.> 
economic  bearing  upon  industrial  development.  True  it  is, 
its  great  commercial  value  should  not  be  lost  sight  of  for 
it  was  a  magnificent  empire  within  itself.  It  contained  265,878 
square  miles  of  territory  or  170,000,000  acres — a  larger  area  of 
land  than  that  of  the  entire  German  Empire,  or  the  Republic 
of  France.  It  was  regarded  even  as  early  as  the  American 
Revolution  as  being  fully  adequate  in  value  to  the  total  cost 
of  that  war.  Of  it  commercially,  it  has  been  well  said,  "Tri- 
angular in  form,  its  sides  are  washed  by  about  3,poo  miles  of 
navigable  water,  the  great  lakes,  one  of  which  reaches  its  very 
center,  contains  nearly  one  half  of  the  fresh  water  of  the  globe. 
The  volume  of  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  is  equal  to  that  of 
three  Ganges,  of  nine  Rhones,  twenty  seven  Seines,  eighty  Ti- 
bers,  or  of  all  the  rivers  of  Europe  exclusive  of  the  Volga. 
The  Ohio,  i.ooo  miles  in  length,  is  one  of  the  largest  affluents 
'of  the  ]\Iississippi.  The  rivers  flowing  to  these  three  water 
ways  render  every  part  of  the  interior  of  the  Northwest  easily 
accessible ;  and  some  of  them,  as  the  Wabash,  Illinois  and  the 
Wisconsin,  are  small  streams  only  because  they  appear  in  such 
noble  company.' 

Such  are  the  exceptional  resources  enjoyed  by  the  splendid 
domain,  which  through  the  influence  of  Maryland  passed  to 
the  new  Confederation  and  out  of  which  has  since  been  carved 
the  states  of  Ohio,  Illinois.  Indiana.  Wisconsin,  Michigan  and 
the  greater  part  of  ■Minnesota.*  that  important  galaxy  in  the 
sisterhood  of  American  commonwealths. 

One  of  the  first  things  which  it  accomplished  was  to  avert 
that  fearful  inequality  both  in  territory  and  in  resources  be- 
tween the  claimant  and  the  non-claimant  states,  and  which  as 
plainly  pointed  out  by  Maryland,  would  mean  inevitably  that 
the  smaller  states  would  not  only  be  drained  of  their  popula- 
tion and  th^ir  wealth,  but  would  so  far  sink  in  importance 
in  the  scale  of  the  confederacy  as  to  leave  them  absolutely  under 
the  domination  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  larger  states.    , 

r.ut  the  higher  and  greater  importance  of  this  acquisition 
lay  in  the  fact  that  it  led  directly  to  the  formation  of  the  Fed- 

'  Hinsdale,  p.  270. 


310  COL(3NIAL     MARYLAND 

eral  Union,  furnished  the  foundation  for  a  constitutional  gov- 
ernment and  thus  became  the  key  stone  in  the  great  archway  of 
the  American  RepubHc. 

Upon  the  acquisition  of  this  national  commonwealth — the 
domain  in  which  all  of  the  thirteen  states  had  a  common  in- 
terest— it  became  necessary  that  a  territorial  government  be 
promptly  provided  for  it.  This  was  done  by  the  ordinance 
of  1786,  and  as  amended  and  strengthened  by  that  of  1787, 
by  which  the  territory  was  brought  under  the  immediate  jur- 
isdiction and  control  of  the  Confederation.  This  was  the 
first  time  the  United  States  had  ever  exercised  the  right  of 
sovereignty  in  the  form  of  eminent  domain.  It  was,  indeed, 
the  first  subject  matter  it  ever  had  the  right  to  exercise  it 
upon,  for  it  had  no  such  power  over  the  Confederated  States 
and  the  western  territory  was  the  only  domain  it  owned.  .It 
was  this  question  of  national  jurisdiction — this  right  of  eminent 
domain — as  the  basis  of  national  sovereignty  for  which  Mary- 
land made  her  determined  and  successful  fight.  But  for 
this,  the  struggle  might  have  been  a  much  shorter  and  easier 
one,  for  while  Maryland  was  the  only  state  that  voted  for  her 
resolution  when  it  was  first  introduced  in  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, Delaware,  New  Jersey  and  Rhode  Island  were  soon 
ready  to  support  it,  except  upon  the  question  of  national  juris- 
diction. Those  states,  particularly  New  Jersey  and  Rhode 
Island,  wanted  the  territory  vested  in  the  new  Confederation, 
but  they  urged  that  jurisdiction  over  it  be  exercised  by  the 
respective  states  ceding  it.  The  significance  of  Maryland's 
position  becomes  more  apparent  as  its  results  are  more  closely 
followed  out.  '  Now  that  the  new  Confederation  had  a  common- 
wealth— a  folk  land  or  territory  belonging  to  the  whole  com- 
munity— Washington  was  impressed  with,  the  extreme  impor- 
tance of  establishing  domestic  and  commercial  relations  with  it. 
The  East  and  the  West  he  says,  "must  be  cemented  together 
by  interests  in  common,  otherwise  they  will  break  asunder. 
Without  commercial  intercourse,  they  will  cease  to  understand 
each  other  and  will  thus  be  ripe  for  disagreement.  It  is  easy 
for  mental  habits  as  well  as  merchandise  to  glide  down  stream. 


THE     W  E  S  T  E  R  X     RESERVE  311 

and  the  connection  of  the  settlers  beyond  the  moinitains  would 
all  center  in  New  Orleans,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  a  foreign 
and  hostile  power'.  No  one  can  tell  what  complications  may 
arise  from  this.  Let  us  bind  these  people  to  us  by  a  chain 
that  can  never  be  broken",  and  to  that  end  he  at  once  began 
to  bend  his  energies. 

It  should  at  this  point  be  remembered,  that  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  had  been  proven  ineffective  and  utterly  inad- 
equate, with  the  result  that  the  states  were  rapidly  drifting  apart. 
Formulated  amid  the  vicissitudes  and  excitemeiit  of  war,  they  did 
not  as  a  constitution  measure  up  to  a  high  state  of  efficiency, 
however  strong  as  a  bond  for  mutual  defense  of  the  states 
against  internal  or  external  invasion.  Under  them  the  Con- 
federation had  no  power  to  levy  taxes,  lay  customs  or  duties 
on  imports,  or  indeed  raise  money  in  any  way,  except  by  requi- 
sition upon  the  states  and  which  it  had  no  power  whatever 
to  enforce.  It  had  no  power  to  regulate  commerce  between 
the  states  and  as  a  consequence,  the  states,  in  attempting  to 
regulate  it  as  between  themselves,  had  been  so  influenced  by 
selfish  and  petty  local  interests  and  so  actuated  by  the  spirit  of 
retaliation  as  to  bring  about  a  state  of  commercial  distress 
almost  bordering  upon  anarchy.  Worst  of  all,  these  and  many 
other  of  its  elements  of  inherent  weakness  could  not  be  reme- 
died by  amendment,  except  by  the.  unanimous  consent  of  the 
thirteen  Confederated  states,  which,  of  course,  was  a  practical 
impossibility,  with  the  aversion  on  the  part  of  the  states  at  that 
early  date,  to  delegate  powers. 

Such  were  some  of  the  conditions  existing  at  the  time 
Washington  assumed  the  task  of  providing  a  means  of  bind- 
ing together  "by  a  chain  that  can  never  be  broken"  the 
old  states  of  the  East  and  new  commonwealth  of  the  West. 
The  plan  he  worked  out  was  to  extend  -the  navigation  of 
the  Potomac  far  enough  to  make  the  East  and  the  West 
more  easily  accessible.  To  do  this  it  was  necessary  for 
Maryland  and  X'irginia  to  co-oi)erate  in  the  movement.  He 
suggested  that  commissioners  from  the  two  states  be  ap- 
pointed to  meet  in  Alexandria.  I^arly  in  1785  this  was  done. 
though    the   meeting   seems   to   have   l)ecn    at    Mount    N'crnon 


312  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

rather  than  in  Alexandria.  During-  the  conference  Washington 
suggested  that,  in  addition  to  considering  a  waterway  or  a 
roadway  between  the  East  and  the  West,  the  two  states  also 
agree  upon  a  system  of  commercial  relations  between  them  and 
which  Congress  had  no  power  to  regulate.  The  result  of  this 
conference  was  referred  to  the  Legislature  of  the  two  states 
and  was  duly  ratified.  Maryland  in  communicating  her  action 
to  Virginia,  suggested  that,  as  the  scheme  of  navigation  "con- 
template connecting  the  headwaters  of  the  Potomac  with  the 
waters  of  the  Ohio",  it  would  be  necessary  to  bring  Pennsyl- 
vania into  the  Conference,  and  as  a  canal  should  be  built  to 
connect  the  Chesapeake  with  the  Delaware  Bay,  the  state  of 
Delaware  should  also  be  invited.  And  if,  in  addition  to  the 
question  of  "navigation",  that  of  commerce  between  some  of 
the  states  was  to  be  considered,  why  not  invite  all  of  the  thir- 
teen states  into  a  joint  conference  and  take  up  as  well  the  ques- 
tion of  a  uniform  system  of  imports  and  duties.  Virginia 
at  once  responded  by  passing  a  resolution  that  commissioners 
from  all  the  states  be  appointed  for  this  meeting,  to  discuss  "the 
best  method  of  securing  a  uniform  treatment  of  commercial 
questions".  The  invitation  was  issued  by  the  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia to  meet  on  the  first  Mondiay  of  September,  1786,  at  the 
city  of  Annapolis.  Curious  as  it  may  seem,  when  it  was  time 
for  the  conference  to  be  held,  it  was  found  that  Maryland  had 
neglected  to  appoint  her  commissioners,  as  had  Georgia,  South 
Carolina  and  Connecticut,  and  those  appointed  from  Massachu- 
setts, New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island  and  North  Carolina  did 
not  attend.  Representatives  from  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey  and  New  York  only  were  present  and  wnth  but  five 
states  to- discuss  the  questions,  it  was  deemed  best  to  defer 
action  upon  them  and  call  another  meeting.  They  accordingly 
adopted  a  resolution  to  be  sent  to  all  the  states  urging  that  com- 
missioners be  appointed  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  on  the  second 
Monday  of  May.  1787,  to  "devise  such  further  provisions 
as  shall  appear  to  them  necessary  to  render  the  Constitution 
of  the  Federal  Government  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
Union".  Virginia  took  the  initiative  step  and  appointed  among 
her  delegates   to   the  convention,   George   Washington,  which 


T  11  E     W  E  S  T  K  R  X     R  l'.  S  E  ii  \  li  3 1 3 

gave  immediate  impetus  to  the  movemeiU.  When  the  second 
Monday  of  May,  1787,  took  its  position  in  the  calendar  of  time, 
the  delegates  from  all  the  thirteen  states  (except  Rhode  Island) 
were  at  their  posts  and  prepared  to  set  aside  the  old  Articles 
of  Confederation,  no  longer  of  force  and  value,  and  to  formu- 
late in  its  stead,  what  has  been  aptly  described  as  "The  most 
wonderful  work  ever  struck  off  in  a  given  time  by  the  brain 
and  purpose  of  man" — the  American  Constitution.  Big  oaks 
from  little  acorns  grow,  and  thus  it  was.  At,  first  it  was  only 
a  meeting  of  commissioners  from  two  states  to.  discuss  the 
navigation  of  the  upper  Potomac  and  its  connection  with  the 
Ohio,  as  a  means  of  cementing  more  closely  the  East  and  the 
West.  This  led  to  a  discussion  as  to  better  commercial  rela- 
tions between  states,  and  later  to  the  suggestion  that  a' uniform 
system  be  also  considered  and  that  all  the  states  l)e  invited 
to  send  commissioners  to  the  Annapolis  meeting,  and  the 
'  latter  resulting  in  a  call  for  another  convention  to  discuss 
these  and  other  matters  important  to  and  bearing  upon  the 
public  interest,  and  which  proved  to  be  that  powerful  assem- 
bly of  constructive  statesmen — the  Federal  Convention  of 
1787. 

It  is  not  intimated  that  Maryland  foresaw  the  Federal 
Constitution  as  one  of  the  far-reaching  results  of  her  policy 
upon  the  land  question.  Such  colossal  monuments  to  the  power 
and  wisdom  of  statesmanship  are  usually  the  result  of  gradual 
development,  and  while  the  convention  of  1787  stands  in  bold 
relief  as  an  exception  to  this  rule,  it  is  nowhere  in  evidence 
that  such  a  masterpiece  of  constructive  workmanship  in  state 
craft  was  contemplated  by  Maryland  even  on  the  date  of  the 
convening  of  the  convention.  Rut  the  fact  remains,  that  it 
was  Maryland  that  first  suggested  national  control  of  and 
national  sovereignty  over  the  Northwest  territory  and  that 
it  was  her  persistent  and  unfailing  efforts  that  brought  it  to 
the  Confederation:  that  the  Federal  Convention  was. the  direct 
outgrowth  of  the  plans  of  Washington  to  bind  by  a  "chain  that 
can  never  be  ])roken"  that  commonwealth  to  the  union  t<> 
which  it  belonged,  and  that  thus  it  became  the  keystone  in  the 
great   archwav   of   the   American   Constitutional   Govcrnnionl. 


314  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

It  was  the  first  commonwealth  which  came  to  the  union  of 
states ;  it  was  the  basis  for  the  first  exercise  by  that  union 
of  states  of  national  sovereignty,  in  the  form  of  eminent  domain 
and  its  industrial  development  and  the  desire  to  irrevocably 
cement  it  to  that  union  of  states,  furnished  the  reasons  for  the 
first  steps  which  led  to  the  Federal  Convention,  and  the  dis- 
tinction for  preparing  the  way  for  it,  belongs  to  Maryland, 
and   to  Maryland   alone. 

Authorities :  Journals  of  Continental  Congress ;  Acts  of  Maryland 
Legislature;  Washington  Crawford  Letters;  Herbert  B.  Adams'  Mary- 
land's Influence  in  founding  the  National  Commonwealth ;  John  Fiske's 
The  Critical  Period. 


CHAPTER  XV 
Chronicles  of  Saint  Mary's  County 


^S  the  oldest  County  organization  in  the  State;  as  the  place 
of  first  landing  of  the  Mar>land  Colony;  as  the  seat 
of  Maryland's  first  provincial  capital;  as  the  theatre  of  her 
infant  struggles,  and  the  cradle  of  her  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
the  colonial  history  of  Saint  Mary's  County  is  vested  with 
peculiar  interest  and  special  inspiration. 

That  the  colonists  landed  there  amid  enthusiastic  admira- 
tion of  that  section  of  the  country,  may  well  be  understood, 
for  it  presented  to  them  a  profile  of  forest  and  plain,  of  hill  and 
dale,  traversed  by  bold,  deep  and  picturesque  rivers,  bays  and 
tide  water  tributaries,  with  high  rugged  banks  and  gently  shap- 
ing shores,  combining  a  variety  and  richness  of  scenery,  prob- 
ably the  finest  in  IMaryland  and  perhaps  nowhere  surpassed. 

It  was  not,  however,  the  fact  alone  that  Saint  Clary's  was 
thus  ''graced  by  the  natural  beauties  of  God's  own  handi- 
work", which  gave  it  the  distinction  of  having  been  selected 
as  the  seat  of  the  Maryland  settlement  but  it  was  due  also  to 
its  superior  commercial  position,  connected  as  it  is  by  the  noble 
Chesapeake,  the  broad  Potomac  and  the  majestic  Patuxent 
with  so  large  an  area  of  inland  country,  and  by  the  same 
waters  with  the  world  which  lay  beyond  the  ocean. 

The  Chesapeake  bay  and  its  tributaries  gave  to  the  people 
of  tide-water  Maryland,  it  has  been  well  said  by  an  eminent 
historian,'  "a  facility  of  communication  with  one  another  and 
with  the  outside  world  not  possessed  by  any  other  colony  on 
the  continent  *  '''  The  bay  was  to  the  early  colonists  of  Mary- 
land, much  more  than  the  railroad  is  to  the  present  settler  in 
the  western  wilderness ;  and  from  the  first  they  regarded  it  as 

*  Scharf,  2,  pp.  2,  3,  4. 


3i6  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

the  most  valuable  private  possession  of  the  Province.  They 
traded  and  travelled  on  it,  fought  and  frolicked  on  it,  and  its 
inlets  and  estuaries  were  so  numerous  and  so  accommodating, 
that  nearly  every  planter  had  navigable  salt  water  within  a 
rifle's  shot  of  his  front  door  *  *  *  *  In  the  colonial  times, 
the  planter  had  the  still  further  advantage  that  the  ships 
that  brought  out  his  supplies  from  Bristol  and  London,  and 
took  his  tobacco  in  exchange,  anchored,  so  to  speak,  within 
sight  of  his  tobacco-houses,  and  the  same  barges  and  lighters 
which  carried  his  tobacco  hogsheads  to  the  ship,  returned 
freighted  with  his  groceries  and  osnaburgs,  with  the  things 
which  were  needed  to  supply  his  cellar  and  pantry,  and  his 
wife's  kitchen  and  work  basket.  *  *  *  *  It  was  this  free, 
open,  safe  and  pleasant  navigation  of  the  Chesapeake  and  its 
many  inlets,  which  not  only  gave  to  the  people  a  freedom  and 
facility  of  intercourse  not  enjoyed  by  any  other  agricultural 
community,  but  shaped  their  manners  and  regulated  their 
customs  to  an  extent  which  it  is  difficult  to  exaggerate". 

They  furnished  too  the  means  of  a  luxurious  and  indepen- 
dent living,  and  one,  which  to  all  was  "as  free  as  grace"",  for 
they  were  alive  with  innumerable  water- fowl  and  shell  fish. 
"Every  point  that  jutted  out  was  an  oyster  bar,  where  the 
most  delicious  bivalves  known  to  the  epicure  might  be  had  for 
the  taking.  Every  cove  and  every  mat  of  seaweed  in  all  the 
channels  abounded  in  crabs,  which  shedding  five  months  in 
every  year,  yielded  the  delicate  soft  crab,  and  at  any  point  on 
salt  water,  it  was  only  necessary  to  dig  along  shore  in  order  to 
bring  forth  as  many  soft  shell  clams,  as  one  needed.  They 
abounded  also  "in  an  almost  incalculable  number  and  variety 
of  water  fowl,  from  the  lordly  swan  and  the  heavy  goose  to  the 
wee  fat  dipper".  While  there  is  "no  evidence  earUer  than 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  that  the  diamond-back 
terrapin  was  appreciated,  the  more  famous  canvas-back  duck 
certainly  was  known,  and  its  qualities  appreciated  at  a  much 
earlier  date".  They  were  filled  too  with  the  finny  denizens 
"and  these,  as  w^as  the  case  with  both  the  flora  and  farma  or 
the  State  generally,  embraced  northern  and  southern  species 


S  A  1  X  T     M  A  R  \'  '  S     C  O  U  X  T  ^-  3 1 7 

at  once.  The  "bass  and  the  blue  tish  did  not  cxchide  the  pom- 
pano  and  the  bonito:  the  shad  and  the  sturgeon  on  their 
journey  to  fresh  water,  met  the  cat-fish  and  the  perch  :  and  the 
cost  of  a  weir,  or  the  trouble  of  staking  out  a  net,  was  repaid 
to  planters  all  the  year  round  in  a  full  supply  of  the  most 
delicate  sorts  of  table  fish".' 

It  was  this  land  of  rich  topography,  delightful  streams, 
and  hospitable  estuaries,  that  the  Maryland  colony  selected, 
as  the  place  of  "peace  and  hope",  where  "conscience  might 
find  breathing  room",  and  where  the  foundations-  of  a  com- 
monwealth might  be  securely  laid. 

The  name  first  bestowed  upon  the  territory  which  Gover- 
nor Calvert  purchased  of  the  Yaocomico  Indians,  (for  the 
details  of  which  see  chapter  on  The  Landing),  and  wHich.  for 
several  years  constituted  the  whole  district  settled  by  the 
Maryland  Colonists,  was  called  "Augusta  Carolina"" — a  name 
presumably  given  in  honor  of  King  Charles." 

The  district  was  thirty  miles^  long,  and  was  embraced 
within  the  present  limits  of  Saint  Mary's  County.  It  did  not 
however,  long  retain  that  name,  though  just  when,  or  by  what 
authority  it  was  changed,  the  records  do  not  show.  As  late 
as  September,  1635,  it  was  still  called  "Augusta  Carolina".' 
but  in  January,  1637,  the  same  territory  was  officially  denom- 
inated "Saint  Maries  County"."  the  name  it.  with  additional 
domain,  has  ever  since  retained.* 

For  sixteen  vears  after  the  colonization  of  Maryland,  there 
were  but  two  civil  divisions  in  the  Province — Kent  and  Saint 
Alary's — the  former  embracing  the  entire  settlement  on  the 
Eastern,  and  the  latter,  the  entire  settlement  on  the  Western 
Shore.  These  fimits  were  not  curtailed  until  April.  1650, 
when  Anne  Arundel  County— "all  that  part  of  the  Trovince 
over  against  the  Isle  of  Kent" — was  enacted.' 


ilbid.  ''Relatio    Itijieri?. 

'It  was  Baltimore's  desire  to  call  Maryland  Carolina,  Init  was 
prevented  by  the  fact,  that  the  territory  lying  south  of  Virginia,  liad 
in  1629,  been  patented  to  Sir  Robert  Heath  under  that  nanie. 

Mbid.  'Will  of  Wm.   Smith.    16.^5. 

"Archives  (Pro.  CI.  1637)  61.      '  McMahon  80;  old  Kent,  .Act.  1650. 


3i8  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

In  November  of  the  same  year,  another  County  was  formed 
out  of  Saint  Mary's,  with  the  following  bounds:  "beginning 
at  Susquehannah  Point  (near  the  mouth  of  the  Patuxent) 
and  extending  from  thence  southward  into  the  middle  of  the 
woods  towards  Saint  Mary's  (City)  ;  thence  westward  along 
the  middle  of  the  woods,  between  the  Patuxent  and  Potomac 
Rivers,  (near  the  Three  Notched  Road),  as  far  up  as  Mata- 
pania  (creek)  toward  the  head  of  the  Patuxent,  and  from 
thence  eastward  along  the  river  side  to  said  Susquehannah 
Point".  It  was  called  Charles  County,  and  Robert  Brooke, 
Esq.,  of  "De  La  Brooke",  was  made  its  commander." 

In  September  1653,  however,  Robert  Brooke,  having 
actively  associated  himself  with  the  Cromwell  Party  in  Mary- 
land, as  against  the  Proprietary,  serving  in  the  capacity  of 
President  of  its  Council  and  State,  and  thus,  as  acting  Cover-. 
nor  of  the  Province,  was  deposed  by  Baltimore  as  Commander 
of  this  County,^  and  soon  thereafter,  the  order  under  which 
the  County  had  been  erected,  was  also  annulled.  The  latter 
Act,  was  by  order  of  Governor  Stone  and  the  Council,  dated 
July,  1654,  and,  while  making  void  the  order  under  which 
Charles  County  had  been  formed,  provided  also  that  a  new 
County  should  be  erected  in  its  stead,  embracing  all  of  the 
former  County  with  additional  territory. 

It  was  called  Calvert  County,  and  lay  on  both  sides  of  the 
Patuxent,  that  part  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  being  sepa- 
rated from  Anne  Arundel  by  a  line  from  ".Herring  Creek"  to 
the  "head  of  the  Patuxent",  and  the  part  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river  being  separated  from-  Saint  Mary's  by  "Pyne  Hill 
River  or  Creek  to  the  head  thereof,  and  from  thence  through 
the  woods  to  the  head  of  the  Patuxent",  which  says  the  order 
constitute  the  northerly  bound  of  Saint  Mary's  County.' 

"Pyne  Hill  River  or  Creek",  which  thus  partly  separated 
Saint  Mary's  and  Calvert,  and  which  continued  such  dividing 
line  for  nearly  half  a  century,  empties  into  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
about   three  miles  below   "Cedar   Point",   its   source   or  head 

^  Archives    ( Pro.   CI.   1650)    260. 

-  Bozman,  pp.  442,  499.  \^rchiv^s    (Pro.  CI.   1654)   p.  308. 


S  A  I  XT     y\  A  K  \  'S     CO  i;  \  l"  \' 


319 


being  westerly,  and  near  Jarboesville  on  the  Three  Notched 
Road.  It  is  no  longer  navigable,  and  though  it  retained  for 
many  years  its  original  name,  it  has  long  since  lost  its  identity 
as  a  river,  and  is  now  known  as  "Mill  Run"  except  at  its 
mouth,  when  it  bears  the  name  of  Finey  Creek".' 

The  question  of  the  location  of  this  stream  has  been  one 
upon  which  historians  have  bestowed  no  little  labor  and  in- 
dulged in  much  speculation,  among  them  the  careful  and  pains- 
taking Bozman.  who.  "owing  to  the  change  in. its  name  as  well 
as  in  its  character,  was  unable  to  locate  it.  and  suggested  that 
the  "Pyne  Hill  River"  referred  to  in  the  order  of  July.  1654. 
was  Piney  Creek  which  empties  into  the  Eastern  Branch  of  the 
Potomac,  near  Washington  City  —  a  physical  impossibility 
apart  from  the  fact  that  the  records  clearly  indicate 'that  the 
Eastern  Branch  had  not  at  that  early  day  been  ex])l()re(l.  and 
hence  that  its  tributaries  had  not  been  named. 

In  October,  1654,  the  name  of  Calvert  was  changed  by 
Cromwell's  Commissioners  to  Patuxent  County,  which  it  con- 
tinued to  bear  until  1658,  when  Baltimore's  government  was 
re-established,  and  its  former  name  restored." 

In  October,  1658,  another  County  was  carved  out  of  Saint 
Mary's.  It  was  called  Charles  (still  so  known),  and  was 
embraced  within  the  following  indefinite  bounds:  "the  river 
Wicomico  to  its  head,  and  from  the  mouth  of  that  river  up  the 
I'otomac  as  high  as  the  settlements  extends,  and  thence  to  the 
head  of  Wicomico".'' 

This  limited  Saint  Mary's  County  to  the  territory  lying 
between  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  the  Calvert  line  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  Potomac  and  Wicomico  Rivers  on  the  other,  and 
extending  from  Point  Lookout  up  the  country  indefinitely, 
except  that  which  was  embraced  within  the  limits  of  Charles, 


'  See  Patents  for  "Smith's  Discovery"  to  Richard  Smith.  March  9. 
1705.  This  tract  of  land  borders  on  the  stream  referred  to  -in  the  text 
(Mill  Run),  and  which  is  designated  in  the  patent.  a><  "the  main  l)ranch 
of   Pine   Hill   River   or   Creek." 

-McMahon.   p.  86. 

'Liber,  P.  C.  R.  pp.  ?->.  54.  Maryland  Historical  Society.  Scharf,  2. 
p.  271 ;   McMahon.  87. 


320  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Calvert  and  Anne  Arundel.  And  thus  its  boundaries  continued, 
until  1695,  when  the  territory  lying  above  Matawoman  Creek 
and  Swanson  Creek  was  erected  into  a  new  County,  called 
Prince  George;  that  part  of  Calvert  lying  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Patuxent  River,  as  far  up  as  Indian  Creek,  was  re- 
turned to  Saint  Mary's,  and  that  part  of  Saint  Mary's  and 
Calvert  lying  north  westerly  of  Buds  Creek  and  Indian  Creek, 
was  given  to  Charles/ 

By  this  Act,  the  present  boundaries  of  Saint  Mary's  County 
were  thus  specifically  defined:  "Saint  Mary's  County  shall 
begin  at  point  Lookout  and  extend  up  the  Potomac  River 
(and  Wicomico)  to  the  lower  side  of  Bud's  Creek,  and  so  over 
by  a  straight  line  drawn  from  the  head  of  the  main  branch  of 
the  said  Bud's  Creek  to  the  head  of  Indian  Creek  in  the  Patux- 
ent River,  including  all  that  land  lying  between  the  Patuxent 
and  Potomac  Rivers,  from  the  lower  side  of  said  two  creeks 
and  branches  by  the  line  aforesaid,  and  by  Point  Lookout".* 

The  first  civil  divisions  of  Saint  Mary's  County  were 
denominated  hundreds.  There  were  erected  from  time  to  time, 
as  the  increase  of  population  and  the  development  of  the  dififer- 
ent  section  of  the  County  demanded.  In  1637,  there  were 
two  hundreds  in  the  County.  Saint  Mary's,  which  included 
the  town  and  vicinity  of  Saint  Mary's,  and  Saint  Georges,' 
which  embraced  the  settlement  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river 
— a  district  of  country  still  bearing  the  same  name.  Mattapany, 
the  settlement  on  the  lower  Patuxent,  was  not  sufficiently 
numerous  at  that  time  for  an  hundred,  and  yet  was  recognized 
as  a  distinct  legal  division.*  In  1638,  however,  it  became  an 
hundred,  and  the  same  year.  Saint  Michaels  hundred,  extending 
from  Saint  Inigoes  Creek  to  Point  Lookout,  was  also  erected. 
In  1639,  Saint  Clements  hundred,  embracing  the  neck  lying  be- 
tween Saint  Clements  Bay  and  the  Wicomico  River,  was 
formed.  Newtown  hundred,  lying  between  Saint  Clement's 
Kay  and  Bretton's  Bay,  was  referred  to,  apparently  for  the 
first  time,  in  1646;  Saint  Inigoes  hundred,  carved  out  of  Saint 

*  Act,  1695,  C.  13.  "^Act,  169s,' C.   i.r,  A'IcMahon,  p.  81. 

'Archives  (Pro.  CI. ,1637)  p.  59.         ''ibid  (Pro.  Ass.  1637)  P-  2. 


SAIN  T     M  A  R  Y  '  S     C  O  U  N  T  Y  321 

r^IichaeTs,  and  lying  between  Saint  Inigoes  Creek  and  Trinity 
(Smith's)  Creek,  in  1649;  Chaptico  hundred,  embracing  the 
north  western  extremity  of  the  County  in  1688;  Resurrection 
and  Harvey  hundreds,  and  the  Patuxent  settlement,  were 
in  Calvert  County  until  1695,  when  they  were  annexed  to 
Saint  Mary's.' 

In  1777,  the  County  contained  the  following  hundreds: 
Saint  Michaels,  Saint  Inigoe's,  Saint  Mary's,  Poplar  Hill, 
Saint  George's,  New  Town,  Saint  Clement's,  Chaptico,  Harvey, 
Lower  Resurrection  and  Upper  Resurrection."  These  early 
political  divisions  each  had  a  Conservator  of  the  Peace  and 
high  Constable,  and  until  1659,  every  hundred  was  entitled  to 
representation  in  the  General  Assembly.'  In  many  respects 
they  bore  close  analogy  to  the  system  of  civil  divisions  now 
known  as  Election  Districts,  by  which  they  were  superseded. 
The  latter  system  had  its  origin  under  the  Act  of  1798.*  The 
Commissioners  appointed  to  execute  it  for  Saint  Mary's  County 
were  Messrs.  George  Plafer.  Henry  Gardiner,  Charles  Chilton, 
Richard  Watts  and  Benjamine  Williams,'  who  in  July,  1799, 
divided  the  County  into  three  districts,  Chaptico,  Leonard- 
Town  and  Saint  Inigoe's.' 

The  first  levy  for  Saint  Mary's  County  was  made  in 
June,  1648.'  It  was  made  by  a  general  meeting  of  the  free- 
men of  the  County,  and  is  the  first  instance  on  record  in 
which  County  charges  were  levied  in  Maryland  separately  and 
distinctly  from  the  general  or  provincial  charges.  The  record 
of  this  meeting  is  as  follows:  "This  day  the  ffreemen  of  the 
County  of  Saint  Marie's  mett  together  at  the  Govrs  to  advise 
touching  the  levy  of  the  charges  incurred  this  prt  yeare 
and  determined  by  the  Govr  and  Councill  on  the  9th  Octobr 


^Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  ist)  pp.  28,  259;  Ibid  ("Pro.  CI.  ist)  pp.  89. 
177;  Ibid,  (Pro.  CI.  3rd)   p.  50;  Act,  i795,  C.   13. 

-Journal  House  Representatives,  .1777.  '  McMahon,  p.  465. 

*Act,  1798,  C.  115.  "Act,  1799,  C.  50.  "Ibid. 

■^  In  1694,  the  Council  ordered  colors  for  horse  foot  and  dragoon  in 
the  several  counties  as  follows:  Saint  Mary's,  red;  Kent,  blue;  Anne 
Arundel,  white;  Calvert,  yellow;  Charles,  bronze;  Baltimore,  green; 
Talbot,  purple;  Somerset,  jack  flag;  Dorchester,  buff;  Cecil,  crimson. 


322  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

last  to  be  levyed  out  of  the  County.  The  whole  charges 
amounting  to  7752  lbs.  of  Tob  and  Cask.  The  ffreemen  allege 
tht  the  charges  for  impresonment.of  the  Indians  is  unduly  laid 
upon  the  County;  but  alleged  not  anything  material  for  it. 
Whereuppon  the  Govr  found  noe  reason  to  alter  his  former 
order  sett  downe  by  the  Govr  and  Councill  as  above.  As  con- 
cerning the  manner  of  leveying  the  sd  charges,  the  ffreemen 
imanimously  agreed  and  concluded  tht  it  should  be  leveyed 
upon  all  tytheable  psons  inhabts  of  St.  Marie's  County  equally 
pr  head  tht  were  residing  in  the  County  from  the  loth  day  of 
June  last,  wch  resultieth  in  55I  Tob.  June  14th,  1648".^ 

This  appears  to  be  the  only  instance  in  the  history  of  the 
Province  in  which  a  County  levy  was  made  by  a  general  meet- 
ing of  the  freemen.  In  1650,  delegates  were  elected  from  the 
several  hundreds  of  the  County  for  that  purpose — a  system 
which  continued  until  1704,  when  the  duty  of  "laying  the 
County  levy"  devolved  upon  the  Justices  of  the  County 
Court,^  and  subsequently,  upon  the  tribunal  known  as  the 
"Levy  Court". 

The  average  value  of  land  in  Saint  Mary's  County  in 
1785,  as  established  by  General  Assembly  for  purposes  of 
assessment,  was  24  shillings  and  9  pence  per  acre,  the  fourth 
highest  valuation  in  the  State.^ 

The  first  County  Seat  of  Saint  Mary's,  was  Saint  Mary's. 
City  and  in  1695,  it  was  provided  that  the  County  Courts  and 
records  should  be  held  and  kept  "forever  hereafter  in  the 
State  House  in  the  City  of  Saint  Mary's".'' 

In  1708.  however,  the  Legislature  ordered  a  town  to  be 
laid  out  at  "Sheppards  Old  Fields",  near  the  head  of  Bretton's 
Bay,  a  Court  House  to  be  erected,  and  the  County  Court  of 
Saint  Mary's  County  thereafter  to  be  held  there."  "Sheppards 
Old  Fields"  then  belonged  to  Philip  Lynes.  Commissioners 
were  appointed  and  directed  to  purchase  fifty  acres  of  it  for 
the   use   of   said   town,   and   to   lay   the   same    out   into   one 

'Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1648)  231.  'Act,  1704,  C.  34- 

■'Act,    1785,    C.    53.  *Act.  1695.  C.  13. 

\\ct,   T708,   C.  3. 


SAINT     .M.\1^:^••S     COUNTY 


323 


hundred  lots."  It  was  first  called  -Seyiiiuur  Tcnvn"— a  com- 
pliment, presumably,  to  the  then  (lovernor,  John  Seymour. 

In  1728,  the  Lej^islature.  after  reciting  the  fact,  that  the 
laying  out  of  the  tt)\vn.  as  provided  by  the  former  Act.  had 
not  been  completed,  appointed  new  commissioners  to  do  so. 
They  were  directed  "to  purchase.. by  agreement,  or  valuation 
of  a  jury,  fifty  acres  of  land  adjacent  to  the  place  where  Saint 
Mary's  County  Court  House  now  stands,  and  to  cause  the 
same  to  be  surveyed  and  laid  out  for  a  town;  into  eighty  lots, 
with  convenient  streets,  lanes,  etc.."  without  prej'udice  to  the 
lots  already  there,  or  to  the  buildings  and  improvements  of  the 
heirs  at  law  of  Thomas  Cooper.  They  were  also  directed  to 
expose  the  lots  for  sale,  giving  the  owner  of  the  land  his 
choice  for  two  lots,  and  limiting  the  sale  of  the  rest  to  one  lot 
to  each  individual,  and  restricting,  also,  for  the  first  four 
months,  the  sales  to  inhabitants  of  Saint  Mary's  County.  The 
purchaser  of  every  lot  w&s  to  consent  to  erect  thereon,  within 
twelve  months,  a  house  covering  at  least  four  hundred  square 
feet,  with  brick  or  stone  chimneys.  The  proceeds  of  the  sales 
were  to  go  to  "the  public  use  and  benefit  of  the  town" ;  every 
lot  was  to  be  sold  subject  to  a  quit  rent  to  Lord  Baltimore  of 
one  penny  per  annum,  and  the  lots  remaining  unsold  at  tlic 
end  of  seven  years  were  to  revert  to  the  owner  of  the  land.' 
By  this  Act  also,  all  writs  issued  by  the  Court  were  to  be  made 
returnable  there,  and  the  name  was  changed  to  Lconard-Toi^-u' 
— the  name  it  still  retains — in  honor  of  Benedict  Leonard  Cal- 
vert, the  then  Governor  of  Maryland. 

In  1730.  Mr.  Thomas  Spalding,  who  is  referred  to  as 
the  then  owner  of  the  land,  was  granted  permission  by  Act 
of  Assembly,  to  use  the  lots  not  taken  uj).  but  not  to  remove 
any  of  the  boundary  ])osts.  It  appearing  also,  that  the  deed 
for  "the  par.t  of  one  acre  of  land"  known  as  the  "Court  House 
Lot",  and  which  had  been  given  to  the  County  by  Mr.  Philip 
Lynes,  had  not,  through  neglect  of  the  clerk,  been  placed  upon 
record,  "though  three  of  the  bound  posts  are  still  standing  and 

'Act,   1728,  C.   16.  'Ibid. 


324  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

the  place  of  the  other  well  known",  special  provision  was  made 
by  this  Act  for  curing  the  defect  and  vesting  "the  title  to  the 
said  lot  in  the  Justices  of  Saint  Mary's  County  to  the  use  of 
said  County  forever".' 

The  County  Surveyor  was  by  the  same  Act  directed  to 
"make  a  fair  plat  of  Leonard-Town"  to  be  subscribed  by  the 
Commissioners  and  recorded  among  the  land  records  of  the 
County.  The  records  have  perished,  but  the  map  has  been 
preserved,"  of  which  the  annexed  illustration  is  a  copy.  This 
is  believed  to  be  one  of  the  oldest  maps  extant  of  any  existing 
town  in  Maryland,  the  first  map  of  Annapolis  having  been 
lost,  it  is  said,  and  the  first  one  of  Baltimore  City  being  of 
about  the  same  date  (1730)  as  that  of  Leonard-Town.  On 
the  back  of  this  map,  and  inscribed  by  its  maker,  is  the  list 
of  persons  who  had  purchased  lots  in  the  town,  presumably 
between  1728,  when  it  was  laid  out,  and  1730,  when  the  map 
was  made. 

This  indicates,  that,  while  a  number  of  lots  had  been 
purchased,  there  was  in  the  town  at  that  time,  besides  the 
Court  House,  and  the  houses  of  Col.  Greenfield  and  Mr.  Brice, 
but  one  other  building — the  storehouse  of  Mr.  Nicholas  Lowe, 
standing  on  lots  Nos.  41  and  42,  though  it  likewise  indicates, 
that. all  the  other  lots  which  had  been  taken  up  were  then  being- 
built  upon,  except  lot  No.  39,  property  of  Jno.  Stewart. 

The  first  Court  House  at  Leonard-Town  was  built  between 
1708  and  1 7 10.  It  was  completed  by  the  latter  date,  and  was 
referred  to  by  the  General  Assembly  of  that  year,  as  the  "new 
Court  House  built  at  Seymour  Town,  otherwise  Sheppards 
Old  Fields".' 

In  1736,  it  was  pulled  down,  and  a  new  brick  building  was 
erected  on  the  same  site/  This  building,  well  remembered  by 
many  persons  still  living,  and  said  to  have  been  a  capacious, 
■well  proportioned  and  stately  structure,  stood  until  March, 
183 1,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  was  replaced  by  the 
present  Court  House.    The  first  County  Jail  in  Leonard-Town 

'Act,   1730,  C.  S- 

''It, is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Francis  V.  King. 

'  Act,  1710,  C.  6.  '  Act,  1636,  C.  14- 


SAINT     M  A  R  ^'  •  S     C  O  I'  X  T  V 


325 


was  built  uiulcr  the  Act  of  1737.' 
which  authorized  the  Justices  of  the 
county  to  puj-chase  the  necessary 
ground  for  the  same. 

In  T799,  the  Jail  was  reported 
in  a  "ruinous  condition,  and  unfit 
for  use",  and  it  was  ordered  to 
either  be  repaired  or  pulled  down 
and  rebuilt,  the  cost  not  to  exceed 
two  thousand  dollars.'^  The  latter 
course,  it  appears  was  adopted. 

An   ancient   land-mark   of  the 
original  town,  and  still  well  remem- 
bered,  was  the  quaint  little  build- 
ing known  as  the  ''Old  Brick  Of- 
fice",   which,    before    the    present 
Court  House  was  built,  was.  it  is 
said,  the  County  Clerk's  Office,  and 
the  Ofifice  of  the  Register  of  Wills. 
In  recent  years,  when 
the    main    avenue    of 
the    town    was    wid- 
ened, the  "Old  Brick 
Office"  was  left  stand- 
ing in  the  middle  of 
the  street,  thus  mak- 
ing   its    removal    ap- 
parently necessary.    It 
was  shortly  afterward 
pulled  down,  and  the 
material     used,    it     is 
said,  in   the  construc- 
tion   of    the    present    County    Jail. 
It     stood     in     front     of     '"'Moore's 


Act,  1737,  C.  6. 


Act.  1799.  C.  51- 


326  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

Hotel",  on  a  site  now  partly  covered  with  locust  trees  and  still 
perfectly  discernible. 

The  Saint  Mary's  County  "Alms  House"  was  erectt'd 
under  the  Act  of  1773.  A  levy,  not  exceeding  15  lbs.  of 
tobacco  per  poll,  for  three  years,  was  ordered  to  be  made  for 
the  purpose,  and  Messrs.  George  Plater,  Abraham  Barnes, 
Zachary  Bond,  John  Reeder,  and  James  Jordan,  the  incorpo- 
rators, were  directed  to  purchase  one  hundred  acres  of  land  as 
near  Leonard-Town  as  it  could  be  advantageously  obtained, 
have  the  necessary  buildings  erected  and  furnished,  and  to 
appoint  an  overseer ;  the  general  management  of  the  institu- 
tion to  remain  under  their  supervision.^  Having  purchased 
the  land  (located  about  three  miles  below  Leonard-Town),  the 
trustees  advertised  to  meet  on  September  22d,  1774,  at  Francis 
Smith's,  in  Leonard-Town,  to  receive  bids  for  putting  up  the 
building.' 

The  other  places  associated  with  the  early  annals  of  Saint 
Mary's  County,  and  which  were  denominated  "Towns",  were : 
"Harvey  Town",  on  the  Patuxent,  at  Town  Creek;  "Saint 
Joseph's  Town",  on  the  Patuxent,  at  Abbington  Creek;  "Saint 
Jerome's  Town",  on  Saint  Jerome's  Creek;  "New  Town", 
between  Saint  Clement's  Bay  and  Bretton's  Bay;  "Saint  Clem- 
ent's Town",  at  the  head  of  Saint  Clement's  Bay,  and  "Wicom- 
ico Town",  on  the  Wicomico  River,  between  White  Point 
(Island)  and  Bluff  Point.' 

These  towns  were  named  and  ordered  to  be  erected  by 
the  Legislature,  which  also  provided  for  the  purchase  of  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  for  each  of  them  and  the  appointment 
of  Commissioners  to  lay  them  out;  etc.  The  situation  of  each 
of  them  .was  eligible,  but  like  most  of  the  "paper  towns"  of 
Maryland  of  that  day,  they  never  exceeded  a  small  aggrega- 
tion of  houses,  and  have  so  far  perished  and  passed  away, 
that,  with  a  few  exceptions,  even  the  site  of  their  location  is 
not  to-day  susceptible  of  identification. 

'Act,  1773,  C.  18. 

''Maryland    Gap^ette,    September,    1774. 

"Acts,  1683,  C.  2;  1684,  C.  2;  1688,  C.  6;  1706,  C.  14;  Report  of 
Shcrifif,  1698. 


S  A  I  X  T     .M  A  R  V  '  S     C  O  L'  X  T  V  327 

"Lrowentown"  was  the  name  of  a  section  of  country  rather 
than  a  town,  and  was  that  which  lay  between  Trinity  Creek 
and  Point  Lookout,  incluchng  the  village  known  as  "Tall 
Pine".  It  is  said  that  Saint  Mary's  City  was  expected  to  de- 
velop into  a  town  of  "magnificent  proportions",  and  to  extend 
down  to  the  lower  part  of  the  county :  hence  the  name — a 
corruption  of  lower  end  of  the  town/ 

Chaptico.  or  Choptico  as  it  was  first  called,  enjoys  the 
distinction  of  being  the  oldest  "village",  except  Saint  Mary's 
City,  in  the  County.  Reference  to  it  is  found, as  early  as 
1652.'""  Chaptico  had  the  honor  of  a  visit  from  Governor 
Calvert  in  1663,''  and  is  otherwise  noted  in  the  early  annals  of 
Maryland,  as  the  place  at  which  the  soldiers  were  mustered  in, 
and  the  army  organized  for  the  "Protestant  Revolution"  in 
Maryland,  and  which,  in  July,  1689.*  resulted  in  the  capture 
of  the  provincial  capital,  the  overthrow  of  the  Proprietary  and 
'  the  establishment  of  a  royal  government  in  the  Province.* 

In  a  letter  from  the*  Council  of  Safety  of  Maryland,  of 
June  13th,  1778,  to  Captain  Bennett  Matthews,  he  is  directed 
to  proceed  with  his  galley  to  Chaptico  warehouse  and  receive 
of  Captain  John  Thomas,  who  lived  within  a  mile  of  it,  the  pro- 
visions that  he  has  purchased  *  If  the  galley  will  take 
more  than  Captain  Thomas  has,  take  so  much  of  the  Conti- 
nental provision  at  Llewellyn's  warehouse  (at  Brambly)  as 
will  make  up  your  load.  You  ^re  then  to  proceed  to  the  head 
of  the  Elk  with  the  provisions  as  soon  as  you  can." 

The  "Queen  Tree",  situated  on  the  Patuxent  River,  near 
Forrest's  wharf  was  also  a  Colonial  village  of  very  early 
date,  and  of  no  inconsiderable  importance.  It  has  long  since 
disappeared,  except  in  name,  but  the  estate  on  which  it  stood 

'  Allen    Papers,   in    Whittingham    Library. 

^Archives    (CI.  Pro.   1652)   p.  29.V 

•'Ibid,  Ass.  Pro.  1663,  p.  474-  '  I'jid,  CI.  Pro.  1689,  p.   121. 

Mn  1660,  the  King  of  Chaptico  was  indicted  by  the  Court  Leet  of 
Saint  Clement's  Manor  for  stealing  hogs.  Deeming  it  however,  incon- 
sistant  with  his  official  standing  to  try  the  case  in  a  Court  Leet,  it  was 
referred  to  "ye  Hon^-'e  ye  Gov'',  (Saint  Clement's  Court  Records).     In 

"Journal  of  Correspondence  of  Council  of  Safety,  I7~.S,  p.  134. 


328  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

is  still  called  the  "Queen  Tree  Farm".  As  late  as  1774,  it 
was  still  a  "trading  post",  and  the  place  where  public  sales 
of  property  in  the  neighborhood  were  usually  conducted/  A 
few  miles  below,  on  the  Three  Notched  Road,  was  the  old 
"wayside  inn",  known  as  "Floyd's".  It  was  standing  in 
1813/  and  the  place  of  its  location  still  bears  the  name. 

The  following  are  the  ports  or  places  of  entry  in  Saint 
Mary's  County,  established  from  time  to  time,  by  Act  of 
Assembly,  and  where  all  imported  goods  and  wares  coming  to 
the  County,  were  required  to  be  unloaded,  and  all  tobacco  and 
other  commodities  to  be  exported  had  to  be  taken  for  inspec- 
tion and  payment  of  export  duty:  Saint  Mary's  City;  Saint 
Inigoes,  on  Stephen  Milburn's  land ;  Saint  George's,  on  Gil- 
bert Mackey's  land ;  Leonard-Town,  on  Abrahams  Barnes' 
land;  New  Town,  on  William  Bretton's  land;  Bretton's  Bay,, 
on  John  Bailey's  land ;  Wicomico  River,  on  John  Llewellin's 
land:  Indian  Town,  on  his  Lordships  Manor;  Chaptico,  on 
Philip  Keys  land ;  Westwood,  on  Thomas  Gerrards  land ;  Piles 
Fresh,  on  Joseph  Piles  land;  (the  two  latter  in  Saint  Mary's 
County  until  1695)  Hamburg,  on  Philip  Keys  land;  Cole's 
Creek,  on  the  Patuxent,  Mr.  Cole's  land;  Harvey  Town,  on 
Town  Creek,  on  Hugh  Hopewell's  land,  and  Saint  Joseph's, 
at  Abbington  Creek,  on  the  Patuxent.^ 

The  old  brick  "ware  houses",  which  were  erected  at 
these  ports,  and  which  stood  as  monuments  to  the  shipping 
trade  of  the  past,  for  many  years  after  they  ceased  to  be  used 

1688,  complaint  w^s  made  to  Lord  Baltimore  by  the  King  of  Chaptico 
against  Francis  Knott  and  others,  for  "destroying  the  corn  and  beans  of 
the  Indians"  and  for  "bringing  strong  drink  into  said  Chaptico  town." 
(Archives,  CI.  Pro.  53).  The  Chapticons  was  one  of  the  six  tribes  of 
Indians  that  Lord  Baltimore  proposed  to  settle  on  Calverton  Manor 
containing  about  10,000  acres,  but  his  plan  of  colonization  appears  to 
have  proven  entirely  impracticable,  as  in  1692,  a  formal  treaty  was  en- 
tered into  between  Governor  Copley  and  "Tom  Calvert,  King  of  Chap- 
tico," defining  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  latter  over  his  ancient 
domain.  Bozman,  676;  Archives  (Pro.  CI.  321.)  As  to  this  Manor,  see 
chapters  on  The  Land  Tenure. 

'  Maryland  Gazette. 

"Griffith's    Map    of    Maryland.  -  ''Bacon;    Hanson. 


S  A  1  X  T     M  A  R  ^•  •  S     CO  V  X  T  Y 


329 


for  the' purpose  of  their  construction,  liave  all  yielded  to  the 
ravages  of  time  and  have  passed  away.  Several  of  them,  iiow- 
ever,  were  still  standing  within  the  recollection  of  persons  still 
living,  among  them,  the  one  at  Brambly  on  the  Wicomico,  at 
the  warehouse  farm  in  Saint  Georges  and  at  Town  Creek  on 
the   Patuxent. 

The  first  public  road  in  Saint  Mary's  County  of  which 
there  is  any  record,  is  the  one  leading  from  Saint  Mary's  City 
to  the  Patuxent.  It  "was  called  the  "Mattapany  Path",  and 
was  referred  to  as  early  as  1639.'  In  1643  it  was  stated  by 
Father  Philip  Fisher,  the  priest  in  charge  at  Saint  Mary's, 
in  a  letter  to  his  Provincial,  that  "a  road  by  land  through  the 
forest  has  just  been  opened  from  Maryland  to  \^irginia."' 
This  is  interesting  as  showing  the  existence  of  a  road  'however 
impossible  to  identify  it  from  so  scant  a  reference.  In  1674. 
an  Act  was  passed  "for  amending  the  ways  out  of  Charles 
County  into  the  City  of  Saint  Mary's",  and  which,  after 
reciting  the  fact  that  the  crossing  at  the  head  of  the  Wicomico 
River  had  been  rendered  dangerous  "since  the  building  of  the 
mill  there",  provided  that  the  Counties  of  Charles  and  Saint 
]\Iary's  should  construct  a  highway  "passable  for  horse  and 
foote  over  such  place  of  Zachiah  swamp  within  two  miles  of 
said  mill  upward  as  shall  seem  most  convenient".'  The  road 
thus  referred  to  was  probably  the  one  which  still  leads  from 
Charles  County  to  Saint  Mary's  J3y  way  of  Allen's  Fresh,  Chap- 
tico  and  Leonard-Town.  An  early  reference  is  also  made  to 
a  road  leading  from  Saint  Clement's  Manor,  by  way  of  the 
"Wolf's  Trap"  and  "Ironstone  Hill"  to  Chaptico.  It  was 
called  the  "Chaptico  Indian  Path".'  The  road  leading  from 
Point  Lookout  to  the  northern  extremity  of  the  county  was 
in  use  as  early  as  1692,  and  was  then  called  the  "Patux- 
ent main  road".'  In  1704,  this,  in  common  with  certain  other 
roads  in  the"  Province,  was  bv  order  of  the  General  Assembly* 


"Patent  to  Mary  Throughton,    1639,   Liber,    i,  p.  67. 

=  Neiirs  Maryland,  p.  49-  'Archives  (.^ss.  Pro.  1674)  p.  408. 

*Will.  Luke  Gardiner,  1703.  Saint  Mary's  County. 

^Arcliivcs  (CI.  Pro.  1692)   p.  475-  "Act.  1704.  C.  21. 


330  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

marked  by  having  notches  cut  in  the  trees  at  stated  intervals 
along  the  road.  The  number  of  notches  for  this  road,  it  being 
the  one  that  led  "to  the  Port  of  Annapolis",  was  three,'  and 
from  these  primitive  guide  marks,  some  of  which  may  still  be 
seen — it  was  called  the  "Three  Notched  Road"  the  name  it 
bears  to-day. 

The  first  mail  route  established  in  Maryland  was  in  1695. 
It  started  at  "Newton's  Point  upon  Wicomico  River"  and 
extended  by  way  of  Allen's  Mill",  Benedict,  Annapolis  and 
Newcastle  to  Philadelphia.  The  post  rider  was  John  Perry, 
who  received  £50  per  annum,  and  was  required  to  make  the 
round  trip  eight  times  a  year."  It  is  stated  that  the  system 
did  not  pay,  and  after  the  death  of  the  first  postman,  in  1698, 
ceased  to  be  carried  on,  and  was  not  afterwards  revived.''  But 
that  it  was  revived  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  in  1773,  Charles, 
Lansdale  had  the  contract  for  the  mail  route  between  Leonard- 
Town  and  Annapolis,  and  advertised  to  receive  orders  at  the 
various  stopping  places  for  purchases  on  commission.'  These 
places  in  Saint  Mary's  were  James  Jordan's,  Wicomico  and 
Chaptico." 

Prior  to  1661,  letters  were  sent  in  Maryland  by  private 
hand  or  special  messenger,  or  were  left  at  the  nearest  tavern 
or  public  house  to  be  sent  by  the  first  conveyance  which  the 
landlord  found  available,  but  by  Act  of  Assembly,  of  that 
year,"  all  "letters  touching  the  public  afifairs"  of  the  Prov- 
ince, were,  "without  delay,  to  be  sent  from  house  to  house 
by  the  direct  way,  until  they  be  safely  delivered  as  directed". 
Each  householder  was  required  to  start  it  to  the  next  house, 
within  half  an' hour  after  receiving  it,  under  penalty  of  100  fts. 
of  tobacco. 

In  1713,  this  curious  system  was  abolished,  and  the  duty 
devolved  upon  the  Sheriffs  of  the  several  counties,  who  were 
required  to  "take  care  of  all  public  letters  and  packets,  and 
to   expeditiously  convey  them,   according  to  their  respective 

Mbid.  -Journal   U.   H.   1695,  p.  809;   Scharf,   i,  p.   361. 

'■"  McMahon,  p.  266.  '  Maryland  Gazette,  April  14,  1773. 

Mbid.  ■   '''Archives    (Ass.'  Pro.   1661)    p.  415. 


S  A  I  X  T     M  A  R  \'  •  S     C  ( )"  L'  X  T  Y  33 1 

directions,  to  the  Sheriff  or  L'luler  Sheriff'  of  the  next  adjacent 
county",'  for  which  the  Sheriff  of  Saint  Mary's  County  re- 
ceived as  compensation,  800  tbs.  of  tobacco.*" 

These  Acts  of  Assembly,  however,  only  applied  to  letters 
of  a  public  character.  For  the  conveyance  of  private  letters, 
no  provision  was  made  until  1695.  when  the  mail  route  before 
mentioned,  was  established;  and,  in  1713,"  it  was  made,  for 
the  first  time,  a  penal  offense  in  Maryland,  to  open  a  letter 
without  authority. 

Among-  the  older  land-niark>  in  the  county,  are  it>  "an- 
cient mill  seats".  Recognized  as  a  public  necessity,  water 
mills,  from  an  early  date,  were  made  in  Maryland,  the  subject 
of  special  legislation,  granting  to  the  owner  unusual  privileges, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  imposing  wholesome  restrictions  upon 
tiiem.  among  others  the  right  to  obtain  through  a  Court  of 
.Chancery,  ten  acres  of  land  on  each  side  of  the  stream  where 
the  mill  was  to  be  located,  and  making  it  a  misdemeanor  to 
charge  more  toll  than  one-sixth  for  corn  and  one-eighth  for 
wheat.* 

Of  the  mills  erected  in  Saint  Mary's  at  an  early  date,  the 
exact  location  of  many  of  them  is  still  perfectly  discernible. 
Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  mill  on  "Mill  Creek",  at 
St.  Mary's  City,  and  which  was  there  as  early  as  1634 ; 
Dandy's  mill,  at  Xewtown.  there  before  1657;  Lord  Baltimore's 
mill,  on  "Gardiner's  Creek",  at  'Mattapany,  there  before  1690 ; 
the  mill  on  "Tomakokin  Creek",  on  Saint  Clement's  Manor, 
there  before  1701  ;  the  mill  at  head  of  Saint  Mary's  River,  at 
"Great  Mills",  there  before  1728:  Major  Barnes"  mill  on 
"Bretton's  Bay  Run",  above  the  "Plank  Bridge",  there  be- 
fore 1748;  Keys  mill  on  "Saint  Clement's  Bay  Run",  tliere  l)e- 
fore  1764:  Bond's  mill  on  "Chaptico  Run",  there  before  1774: 
the  "over  shot  water  mill",  at  "Charlotte  Hall",  there  before 
1775  ;  Tubman's  mill,  at  the  head  of  "Trinity  (  Smith's)  Creek", 
there   before    18 13.'     Wind    mills   also,    were   not    uncommon 


'Act,  1 71.1.  C.  2.  'Ibid. 

'Ibid.  'Act.  1704.  C.   16. 

■•Relation  of   Maryland.    16.^5:  .\rcliivis    (Test.   Pro.   1657)    pp.  5.15. 

^,V.  Archives  (Pro.  CI.  1600)  iS-':  Will.  J-hn  Coodc:  Will.  Pliilip  Key: 


332  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

in  early  Maryland.  Several  of  these  old  relics,  in  appearance 
like  watch  towers,  zealously  guarding  the  past,  were  to  be 
seen  in  Saint  Mary's  up  to  a  very  recent  date.  The  last  of 
them  standing  were  at  "New  Town",  "Saint  Clement's  Manor", 
and  "Corn  Field  Harbor",  but  they,  like  their  companions, 
have  at  last  yielded  to  that  ruthless  plunderer — time." 

The  first  will  probated  in  Saint  Mary's  County,  was  dated 

Will,  Zack  Bond;  Act,  1748,  C.  4;  Maryland  Gazette,  September  15th, 
1774;  Map,  Maryland,   1813,   Griffith. 

^  On  the  road  leading  from  Leonard-Town  to  Chaptico  and  about 
fifty  yards  above  the  "plank  bridge"  over  the  fresh  of  Bretton's  Bay, 
was  the  old  ford,  or  crossing  place.  A  few  rods  west  of  the  ford,  and 
about  the  same  distance  from  the  bridge,  on  the  east  side  of  the  road, 
stands  a  small  house  on  a  little  hill,  and  which  is  known  as  "Gibbet 
Hill."  It  is  said  that  the  last  execution  there  was  of  a  negro  man,  for 
the  murder  of  a  lady  and  her  two  daughters.    The  scene  of  the  tragedy 

was  the  residence ,  which  stood  on  the  Saint  Joseph's  branch  of 

the  same  road,  a  short  distance  above  Shanks'  Mill,  and  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  north  of  the  "Maryland  Spring."  As  the  story  is  recorded, 
during  the  absence  of  his  master,  a  negro  man,  Peter,  believing  that  by 
the  death  of  the  family  his  freedom  would  be  obtained,  murdered  his 
mistress  and  her  two  daughters,  and  when  caught  was  lying  in  wait  for 
his  master,  who  was  at  Shanks'  Mill,  and  his  two  sons  who  were  at 
school,  near  by.  After  his  trial  and  conviction,  Peter  was  taken  to  "Gib- 
bet Hill"  for  execution.  Tradition  says  that  he  was  hung  up  in  an  iron 
cage,  in  front  of  the  public  road,  and  there  left  to  die  from  starvation. 
It  is  also  said  that  the  screams  of  this  starving  criminal  were  so  dis- 
tressing, that  many  persons  refused  to  travel  the  road.  The  good 
sense  of  the  community  revolted  at  the  inhumanity  of  such  a  method 
of  punishment,  and  Peter,  it  is  said,  was  the  last  criminal  in  Saint 
Mary's  County  who  died  on  the  Gibbet.— Saint  Mary's,  Beacon,  Feb- 
ruary, 24th,  1853.  There  are  many  traditions  in  old  Saint  Mary's  con- 
nected with  the  early  settlement  of  the  State,  and  with  times  of  a  later 
date,  which  if  collected  and  published,  w6uld  be  of  great  interest. 
Hardly  a  neighborhood  but  has  its  old  story  to-be  recounted  by  some 
old  dame  of  a  past  generation.  The  old  people  are  passing  away,  and 
these  old  legends  with  them.  It  would  be  well,  while  yet  time,  for 
some  lover  of  legendary  lore  to  gather  these  old  legends  and  preserve 
them  from  irretrievable  loss.  An  Irving  would  have  found  in  them  rich 
material ;  and  but  for  some  humble  chronicler  that  great  "Wizard  of 
the  North"  could  not  have  given  to  the  world  his  immortal  master- 
pieces.—J.  F.  Morgan,  in  "St.  Mary's  Beacon."' 


S  A  I  X  T     M  A  R  V  '  S     C  O-  U  X  T  V 


333 


September  22nd,  1635.  The  caption  is  as  follows:  "The  last 
will  and  Testament  of  ]\lr.  William  Smith,  made  at  Augusta 
Carolina,  at  Saint  Mary's  City,  in  .Maryland,  anno  dmi  1635". 
The  document  indicates  careful  preparation,  and  strongly  marks 
the  religious  faith  of  the  testator,  at  that  day  not  an  uncom- 
mon custom.  The  clause  making  reference  to  this  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

"And  further  I  profess  that  I  die  a  member  of  the  Catholic 
Roman  Church,  out  of  wch  there  is  noe  salvation".  As  a 
counterpart  to  this,  the  will  of  Thomas  Allen,  made  soon  there- 
after, indicates  very  different  rehgious  convictions.  It  provides 
that  the  overseers  of  his  will  are  not  to  allow  his  children  "to 
live  with  a  papist".  In  making  further  provision  for  his  chil- 
dren, he  directed,  that,  if  his  estate  proved  insufficient  to  main- 
tain them,  and  it  should  be  necessary  to  put  them  out  to  work, 
they  "should  not  be  put  to  the  mortar",  or  made  "mortar  boys", 
thus  showing  the  hard  labor  attending  the  then  common  pro- 
cess of  converting  corn  into  meal  and  hominy.  On  the  back 
of  his  will  and  of  even  date,  he  curiously  requests  that,  should 
he  "die  suddenly,  and  the  cause  be  not  directly  known,  speedy 
inquiry  be  made,  and  that  Xick  and  Marks,  Irishmen,  at  Piny 
Neck,  be  questioned  as  suspicious  persons  to  me  best  known". 
This  singular  feature  of  his  will  seems  to  have  been  the  re-' 
suit  of  well  founded  apprehension,  rather  than  a  mere  ex- 
centricity,  since  shortly  afterward  he  was  "found  dead  upon 
the  sands  by  Point  Lookout  in  Saint  Xicholas  Manor,  badly 
shot  and  mutilated".' 

As  reflecting  upon  the  interesting  question  of  Colonial  life, 
business  pursuits,  dress,  furniture,  etc.,  the  early  wills  and 
inventories  of  Saint  Mary's — an  unbroken  record  from  1680  to 
the  present  time — are  among  the  richest  repositories  of  "his- 
toric lore"  to  be  foujid  in  Maryland,  and  are  of  inestimable 
value. 

In  the  matter  of  dress — then  a  decide<l  badge  of  rank  and 
station  in  life — they  furnished  a  ready  key.  The  "cloth  suit", 
"dimitv  suit",  "mohair  >uit".  "leathern  suit",  "hair  skin  suit". 

■  'Archives   (Pro.  Ct.   1637)  403- 


334  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

"plush  coats",  silk  and  satin  "waiscoats",  dimity  and  velvet 
"waiscoats",  silk  "socks",  Irish,  Dutch  and  Holland  "socks"  ; 
silver,  gold,  cloth  and  leather  "belts"  ;  silver  and  gold  "knee" 
and  "shoe  buckles" ;  silver,  gold  and  leather  "hat  bands"  ;  hat 
^'feathers"  and  "plumes" ;  silk  and  worsted  "hoods",  "head 
cloths"  and  "scharfs" ;  "spangled  peticoats" :  tufted  Holland 
peticoats ;  "taffeta  suits";  "surge  suits";  "silk  gloves";  "buck- 
skin gloves" ;  "signet  rings"  and  "finger  rings",  are  among  the 
articles  of  wearing  apparel  used  by  men  and  women  during 
the  first  fifty  years  of  Colonial  life  in  Saint  Mary's.  Later 
reference  to  "watches",  and  still  later  to  "wigs",  is  to  be 
found. 

In  the  matter  of  furniture,  table  appointments,  etc.,  may 
be  mentioned,  the  "parlor  bed"  ;  "trundle  bed" ;  the  "dresser"  ; 
the  "chest  of  drawers";  the  "looking  glass";  later  the  "peir 
glass"  and  still  later  the  "chimney  glass" ;  silk  and  worsted 
"bed  curtains" ;  beds,  pillows  and  boulsters  with  "conuise 
ticking"  and  filled  with  "feathers",  "flock"  or  "cat  tail";  Dutch 
linen  "sheets"  and  "napkins" ;  "Holland  Blankets" ;  "dimity 
coverlets";  "quilted  coverlets";  "Turkish  rugs";  "forms"; 
"crickets";  "stools"  and  "chairs"  (the  latter  not  common); 
the  "harpsicord"  and  "spinnet",  the  "joined  dining  table"  ;  brass 
and  iron  "and-irons" ;  silver,  brass  and  iron  "candlesticks" ; 
"silver  salvers" ;  "iron  knives" ;  "silver  knives" ;  wooden 
"dishes"  ;  and  "platters" ;  the  "silver  sack  cup" ;  "sugar  tank- 
ard" ;  "tea  tankard"  ;  "pewter  plates" ;  "pewter  dishes" ;  "pew- 
ter cups  and  saucers"  ;  "pewter  salt  sellers" ;  "pewter  spoons", 
and  pewter  household  vessels  of  almost  every  description.  It 
is  worthy  of  note,  that  the  reign  of  pewter  in  early  Maryland 
was  practically  unbroken  for  the  first  forty  years,  when  the 
silver  service  made  its  appearance,  and  still  later,  with  the  in- 
troduction of  tea  and  coffee,  came  china  cups  and  saucers,  and 
soon  full  sets  of  porcelain  table  ware.  Occasional  references 
are  to  be  found  to  the  "sedan  chair",  the  "bladen"  and  the 
"horse  chair",  but  it  curiously  appears  that  neither  the  table 
fork  or  the  plow  are  mentioned  in  the  testamentar\-  proceed- 


S  A  1  X  T     M  A  R  >•  •  S     CO  U  N  T  Y 


335 


ings  of  Saint  ^[ary"s  County  dnrini,^  the  first  eighty  years  of 
its  history. 

On  the  3rd  of  December  1773,  the  Maryland  Gazette  pro- 
posed and  pubHshed  a  plan  for  consolidating  into  one  institu- 
tion the  free  schools  of  Southern  Maryland,  of  which  each 
County  had  one.* 

The  following  year,  a  similar  plan,  but  embracing  only 
the  Counties  of  Saint  Mary's,  Charles  and  Prince  George,  was 
urged  upon  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland  and  passed'— 
the  origin  of  Charlotte  Hall.-  The  Act  provided  for  the  sale 
of  the  lands  and  houses  of  the  free  schools  in  the  three 
Counties,  the  proceeds  to  be  added  to  the  "sums  of  money 
which  sundry  persons  have  subscribed  to  further  the  com- 
mendable purpose",  as  well  as  the  money  then  in  the  hands 
of  the  visitors  of  the  free  schools  for  said  counties,'  and  that 
with  said  several  sums  of  money,  "one  school  be  erected  at  the 
place   commonly   called    the   Cool  Sf>ri]igs,   in    Saint    Mary's 


'  The  first  general  school  system  in  Maryland  was  inaugurated  un- 
der the  Act  of  1723,  which  provided  for  one  school  in  each  County; 
each  school  to  be  governed  by  a  board  of  seven  visitors,  who  were  to 
purchase  100  acres  of  land  as  near  the  centre  of  their  respective  Coun- 
ties as  practicable,  and  with  due  regard  to  the  boarding  of  children, 
and  were  to  have  the  necessary  buildings  erected  and  employ  a  compe- 
tent teacher  of  "grammar,  good  writing  and  arithmetic"  who  was  to 
have  the  use  of  the  farm  and  to  receive  the  sum  of  £20  sterling  per  an- 
num. The  visitors  appointed  under  the  Act  of  Saint  Mary's  County, 
were  Rev.  Leigh  Massey  and  Messrs.  James  Bowles,  Nicholas  Lowe, 
Samuel  Wilkinson,  Thomas  Waughop,  Thomas  Trueman  Greenfield  and 
Justinian  Jordan.  (Act,  1723,  C.  19).  ^s  early  as  1671,  an  effort  was 
made  to  establish  through  the  Legislature,  a  "public  educational  insti- 
tution" in  Maryland,  but  it  was  not  successful/  In  1694.  however,  an 
act  was  passed  "for  the  maintenance  of  free  schools"  and  the  following 
year  another  was  passed  "for  the  encouragement  of  learning,"  both  of 
which  provided  a  "school  fund,"  to  be  raised  l)y  an  export  duty  on  furs, 
etc.  In  1704  and  again  in  1717,  this  duty  was  extended  to  other  articles, 
and  in  I7i9'an  Act  was  passed  giving  to  the  public  "school  fund"  the 
estates  of  persons  who  died  in  the  Province  intestate  .and  without 
known  legal  representatives.  In  addition,  certain  fines  and  forfeitures 
went  to  the  "school  fund."  From  these  various  sources  a  fund  had  been 
accumulated  by  1723,  sufficiently  large  to  purchase  a  farm  of  100  acres 
and  erect  a  school  in  each  of  the  twelve  Counties  in  the  Trovince. 

^Act,  1774.  C.  14. 


336  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

County,  to  be  called  Charlotte  Hall".  The  institution  was  to 
be  governed  by  a  president  and  twenty-one  trustees,  who  were 
created  a  body  politic,  with  right  of  succession,  of  whom  fif- 
teen were  to  constitute  a  quorum,  reduced  in  1777^  to  seven, 
and  in  1783  to  five.^ 

In  1798,  the  school  fund  of  Calvert  was  united  to  Char- 
lotte Hall.  This  County  thus  acquired  the  right  to  participate 
in  its  management,  and  became  entitled  to  a  representation  of 
seven  in  its  Board  of  Trustees,^  subsequently,  however,  the 
funds  which  belonged  both  to  Calvert  and  Prince  George  were 
withdrawn  from  Charlotte  Hall  for  the  exclusive  use  of  those 
Counties,  thus  leaving  the  control  of  the  institution  to  Charles 
and  Saint  Mary's. 

One  of  the  first  official  acts  of  the  Trustees,  was  an  efifort 
to  get  a  water  mill  built  there,  as  will  appear  from  the  follow- 
ing advertisement:  "To  let.  to  the  lowest  bidder,  at  the  Cool 
Springs  in  Charlotte  Hall,  on  Tuesday,  the  fourth  day  of 
October,  1774.  The  building  of  an  overshot  water  mill  at  said 
place.  A  full  meeting  of  the  Trustees  for  Charlotte  Hall,  is 
earnestly  requested".  Henry  Tubman,  Clerk.*  The  actual  ope- 
ration of  the  school  commenced  in  1796.^ 

Few  institutions  have  established  a  higher  record  for  honor 
and  usefulness,  than  Charlotte  Hall ;  none  has  contributed  more 
in  moulding  the  character  and  shaping  the  destiny  of  the  youth 
of  Maryland,  and  the  splendid  results  which  it  has  achieved 
in  its  labors  of  more  than  a  century,  may  well  be  a  source  of 
pride  and  gratification  to  the  people  of  the  State." 

'Act,   1777,  C.  3.  '  "Act,   1783,  C.   19. 

^  Act,  1798,  C. '92.  *  Maryland  Gazette,  September  22,  1774. 

°  School   Records. 

'The  first  Board  of  Trustees  of  Charlotte  Hall,  was  composed  of 
Governor  Robert  Eden,  president;  Hon.  George  Plater,  Rev.  George 
Gowndrill,  John  Reeder,  Thomas  Bond,  Richard  Barnes,  Philip  Key, 
and  Henry  Greenfield  Sotherbn,  for  Saint  Mary's ;  Rev.  Isaac  Campbell, 
Richard  Lee,  William  Smallwood,  Francis  Ware,  Josias  Hawkins, 
George  Dent  and  Dr.  James  Craig,  for  Charles ;  Hon.  Benedict  Cal- 
vert, Rev.  Henry  Addison,  Josiah  Beall,  Robert  Tyler,  Joseph  Sim. 
Thomas  Contee,  and  Dr.  Richard  Brooke,  for  Prince  George.      (Act, 


SAINT     .MARY'S     C  O  U  X  'J'  Y 


337 


■  In  1798,  the  General  Assembly  made  Charlotte  Hall  the 
subject  of  a  perpetual  endowment.  The  Act  provides  that  the 
Treasurer  of  Maryland,  "shall  be  forever  hereafter,  authorized 
and  required  to  pay  annually,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 
June,  to  the  president  and  trustees  of  Charlotte  Hall,  the  sum 
of  eight  hundred  dollars"/ 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note,  tliat  the  "Cool  Springs",  at 
which  this  early  and  successful  seat  of  Academic  learning  is 
located,  are  the  oldest  known  medicinal  springs  in  Maryland, 
and  became  historic  in  the  very  early  annals  of  the  Province. 

As  early  as  1698,  Governor  Francis  Nicholson,  "having 
received  an  account  of  some  extraordinary  cures  wrought  at  ye 
Cool  Springs",  in  order  that  their  beneficial  properties  might 
be  availed  of  by  all  persons,  the  legislature  appointed  trustees 
"to  purchase  the  land  adjoining  to  ye  Fountains  of  Healing 
w^aters,  called  ye  Cool  Spring,  in  Saint  Mary's  County,  for 
houses  to  be  build  on  for  ye  entertainment  of  such  poor,  im- 
potent persons  as  should  resort  hither  for  cure".'' 

An  appropriation  of  iioo  s.  was  made,''  a  building  was 
erected,  bibles  and  prayer-books  were  furnished  and  a  lay- 
reader  appointed,  who  was  to  read  prayers  twice  a  week,  for 
which  he  was  to  receive  twelve  pence  per  day.  "His  Excel- 
lency is  also  pleased  to  allow  to  the  said  people,  every  Sunday, 
a  mutton,  and  as  much  corn  as  will  amount  to  thirteen  shillings 
a  week".^     It  was  also  "ordered,  that,  the  person  who  reads 

1774,  C.  14.)  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Principals  of  Charlotte  Hall 
from  the  beginning  of  its  operations  to  the  present  time  :■  Rev.  Hatch 
Dent,  elected  1796;  Rev.  George  Ralph,  1799;  Hugh  Maguire.  1809; 
Dennis  Don  Levy,  1810;  Rev.  William  Duke,  1812;  Rev.  John  Ireland, 
1813;  Nathaniel  K.  G.  Oliver,  1815;  John  Wade,  1816:  Philip  Briscoe, 
1817;  John  Miltimore,  1826;  Philip  Briscoe,  1837;  Dr.  Charles  Kraitsir, 
1840,  Rev.  George  Claxton,  1842;  Rev.  Samuel  Callahan,  1846;  N.  F.  D. 
Brown,  1852;  Herbert  Thompson,  1875;  William  T.  Briscoe,  chairman, 
1877;  R.  W;  Silvester,  1887;  George  M.  Thomas,  1892.  The  following 
is  also  a  list  of  the  Presidents  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  within  the 
same  period:    Right  Rev.  Thomas  John  Claggett,   1796;   Dr.   Parnam, 

'Act,   1798,  C.  107.  'Act,  1698,   C.  16. 

'  Scharf,  i,  p.  .364.  '.-Mien's  MSS.  in  Whittingham  Library. 


338  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

prayers  take  an  account  of  what  persons  come  thither,  who 
are  cured,  and  of  what  distempers"/ 

Governor  Nathaniel  Blackistone  subsequently  alluded  to 
the  subject  in  an  address  to  the  General  Assembly,  in  which, 
after  enumerating  the  many  blessings  for  which  the  people 
should  be  thankful,  he  added,  "and  for  restoring  health  to  us 
and  blessing  us  with  several  beneficial  and  healing  springs  of 
water,  called  the  Cool  Springs,  which  by  His  blessing,  have 
wrought  many  wonderful  and  signal  cures".' 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  noted,  that  "ye  Fountain 
of   Healing   Water"   still   flows,   and   doubtless   possesses   the 

1799;  Major  William  Thomas,  1812;  John  Campbell,  1813;  Luke  W. 
Barber,  1826 ;  George  Thomas,  1837 ;  Gen.  William  Matthews,  1852 ; 
Gen.  Walter  Mitchell,  1857;  Col.  Chapman  Billingsley,  1871;  Col.  John 
Henry  Sotheron,  1875,  and  Col.  John  F.  Dent. 

The  "Washington  Society,"  organized  February  22nd,  1797;  whose 
membership  is  composed  of  students  elected  from  Charlotte  Hall,  enjoys 
the  proud  distinction,  it  is  said,  of  being  the  oldest  surviving  literary 
and  debating  society  in  Maryland.  On  its  list  of  members  may  be  found 
the  names  of  many  of  Maryland's  most  distinguished  sons.  Motto : 
"Palmam  qui  meruit  ferat."  On  October  24th,  1871,  the  "Stonewall 
Society"  was  united  with  it,  and  since  then  it  has  been  known  as  the 
"Washington  and  Stonewall  Society."  The  Society  library  contains 
about  two  thousand  volumes,  and  among  them,  are  some  rare  and  valu- 
able works. 

*  The  following  is  the  record  of  the  first  proceedings  of  the  Com- 
missioners appointed  to  execute  this  Act. 

"November  ye  24th  1698 

"At  a  meeting  at  ye  coole  Springs  by  Col :  John  Coarts  Esqr. 
Captn  :  Philip:  Hoskins  :  Captn  :  James  :_  Keech  :  Captn  :  John:  Beane: 
Captn:  Jacob:  Moorelan.  and  Captn:  Ben  Halle,  appointed  trustees 
by  act  of  Assembly  for  ye  purchasing  of  fifty  Acres  of  Land  of  Captn : 
John :  Dent :  or  anny  other  person  interrested  in  ye  Sd :  Land  whereon 
ye  Sd :  Springs  or  fountains  of  healing  waters  doth-  lye.  for  the  settleing 
and  building  of  a  house  uppon  ye  Sd:  Land;  wherein  ye  sd :  foun- 
tains should  be  included  according  to  ye  sd :  act  to  them  directed  they 
ye  sd :  trustees  in  pursuance  with  ye  sd.  act.  did  at  ye  sd.  meeting  treat 
with  ye  sd :  Captn :  John :  Dent :  &  ye  sd.  Captn  :  John :  Dent :  did  make- 
appear  before  them  that  ye  interest  lay  in  him ;   whereuppon  ye  sade 

-  Scharf.   Vol.    i,   p.   364. 


S  A  1  X  T     M  A  R  ^"  S     ('  f )  r  X  T  Y  339 

same  virtue  and  efficacy   which   jj^ave  to  thein   their  early   re- 
nown. 

The  delegates  from  Saint  Mary's  County  to  the  several 
Provincial  Conventions  of  Maryland,  which  sounded  the  key- 
note of  the  American  Revolution,  signed  the  famous  articles 
"Association  of  the  Freemen  of  Maryland"  and  established 
the  "Council  of  Safety"  as  the  Provincial  Government  of  the 
State,  were  Abraham  Barnes,  Henry  Greenfield  Sotheron  and 
Jeremiah  Jordan,  June  1774:  John  Allan  Thomas,  Richard 
Barnes,  Jeremiah  Jordan  and  John  DeButts.  December.  1774; 
same  in  July  1775,  with  John  Reeder,  Jr..  in  place  of  John 
Allan  Thomas;  same  in  December  1775,  with  John  Allen 
Thomas,  in  place  of  John  Reeder.  Jr.:  (3eorge  Plater,  Richard 
Barnes.  John  Reeder,  Jr.,  and  Athanasius  Ford,  May  1776; 
same  in  June  1776,  with  Jeremiah  Jordan  in  addition;  same  in 
August  1776.  with  Ignatius  Fenwick.  in  place  of  Mr.   Ford.' 

Saint  Mary's  was  quick  to  respond  to  the  suggestion  to 
elect  a  "Committee  of  Safety"  and  "Correspondence"  for  the 
County,  and  the  following  is  the  record  of  the  meeting  for 
that  purpose,  held  December  23rd,   1775: 

"S.MXT  Mary's  County. 
"On  public  notice  being  given   for  the  gentlemen,   free- 
holders and  others,  of  the  sai(i  County  to  meet  at  the  Court 
House,  at  Leonard-Town,  on  Friday,  the  twenty-third  day  of 
December  last.     Met  agreeable  to  said  notification  a  consider- 


trustees  did  buy  and  purchase  of  him  ye  sd :  Dent  fifty  Acres  of  the 
sade  Land  wherein  ye  sd :  Springs  or  fountains  of  healing  waters  weere 
included  in  compliance  with  the  sd :  Act  of  Assembly  to  them  ye  sd : 
trustees  directed  for  which  sd :  fifty  Acres  of.  Land,  they  ye  sd : 
trustees  weere  to  pay  him  tlie  sd :  John:  Dent:  twenty  live  pounds 
sterling.  And  it  was  likewise  ordered  by  the  sd :  trustees,  that  Capt : 
James  Keech,  was  to  send  for  ye  Surveyor  of  St.  marys  Cou'nty  to  have 
ye  sd  :  fifty  Acres  of  Land  laid  out  by  the  last  tuesday  in  march  next, 
and  to  have  a  conveyance  drawnc  by  the  sd  survey  that  ye  sd  Land  may 
be  made  over  by  ye  sd  Captn  John  Dent  according  as  yo  In  we  pre- 
scribes."—Vestry  Records  of  .-\11  Faith  Parish. 


Journal   of   Conventions. 


340  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

able  number  of  the  most  respectable  inhabitants,  when  it  being 
proposed  that,  for  the  more  orderly  and  effectually  carrying 
on  the  present  business,  it  would  be  necessary  to  make  choice 
of  a  chairman,  as  also  to  appoint  a  clerk  to  officiate  for  the 
day,  Mr.  Jeremiah  Jordan  was  thereupon  unanimously  elected 
to  the  chair,  and  Timothy  Bowes  appointed  clerk  to  the  said 
meeting, 

"Mr.  Jeremiah  Jordan  in  the  chair. 

"Mr.  Timothy  Bowes,  clerk. 

"Several  of  the  proceedings  of  the  continental  congress 
being  read,  as  well  as  the  late  resolves  of  the  provincial  con- 
vention, which  were  unanimously  approved  of.  The  chair- 
man, addressing  himself  to  those  assembled,  informed  them, 
that  the  intent  and  design  of  the  present  convention,  among 
many  other  things,  was  principally  to  make  choice  of  a  general 
committee  for  the  country — a  committee  of  correspondence — 
as  also  a  committee,  to  meet,  if  necessary,  the  provincial 
committee,  to  be  held  at  Annapolis,  on  Monday,  the  24th 
day  of  April  next,  in  order  to  carry  into  execution  the 
association  agreed  on  by  the  continental  congress,  as  well  as 
the  resolves  of  the  late  provincial  convention.  Upon  which 
the  following  gentlemen  were  chosen  as  a  general  committee 
for  the  county,  to  wit :  Mr.  William  Thomas,  Mr.  Cornelius 
Barber,  major  Zachariah  Bond,  Mr.  William  Hammersly,  Mr. 
John  Llewellin,  Mr.  James  Eden,  Mr.  Gerard  Bond,  Mr.  John 
Shanks,  Jun.,  Mr.  John  Eden,  Jun.,  Mr.  Wilfred  Neale,  Mr. 
William  Bond,  Mr.  Meveril  Lock,  Mr.  Richard  Bond,  Dr. 
John  Ireland,  Mr.  Cyrus  Vowles,  Mr.  Athanasius  Ford,  Col. 
Abraham  Barnes,  Dr.  Henry  Reeder,  Mr.  John  Barnes,  Mr. 
Richard  Barnes,  Mr.  Timothy  Bowes,  Mn  William  Williams, 
Mr.  John  Fenwick,  Mr.  John  Greenwell  (of  Ignatius)  Mr. 
\'ernon  Hebb,  Mr.  William  Watts,  Mr.  George  Guyther,  Mr. 
Ignatius  Combs,  Mr.  John  McLean,  Mr.  John  McCall,  Mr. 
John  Black,  Mr.  John  DeButts,  Mr.  William  Taylor,  Mr. 
Maffey  Leigh,  Mr.  George  Cook,  Mr.  James  Adderton,  Mr. 
Robert  Armstrong,  Mr.  Bennet  Biscoe,  Mr.  Richard  Clark, 
Mr.    Edward    Fenwick,    Mr.    Thomas    Griffin,    Mr.    William 


SAINT     MARY'S     COUNTY  341 

Jenkins,  Jun.,  Mr.  Nicholas  Sewall,  Mr.  Nicholas  L.  Sewall, 
Mr.  William  Cavenaugh,  Mr.  Jenifer  Taylor,  Mr.  Ignatius 
Taylor,  Mr.  Robert  Watts,  Mr.  Henry  Carroll,  Mr.  Hugh 
Hopewell,  Mr.  Hugh  Hopewell,  Jun.,  Mr.  John  Abel,  younger, 
JMr.  Samuel  Jenifer,  Mr.  John  Abell,  sen.,  Mr.  Edward  Abell. 
jun.,  Mr.  Peter  L'rquhart,  Mr.  John  H.  Read,  Mr.  Thomas 
Forrest,  sen.,  Mr.  Ignatius  Fenwick,  (Coles)  Mr.  John  Smith, 
(Patuxent)  Mr.  Enoch  Fenwick,  Mr.  John  Reeder,  Jun.,  Mr. 
Thomas  A.  Reeder,  Mr.  William  Killgour,  Mr.  John  H. 
Broome,  Mr.  William  Bruce,  Mr.  Henry  Tubman,  Mr.  Henry 
G.  Sotheron,  Mr.  Robert  Hammit,  Mr.  Herbert  Blackiston, 
Mr.  John  A.  Thomas,  Mr.  Jeremiah  Jordan,  Mr.  William 
Bayard,  Mr.  Joseph  Williams,  Mr.  Samuel  Abell,  sen.,  Mr. 
Samuel  Abell,  Jun. 

"A  general  committee  for  the  county  elected,  the  next 
step  taken  was  making  choice  of  a  committee  of  correspondence 
when  the  following  gentlemen  were  chosen,  with  power  for 
any  three  or  more  of  them  to  act  as  occasion  should  require, 
to  wit:  Col.  Abraham  Barnes,  Mr.  Richard  Barnes,  Timothy 
Bowes,  Mr.  Athanasius  Ford,  Dr.  Henry  Reeder,  Mr.  John 
DeButts,  Mr.  Jeremiah  Jordan,  Mr.  John  A.  Thomas,  Mr. 
John  Black. 

"This  business  completed,  a  committee  was  chosen  to 
meet  the  provincial  committee,  to  be  held  at  Annapolis,  on 
Monday  the  24th  day  of  Apri4  next,  if  necessary,  when  the 
following  gentlemen  were  elected  for  that  purpose,  to  wit: 
Mr.  Jeremiah  Jordan,  Mr.  Richard  Barnes,  Mr.  John  Reeder, 
Jun.,  Mr.  John  Barnes,  :\Ir.  John  A.  Thomas,  Mr.  John  De- 
Butts,  Mr.  Henry  G.  Sothoron, 

"Signed  per 

"Timothy  Bowes,  clerk".' 

In  the  ''Council  of  Safety"  and  in  the  "Continental  Con- 
gress". Saint  Mary's  was  represented  by  the  Hon.  George 
Plater,  elected  to  the  former  in  1776,°  and  the  latter  in. 1778.' 

In  addition  to  its  regular  quoto  of  men  in  service,  under 


'Maryland  Gazette,  January  5th.   i775  "  McMahnn.  419. 

» Scharf,  3.  P-  753- 


342  COLO  N  I  A  L     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

requisition,  Saint  Mary's  furnished  to  the  revolution  a  large 
independent  company,  under  command  of  Captain  John  Allen 
Thomas.'  This  Company  became  identified  with  the  regular 
army,  and  for  its  valor  and  efficiency,  was  honorably  mentioned 
by  Major  General  Wm.  Smallwood,  in  his  report  of  October 
1776,  to  the  Maryland  Convention." 

In  addition  to  the  company  of  Captain  John  Allen  Thomas, 
which  formed  a  part  of  General  Smallwood's  first  battalion, 
and  which  went  to  the  front  in  July  1776,  and  her  quota  of 
men  for  the  Maryland  Flying  Camp,  Saint  Mary's  the  follow- 
ing year  furnished  eighteen  companies  for  the  Revolution,  and 
the  Council  of  Safety  commissioned  the  following  officers  to 
command  them.  For  the  upper  battalion,  composed  of  nine 
companies,  Jeremiah  Jordan,  colonel,  John  Reeder,  lieutenant- 
colonel,  John  Allen  Thomas,  (Jr.)  major,  Charles  Jordan. 
Gerard  Bond,  John  Thomas,  Thomas  Attaway  Reeder,  John 
Alills,  James  Roach,  Edmund  Plowden,  William  Kilgour  and 
William  Bond,  captains  ;  John  Eden,  John  Shanks,  Francis  Mil- 
lard, John  Breen,  Thomas  Nicholls,  James  Raper,  William 
Spink,  John  Edwards  and  Edward  Mattingly.  first  lieutenants  ; 
Clement  Gardner,  William  Thomas,  John  Cartwright,  William 
Walton,  William  Raper,  Joseph  Stone,  Benjamin  Edwards  and 
Johnathan  Edwards,  second  lieutenants  ;  Meveral  Lock,  Stephen 
Tarlton,  Clement  Power,  Zachary  Hammett,  Henry  Swann, 
Joseph  Woodward,  Wilfred  Reswick,  Johnson,  Sothoron  and 
William  Cartwright,  ensigns. 

For  the  lower  battalions,  composed  also  of  nine  companies. 
Ignacius  Fenwick,  colonel,  \>rnon  Hebb,  lieutenant-colonel, 
Ignacius  Taylor,  major ;  John  Armstrong,  John  H.  Abell,  John 
Smith,  Ignacius  Abell,  John  Greenwell,  John  Mackall,  Samuel 
Jenifer,  Hugh  Hopewell  and  William  B.  Smoot,  captains ;  Alex- 
ander Watts,  Robert  Armstrong,  Zachary  Forrest,  Enock  Abell, 
Philip  Fenwick,  Thomas  Jenkins,  John  Abell,  John  Asquith 
and  George  Gaither,  first  lieutenants ;  Ignicius  Combs,  W^illiam 
Bennett,  Zepheniah  Forrest,  I'arton  Abell,  Bennett  Combs,  Ben- 
jamin Morgan,  Richard  King,  JohnChesley  and  John  Lang- 

'  Journal    of   Convention.  ^~  "Annals    of    Annapolis. 


SAIXT     .MAk^S     CdUXTY  343 

ley,  second  lieutenants;  Georcre  H.  Lei^Wi.  iVnjaniin  Williams. 
John  Smith,  John  Mills,  James  Williams,  Philip  Evans,  Georj^a- 
Asquith,  Robert  Jarboe  and  Joshua  Tarlton,  ensigns.' 

On  the  reorganization  of  the  "Maryland  Line"  in  1794, 
in  compliance  with  the  Act  of  Congress,  the  following  officers 
from  Saint  Mary's  County  were  elected:  Brigadier  General 
John  Hanson  Briscoe ;  Lieut.  Cols.  George  Plater  and  Henry 
Xeale;  Majors  William  Thomas,  John  Armstrong.  William 
Somerville  and  Francis  Hamersley.'  While  the  first  attempted 
infringement  of  the  "non  importation  agreemejit",  of  the 
Maryland  Convention  was  in  the  arrival  in  the  Saint  Mary's 
River  in  August,  1774,  of  the  brig,  Mary  and  Tom,  from 
London,  with  tea,  consigned  to  Robert  Findlay  and  others 
(but  which,  was  not  unloaded,  and  was  returned),"  Saint 
Mar>''s  County  was  the  scene  of  but  one  actual  engagement 
during  the  Revolution.  In  July  1776,  Lord  Dunmore,  with 
about  300  men  in  armed  galleys,  took  possession  of  Saint 
George's  Island.  In  the  engagement  with  Captain  Beall's 
Company  of  ^Militia  he  was  wounded  and  a  mid-shipman  on 
the  "Roebuck"  was  killed.  Dunmore's  fleet,  amounting  to 
about  forty  sail,  was  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  Saint  Mary's 
River.  On  the  26th  of  July,  Captain  Xicholson  of  the  "De- 
fence", and  Major  Price,  attempted  to  recapture  the  Island, 
but  were  unsuccessful.  Price,  however,  stationed  a  battery 
on  ''Cherry  F"ield  Point"  and  dfove  the  sloop  of  war  "Fowey" 
out  of  the  river.  Early  in  August  the  enemy  abandoned  the 
Island,  leaving  several  galleys  and  some  military  stores  be- 
hind them.' 

The  members  of  the  committee  from  Saint  Mary's  County 
appointed  by  the  General  Assembly,  to  draft  the  famous  Res- 
olutions declarative  of  the  constitutional  rights  and  privi* 
leges  of  the  people,  and  also,  the  instructions  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the"  members  from  Maryland  of  the  Stamp  Act  Con- 
gress of  1765,  and  which  passed  the  "Remonstrance -to  Parlia- . 

'Journal   Council   of   Safety,    177,  p.   344. 

"Maryland   Gazette,  June    12,   1794.  '' Scliarf,  j,  p.    139. 

*  Scharf,    2,    pp.    268,    269. 


344  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

ment",  were  the  Hon.  Edmund  Key  and  the  Hon.  Daniel 
Wolstenholme.' 

In  1774,  Saint  Mary's  County  raised  by  private  subscrip- 
tion, for  the  Maryland  "Revolutionary  Fund",  the  sum  of 
i6oo  sterling,  the  fifth  largest  contribution  by  any  county 
in  the  State."  In  1776,  an  additional  sum  of  £224,  i  s.  and 
3  p.  in  gold  was  raised,  which,  while  not  a  gratuity  from  the 
county,  was  an  advance,  to  be  redeemed  only  in  paper  money 
of  the  Continental  Congress. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  noted,  that  in  1780,  when 
the  State  was  without  means  or  credit,  and  the  army  without 
supplies  and  in  danger  of  dissolution,  the  Hon.  Philip  Key,  a 
patriotic  son  of  Saint  Mary's,  and  then  a  representative  in  the 
Legislature  of  Maryland,  furnished  to  the  cause,  out  of  his 
own  private  means,  the  sum  of  ii50O  in  money,  and  10  hogs- 
heads of  tobacco,  the  third  largest  subscription  made  by  any 
single  individual  in  the  State.' 

The  representatives*  from  Saint  Mary's,  in  the  first  Gen- 
eral  Assembly   held   after   the   Declaration   of   Independence, 

'Old  Kent,  p.  253;  Scharf,  i,  p.  538.  ^Scharf,  2,  p.  168. 

'Ibid,   2,  p.   375. 

*The  earliest  local  officers  of  Saint  Mary's  County  were,  Thomas 
Cornwaleys,  "Commander;"  James  Baldridge  "High  Sheriff,"  and  John 
Lewger,  "Conservator  of  the  Peace."  The  judicial  powers  of  the  latter, 
were  analogous  to  those  vested  in  the  "County  Court"  as  subsequently 
established.  The  first  Justices  of  the  County  Court,  were  Wm.  Evans, 
John  Abbington,  Thos.  Matthews,  Thos.  Dent,  Richard  Willan,  John 
Lawson,  Thos.  Turner  and  Luke  Gardner.  The  first  Clerk  was  Walter 
Hall,  who  was  in  turn  succeeded  (during  the  period  preceding  the 
establishment  of  the  Royal  Government  in  Maryland)  by  Nicholas 
Painter,  John  Skipwith,  John  Llewellin  and  Henry  Denton.  Vacancies 
on  this  bench,  during  the  same  period,  were  filled  by  the  appointment 
from  time  to  time,  of  the  following  Justices :  Robert  Slye.  John  Nut- 
hall,  Nicholas  Young,  John  Jarboe,  Wm.  Bretton,  John  Vanhockman, 
Randall  Hanson,  Wm.  Rosewell,  Wm.  Barton,  Wm.  Boarman,  Richard 
Lloyd,  James  Martin,  John  Warren,  Richard  Gardiner,  Kenelm  Chesel- 
dine,  Joshua  Doyne,  Wm.  Langworth,  Robert  Mason,  Wm.  Hatton  and 
Robert  Carville. 

The  office  of  Judge  of  the  Orphans  Court  was  one  of  responsibility 
and  dignity,  and  was  filled  by  the  leading  men  in  the  County.     They 


SAINT     MARVS     COUNTY  345 

and  which  formally  established,  in  1777,  the  first  State  Gov- 
ernment in  Maryland,  were  the  Hons.  William  Thomas,  James 
Jordan,  Athanasius  Ford,  and  John  Hattoh  Reid.'  The  Sena- 
tor was  the  Hon.  George  Plater.  The  election — the  first  in 
Maryland  as  a  State — was  held  in  Leonardtown,  on  Novem- 
ber 25th.  for  Senate  electors  and  on  December  i8th.  (1776) 
for  members  of  the  House  of  Delegates,  the  Judges  of  election 
being  Major,  Henry  Tubman.  Abraham  Barnes,  and  Hugh 
Hopewell."  The  representatives  from  Saint  Mary's  in  the 
convention  which  framed  the  first  constitution  of  the  State, 
were,  Hon..  George  Plater.  Ignatius  Fenwick,  Richard  Barnes 

were  appointed  by  the  Governor.  Those  who  served  in  Saint  Mary's 
during  the  half  century  succeeding  the  Revohition,  were :  John  Hatton 
Read,  from  1778  to  1780;  Thomas  Bond,  1778  to  1783,  and  1784  to  1787; 
WilHam  Kilgour,  1778  to  1783,  and  1784  to  1797;  John  DeButts,  1779  to 
,1783,  and  1784  to  1797;  Ignatius  Taylor,  1782  to  1783;  Vernon  Hebb, 
1782  to  1783;  Ignatius  Fenwick.  1782  to  1786;  Hanson  Briscoe,  1782  to 
1791 ;  John  Shanks,  1782  to  1784;  John  Ireland,  1783  to  1784;  Zachary 
Forrest,  1786  to  1791;  William  Somerviile,  1787  to  1803;  Edmund  Plow- 
den,  1791  to  1805;  Maj.  Wm.  Thomas,  1797  to  1802;  Henry  Gardiner, 
1802  to  1803;  Raphael  Neale,  1802  to  1806;  Philip  Key,  1803  to  1804. 
and  1808  to  1812;  James  Egerton,  1804  to  1810;  Philip  Ford.  1804  to 
1805;  Thomas  Barber,  1804  to  1815;  Athanatius  Fenwick,  1806  to  1807, 
and  1820  to  1821 ;  Dr.  Henry  Ashton,  1810  to  181 1 ;  Gen.  James  Thomas, 
181 1  to  1813,  and  1819  to  1822;  Dr.  Joseph  Stone,  1812  to  1813,  and 
1819  to  1835;  Zachary  Forrest,  1812  to  1813;  Henry  Gardiner.  1812  to 
1814;  Luke  W.  Barber,  1813  to  182^;  Col.  John  Rousby  Plater,  1815  to 
1816;  Henry  Neale,  1815  to  1816;  John  Leigh,  1815  to  1817;  James 
Hopewell,  1816  to  1817;  Henry  G.  S.  Key,  1816  to  1819;  William  B. 
Scott,  1817  to  1819;  George  Thomas,  1822  to  1832;  John  Hanson  Bris- 
coe, 1830  to  1831;  Stephen  Gough,  1831  to  1835;  Cornelius  Combs, 
1834  to  1835. 

The  Registers  of  Wills  during  the  same  period  were.  Jeremiah  Jor- 
dan, 1777  to  1804;  James  Forrest,  1804  to  1826;  E.  J.  Millard,  1826  to 
1834,  George  Combs,  1834  to  1856.  The  duties  of  this  office  were  per- 
formed, prior  to  the  organization  of  the  State  Government,  by  a  Deputy 
Commissary  General.  Those  who  filled  the  office  from  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century  to  the  above  date,  were:  James  Keech,  1700  to  1706; 
William  Aisquith,  1706  to  1718;  John  Baker.  1718  to  1723;  Thomas 
Aisquith,  1723  to  1762;  Stanton  Edwards.  1762  to  1766;  Samuel  .Abell. 


House  Journal,   i777- 


Ibid. 


346  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

and  Jeremiah  Jordan/  The  representatives  in  the  Convention 
for  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and 
of  which  George  Plater  was  president,  were  the  Hons.  George 
Plater,  Richard  Barnes,  Nicholas  L.  Sewall,  and  Charles  Chil- 
ton.'' 

The  first  local  officers  for  Saint  Mary's  County,  under  the 
State  Government,  were.  County  Lieut.  Richard  Barnes  f  Jus- 
tices of  the  County  Court.  Jeremiah  Jordan,  John  Reeder,  Jr., 
Henry  Greenfield  Sothoron,  Richard  Barnes,  Henry  Reeder, 
Vernon  Hebb,  Ignatius  Taylor,  Henry  Tubman,  Bennet  Biscoe, 
John  Shanks,  John  Hanson  Biscoe,  John  Ireland,  Ignatius  Fen- 
wick,  Robert  Watts,  Nickolas  L.  Sewall,  and  Robert  Arm- 
strong. The  Judges  of  the  Orphan's  Court  were,  Henry  Green- 
field Sothoron,  Richard  Barnes,  Henry  Reeder,  Vernon  Hebb. 
and  John  Reeder,  Jr. ;  Sherifif,  Jenifer  Taylor ;  Clerk,  Daniel 
Wolstenholme;  Register  of  Wills,  Jeremiah  Jordan;  Surveyor. 

jr.,  1766  to  1770;  John  Allen  Thomas,  1770  to  1777.  It  is  regretted  that, 
owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  records,  a  complete  list  of  the  names  of 
the  "High  Sheriffs"  of  the  County,  prior  to  the  Revolution,  (when  the 
office  lost  much  of  its  importance  and  the  name  was  changed  to  that  of 
Sheriff  only)  can  not  here  be  furnished,  but  among  them,  were:  James 
Baldridge,  1637,  (first  High  Sheriff)  ;  C.  Thorougood,  1641  ;  Edward 
Parker,  1642;  Philip  Land,  1649;  Nicholas  Guyther,  1659;  Daniel 
Clocker,  1660;  Richard  Willan,  1662;  Wm.  Evans,  1663;  Thos.  Dent, 
1664;  John  Lawson,  1665;  Nicholas  Young,  1666;  John  Jarboe,  1667; 
Walter  Hall,  1668;  Wm.  Boarman,  1679;  Joshua"  Doyne,  1684;  John 
Baker;  1686;  Garrett  VanSweringin,  1687;  Robert  Carse,  1690;  Robert 
Mason,  1692;  John  Coade,  1694;  Thos-.  Hatton,  1700;  Jas.  Hay,  1702; 
John  Coade,  1706;  Thos.  T.  Greenfield,  1720;  John  Cartright,  1739;  Wm. 
Cartright,  1743 ;  Gilbert  Ireland,  1745;  Robert  Chesley,  1748;  M.  Lock, 

1754;  Philip  Key,  1755;  John  Eden,  1760;  Jeremiah  Jordan,   1766;- 

Watts,  1770;  Jenifer  Taylor,  1772,  and  Samuel  Abell,  1776. 

Among  the  County  clerks  during  the  period  embraced  between  the 
establishment  of  the  RoyarGovernment  in  Maryland  and  the  Revolution, 
and  for  the  succeeding  century,  were  :  John  Skipwith,  John  Llewellin, 
Henry  Denton,  Richard  Ward  Key,  Benj.  Young,  Daniel  Wolstenholme, 
Timothy  Bowes,  James  Kilgour,  Joseph  Harris,  Wm.  T.  Maddo.x,  Jas. 
T.  Blackistone,  John  A.  Comalier. 

^  Journal  of  Convention.  "  Il)idv  '  Scliarf.  2.  p.  453. 


S  A  I  X  T     M  A  K  V ' S     CO  V X  T  Y 


347 


Jesse  Lock  :  Coroners,  James  .Mills.  Thoiuas  Greentieid,  Steplicn 
Tarlton,  John  Attaway  Clark,  and  Mackelery  Hanimett.' 

At  the  first  constitutional  convention  for  Presidential 
Electors,  1788,  Saint  Mary's  had  two  candidates,  the  Hon. 
George  Plater  on  the  Federalist,  and  the  Hon.  \Vm.  Thomas, 
Jr.,  on  the  Anti-Federalist  ticket.  The  former  ticket  was 
triumphantly  elected  throughout  the  State. 

The  representatives  in  Congress  from  Saint  Mary's  have 
been  the  Hons.  Philip  Key  in  the  2nd ;  Raphael  Xeale  in  the 
i6th,  17th,  and  i8th;  Clement  Dorsey  in  the  19th,  20th,  and 
2ist;  J.  M.  S.  Causin  in  the  28th,  and  Benjamin  G.  Harris  in 
the  38th,  and  39th. 

Presidents  of  the  Senate  of  Maryland  from  Saint  Mary's, 
were  George  Plater,  1781-2-4-5-6  and  7;  John  Thomas.  1797- 
1800;  William  Thomas,  1 806-8-9- 1 o- 1 1 - 1 2  and  13;  Richard 
Thomas,  1836-7-8-9- 1840- 1-2  and  3.  Speakers  of  the  House  of 
Delegates.  Philip  Key,  1795-6;  Richard  Thomas,  1830-1  and 
2;  William  J.  Blackistone,-  1834-47;  John  F.  Dent,   1854. 

Saint  Mary's  has  had  the  honor  of  two  Governors  of 
Maryland  under  State  Government,  the  Hon.  George  Plater, 
elected  in  1792,  and  the  Hon.  James  Thomas,  elected  in  1832. 
and  re-elected  the  two  succeeding  terms.' 

"■  Scharf.   3,   Appendix.  '■'  Scharf.   2.  p.   549- 


CHAPTER  XVI 
Chronicles  of  Saint  Mary's  County 


T  N  the  absence  of  skilled  labor,  variety  of  material  and  effec- 
tive mechanical  tools  and  wood  working  machinery,  the 
houses  in  Saint  Mary's,  in  early  colonial  times,  were  necessarily 
small  and  unpretentious.  They  had  outside  brick  roof  chimneys, 
and  many  of  them  brick  gables  up  to  the  line  of  the  roof  plates, 
above  which  the  ends,  like  the  sides,  were  usually  of  frame, 
constructed  of  heavy  and  roughly  squared  timbers,  put 
together  with  mortise  and  tenon,  and  boarded  up  with  thick 
plank,  sometimes  covered  with  clapboards  or  shingles.  They 
were  generally  one  and  one-half  stories  high,  with  steep  roof, 
covered  with  lapped  shingles,  which,  with  the  weather  boarding, 
were  put  on  with  wrought  iron  nails.  A  little  later,  the 
gambrel  roof  and  the  hipped  roof,  wiih  deeply  sunken  mullion 
and  dormer  windows  became,  prominent  features,  and  with 
them  came  more  capacious  buildings.  A  few  were  con- 
structed with  double  roof,  with  porch  running  the  whole  length 
of  the  house,  and  the  porch  roof  being  extended  up  and 
joined  on  to  the  comb  of  the  main  roof.  The  effect  of  this 
curious  design  is  exceedingly  odd  and  quaint,  what  ever  may 
be  said  in  favor  of  the  protection  and  comfort  which  it  afforded. 
By  the  early  part  of  1700,  however,  many  handsome  and  state- 
ly buildings'  had  been  erected,  some  of  which  still  stand 
and  are  models  of  ease  and  liberality,  as  well  as  of  the  higher 
order  of  architecture  of  that  day,  and  which  in  their  impres- 
sion of  graceful  design  and  handsome  finish,  are  scarcely  sur- 
])assed  by  the  more  costly  country  dwellings  of  modern  times. 
The  whole  of  Saint  Mary's  county  lying  south  of  Smith's 
Creek  was  originally  comprised  in  three  large  Manors;  Saint 
Michael's,  which  extended  from  Point  Lookout  to  a  line  drawn 
from  Oyster  Creek  to  Deep  Creek ;  Saint  Gabriel's,  which  ex- 


SAINT     MARY'S     COUNTY  349 

tended  irom  the  north  side  of  Saint  Michael's  Manor  to  a 
line  drawn  from  Saint  Jerome's  Creek  to  Broad  Creek ;  Trinity 
Manor,  which  extended  from  the  north  side  of  Saint  Gabriel's 
to  a  line  drawn  from  Trinity  (  Smith's  Creek)  to  Saint  Jerome's 
Creek. 

These  ^Manors  were  granted  to  Governor  Leonard  Calvert 
in  1639,'  with  the  right  of  Court  Baron  and  Court  Leet,  a 
right  which  appears  to  have  been  exercised  at  least  once,  as 
shown  by  the  following  record:  "At  a  Court  Baron  held  at 
the  Manor  at  Saint  Gabriel,  on  the  7th  of  March,  1656,  by  the 
Steward  of  the  Manor,  one  Martin  Kirke  took  of  'the  lady  of 
the  Manor  in  full  court,  by  delivery  of  the  said  Stewart,  by  the 
rod,  according  to  the  custom  of  said  Manor,  one  message  lying 
in  the  said  Manor,  by  the  yearly  rent  of  and  etc.,  and  the  said 
Kirke,  having  done  his  fealty  was  thereof  admitted  tenant".* 

The  mansion  house  of  these  manors  was  located  at  "Piney 
Neck",  near  what  is  now  known  as  the  "Pine",  and  is  re- 
ferred to  as  a  large  frame  building  with  brick  foundations  and 
chimneys.'  The  first  tenants  on  these  manors,  of  which  there 
is  any  record,  were  Thomas  Butler  on  Saint  Michaels,  Henry 
James  and  Martin  Kirke  on  Saint  Gabriel,  and  John  Langford 
and  Robert  Smith  on  Trinity."  In  1707,  these  Manors,  the 
Piney  Neck  estate  excepted,^  were  owned  by  the  children  of 
George  Parker,  by  inheritance  from  their  mother,  the  daughter 
of  Gabriel  Parrot."  They  are  now  divided  into  numerous 
farms  among  which  may  be  meiltioned  "Calvert's  Rest",  and 
the  beautiful  estate  called  "Cornfield  Harbor".  See  Ridgely 
42. 

^  Liber,  i,  pp.  121,  122.  *Bozman,  581. 

'Archives   (Pro.  Ct.)  pp.  189,  321.  *  Kilty,  p.  103. 

°  This  estate  was  purchased  from  the  Hon.  Wm.  Calvert,  the  only 
son  of  Governor  Leonard  Calvert,  by  Charles  Egerton,  Esq.,  who  in 
1698  devised  it  to  his  eldest  son  Charles  Egerton,  who  had  married 
Mary,  tlie  only  daughter  of  James  Neale  by  his  first  wife,  Elizabeth  Cal- 
vert, the  only  daughter  of  William,  and  grand-daughter  of  Governor 
Leonard  Calvert.  Their  grandson,  James  Egertoji,  in  r765;  devised 
it  to  his  only  son,  Charles  Calvert  Egerton.  in  the  possession  of  whose 
descendants  it  remained   for  many  years. 

'■'Rent   Rolls,    Saint    Mary's    County. 


350  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

On  the  opposite  side  of  Smith's  Creek  from  Trinity  Manor 
was  Saint  EHzabeth's  Manor,  which  contained  two  thousand 
acres  and  within  the  limits  of  which  the  "Jutland"  estate  is 
located.  It  was  granted  to  Thomas  Cornwaleys  in  1639,  but 
•was  subsequently  owned  by  the  Hon.  Wm.  Bladen/  Adjoin- 
ing this  on  the  northeast,  was  Saint  Inigoe's  Manor  (for  an 
account  of  which  see  Saint  Inigoe's  Church),  while  bordering 
on  it,  and  Saint  Inigoe's  Creek,  was  the  estate  called  "Cross 
Manor".  It  contained  two  thousand  acres,  and  was  the  home 
of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Cornwaleys,  one  of  the  wealthiest,  as 
well  as  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  early  Maryland, 
to  whom  it  was  granted  in  1639,  There  is  evidence  that  the 
old  Cornwaleys'  house  (long  occupied  by  the  family  of  Cap- 
tain Randolph  Jones)  was  built  at  a  very  early  date."  and  it 
is  probably  the  oldest  brick  house  to-day  in  Maryland.  Whilst 
/so  materially  modified,  that  an  accurate  description  of  its 
original  architecture  cannot  be  obtained,  the  lines  separating 
the  old  walls  from  the  new,  are  distinctly  marked,  and  show 
it  to  have  been  a  substantial  and  capacious  building. 

Mattapany,  beautifully  located  near  the  mouth  of^  the 
Patuxent,  is  historic  by  reason  of  having  been  the  residence  of 
Charles,  Lord  Baltimore,  and  the  place  from  which  many  of 
the  Proprietary  orders  and  proclamations  were  issued,  and 
where  one  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  several  meet- 
ings of  the  Council  were  held.^     On  it  was  originally  located 

^  This  was  the  early  home  in  Maryland  of  the  Hon.  William  Bladen, 
member  of  the  House,  Clerk  of  the  Council  and  the  first  "public 
printer"  of  the  Province.  He  was, the  father  of  Governor  Thomas 
Bladen,  who  married  Barbara,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Janssen,  and 
also  of  Ann,  the  wife  of  Col.  Benjamine  Tasker,  Commissary  General, 
Commissioder  of  the  Land  Office,  member  of  the  Council,  and,  by  virtue 
of  his  position  as  "first  in  the  Council,"  became  Governor  of  the  Prov- 
ince upon  the  death  of  Governor  Samuel  Ogle.  He  was  the  son  of 
Col.  Thomas  Tasker,  member  of  the  House  and  Treasurer  of  Maryland, 
and  was  the  father  of  Rebecca  Tasker,  the  wife  of  Daniel  Dulaney, 
and  of  Elizabeth  Tasker,  the  wife  of  Christopher  Lowndes. 

-Archives  (Pro.  Ct.  164-')  p.  182;  Ibid,  1650,  p.  ,^06;  Scharf,  i,  p. 
149. 

•'McMahon,  p.  2^,7  \   Scharf,   1.  p.  316;   Pro.  CI.    1778. 


S  A  J  X  T      M  A  1<  ^■  •  S      CO  I-  X  '1'  V  35 1 

the  Indian  viilage  of  the  Mattapients.  Shortly  after  the  land- 
ing of  the  Maryland  Colonists,  King  Pantheon  presented  this 
plantation  to  the  'Jesnits,  who  established  a  store-house  and 
missionary  station  there.'  As  a  result,  however,  of  the  con- 
flict between  Baltimore  and  the  Jesuits  in  1641,  a  formal 
release  was  executed  to  the  former,  for  Mattapany,  in  com- 
mon with  all  other  lands  in  Maryland  held  by  the  society,  or 
l)y  other  persons  for  its  use." 

In  1663,  a  special  warrant  was  issued  for  Mattapany  con- 
taining 1,000  acres,  with  addition  of  200  acres,  ^by  the  Pro- 
prietary to  Hon.  Henry  Sewall,  Secretary  of  the  Province  and 
member  of  the  Council  from  August.  1661,  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  April  1665.  On  April  20th.  1665.  the  patent  for  Matta- 
pany and  addition,  was  granted  to  his  widow,"  Jane  Sewall. 
who,  in  1666,  married  Governor  Charles  Calvert,  afterwards 
Lord  Baltimore.'  Governor  Calvert  erected  at  Mattapan\,  a 
large  brick  mansion,  which  was  for  many  years  his  private 
residence.    The  house,  says  an  early  writer,  was  built  "for  con- 

'  McSherry,  p.  47 ;  Johnson,  p.  56. 

■  Brown,  p.  55 ;  Johnson,  p.  86.  "  See  Patent  in  Land  Office. 

*  Lady  Baltimore,  ( widow  of  Hon.  Henry  Sewall.  was  the  daughter 
of  Vincent  Lowe  and  Anne  Cavendish  of  London,  and  a  sister  of  Col. 
Vincent  Lowe,  of  Maryland.  She  had  by  her  first  marriage.  children- 
Nicholas,  who  married  Susannah,  daughter  of  Col.  William  Burgess ; 
Mary,  married  Col.  WiUiam  Chandler;  Anne,  married,  ist  Col.  Benja- 
min Rozier,  and  2nd,  Col.  Edward  Pye ;  Jane,  married  Hon.  Philip  Cal- 
vert, and  Elizabeth,  married,  ist,  Dr.  Jesse  Wharton,  and.  2nd.  Col. 
William  Digges.  a  member  of  the  Maryland  Council  and  son  of  Gov- 
ernor Edward  Digges.  of  Virginia.  Colonel  Digges  was  in  command  at 
Saint  Mary's  at  the  time  of  its  evacuation,  in  1689.  After  that,  he 
located  on  "'Warburton  Manor,"  in  Prince  George's  County.  Maryland, 
nearly  opposite  Mount  Vernon.  He  left  a  son.  William,  a  daughter. 
Jane  (who  married  Col.  John  Fitzgerald,  of  Virginia),  and  grand- 
children, Charles.  George,  and  Thomas.  Through  the  Sewalls  and 
Digges,  there  are  still  many  descendants  of  Lady  Jane  Baltimore  living 
in   the   Counties   of   Southern    Maryland. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  old  "Fort Warburton"- stood  on 
a  part  of  Warburton  Manor.  The  land  for  it  was  purchased  by  the 
United  States  in  1794.  for  $.vooo.  When  rebuilt,  after  it  was  blown  up 
in   1814.  it  was  called  "F"ort  Washington." 


352  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

venience  rather  than  magnificence"/  A  fort  and  magazine 
were  also  erected  there,"  and  "Brick  Hill  Point"  on  the  estate. 
was  the  place  of  general  rendezvous  for  the  militia,  by  order  of 
the  Council/  In  1682,  an  Act  was  passed  making  provision 
for  a  "sufficient  guard  to  be  kept  at  Mattapany,  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  Right  Hon.  the  Lord  Proprietary,  and  with  him 
the  magazine  and  military  supplies  there".^ 

When  the  Maryland  Deputies  were  driven  from  Saint 
Mary's  City  during  the  Protestant  Revolution,  they  took  refuge 
in  the  garrison  at  Mattapany,  and  it  was  there  that  the  formal 
articles  of  surrender  were  executed  in  August,  1689.'  In 
1690,  the  Proprietary  petitioned  the  Maryland  authorities  to 
deliver  to  him  the  Mattapany  house,  plantation  and  stock,  and 
to  render  an  account  of  the  operation  of  his  Lordship's  mill 
there,  located  on  Gardiner's  Creek.  This  was  denied,  except 
as  to  the  stock,  upon  the  ground  that,  the  whole  plantation,' 
and  all  of  its  appurtenances,  had  with  the  garrison,  been 
"surrendered  under  articles  to  His  ^Majesty's  use"."  Two 
years  later,  however,  by  order  of  Council,  the  estate  was  given 
up  and  formally  placed  into  the  possession  of  Col.  Henry  Dar- 
nall,  the  agent  of  the  Proprietary.' 

The  last  notice  of  the  old  Calvert  house  was  in  1773,  when 
it  was  reported  to  be  in  a  state  of  dilapidation  and  decay.  It 
has  long  since  disappeared,  though  its  foundation  and  cemented 
cellar  may  still  be  seen.  The  building  was  about  60  x  30  feet, 
with  a  capacious  wing,  and  stood  about  250  yards  southward 
of  the  present  commodious  dwelling  house  of  Mattapany.  The 
garrison,  the  site  of  which  is  still  discernible,  stood  about  100 
yards  nearer  the  river,  and  on  the  river  bank  in  the  rear  of  the 
present  dwelling  house,  are  the  remains  of  an  old  earthen  forti- 
fication— probably  a  remnant  of  the  ancient  bulwark  of  defense 
for  Mattapany. 

"Mattapany",  or  /'Mattapany  Sevvall",  as  it  was  called, 
came  back  into  the  possession  of  the  Sewalls  in  1722,  by  grant 


^  Old  Mixon.  -  Scharf,  i,  p.  316. 
'Archives   (CI.  Pro.   1676)   p.  31. 

Mbid.    Ass.    Pro.    1682,   p,   3.^«.  ,-''McMahon,   p.   j.^j- 

"Archives    (CI.   Pro.    1600)   p.   1X2.  n-  '  Ibid,   Um)2,  p.   ^u. 


S  A  I  N  T     M  A  K  ^■  •  S     C  ( )  U  X  T  N'  353 

from  file  2nd  Charles  Lord  lialtimore  to  Nicholas  Sewall,  sun 
of  the  original  proprietor,  and  it  remained  in  the  family  until 
early  in  the  present  century. 

Susquehannah,  adjoining  Mattapany  on  the  east,  and  situ- 
ated on  the  Patuxent,  is  noted  as  having  been  the  home  of 
Christopher  Rousby.  the  King's  Collector  General,  who  was 
fatally  stabbed  in  an  altercation  with  Col.  George  Talbot,  a 
member  of  the  Council  and  Surveyor  General  of  the  Province.' 
The  Tombstone,  a  massive  marble  slab,  covering  the  grave  of 
Colonel  Rousby,  on  this  estate,  bears  the  following  inscription : 

"Here  lyeth  the  Body  of  Xpher  Rousbie  esquire,  who 
was  taken  out  of  this  World  by  a  violent  Death  received  on 
Board  his  majesty's  ship  'The  Quaker  Ketch',  Capt.  Thomas 
Allen  command'r  the  last  day  of  Oct'r  1684.  And  alsoe  of  Mr. 
John  Rousbie,  his  Brother,  who  departed  this  natural  Life  on 
board  the  Ship  Baltimore.  Being  arrived  in  Patuxent  river 
the  first  day  of  February  1685,  memento  mori". 

Susquehannah  is  otherwise  noted  as  the  place  at  which 

'  Talbot  was  at  once  arrested,  and  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the 
Council  to  have  him  tried  in  Maryland,  he  was  carried  off  to  Virginia  and 
delivered  up  to  the  rapacious  Governor,  Lord  Howard  of  Effingham, 
who  treated  all  the  remonstrances  of  the  Marylanders  with  contempt. 
Baltimore,  anxious  that  his  kinsmen  should  have,  at  least,  the  chance 
of  a  fair  trial,  obtained  an  order  from  the  Privy  Council  to  have  him 
sent  to  England.  But  when  the  cyder,  dated  January  1685,  reached 
Virginia,  the  bird  had  flown.  In  the  dead  of  winter,  Talbot's  devoted 
wife,  and  two  brave  and  faithful  retainers,  sailed  down  the  bay  in  a 
little  skiff,  and  up  the  Rappahannock  to  a  point  near  Gloucester,  where 
he  was  imprisoned.  Here  they  contrived  by  some  devise  to  effect  the 
release  of  the  prisoner,  and  carried  him  off  in  safety  to  his  distant 
Manor,  Susquehannah,  in  Cecil  County.  The  hue  and  cry  was  pro- 
claimed, and  so  hot  was  the  pursuit,  according  to  local  tradition,  that 
Talbot  was  forced  to  secret  himself  in  a  cave,  where  he  was  fed  by 
two  trained  hawks  which  brought  him  wild  fowl  from  the  river.  How- 
ever, this  may  have  been,  he  soon  surrendered  himself  to  the  ^luthorities. 
who  delivered  him  to  Effingham.  The  order  of  the  Privy  Council 
being  disregarded,  he  was,  in  April,  1685,  tried  and  convicted.  The 
Proprietary  was,  however,  not  idle  in  his  kinsman's  I)eha!f,  and  obtained 
from  the  King  a  pnrdi  n.  in  time  to  save  hh  life— Hnnvn.  Ili-i-v  -t 
.Maryland,   146. 


354  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

the  Council  held  its  meeting  July  ist.  1661,  and  determined  upon 
the  famous  expedition  against  the  Dutch  on  the  Delaware.' 
After  the  death  of  Colonel  Rousby,  Susquehannah  reverted 

^  On  the  Calvert  side  of  the  Patuxent,  and  nearly  opposite  Susque- 
hanna, is  the  estate  known  as  Rousby  Hall — one  of  the  handsomest,  and 
until  the  dwelling  house  was  destroyed  in  the  war  of  1812,  one  of  the 
most  highly  improved  places  in  Southern  Maryland.  It  was  the  home  of 
Col.  John  Rousby  (possibly  a  descendant  of  John  Rousby  who  is  buried 
at  Susquehannah)  who  was  the  father  of  Ann,  wife  of  Hon.  Edward 
Lloyd  and  of  the  Hon.  John  Rousby  of  Rousby  Hall,  the  father  of  Ann, 
wife  of  Gov.  George  Plater.  Col.  John  Rousby's  wife  was  Barbara,  the 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Francis  Morgan  of  Kent  County,  and  the  author 
of  the  famous  narrative  of  the  troubles  in  Maryland  consequent  upon  the 
Protestant  Revolution.  She  married  secondly  Richard  Smith  of  Saint 
Leonards,  Captain  of  Militia,  of  Calvert  County,  Surveyor  General  1693, 
died  1714,  son  of  Richard  (and  Eleanor)  Smith  of  Calvert  County,  who" 
came  to  Maryland  in  1649,  Attorney  General  in  1655,  ^nd  member  of 
the  House  from  1660  to  1667.  Richard  and  Barbara  Smith  had  sons, 
Richard,  Charles,  Somerset  and  Walter,  who  have  representatives  still 
living  in  Calvert  and  Saint  Mary's,  and  daughters  Anne,  Elizabeth  and 
Barbara,  progenitors  of  the  Parker's,  Hellens',  and  Dawkins'  of  Calvert 
County.  Hon.  John  Rousby,  only  son  of  Col.  John  Rousby,  and  the 
father  of  Mrs.  Plater,  died  in  1750  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-three  and 
is  buried  at  Rousby  Hall,  where  his  tomb  may  still  be  seen. 

■  The  following  romantic  incident  in  the  life  of  Mrs.  Plater  is  handed 
down  by  those  who  vouch  for  its  truth.  Mrs.  Rousby  her  mother,  noted 
alike  for  her  beauty,  dignity,  position  and  wealth,  became  a  widow  at 
the  age  of  twenty,  her  only  child  being  then  an  infant.  Among  her 
many  suitors  was  Col.  William  Fitzhugh  of  Virginia.  His  position  and 
fortune  were  good,  but  the  fair  widow  of  Rousby  Hall  was  inflexible. 
Colonel  Fitzhugh,  however,  who  had  served  under  Admiral  Vernon  at 
Carthegena,  was  not  to  be  subdued  and  continued  to  press  his  suit.  On 
one  occasion  having  paid  a  visit  to  Mrs.  Rousby,  and  on  leaving  the 
house  to  take  his  boat,  the  nurse  appeared,  bearing  in  her  arms  the  in- 
fant heiress  of  Rousby  Hall.  Snatching  the  child  from  the  nurse's 
arms,  and  unheeding  the  cries  of  the  baby,  the  desperate  soldier-lover 
sprang  into  his  boat  and  ordered  his  men  to  push  from  the  shore.  When 
some  distance  out  in  the  Patuxent,  he  held  the  child  over  the  water, 
threatening  to  drown  it  if  its  mother  did  not  relent  and  agree  to  become 
his  wife.  The  mother  half  frantic,  stood  upon  the  river  bank  while  her 
mad  lover  held  her  innocent  child  between  sky  and  water.  Believing 
that  the  threat  would  be  executed  sh^,  yielded  and  sealed  her  fate, 
by  becoming  shortly  afterwards  Mrs.  Col.  William  Fitzhugh,  and  the 
baby  that  was  not  drowned  became  the  wite  of  Gov.  George  Plater. 


S  A  I  X  T     M  A  R  Y  '  S     C  O  L'  X  T  Y 


355 


to  the  Proprietary,  and,  in  1700  it  was  oranled  to  Richard 
Smith.  This  patent  was  executed  by  Mary  Darnall.'  the  wife 
of  Colonel  Henry  Darnall,  the  agent  of  the  Proprietary,  and  is 
one  of  the  very  few  instances  in  which  such  authority  was 
exercised  by  a  woman  in  Maryland.  Shortly  afterward  it 
became  the  property  of  a  branch  of  the  Maryland,  Carroll 
family,  and  for  many  generations  continued  to  be  their  attrac- 
tive homestead. 

Cedar  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Patuxent,  and  adjoining 
Susquehannah,  was  the  Sewall  estate.  It  was  granted  by  Lord 
Baltimore,  in  1676  to  Nicholas  Sewall,  his  step-son.  in  whose 
family  it  remained  until  a  very  recent  date.^ 

These  three  estates,  Mattapany.  Susquehannah,  and  Cedar 
Point,  originally  occupied  nearly  the  whole  of  that  fertile  and 
beautiful  plateau  bordering  on  the  mouth  of  the  Patuxent. 

Above  Mattapany,  and  near  Town  Creek  on  the  Patuxent 
was  Saint  Joseph's  ]\Ianoi;  containing  1350  acres.  It  belonged 
to  the  Edloes,*  and  consequently  to  the  Platers.'    On  Abbing- 


'  See  patent  in  Land  Office. 

"Major  Nicholas  Sewall,  Secretary  of  Maryland  in  1683,  member  of 
Council  from  1684  to  1689,  and  son  of  Hon.  Henry  Sewall,  of  "Matta- 
pany," married  Susannah,  daughter  of  Hon.  William  Burgess,  of  Anne 
Arundel!  County.  They  left  sons  Charles  and  Henry.  The  latter's 
widow,  Elizabeth,  in  1728,  married  Hon.  Wm.  Lee  of  the  Council,  father 
of  Thomas,  the  father  of  Governor  1  homas  Sim  Lee.  Nicholas,  son  of 
Henry  and  Elizabeth  Sewall,  married  Miss  Darnall  of  "Poplar  Hill," 
Prince  George  County.  Among  the  more  prominent  of  the  Sewalls  of 
later  times,  were  Hon.  Nicholas  Lewis  Sewall  of  "Cedar  Point,"  mem- 
ber of  convention  for  ratification  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  Robert  Darnall  Sewall  of  "Poplar  Hill."  The  last  named 
estate  is  a  part  of  the  once  famous  and  beautiful  plantation  in  Prince 
George's  County,  known  as  the  "Woodyard."  and  the  home  of  Col. 
Henry  Darnall,  who  came  to  Maryland  in  1665.  hi^  brother  John  Darn- 
all. having  located  at  Portland  Manor,  Anne  .Arundel  County.  Eleanor, 
daughter  of  Col.  Henry  Darnall,  married  Clement  Hill.  Archbishop 
Carroll's,  mother,  Eleanor  Brooke  Darnall  was  of  the  "Woodyard."  as 
was  also  Mary,  the  wife  of  Charles  Carroll  of  CarroUton.'  Robert 
Darnall,  grandson  of  Col.  Henry  Darnall,  lost  all  of  this  magnificent 
estate  except  "Poplar  Hill"— about  800  acres— and  which  came  into  pos- 
session of  the  Sewall's  through   the  marriage  above  mentioned. 

'Patent  in  Land  Office.  *  Will,  George  Plater,   1751. 


356  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

ton  Creek,  on  this  Manor,  the  port  of  Saint  Joseph's  was 
erected  in  1688. 

Between  Town  Creek  and  Cuckolds  Creek  was  "Resurrec- 
tion Manor".  It  was  patented,  in  1650,  to  Thomas  Corn- 
waleys.^  Shortly  afterwards  it  came  into  possession  of  the 
Plowden  family,  where  it  remained  for  several  generations.^ 
On  this  Manor,  two  sessions  of  the  Privy  Council  were  held, 
the  one  on  December  12th,  1659,  the  other,  June  27th,  1662.'' 

"Satterly",  now  called  Sotterly,  on  the  Patuxent,  oppo- 
site Saint  Leonards  Creek,  was  the  Plater  homestead.  It 
is  beautifully  located  and  highly  improved.  The  house,  built 
about  1730,  is  a  handsome  model  of  antique  architecture.  It 
is-  in  the  shape  of  the  letter  "Z",  is  one  and  a  half  stories 
high  with  steep  gambrall  roof,  surmounted  by  a  cupola  and 
penetrated  by  triangular  capped  dormer  windows.  It  is  a 
frame  building  with  brick  foundations,  brick  gables,  brick 
porches  and  flagstone  colonnade.  A  secret  brick  arch-way  leads 
from  the  cellar  to  the  foot  of  the  hill  below  the  house.  The 
rooms  are  capacious,  with  ceilings  of  medium  height  on  the 
lower  floor,  and  hipped  and  low  on  the  upper  floor.  The  main 
hall,  library,  and  original  dining,  room,  are  furnished  in  hand- 
,somely  panneled  wood  from  the  ceiling  to  the  floor.  The 
parlor  is  finished  entirely  in  wood,  both  ceiling  and  side 
walls,  artistically  paneled  and  elaborately  carved.  The  shell 
carvings  forming  the  ceilings  of  the  parlor  alcoves  are  especi- 
ally unique  and  handsome.  The  window  frames  are  of  walnut 
and  the  door  solid  mahogany,  swung  on  solid  brass  strap 
hinges  extending  about  two  feet  across  the  door.  This  room 
presents  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  colonial  interior  finish 
and  decoration  to  be  found  in  Maryland.  The  stairway  is  also 
of  mahogany,  with  grooved  rail,  and  balustrade  and  newel 
post  of  an  ingenius  device  of  filigree  work.  A  tradition  in 
the  Plater  family  is  that  the  work  on  the  parlor  and  stair-way 
was  done  by  a  mechanic  named  Bowen,  who  was  one  of  the 
"King's  seven  year  convicts",  transported  to  Maryland,  pur- 


Patent  in  Land  Office. 

Will  of  George,  Edmund  and  Henrietta  Plowden. 

Archives    (CI.   Pro.)    p.   381,  460.^" 


SAIXT     MARY'S     COUNTY  357 

chased  by  the  lloii.  lieurj^a-  I  Mater  and  iihi-raled  in  consid- 
eration of  his  niasterly  workmanship  at  Sotterly.  In  the 
front  yard  formerly  stood  two  small  square  l.uildings.  with 
cone  shaped  roofs.  The  one  stood  at  the  garden  gate  and  was 
used  as  a  wine  and  smoking  room ;  the  other  stood  immediately 
opposite,  and  was  used  as  the  office  of  the  Collector  and  Xaval 
Officer  of  the  Patuxent  District.  The  former  of  these  is  now 
at  the  foot  of  the  yard,  opposite  the  old  "Gate  Lodge" ;  the 
other  is  in  the  barn  yard,  flanked  by  a  series  of  sheds  and  used 
as  a  granary.  Near  the  centre  of  the  garden,  and-  about  thirty 
yards  from  the  house,  still  stands  in  good  preservation,  a  relic 
of  the  olden  times — the  Sotterly  sun  dial.  A  capacious  brick 
stable  and  carriage  house  Ix'ars  the  date  o(  its  erection — 1734. 
carved  in  the  brick. 

Sotterly    was   originally    a    part    of    "Peuwick's   AIaiK)r"V  ,,  :    . -/^ 
It  was  purchased  from  it  by  the  Hon.  James  Bowles,  contained  ^^  i.^'^^C'', 
2000  acres  and  was  for  many  years  known  as  "Bowies'  Separa-        •'"" 
tion".     Its  present  name,  after  the  Plater  homestead  in  Eng- 
land, as  well  as  many  of  its  architectural  beauties,  it  owes  to 
its   subsequent   owners — the   Platers — in   whose  possession   it 
came  by  intermarriage  with  the  widow  of  Mr.  Bowles.* 


'  Of  the  marriage  of  the  Hon.  George  Plater,  father  of  Governor 
Plater,  in  the  Maryland  Gazette  of  June  i6th,  1729,  the  following  notice 
appeared:  "On  Thursday  last  the  Hon.  George  Plater  was  married  to 
Mrs.  Rebecca  Bowles,  relict  of  Jarrfes  Bowles,  Esq.,  a  gentlewoman  of 
considerable   fortune." 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Bowles  was  the  daugliter  of  Col.  Thomas  Addison 
and  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Tasker.  treasurer  of 
Maryland.  James  Bowles,  her  first  husband,  who  died  January,  172", 
was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Maryland,  and  son  of  Tobias  Bowles, 
of  London.  Their  children  were  Eleanor,  who  married,  ist,  William, 
son  of  Governor  Sir  William  G.ooch,  and  married,  2nd,  Warner  Lewis, 
both  of  Virginia;  Mary  and  Jane  Bowles,  one  of  whom  married  Wil- 
liam, son  of  Henry  and  Martha  (Burwell)  Armistead  of  Virginia. 

Hon.  George  Plater  died  June  17th,  I755.  his  wife  having  died  be- 
fore 1751.  They  left  children— Governor  George,  Ann,  Elizabeth,  and  Re- 
becca Plater,  who  married,  in  1744,  Col.  John  Taylor,  of  Mount  Airy, 
Virginia,  and  who  died  in  1787,  leaving  children:  Elizabeth,  married,  in 
1767,  Edward  Lloyd,  father  of  Governor  Edward  Lloyd,  of  Maryland: 
Rebecca  married,  in  1769,  Francis  Lightfoot  Lee.  "the  signer":  Eleanor 


358  COLONIAL     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

For  more  than  a  century,  Sotterly  was  conspicuous  as  the 
homestead  of  this  family — than  which  none  other,  perhaps, 
was  more  closely  identified  with  the  history  of  Maryland,  both 
as  a  colony  and  as  a  State.  '  The  Hon.  George  Plater  was  a 
member  of  the  Assembly  and  Attorney  General  of  Maryland 
as  early  as  1691,  and  from  1692  to  1720,  was  the  Collector  of 
Customs  for  the  Patuxent.  His  son,  George  Plater,  was  for 
many  years  a  member  of  the  Council,  and  was  Naval  Officer 
of  the  Patuxent,  and,  from  1746  to  1755,  was  Secretary  of  the 
Province.  His  son,  George  Plater,  was  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Delegates  in  1758;  Naval  Officer  of  the  Patuxent. 
from  1767  to  1774;  Judge  of  the  Provincial  Court,  from  1771 
to  1773;  Member  of  the  Council,  in  1773  and  1774;  Member 
of  the  Council  of  Safety  of  Maryland,  in  1776;  Member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  Maryland,  in  1776;  Member  of 
the  Senate  of  Maryland  and  President  of  that  body,  in  1784; 

married,  in  1772,  Ralph  Wormly ;  Ann,  married,  in  1773,  Thomas 
Lomax ;  Mary,  married,  in  1776,  Mann  Page ;  Catherine,  married,  in 
1780,  Landon  Carter;  Jane,  married,  in  1791,  Robert  Beverly;  Sarah, 
married,  in  1799,  Col.  William  Augustine  Washington  (all  of  Virginia)  : 
John,  born  1771,  married  1792,  Anne,  daughter  of  Governor  Benjamin 
Ogle,  of  Maryland,  died  1828,  leavitig  many  children,  among  them 
Henry  Tayloe,  of  Alabama,  and  Benjamin  Ogle  Tayloe,  of  Washington. 
D.  C. 

Governor  George  Plater,  only  son  of  Hon.  George  Plater,  and  heir 
of  Sotterly,  was  born  in  1736,  and  was  educated  at  William  and  Mary's 
College.  In  1760  he  visited  England,  where  he  was  introduced  by  let- 
ters from  Governor  Horatio  Sharpe.  He  seems  to  have  made  an  agree- 
able impression  while  there  upon  Lord  Baltimore,  who  shortly  after 
indicated  to  Governor  Sharpe  his  desire  to -have  him  associated  "in  the 
affairs  of  the  Province,''  and  with  which  he  soon  became  so  prominently 
connected.  He  married  Ann  Rousby,  the  only  child  of  Colonel  John 
Rousby,  of  the  once  famous  and  beautiful  estate  on  the  Calvert 
side  of  the  Patuxent,  known  as  "Rousby  Hall."  Mrs.  Plater  enjoys 
the  reputation  of  having  been  a  woman  possessed  of  rare  personal 
beauty  and  stately  elegance.  Her  rich  patrimony,  added  to  the  already 
large  estate  of  her  husband,  enabled  the  occupants  of  Sotterly  to  live  in 
courtly  style  and  in  full  keeping  with  their  distinguished  position,  as  is 
clearly  attested  by  the  will  of  Governor  Plater  and  the  inventory  of  his 
estate.  Governor  George  and. Ann  Rousby  Plater  left  two  daughters, 
Ann  and  Rebecca   (whose   fame  for  bcanty  and  accomplishments  have 


S  A  ]  X  I"     .M  A  R  Y  '  S     COUNTY 


359 


Delegate  to  "the  Continental  Congress,  from  1788  to  1791  ; 
Member  of  the  Convention  for  the  ratification  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  President  of  that  body  in  1788; 
Presidential  Elector,  in  1789,  and  (jovernor  of  Maryland,  in 
1792. 

Besides  being  so  closely  identified  with  Maryland  in  her 
struggle  for  independence  and  in  laying  the  foundations  of  free 
government,  his  name  conspicuously  appears  upon  the  pages  of 


lived  to  the  present  day),  and  three  sons,  George.  Thomas,  and  John 
Rousby  Plater.  Ann  Plater  married  the  distinguished  jurist  and  states- 
man, Philip  Barton  Key,  and  Rebecca  married  General  Uriah  Forrest, 
of  the  Maryland  line;  George,  eldest  son  of  Governor  George  Plater 
and  heir  of  Sotterly,  married  ist,  March  9th,  1795,  Cecilia  B.  Bond, 
of  "Southampton,"  and  2nd,  March  22nd.  1798.  Elizabeth  Somerville. 
He  died  in  1802,  leaving  by  his  first  marriage,  George,  who  inherited 
Sotterly  and  lost  it,  and  by  his  second,  Ann  Elizabeth  Plater,  who 
married  her  cousin,  John  Rousby  Plater.  Judge  John  Rousby,  second 
son  of  Governor  George  Plater,  married  Elizabeth  Tuttle,  of  Annapolis, 
Maryland.  He  died  in  18.^2,  leaving  children— i.  Elizabeth,  who  married 
May  5th,  1818,  Stephen  Gough,  and  left  issue.  Elizabeth  .■\.,  Stephen, 
Sophia,  Mary,  Louise,  Georgiana,  and  John  Rousby  Gough;  2.  Dr. 
William,  who  married,  ist,  Mrs.  McEldeny,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
William,  and  2nd,  Louise  Hobbie,  by  whom  he  had  children.  John 
Rfuisby,  Mayhew,  married  Alice  Bland,  and  Louisa  Plater;  3.  Sophia, 
married  William  G.  Ridgely,  nephew  of  Hon.  Charles  Ridgely,  of 
Hampton,  and  had  issue,  Elizabeth,  Thomas,  Louise,  Emily,  William, 
.Ann  Key,  and  Sophia  Matilda  Ridgely;  4,  John  Rousby,  married,  1st, 
November  3rd,  1816,  his  cousin,  Anne  Plater,  who  died  without  issue, 
and  2nd,  Matilda  Edmonson,  by  whom  he  had  issue,  John  Rousby  and 
Charlotte  Plater,  the  latter  being  the  wife  of  General  E.  Law  Rodgers, 
of   Baltimore. 

Thomas,  the  third  son  of  Governor  George  Plater,  inherited  the 
famous  estate,  "Rousby  Hall,"  and  sold  it.  He  represented  his  dis- 
trict in  Congress  1801  to  1805.  His  daughter,  Ann  Plater,  was  another 
noted  beauty  of  the  family,  and  of  whom  many  reminiscences  still  sur- 
vive. She  became  the  wife  of  Major  George  Peter,  of  Montgonury 
County,  distinguished  in  the  military  service  in  1812— a  belle  and  a  luTo 
of  ye  oklen  time. 

Early  in  the  present  century,  Sotterly  passed  out  of  the  Plater  fam- 
ily, and  since  then,  the  mansion  house  and  a  small  portion  (about  400 
acres)  of  the  once  vast  domain  of  Sotterly.  has  been  in  the  p..^^-^'^^-  n 
of  the  family  of  Dr.  Walter  Hanson  Stf.ne  Briscoe. 


36o  C  O  L  O  N  I  A  L     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  13 

his  country's  history,  during-  a  period  of  half  a  century,  in 
nearly  every  important  move  made  by  her  people.  He  died 
at  Annapolis,  February  loth,  1792.  His  remains  "attended 
by  the  Council  and  State  officials,  were  taken  the  next  day, 
by  way  of  South  River,  to  Sotterly",  where  he  is  buried  in 
what  is  now  an  open  field,  and  without  even  a  simple  slab  to 
mark  the  last  resting  place  of  a  son  of  Maryland,  whose  state- 
manship  and  zeal  are  so  closely  interwoven  with  her  govern- 
ment, and  whose  whole  life,  from  the  dawn  of  early  manhood 
to  the  grave,  was  conspicuous  for  disinterested  devotion  and 
distinguished  service  to  the  State  and  to  the  Nation.  Oh  ! 
Spirit  of  Liberty,  where  sleeps  your  thunder  ! 

His  sons  were — George,  a  colonel  in  the  Maryland  line, 
Thomas,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Maryland,  from  1801  to 
1805  ;  and  Judge  John  Rousby  Plater,  who  was  the  Presidential 
Elector  in  1797;  in  1812,  and  for  several  terms  thereafter,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Plouse  of  Delegates  of  Maryland,  and 
from  1823  to  the  time  of  his  death,  1832,  filled  with  distinc- 
tion and  honor,  the  position  of  Associate  Judge  of  the  First 
Judicial  District  of  Maryland. 

Below  De  La  Brooke,  and  separated  from  it  by  Cat  Creek, 
was  "Fenwick's  Manor",  granted  in  165 1,  to  Mr.  Cuthbert 
Fenwick,  prominent  in  the  early  councils  of  the  Province,  and 
the  progenitor  of  a  long  line  of  descendants,  distinguished 
both  in  Church  and  State.  The  manor  extended  down  the 
Patuxent  as  far  as  Saint  Cutiibert's  (Cuckold's)  Creek,  and 
that  part  of  it  bordering  on  this  creek  still  retains  its  original 
name — Saint  Cuthbert's. 

The  manor  house,  it  is  said,  stood  on  the  site  occupied 
by  the  residence  of  the  late  Joseph  Forrest.  This  house  was 
referred  to  as  early  as  1659,  in  the  famous '.proceedings  against 
Edward  Prescott,  for  "hanging  a  witch",  in  which  Colonel 
John  Washington,  of  Virginia,  the  great-grandfather  of  Gen- 
eral George  Washington,  was  the  principal  witness.  "He 
will  be  called",  says  the  summons  of  Washington,  "uppon 
his  tryal  the  4th  or  5th  day  of  Octob.r  next,  at  the  Court  to  bee 
held  then  att  the  Patuxent,  near  Mr.  Fenwick's  house".  In 
this   connection  it   may   be   interesting   to  note   that   Colonel 


SA  1  \  T      M  A  k  N'  "S     CO  L'  X   T  \'  3M 

Washington,  'in  reply  to  this  summons,  wrote  that  lie  would 
be  unable  to  attend  court  on  the  days  named  "because  then. 
God  willing,  I  intend  to  gette  my  yowng  sonne  baptized.  All 
the  Company  &  Gossips  being  allready  invited".  The  pro- 
ceedings also  show  that  at  the  trial  of  the  case,  no  witnesses 
appearing,  the  prisoner  was  acquitted.' 

Nearing  the  manor  house  of  Fenwick's  Manor,  stood  "Fen- 
wick's  Mill",  long  since  disappeared,  though  the  outlines  of 
the  old  mill  dam  were  plainly  visible  within  the  recollection  of 
many  persons  still  living,  and  near  the  mouth  of  Cole's  Creek 
stood  one  of  the  public  warehouses  of  the  Province,  known 
as  "Cole's  Inspection".  There  was  on  the  manor,  also, 
"Fenwick's  Tavern",  a  part  of  which  is  still-  standing  and 
constitutes  a  portion  of  the  dwelling  house  on  the  estate  of 
Mr.  James  T.  King.'' 

De  La  Brooke,  on  the  Patuxent,  was  settled  in  1650.  by 
"Robert  Brooke,  Esq.,  arrived  out  of  England  on  the  2<nh 
ascendency  of  the  Cromwell  party  in  Maryland,  was  President 
of  the  Council  and,  as  such,  Governor  of  the  Province."    In  the 

'  Record  of  this  case  is  printed  in  full  in  Brown's  History,  pp.  84-86, 
^  On  the  north  side  of,  and  close  to  the  road  leading  from  Oakville 
to  Forrest  Wharf  (presumably  on  that  part  of  Fenwick's  Manor  which 
was  the  estate  of  Henry  Lowe),  may  still  be  found  an  old  tombstone 
bearing  the  following  inscription:  "Here  Lyeth  interred  the  Body  of 
Susannah  Maria  Lowe.  Late  wife  of' Henry  Lowe,  of  the  family  of  the 
Bennetts,  who  departed  this  life  the  28th  day  of  July  1714  In  the  4Sth 
year  of  her  Age."  Mrs.  Susannah  Maria  Lowe  was  no  less  a  personage 
than  the  daughter  of  Richard  Bennett  and  his  wife,  Henrietta  Maria 
Neale,  the  daughter  of  Captain  James  Neale.  She  married,  ist.  John 
Darnall,  and  had  a  daughter,  Henrietta  Maria  Darnall.  She  married. 
2nd,  Colonel  Henry  Lowe,  who  died  in  1717-  They  left  children— Kliza- 
beth,  who  married  Henry  Darnall,  of  Portland  Manor;  Bennett. 
Thomas,  Dorothy,  who  married  Francis  Hall;  Mary,  who  married  Fd- 
ward  Neale;  Nicholas,  Ann,  Susannah,  and  Henry  Lowe.  Susannah 
Lowe  married  Charles  Digges.  and  their  daughter  married-  Governor 
Thomas  Sim  Lee.  the  grandfather  of  Mary  Digges  Lee.  mother  ol 
Governor  John  Lee  Carroll. 

'  Robert  Brooke  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Brooke,  of  Whitccluircb. 
England,  and  Susan  Foster,  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Fos- 
ter, and  sister  of  Sir  Thomas  Foster,  Jr.,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  Eng- 


362  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

written  memorandum  which  he  left  of  his  family,  he  says : 
"Robert  Brooke,  Esq.,  arrived  out  of  England  on  the  29th 
day  of  June,  1650,  in  the  48th  year  of  his  age,  with  his  wife 
and  ten  children".  "He  was  the  first  that  did  seat  the 
Patuxent,  about  twenty  miles  up  the  river,  at  De  La  Brooke.^ 
Besides  his  own  family,  he  brought  at  his  own  cost  and  charge, 
twenty-eight  other  persons. 

The  settlement  was  erected  into  a  county,  called  Charles, 
and  Mr.  Brooke  made  its  Commander.  De  La  Brooke,  con- 
taining two  thousand  acres,  which  formed  the  chief  seat  of  the 
Brooke  colony,  was  erected  into  a  manor,  with  the  right  of 
Court  Baron  and  Court  Leet,  and  his  oldest  son,  Baker  Brooke, 
made  lord  of  the  manor." 

The  house  of  De  La  Brooke  stood  about  a  mile  from  the 
river,  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  about  fifty  yards  north  of 
the  road  leading  from  the  present  De  La  Brooke  House  to  the 
Three-Notched  Road.  It  was  a  commanding  situation — the 
broad  plains  below ;  the  river,  with  its  curves,  creeks,  coves, 

land.  He  married,  ist,  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Baker,  of  London. 
and  2nd,  Mary,  daughter  of  Roger  Mainwaring,  Dean  of  Worcester, 
and  Bishop  of  Saint  David's.  Robert  Brooke  was  commissioned,  by 
Lord  Baltimore,  Commander  of  Charles  County,  and  a  member  of  the 
Privy  Council,  before  he  left  England,  in  1650.  Why  he  subsequently 
united  with  Cromwell's  Commissioners  for  the  reduction  of  Maryland, 
is  a  question  upon  which  but  little  light  has  been  thrown.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  he  was  actuated  by  the  belief  that  by  accepting  a  position 
in  the  Cromwell  Council  he  could  the  better  serve  and  protect  Balti- 
more's interests  in  the  Province,  but  the  latter  did  not  so  understand  it, 
for  he  was  quick  in  retribution,  deposing  him  both  as  Councilor  and 
Commande.r.  The  facts  rather  point  to  the  conclusion  that  his  religious 
sympathies  were  with  the  Cromwell  party,,  and  hence  his  attitude. 
Historians,  generally,  have  assumed  that  he  was  71  Roman  Catholic, 
though  Bozman  says  he  was  a  "Puritan,"  and  Allen,  that  he  was  a 
"High  Church  Protestant."  Certain  it  is,  that  he  stood  very  high  in  the 
confidence  of  the  Cromwell  party,  in  fact,  as  President  of  its  Council, 
was  practically  made  its  leader;  arid  his  son,  Thomas  Brooke,  was  a 
member  of  the  Council  under  the  Royal  Government  in  Maryland,  as 
well  as  one  of  the  first  Vestrymen  of  .Saint  Paul's  Parish,  Calvert 
County. 

'Memoirs  of  R.  B.  Taney,  p.  25.      '-Sec  Patent  in  Land  Ofiioc. 


S  A  1  X  T     y\  A  R  N  •  S     C  6  L'  X  T  \'  363 

and  isfaiuls.  j^ivinjj:  it  a  land  ami  water  view  ni<>.>t  iinixj>inj; 
and  picturesque.  It  was  a  brick  l)uildinJ^^  alx)ut  thirty  by 
forty  feet,  one  and  one-half  stories  high,  with  steep  roof  and 
dormer  windows.  The  rooms  on  the  lower  floor  were  hand- 
somely wainscoted,  and  the  parlor  was  also  embellished  with 
massive  wooden  cornice  and  frieze,  on  which  were  carved  in 
relief,  roses  and  other  floral  designs.  The  house  was  de- 
stroyed about  sixty  years  ago,  but  it  still  stands  in  the  rec- 
ollection of  many  persons  famihar  with  its  quaint  architec- 
ture and  handsome  finish.  A  mass  of  moss-coyered  bricks 
and  an  excavation  still  mark  the  spot  where,  for  nearly  two 
hundred  years,  stood  the  first  manor  house  on  the  Patuxent. 
De  La  Brooke  is  otherwise  noted  as  the  place  at  which  the  Coun- 
cil, with  Governor  Ciiarles  Calvert,  met  on  July  igth.'  1662. 

The  lower  part  of  De-la  IJrooke  manor,  subsequently 
came  into  the  possession  of  Henry  Queen,  John  Ford  and 
John  Francis  Taney ;  the  mansion  house  and  the  upper  part 
of  the  manor  in  Richard 'Boarman.'  and  later  in  his  daughter, 
Catherine  Brooke  Boarman,  wife  of  Major  William  Thomas. 
and  a  descendant  of  Baker  Brooke,  the  first  lord  of  the 
manor,  and  liis  wife  Ann.  the  daughter  of  Governor  Leonanl 
Calvert. 

Adjoining  Dc-la  i'.rokc.  is  Cremona,  and.  while  a  more 
modern  estate,  perhaps,  than  those  embraced  in  the  period 
under  consideration,  it  should'  be  mentioned  because  of  its 
singular  beauty,  both  in  its  picturesque  location,  and  in  the 
imposing  and  hospitable  appearance  of  its  attractive  mansion. 

Higher  up  the  river,  is  the  fine  estate  known  as  "Trent 
Hall".'     It  was  granted,  in  1658.  to  Major  Thomas  Truman, 

'  Rent  Rolls. 

^On  this  old  estate  is  the  Truman  and  Greenfield  grave-yard,  noted 
as  containing  probably  the  oldest  tombstones  in  Maryland.  The  earliest 
of  them  are  to  the  memory  of  General  James  Truman,  "wlin  died  tiie 
7th  day  of  August.  1672.  being  aged  tifty  years":  "Xathaniel  Truman, 
Gent,"  who  "died  the  4th  of  March,  1678" ;  Thomas  Truman,  "w  Im  died 
the  6th  of  Deceml>er,  Anno.  1685.  Aged  sixty  years.  The  mcnmry 
of  the  just  is  Blessed.  Prnv.  y^'  iQc''  &  ye  7  Vsc" ;  M.iry.  '•wife  and 
relict  of  Thomas  Truman,  Esq.,  wlu)  died  the  6th  of  July.  .\nno.  1686, 


364  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

a  member  of  the  Privy  Council/  When  first  granted  it  was 
called  "Trent  Neck",  and  contained  six  hundred  acres,  but 
in  1705,  under  a  re-survey  for  his  nephew,  Thomas  Truman 
Greenfield,  it  was  enlarged  to  two  thousand,  three  hundred 
and  fifty-four  acres." 

The    "Plains",   at   first   called    "Orphans'    Gift",   situated 
on   the   Patuxent,   above   "Trent   Hall",   is  an  old  estate   of 

Aged  fifty-two  years" ;  Thomas  Truman  Greenfield,  "who  departed  this 
life  December  loth,  1733,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age";  Walter 
Greenfield,  "son  of  Colonel  Thomas  Truman  Greenfield,  and  Anne  his 
wife,  who  departed  this  life  on  the  28th  of  May,  1739,  in  the  fourteenth 
year  of  his  age.  A  Dutiful  Son;  the  Glory  of  his  Mother";  Captain 
Thomas  Truman  Greenfield,  "son  of  Colonel  Thomas  Truman  Green- 
field and  Susanna,  daughter  of  Kenelm  Cheseldjme  and  granddaughter 
of  Thomas  Gerrard,  Esq.,  of  Bromley  in  Lancashire,  who  died  29th 
of  November,  in  the  23rd  year  of  his  age,  A.  D.  1744." 

^  Major  Thomas  Truman  commanded  the  Maryland  militia  in  the 
joint  attack  made  by  Maryland  and  Virginia,  in  1763,  upon  the  Indians 
on  account  of  a  number  of  murders  alleged  to  have  been  committed  by 
them,  the  Virginia  forces  being  led  by  Colonel  John  Washington, 
Colonel  Mason,  and  Major  Alderton.  On  reaching  the  fort  of  the  Sus- 
quehannoughs,  Major  Truman  summoned  their  chiefs  to  a  parley,  and 
after  receiving  assurances  that  it  was  not  they,  but  the  Senecas,  who  had 
committed  the  outrages,  expressed  himself  as  satisfied  with  the  truth  of 
that_  statement.  Thus  assured,  the  chiefs  returned  to  the  colonial  camp 
the  next  day,  by  which  time  the  Virginia  militia  had  arrived.  They  were 
again  interrogated  as  to  the  affair,  with  the  result  that  Colonel  Washing- 
ton, and  a  large  number  of  soldiers  in  both  companies,  became  con- 
vinced, it  would  seem,  that  at  least  five  of  the  Indians  then  before  them, 
were  guilty,  and  urged  that  they  be  at  once  killed.  Truman  protested, 
but  it  appears,  ultimately  yielded,  and  the  five  were  taken  out  and  toma- 
hawked. For  this  offense,  Major  Truman  was  arraigned  before  the 
Lower  House,  where  articles  of  impeachment  were  brought  against  him, 
and  the  General  Assembly  convicted  him  of  violating  his  instructions 
and  commission.  The  two  houses,  however,  being  unable  to  agree  upon 
the  penalty— the  Upper  House  insisting  upon  the  death  penalty,  and  the 
Lower  House,  upon  a  pecuniary  fine  only — he  escaped  punishment  alto- 
gether, but   the    Proprietary  dismissed   him   from   the   Council. 

Many  historians  have  done  Major  Truman  the — perhaps  uninten- 
tional— injustice  of  simply  recording  the  fact  of  his  attainder  and  con- 
viction.   But  it  is,  due  to  him  that  it  be  said,  that  the  proceedings  in  his 


1st   H.  &  J.,  Maryland  Reports,  p^■3l6. 


SAINT     MARY'S     COUNTY  365 

exceptional  attractiveness.'  It  was.  in  its  early  hi>tory,  the 
home  of  the  Jowles  family — a  family  which,  though  now  ex- 
tinct in  name,  at  least  in  Southern  Maryland,  was  one  of  great 
distinction  in  the  colonial  annals  of  the  State — but  it  subse- 
quently, through  intermarriage,  came  into  the  possession  of 

case  indicate  that  he  was  largely  the  victim  of  policy,  growing  out  of  a 
desire  to  pacify  the  Indians,  as  well  as  a  narrow  construction  of  the 
terms  of  his  commission.  The  testimony  shows  that  Major  Truman,  at 
first,  warmly  protested  against  the  act,  and  only  yielded  when  he  found 
the  Virginia  Commanders,  as  well  as  the  soldiers,  keen  for  what  they  be- 
lieved to  be  a  summary  act  of  justice,  and  when  he  thought  further  op- 
position useless,  or,  in  the  language  of  the  reply  of  the  Lower  to  the 
Upper  House,  when  it  was  the  result  of  "the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
Virginians,  and  the  general  impetuosity  of  the  whole  held,  as  well  Mary- 
landers  as  Virginians,  upon  the  sight  of  the  christians  murdered,"  *  *  * 
and  the  "very  Indians  that  were  there  killed  being  proved  to  be  mur- 
derers, both  of  them  and  several  others,"  and  further,  when  the  act  be- 
'came  a  necessity  to  prevent  a  mutiny  of  the  whole  army.  But  the  Upper 
House  thought  differently,  ai\d  insisted  that  if  Truman  escaped  lightly 
it  would  "not  give  any  satisfaction  to  the  heathens,  with  whom  the 
public  faith  had  been  broke,  and  until  such  actions  are  iii  a  more  public 
manner  disowned  the  Indians  may  take  notice  thereof."  *  *  *  "It  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  any  faith  or  credit  will  be  given  to  any  treaties  we 
shall  have  with  them,  which  in  this  dangerous  juncture  of  affairs,  the 
country  will  stand  in  need  of." — (Archives,  Ass.  Pro.  1676)  pp.  475-481, 
485-493,  500-504.)  That  the  Susquehannoughs  held  the  Virginia,  and 
not  Maryland  forces  responsible  for  the  occurrence,  is  fully  attested  by 
the  fact  that  when  they  attempted  to^seek  revenge,  their  whole  aim  was 
directed  at  Virginia,  and  resulted  in  the  famous  Bacon's  rebellion. 

'  The  "Plains"  formerly  embraced  within  its  domain,  the  estates  of 
"Chesley's  Hill"  and  "Orphans'  Gift,"  and  in  the  old  family  grave- 
yard there,  may  be  found  tombstones  bearing  the  following  early  in- 
scriptions : 

"Here  lies  Interred  the  body  of  Colonel  Henry  Peregrine  Jowles, 
who  departed  this  life  the  31st  day  of  March,  1720,  in  the  49th  year  of 
his  age." 

"Here  lies.  Interred  the  body  <>i  .Mr.  John  I-'orbcs,  who  d<.'i)artt(l 
this  life  the  26th  day  of  January,  1737.  in  the  37th  year  of  his  age." 

"Here  lies  interred  the  body  of  Mary  Sothoron,  wife  of  Henry 
Greenfield  Sothoron,  only  child  of  Major  Zachariah  Bond.  Born  the 
i4tli  ('ay  of  January,  1736,  and  died  the  nth  of  October,  1763.  .\ged  26 
year';." 

■T'nili'r   this    t<  mb   is   flenn-ited    the    remains  of  John    I'orbos.   who 


366  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

the  Sothorons,  and  for  many  generations  has  been  their  inter- 
esting homestead.  The  dwelling  house — a  capacious  brick 
building,  and  erected,  it  is  said,  prior  to  the  Revolution,  by 
the  Hon.  Henry  Greenfield  Sothoron — is  a  unique  and  impos- 
ing specimen  of  colonial  architecture.  This  old  mansion  still 
bears  the  scars  of  war,  inflicted  upon  it  in  1812,  in  a  conflict 
between  the  British  fleet  and  the  Maryland  militia  stationed 
'  there,  in  the  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  latter  to  prevent  the 
fleet  from  going  further  up  the  river. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Patuxent,  and  forming  an 
interesting  historical,  as  well  as  a  picturesque  feature  of  the 
landscape,  and  which  can  be  seen  from  the  Saint  Mary's  side 
of  the  river,  may  be  mentioned  Point  Patience,  once  under 
consideration  as  the  site  of  Maryland's  Capital ;  the  house  of 
Richard  Preston,  the  seat  of  government  under  the  Puritan, 
reign  in  Maryland ;  Saint  Leonard's  Creek,  famous  as  the 
scene  of  the  heroism  and  exploits  of  Commodore  Barney ; 
Brome's  Island,  near  Saint  Leonard's  noted  as  the  place  se- 
lected for  the  execution  of  the  first  capital  punishment  in 
Maryland:  Calverton,  but  shortly  afterward  called  "Battle 
Town",  on  Battle  Creek,  laid  out  as  the  first  county  seat  of 
Calvert  County,  and  which  it  continued  to  be  until  1725,  when 
the  county  seat  w^as  removed  to  William's  Old  Fields,  called 

was  born  on  the  19th  day  of  March.  1757.  He  departed  this  life 
on  the  31st  day  of  Dec.  1804,  in  the  48th  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a 
good  man." 

"Maria   Forbes,    liorn    1803.   died    1805." 

At  "Chesley's  Hill"  is  a  stone  bearing  the  following:  "This  monu- 
ment is  erected  to  the  memory  of  John  Chesley  of  Saint  Mary's  County, 
who  died  December  the  5th,  1767,  in  the  64th  year  of  his  age.  He  was 
magistrate  of  said  County  upwards  of  30  years,' during  several  of  which 
he  presided  as  judge  of  the  Court,  and  always  distinguished  himself  for 
ability  and   uprightness. 

"Beneath    this    stone    the    cold    remains   are    laid. 
Of  one  who  has  the  debt  of  nature  paid, 
Truth    as    she    passes    drops    the    silent    tear, 
Laments    the    Husband,    Parent,    Friend, 
Duty  and  love  have  thus  inscribed- his  name. 
Rut    virtue    ranks    it    in    the"'"  Book   of   Fame." 


S  A  I  X  'J-     M  A  k  \'  •  S     C  O  r  X  T  \'  367 

Trince  1'Vedcric  after  ijjS.  Xcar  I'.atllc  Town  is  the  handsome 
Taney  homestead,  the  seal  of  that  (hstin^niished  family  for 
many  generations/ and  the  birth-place  of. the  illustrious  Giief 
Justice  Roger  Brooke  Taney,  while  separated  from  it  by  Battle 
Creek,  is  Brooke  Place  Manor,  in  later  life  the  Iwme  of  Gov- 
ernor Robert  Brooke.' 

Among  the  places  of  interest  lying  between  the  Patuxent 
and  Wicomico  ri\ers.  should  be  noted  "Forrest  Hall",  "Hill^v 
Lee",  "Indian  Town".  "Hamburg",  and  "Luckland", 
the  latter,  formerly  a  large  estate,  embracing  among  others, 
the  beautiful  homestead  of  Mr.  John  A.  Barber." 

"Deep  Falls",  the  Thomas  homestead,  is  situated  near 
village  of  Chaptico.  In  the  proprietary  grant,  dated  March 
26th,  1680,  it  was  called  "Wales",  but  when  the  improve- 
ment, known  as  "the  falls",  was  completed,  the  name  was 
changed  to  the  one  it  bears  to-day.  The  present  mansion  was 
erected  by  Major  William  Thomas,  about  1745.  It  is,  in  ap- 
pearance, an  English  country  dwelling  house,  and,  while  its 
builder  aimed  at  massive  simplicity,  rather  than  architectural 
display,  it  is  of  graceful  and  pleasing  design  and  finish.  It  is 
a  large,  double,  two-story  frame  building,  with  brick  founda- 
tions and  brick  gables  to  the  upper  line  of  the  first  story,  when 
the  brick  work  branches  into  two  large  outside  chimneys  at 
each  gable  end  of  the  house.     It  is  sixty  feet  long  and  forty 

^Archives  (Ass.  Pro.  1662)  p. '435 ;  Bozman,  2,  p.  205;  Annals  of 
Annapolis,  p.  46;  Memoirs  Com. -Barney,  pp.  256,  257;  Archives  (Test 
Pro.  1657)  p.  545;  Ibid,  CI.  Pro.  1669.  p.  47;  Ibid,  Ass.  Pro.  1682,  p. 
j.So;  Act,  1725,  C.  11;  Act.  1728.  C.  17;  Memoirs  R.  B.  Taney,  p.  20. 

■  Dr.  Luke  Earlier,  the  progenitor  of  the  Barber  family  in  Southern 
Maryland,  came  to  Maryland  in  1654,  distinguished  himself  in  the  battle 
of  the  Severn,  and  for  his  bravery  on  that  occasion,  and  his  fidelity  to 
the  Proprietary  throughout  the  Puritan  rule  in  Maryland,  he,  together 
with  Major  Thomas  Truman,  William  Barton  and  others,  was  made  the 
subject  of  a  special  donation,  each  receiving  one  thousand  acres  of  land, 
by  order  of  Baltimore.  In  1656,  he  was  appointed  a  men'iber  of  the 
Privy  Council,  and  the  following  year,  was  promoted  to  the  office  of 
Deputy  Governor  of  the  Province,  acting  in  the  absence  of  Governor 
I'endall.  He  died  before  i''7i.  11  i<  \vi<li)\v  niarrit-d  John  Bloomfield,  of 
Saint  Marv's  Citv. 


368  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

feet  deep,  with  wide  piazzas,  front  and  back,  running-  the 
whole  length  of  the  house,  and  supported  by  handsome,  mas- 
sive pillars. 

On  a  line  with  the  front  of  the  house,  is  a  long  corridor, 
with  a  capacious  wing,  one  and  a-half  stories  high,  and 
which  constitutes  the  culinary  department.  The  hall,  as 
distinguished  from  a  mere  passage,  is  a  feature  that  does  not 
exist,  it  is  believed,  in  any  other  colonial  house  in  Saint  Mary's. 
It  is  a  large,  well  finished,  square  room,  and  is  flanked  on  one 
side  by  a  parlor,  on  the  other  by  a  dining-room,  separated 
from  it  by  a  partition  consisting  of  a  series  of  folding  doors, 
and  in  the  rear  by  a  long  passage,  running  at  right  angles, 
into  which  it  opens,  and  through  which  entrance  is  obtained 
to  the  back  porch,  by  a  door  immediately  opposite  the  front 
door,  and  the  archway  between  the  hall  and  the  passage. 
The  stairway  is  in  the  passage.  Its  sides  are  carved,  with 
maple  newel  posts  and  rosewood  top,  surmounted  with  an  ivory 
knob,  rosewood  rail,  and  bird's-eye  maple  balustrade,  the  two 
latter  extending  around  the  corridors  above. 

In  front,  is  the  entrance  to  the  house,  through  a  gently 
ascending  avenue,  about  forty  yards  wide  and  three  hundred 
yards  long,  lined  on  each  side  with  a  row  of  ornamental  trees, 
with  a  background  of  cone-shaped  cedars.  In  the  rear,  are 
five  falls,  or  terraces,  each  one  hundred  feet  long  and  ten  feet 
deep,  which  lead  to  a  plateau  below.  About  two  and  a-half 
acres  of  this  plateau  is  the  garden.  It  is  Queen  Anne  in 
design,  is  artistically  laid  off,  and,  at  one  time,  was  highly 
ornamented  with  fine  specimens ,  of  shrubbery  and  flowers. 
On  the  right  and  left  of  the  house,  is  a  broad  ■.  ,...-^^.>f  about 
three  acres,  made  picturesque  by  its  gentle  ur„>u.  iops,  and 
its  rich  and  varied  foliage.  "Deep  Falls"  is  one  *•,■  the  few 
places  in  Saint  Mary's,  which  is  still  in  the  family  of  its  origi- 
nal proprietor,  and  the  old  graveyard  there,  dedicated  to  family 
burial  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  contains  within  its 
sacred  limits,  the  successive  generations  that  have  lived  and 
passed   away. 

"Basford    Manor",    or    "liasford",    as    now    called,    sit- 


S  A  I  X  T     M  A  K  \'  •  S     C  O  L'  X  1'  \'  369 

uated  near  Chaptico,  was  granted  to  Dr.  Thomas  Gerrard,  in 
March,  1650.'  It,  was  bounded  as  follows :  "On  the  South 
with  the  Manor  of  Saint  Clement's,  on  thie  west  with  the  Wic- 
cocomoco  River,  on  the  north  with  a  bay  called  Chapticon  Cay, 
on  the  east  with  a  line  drawn  southeast  from  a  marked  oak 
standing  in  a  marsh,  near  the  said  bay,  called  Tapster's  Marsh, 
unto  the  first  fountain  of  Tommahkockin,  or  the  fresh  creek 
running  into  Saint  Clement's  Bay",  and  was  laid  out  for 
fifteen  hundred  acres,  but  l)y  a  re-survey  it  was  found  to  con- 
tain a  liiuch  larger  area.  Tl:e  annual  quit-rent-  was  fifteen 
bushels  of  corn.  This  manor  was  sold  by  Dr.  Gerrard  to 
Governor  Thomas  Xotley,  who,  in  1678,  laid  off  300  acres  of 
it  as  the  "Manor  Lodge",  named  it  "liachelor's  Hope",  and 
placed  it  in  the  possession  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Rozer,*  a 
member  of  the  Council  when  Governor  of  the  Province,  and 
who  married  Ann  Sewall.  step-daughter  of  Lord  Baltimore. 
Governor  Notley  sold  "Basford  Manor"  to  Lord  Baltimore, 
who  conveyed  "Bachelor's  Hope"  to  Joshua  Doyne,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  manor  being  subsequently  divided  up  and  sold 
as  follows:  100  acres  to  James  Mills,  100  to  Notley  Gold- 
smith, 100  to  Michael  Goldsmith,  100  to  John  Goldsmith.  100 
to  John  Reeves,  104  to  Nathaniel  Truman  Greenfield,  200  to 
Benjamin  Moulton,  200  to  Edward  Turner,  200  to  John  Smith. 
69  to  Samuel  Maddox,  150  to  John  Maddox.  277  to  John 
Eden.^ 

The  manor  house,  a  frame  building  with  brick  gables  and 
ciiimneys,  one  and  a-half  stories  high,  and  steep  gambrel  roof, 
while  un^"etentious  in  exterior  design,  contained  a  great  deal 
nne  mterior  decoration,  consisting  of  elaborate  wood- 
^  .  Occupied  a  commanding  position  on  the  Wicomico 

River,  ihis  old  monument  of  colonial  times,  stood  almost 
unchanged  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  road  passing  through  "Bachelor's  Hope"  is  still 
known,  as   the  manor   road.     In    1773,   the   manor   house   at 

'  See  Patent,  Liber  A.  B.  L.  H.  p.   166,  Land  Office. 
-Rent    Rcills,    Saint    Mary's  and   diaries   County,    i,  p.   41- 
'  Rent   mils.   Saint    Mary's   Cr)nnty,    i.   Manors,   p.   -'9. 


370  COLONIAL     MARYLAND 

Bashford,  and  about  three  hundred  acres  of  the  manor,  came 
into  the  possession  of  Major  WiUiam  Thomas,  Sr.,^  and  it 
continued  to  be  owned  by  his  descendants  until  late  in  the 
present  century,  when  it  was  disposed  of,  and  that  part  of  the 
manor  known  as   "Bachelor's  Hope",  purchased  in  its  stead. 

"Notley  Hall",  on  the  Wicomico,  and  adjoining  "Bash- 
ford  Manor",  was  the  home  of  Governor  Thomas  Notley. 
He  sold  it  to  Lord  Baltimore,  who  owned  it  for  many  years. 
Baltimore  was  deprived  of  the  use  of  it  after  the  Protestant 
Revolution,  in  Maryland,  but  it  was  restored  to  him  in  1692. 
by  order  of  the  Council.'  Nothing  remains,  it  is  to  be  re- 
gretted, of  the  old  Notley  house,  save  a  few  broken  yellow 
bricks,  a  brick  under-ground  passage-way,  which  led  from 
the  cellar  to  the  river,  about  fifty  yards  below,  to  mark  the 
spot  on  which  it  stood. 

"Notley  Hall"  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  early 
provincial  records,  and  is  ^  place  of  historic  interest,  as  well 
as  of  rare  and  exceptional  beauty.  It  may  be  interesting  to 
note  that  among  the  references  which  the  early  records  make 
to  this  old  estate,  is  one  of  a  visit  to  Lady  Baltimore,  at  "Not- 
ley Hall",  in  1683,  by  Mrs.  Doyne,  of  "Bachelor's  Hope".' 
.  "Saint  Clement's  Manor"  was  granted,  in  November, 
1639,  to  "Thomas  Gerrard,  Gent",  for  many  years  a  member 
of  the  Council,  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the 
Province.  It  contained,  at  first,  Saint  Clement's  Island  and 
the  neck  of  land  lying  between  the  Potomac  River,  Saint 
Clement's  Bay,  and  a  line  drawn  from  Saint  Patrick's  to  Saint 
Katherine's  Creek,  in  all  about  1030  acres.  In  June,  1642,  a 
second  patent  was  obtained  for  the  manor,  by  which  it  was 
extended  over  to  the  Wicomico  River,  and  was  made  to  em- 
brace all  the  land  which  lay  between  the  "Potomack  River", 
the  "Wicocomoco  River",  Saint  Clement's  Bay",  "Ger- 
rard's  Creek",  and  "Tomaquoakin  Creek",  and  a  line  drawn 
from  the  head  of  "Gerrard's  Creek",. 460  perches,  to  a  Span- 

^  Deed,    John   Goldsmith    to    WilHani    Thomas,    Land    Office ;    will, 
WiUiam  Thomas,   Saint  Mary's  Count\\ 

"Archives   (CI.   Pro.  1692)   p.  311.  ^  Ibid,  1683,  p.   183. 


SAIN  T     M  A  k  ^■  •  S     CO  l'  X  T  V  371 

ish  oak,  "marked  witli  twelve  notches,  standing  on  the  head 
of  Tomaquoakin  run,  or  fresh  creek",  as  well,  also,  as  the 
island  of  "Saint  Clement's,  Saint  Katherine's,  and  Saint 
Margaret's",'  containing,  as  was  supposed,  6.000  acres,  but 
in  reality  embracing  11,400  acres." 

Saint  Clement's  was  erected  into  a  manor,  Mr.  (Jerrard 
made  lord  of  the  manor,  and  vested  with  all  the  royalties  and 
privileges  usually  belonging  to  manors  in  England,  among 
them  the  right  of  Court  Baron  and  Court  Leet.  It  is  worthy 
of  note,  that  Saint  Cement's  has  passed  into  history  as  the 
only  one  of  the  old  Maryland  manors  whose  records,  to  any 
material  extent,  have  survived  the  ravages  of  time.  The 
records,  written  in  quaint  old  English,  of  the  Courts  Baron 
and  Courts  Leet,  held  on  Saint  Clement's,  between  1659 
and  1672,  have  been  preserved.  They  are  in  the  Maryland 
Historical  Society,  and  may  be  found  herein  printed  in  full  in 
Chapter  VTII,  "The  Judicial  System  of  Colonial  Maryland". 

Among  the  older  estates  carved  out  of  Saint  Clement's 
Manor,  may  be  mentioned  "Longworth  Point",  the  Blackiston 
homestead,  and  the  residence  of  Nehemiah  Blackiston  when 
President  of  the  Council,  in  1690;  "Saint  John",  the  Gardi- 
ner homestead ;  "Little  Hackley",  the  Shanks  homestead : 
"Bluff  Point",  the  Coade  homestead;  "Mattapany",  the 
Cheseldine  homestead,"  and  "Bushwood",  the  Slye  home- 
stead.    At  the  latter  place,   then   the  home  of  Robert  Slye, 

^  See  Patents  in  Land  Office. 

'  The  Proprietary  "quittrent"  for  Saint  Clement's  was  at  the  rate 
of  one  shilling  per  annum  for  every  fifty  acres.  The  following  interest- 
ing receipt  has  been  preserved  by  the  Maryland  Historical  Society : 

"March  8th  1659.  Received  then  of  Thomas  Gerrard  of  St.  Clem- 
ent's manor,  the  full  summe  of  sixty  pounds  in  full  discharge  of  ten 
years  rent  ended  at  Christmas  1659  [for  St.  Clement's  manor],  the 
said  being  pa,id  in  Tob.,  at  two  pence  per  pound. 

"   I    say   received   by  me,    Phillip   Calvert,   Trer. 
"Witness  William  Ffuller,  Ri.  Even." 

^  Kenelm  Cheseldine  and  John  Coade  were,  perhaps,  the  most 
prominent  leaders  in  the  Protestant  Revolution  of  1688,  and  were 
both  rewarded  for  their  services  in  that  connection.  This  preferment, 
and  the  subsequent  history  of  the  two  men  materially  reflect  upon  the 


372  C  O  L  O  N  I  A  L     MARYLAND 

Speaker  of  the  Lower  House  of  Assembly  in  1658,  the  Council 
of  Maryland  met,  in  1659/  "Bushwood"  occupies  a  pictur- 
esque position  on  the  commanding  elevation  overlooking  the 
Wicomico.  The  house,  a  capacious  brick  building  with  two 
large  wings  and  four-sided  roof,  capped  with  balustrade  ob- 
servatory, is  strikingly  imposing,  and  presents  a  charming 
specimen  of  colonial  architecture.  It  at  one  time  contained  a 
great  deal  of  handsomely-chiseled  wood  interior  decorations, 
much  after  the  design  of  those  at  "Sotterly",  and  said  to 
have  been  the  work  of  the  same  artistic  hand,  but  this  has,  in 
recent  years,  been  largely  removed.  Bushwood  in  1669,  passed 
from  Robert  to  his  son  and  heir  Capt.Gerard  Slye,  and  from  him 
to  his  son  George,  who  in  1773  devised  it  to  his  nephew  Edmond 
Plowden.  On  this,  then  very  large  estate,  and  near  what  is 
now  known  as  "Bushwood  Wharf",  was  located  the  once 
promising  port  and  town  of  Wicomico"." 

On  what  part  of  "Saint  Clement's  Manor"  the  manor  house 
stood  has  not  been  definitely  ascertained,  but  it  is  believed  to 
have  been  that  part  of  it  called  "Brambly".  Certain  it  is,  that 
his  son,  Justinian,  who  was  left  in  charge  of  the  manor  when 
Dr.  Gerrard  took  up  his  residence  in  Virginia,  and  to  whom 
he  afterwards  devised  the  greater  part  of  it,  lived  there.  In 
his  will,  dated  1685,  he  speaks  of  it  as  "my  now  dwelling 
house  and  plantation"  on  said  manor  called  Brambly,^  and  as 
early  as  1664,  Dr.  Gerrard  himself  referred  to  it  as  "Gerrard's 

question  as  to  whether  the  real  motive  which  prompted  the  move  was  re- 
gard for  the  puhlic  weal  and  in  the  interest  of  religion,  as  was  alleged, 
or  was  in  fact,  a  design  to  overthrow  the  Proprietary  and  entrench 
themselves  in  power.  It  has  been  well  said  in  this  connection,  that  "in 
times  of  revolution,  men  will  rise  to  power,  in'  whose  mouths  the  alleged 
causes  of  revolution  are  but  the  watch-words  to  denote  a  party,  or  the 
calls  to  lure  it  on;  and  whose  hearts  have  never  joined  the  service  of 
the  lip.  But,  as  naturally- as  the  muddy  particles  which  float  upon  it 
denote   the  perturbed  stream,  does  the  elevation  of  such  men  indicate 

^Archives  (CI.  Pro.  1690)  p.  206;  Ibid,  1659,  p.  383;  will,  Luke  Gar- 
diner; will,  John  Coade;  4th  H.  &  McH.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  179.  ist 
Ibid,  p.   15.3- 

-  Act,   1688,   C.  6.  ^  Will   Record,   Annapolis. 


SAINT     MARY'S     COUNTY  373 

Brambly".'  which,  in  connection  with  the  fnrther  fact  that 
Brambly  appears  to  have  been  the  name  of  the  Gerrard  home- 
stead in  England,'  gives  both  color  and  .streni,nh  to  the  theory 
that  the  beautiful  and  splendid  estate  of  that  name,  on  Saint 
Clement's  Manor,  was  also  the  seat  of  Dr.  Gerrard,  the  first 
proprietor  and  lord  of  the  manor. 

Of  the  style  or  character  of  the  manor  house  at  Saint 
Clement's,  nothing  is  known,  but  it  is  liighly  probaljle  that  it 
was  built  of  brick,  as  Dr.  Gerrard  employed  a  brick-maker  on 
the  manor,  in  1643.'  and  which,  it  may  be  added:  is  the  earli- 
est reference  the  records  furnish  of  brick  making  in  Maryland. 
.Saint  Clement's  Manor  is  also  historical  by  reason  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  the  spot  on  which  the  notorious  rebellion  of  Gov- 
ernor Josiah  Fendall  was  enacted.  The  details  of  this  tragedy 
are  given  in  Chapter  III,  "The  First  Capital",  but  it  should 
here  be  noted,  that  the  Legislature,  through  which  this  nefa- 
rious scheme  was  to  be  carried  out,  met  for  the  purpose  at  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Gerrard,  on  Saint  Clement's  Manor.     The 

the  over-excitement  of  the  movement,  and  diminish  the  force  of  its  alle- 
gations against  those  at  whom  the  revolution  is  aimed." — (McMahon.  p. 
238.)  Sheseldine  was  made  Speaker  of  the  Protestant  Convention, 
which  assembled  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  revokition,  and  also 
of  the  first  Assembly  convened  under  the  Royal  Government,  in  1692  ■ 
he  was  also  appointed  Commissary  General  of  the  Province,  from  whicl 
office  he  was  dismissed,  in  1697,  ''for  carelessness  and  negligence  in 
omce."—iC\.  Pro.,  H.  D.,  Part  2d,' p.  539-^  What  applied  to  him  in 
office,  seems  to  have  developed  in  the  case  of  his  only  son,  Kenelm 
Cheseldine,  into  "carelessness  and  negligence"  in  morals.— (See  ist 
H.  &  McH.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  103;  4th  Ibid,  p.  314;  2  Bland,  p.  76) 
After  the  Revolution,  Coade  was  made  a  Colonel  of  the  militia,  and 
also  Receiver  of  Customs  for  the  Potomac  District,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  was  "asserting  that  religion  was  a  trick,  reviling  the  Apostles, 
denying  the  divinity  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  alleging  that  all 
morals  worth  having  were  contained  in  Cicero's  offices."  For  this 
grossly  blasph'cmous  conduct,  he  was  dismissed  from  office,  and  was 
presented  by  the  grand  jury  of  Saint  Mary's  County,  for  "atheism  and 
blast>hemy."—See  Liber  H.  D.  Part  2d.  pp.  393-397- 

'  ist  H.  &  McH.  Maryland  Reports,  p.  112. 

'Tombstone  of  Thomas  T.  Greenfield,  at  Trent  Hall. 

'Archives    (CI.   Pro.   1643)    P-  213. 


374  COLONIAL    MARYLAND 

second  day  of  the  session,  it  adjourned  to  a  house  owned  by 
Mr.  Robert  Slye,  at  Wicomico,  before  mentioned,  and  it  was 
there  that  independence  was  formally  proclaimed,  and  that 
Fendall  issued  his  famous  proclamation  as  Governor  of  the 
little  Republic  of  Maryland.' 

As  the  active  friend  and  ally  of  Fendall,  in  this  conspir- 
acy, Mr.  Gerrard  was  tried,  convicted,  ajid  sentenced  to  ban- 
ishment, and  confiscation  of  Saint  Clement's  Manor,  and  his 
other  property  in  [Maryland.  The  sentence,  however,  was 
commuted,  and  the  order  of  confiscation  dismissed,  but  he  was 
politically  disfranchised  and  prohibited  forever  from  again  hold- 
ing public  office.*  After  this  Mr.  Gerrard  moved  across  the 
Potomac  into  Virginia  (leaving  Saint  Clement's  in  charge  of 
his  son,  Justinian  Gerrard),  where  he,  in  1670,  with  John  Lee, 
Henry  Corbin,  and  Isaac  Allerton,  erected  a  "banquetting 
house"  at  the  corner  of  their  respective  lands.'  In  his  will, 
dated  1672,  he  requested  to  be  buried  in  Maryland  by  the  side 
of  his  wife,  Susanna,  who  was  probably  buried  on  Saint  Clem- 
ent's Manor.  Mr.  Gerrard  was  himself  a  Roman  Catholic,  but 
his  wife,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of  the  freeholders  and 
tenants  on  Saint  Clement's  were  Protestants,^  and  a  Protest- 
ant church  was  erected  there,  on  Saint  Paul's  Creek,  as  early 
as  1642.' 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  (ierrard,  information  reached  the 
Proprietary  that  Saint  Clement's  contained  a  much  larger  area 
of  land  than  was  set  forth  in  the  patent.     A  re-survey  of  the 

'Ibid,   Ass.   and  CI.    Pro.   1659. 

Mbid,   CI.    Pro.    1660,  p.  402. 

"■  Meade's  Virginia,  2,  p.   146.  ^  Day  Star,  p.  58. 

'Who  Were  the  Early  Settlers  of  Maryland. 
Dr.  Thomas  Gerrard  married,  ist,  Susannah  Snow,  sister  of  Jus- 
tinian and  Abel  Snow,  and  2nd,  Rose  Tucker,  widow  of  John  Tucker, 
of  Virginia,  who  died  in  1671.     She  left  children  by  her  first  marriage — 

Sarah,    who  married  Blakiston,  and   Rose,   who   married    William 

Fitzhugh  of  Virginia. —  (Virginia  Historical  Society,  Vol.  i,  No.  3, 
January,  1894,  p.  269.)  Dr.  Gerrard  died  in  December,  1673,  leaving  by 
his  first  marriage,  sons  Justinian,  Thomas,  and  John,  and  daughters  Su- 
sannah, who  married  ist,  Robert  Slyc,  and  2(1,  Joliii  Coadc ;  Elizabeth, 
who  married  Nehemiah  Blackiston,  and  Mar\.  and  a  .grandson.  Gerrard 


S  A  I  X  T     M  A  K  V  •  S     C  O  I'  X  I"  ^-  375 

manor  was  brdercd,  by  which  il  was  ascertained  to  contain 
11,400  acres,  being  4.500  acres  more  than  Mr.  lierrard  had 
been  paying-  the  "annual  quit-rent"  upon. 

A  scicri  facias  was  issued  again^it  Mr.  Justinian  Gerrard, 
his  son  and  heir-at-law,  and  in  1678,  the  I'rovincial  Court 
decided  that  the  patent  had  been  "unduly  and  illegally  ob- 
tained", and  ordered  it  to  be  cancelled.  A  new  patent  was, 
however,  issued  to  Mr.  Justinian  Gerrard  for  the  manor,  with 
a  "quit-rent"  based  "on  the  correct  acreage.  Saint  Clement's 
Manor  was,  in  17 10,  purchased  by  Charles  Carroll,  and  the 
last  official  notice  we  have  of  it  as  a  manor,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  celebrated  case  of  Carrall  and  Llewellin,  in  1750,  over 
that  part  of  it  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the  estate  called 
JJrambly.' 

Xear  Saint  Clement's  3kIanor,  but  not  a  part  of  it.  was 
"Bush wood  Lodge",  noted  as  the  early  homestead  of  the 
Key  family  in  Maryland,'  and  was  at  one  time  distinguished 
for  the  high  character  of ^its  improvement.  The  mansion  house, 
erected,  it  is  said,  about  1730,  by  Philip  Key — the  progenitor 
of  the  family  in  Maryland,  a  lawyer  of  first  rank,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Privy  Council — enjoys  the  reputation  of  having 
been  one  of  the  handsomest  houses  at  that  time  in  the  Prov- 
ince. The  parlor  walls,  tradition  says,  were  made  of  alternate 
panels  of  carved  wood  and  mirror.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire 
early  in  the  present  century,  ,the  house  now  there  being  the 
second  to  occupy  the  place  of  the  original." 

Peyton. —  (See  his  will,  Will  Record,  Annapolis.)  His  sons  Justinian 
and  Thomas  both  died  without  issue..  John,  his  third  son,  left  issue. 
.Su>^annah,  who  died  unmarried,  and  John,  whose  widow  Jane,  married 
Richard  Llewellin,  father  of  John  Llewellin.  of  Brambly. —  (Paper  in 
possession  of  the  Author,  submitted  to  Thomas  Stone,  before  1750. 
for  legal  opinion  as   to  heirs-at-law  of  Dr.   Gerrard.) 

'ist   H.,&   McH.   Maryland    Reports,   p.    110. 

""See  will  of  Philip  Key,  1764,  Will  Record,  Saint  Mary's  County. 

*T.he  fact  should  not  go  unnoticed,  that  at  "Bushwood  Lodge"" 
were  born  and  reared,  among  otiiers,  Edmond  K!ey,  .Attorney  "General  of 
Maryland  and  a  member  of  the  committee  which  drafted  the  famous 
instructions  for  the  Stamp  .Act  Congress;  Thomas  Key.  the  father  nf 
Judge  Edmond  Key;  and  I'rancis  Key,  the  father  of  Pliilii)  Barton  Key. 


376  COLONIAL     M  A  R  Y  L  A  N  D 

For  an  account  of  "Newtown  Manor",  or  "Little  Bret- 
ton",  as  officially  named,  see  Chapter  IX,  "Some  of  Mary- 
land's Early  Churches". 

"Tudor  Hall",  the  Key  homestead,  is  situated  near 
Leonard-Town.  It  was  originally  the  home  of  the  Barnes 
family,  and  on  it  may  still  be  seen,  the  ancient  tombstones, 
covering  the  graves  of  Major  Abraham  and  Colonel  Richard 
Barnes,  two  of  early  Maryland's  most  distinguished  sons. 
The  house,  a  handsome  brick  building,  occupies  a  promi- 
nent and  strikingly-pleasing  position,  overlooking  Bretton's  Bay, 
and  is  conspicuous  for  the  graceful  design  and  dignified  sim- 
plicity of  its  architecture  and  finish. 

Near  it  is  a  grove  of  stately  oaks — sentinels  of  the  prime- 
val forest — one  of  which,  a  majestic  white  oak,  is  said  to 
measure  twenty-nine  feet  in  circumference. 

"Porto  Bello"  was  the  Hebb  homestead.  It  is  on  the 
Saint  Mary's  River,  nearly  opposite  Saint  Mary's  City.  The 
house  stands  on  a  graceful  eminence  near  the  river,  and  com- 
mands an  extensive  and  rarely  beautiful  view  of  both  land  and 
water.  It  is  a  large  frame  building,  with  brick  foundations 
and  gables,  hipped  roof,  and  semi-dormer  windows,  and  pre- 
sents an  interesting  specimen  of  colonial  architecture.  The 
interior  finish,  while  not  elaborate,  is  unique  and  handsome, 
and  over  the  parlor  mantel,  built  in  the  brick  wall,  is  a  large 
mirror,  said  to  have  been  placed  there  when  the  house  was 
erected. 

Local  history  and  family  tradition  say,  that  William  Hebb, 
his  friend,  Lawrence  Washington,  and  his  neighbor,  Edwin 
Coade — midshipmen  in  the  British  navy — on  their  return,  after 
the  war  between  England  and  Spain,  named  their  estates  after 
persons  and  places  connected  therewith,  Hebb  calling  his  "Porto 
Bello",  in  honor  of  the  celebrated  battle  of  that  name,  in 
which  he  was  engaged ;  Coade  naming  his  "Carthegena", 
after  the  noted  Spanish  town  of  that  name ;  and  Washington 

the  distinguished  jurist  and  statesman,  and  Ann  Ross  Key,  wife  of  Chief 
Justice  Roger  Brooke  Taney;  and  Francis  Scott  Key,  author  of  the 
"Star  Spangled  Banner" — that  national  anthem  -whose  "martial  and  in- 
spiring  strains''   that   have    long   since   encircled    the   earth. 


S  A  I  X  T     M  A  k  N'  •  S     CO  L'  X  T  .V  377 

giving  his  tlie  name  of  "Mount   \  crudu"',  in  coniplimcnt   to 
Admiral  Vernon,  under  whom  they  all  served. 

Among  the  other  ancient  estates  in  Saint  Mary's  may  he 
mentioned,  "Evelynton  Manor",  in  the  "Baronie  of  Saint 
Marie's",  at  Piney  Point,  granted  to  Hon.  George  Evelyn,  in 
1638;  "Forrest  Lodge",  in  Saint  George's,  gjranted  to  Patrick 
Forrest,  in  1665 ;  "Dryden",  adjoining  West  Saint  Mary's 
Manor,  granted  to  Kenelm  Cheseldinc,  in  1676;  "Hunting 
Creek",  adjoining  Park  Hall'',  granted  to  Hon,  Thomas  Hatton, 
in  1654;  "Snow  Hill",  near  Saint  Mary's  City,  granted  to 
Abel  Snow,  in  1637 ;  and  the  manors  of  "West  Saint  Mary's" 
opposite  Saint  Mary's  City,  containing  1730  acres;  "Beaver 
Dam",  between  Indian  Bridge  and  Leonard-Town,  containing 
7,680  acres;  and  "Chaptico",  on  the  northwest  side  of'Chaptico 
Bay  and  Run,  containing  6,110  acres.  These  manors  belonged 
to  Lord  Baltimore,  and  were  retained  by  the  Baltimore  family, 
almost  in  their  entirety,  until  the  American  Revolution. 


\"- 


/  9 


Appendix 


iV  S  shedding  light  upon  tlie  escapade  referred  to  in  note  on  pages 
36  and  37— that  of  breaking  open  the  old  Vault,  at  Saint  Marys 
—the  following  letter,  accidently  discovered,  .and  never  before 
published,  is  of  historic  interest  and  value.  The  letter,  dated  August 
I  St..  1799,  was  written  by  one  of  the  participants,  Dr.  .-Mexander  Mc- 
Williams,  to  his  mother.  The  author  was  then  a  student  of  medicine 
under  Dr.  Barton  Tabbs,  who  resided  at  Tabb's  Purchase,  afterwards 
known  as  White  Plains,  near  Saint  Mary's  City,  and  who  was  the  son 
of  Rev.  Moses  Tabbs,  for  many  years  Rector  at  William  and  Mary 
Parish.  Dr.  McWilliams  afterwards  served  as  surgeon  in  the  navy,  and 
subsequently  located  in  Washington  City.  This  letter,  still  in  excellent 
l>reservation,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  nephew,  Mr.  James  Mc- 
Williams, of  Saint  Mary's  Cotmty.  That  part  of  it  relating  to  family 
matters,    is,    of   course,    here    omitted : 

August   1st,   1799. 
De.\r  Rel.ations:— 


s 


The  oldest  people  now  living,  have  for  many  years  past  spoken  of  a 
vault  that  was  at  Saint  Mary's  Church,  in  which  was  one  of  the  first 
American  governors  and  his  lady,  who  were  in  leaden  coffins  and  em- 
balmed for  the  purpose  of  being  sent  and  interred  in  England,  but  being 
disappointed  in  passage  there,  it  w^s  determined  a  vault  should  be 
erected  and  they  enclosed  therein,  the  door  locked,  and  the  key  thrown 
into  the  river.  This  was  the  account  which  was  handed  us  from  the 
oldest  people  now  living,  who  had  been  informed  by  their  fathers,  and 
they  got  it  from  their  fathers,  etc.,  but  none  of  them  remembered  their 
names.  Into  this  curious  affair.  Doctor  Tabbs  and  Mr.  James  Biscoe 
were  determined  to  search  but  never  did.  I  hearing  it  mentioned  pro- 
posed to  Mr.  George  Campbell  to  accompany  me.  there  and  open  it. 
which  request  he  willingly  agreed  to.  Our  intention  was  connnunicated 
to  Mr.  James  'Biscoe,  Basil  Biscoe  and  Doctor  Tabbs  who  were  all 
pleased  with  it  and  agreed  to  join  us.  Agreeable  to  appoimment  the 
27th  instant,  all  except  Doctor  Tabbs  were  there  by  9  o'clock  and  nearly 
twenty  others,  although  we  were  private  as  we  could  be  or  thought 
necessary.  We  first  began  to  dig  down  as  low  as  the  door,  but  the 
ground  being  hard  prevented  us.  The  attempt  was  then  made  on  top 
which  was  below  the  surface  of  the  earth.     Mowovcr,  after  near   four 


38o  APPENDIX 

hours  of  excessive  hard  labor,  we  opened  a  small  hole,  and  heard  the 
bits  of  bricks  rattle  down  on  the  coffins.  I  peeped  in  and  saw  two 
along  side  of  each  other.  The  hole  being  made  larger,  Mr.  Campbell 
with  a  rope  was  let  down  and  I  followed  him  and  to  our  astonishment 
we  saw  the  coffins  were  of  wood,  the  planks  of  which  were  easily  sep- 
arated, which  we  did,  and  behold  it  contained  most  elegant  leaden 
coffins,  the  smaller  of  which  was  by  a  rope,  with  difficulty  got  out 
and  conveyed  to  a  shed  close  by  where  awaited  the  spectators  anxious 
to  behold  the  contents.  We  removed  the  lid  and  to  our  surprise  saw 
within  it  another  coffin  of  wood.  The  lid  of  this  being  knocked  off,  we 
saw  the  winding  sheet  perfect  and  sound  as  was  every  other  piece  of 
garment.  When  the  face  of  the  corpse  was  uncovered  it  was  ghastly 
indeed,  it  was  the  woman.  Her  face  was  perfect,  as  was  the  rest 
of  the  body  but  was  black  as  the  blackest  negro.  Her  eyes  were  sunk 
deep  in  her  head,  every  other  part  retained  its  perfect  shape.  The  loss 
of  three  or  four  of  her  upper  fore  teeth  was  supplied  with  a  piece  of 
wood  between.  Hex  hair  was  short,  platted  and  trimmed  on  the  top 
of  her  head.  Her  dress  was  a  white  muslin  gown,  with  an  apron 
which  was  loose  in  the  body,  and  drawn  at  the  bosom  nearly  as  is 
now  the  fashion  only  not  so  low,  with  short  sleeves  and  high  gloves  but 
much  destroyed  by  time.  Her  stockings  were  cotton  and  coarse,  much 
darned  at  the  feet,  the  clocks  of  which  were  large  and  figured  with  half 
diamonds  worked.  Her  gown  was  short  before  and  gave  us  a  view  of 
all  her  ankle.  Her  cap  was  with  long  ears  and  pinned  under  the  chin. 
A  piece  of  muslin  two  inches  broad  which  extended  across  the  top  of 
her  head  as  low  as  her  breast,  the  end  was  squared  and  trimmed  with 
half  inch  lace  as  was  the  cap.  The  body  was  opened  and  the  entrails 
removed  and  filled  with  gums  and  spice,  and  the  coffin  filled  with  the 
same.  She  was  a  small  woman,  and  appeared  delicate.  In  the  coffin  of 
the  man  was  only  the  bones  which  were  long  and  large.  His  head  was 
sawed  through  the  brain  removed,  and  filled  with  embalmment,  but  he 
was  not  so  well  done  as  the  other,  or  had  been  there  much  longer  as 
he  was  much  more  gone.  The  winding  sheet  of  the  body  was  marked 
in  such  letters-  as  these 


\>      ^^      * 


on  the  lid  was  such  as  these  A  "y      ^^^L            '  ^^^  vault  was 

nearly  ten  foot  square,  nicely  /\    •  I      ,^       '''          arched  with  a 

brick  floor.     We  saw  wlicre  ^    ^  •  tlig    door    was 

but  it  was  I)rickc(l  up.     The  -  air     in     there 


APPENDIX  381 

was  cool  and  impregnated  with  a  sweet  balmy  smell,  originating  from 
the  coffins,  but  I  thought  proper  to  sprinkle  it  with  rum.  The  length  of 
time  that  these  bodied  have  been  here  must  have  been  two  hundred 
years  or  more  as  we  have  not  the  smallest  account  who  they  were  more 
than  what  I  have  mentioned.  Since  writing  the  above  1  have  heard  a 
man  say  who  is  si.\ty  years  of  age,  that  it  was  one  Copely.  He  got 
his  information  from  his  father  who  was  eighty  years  of  age  when  h'3 
died,  and  his  was  handed  him  by  his  great  grand  father  who  built  the 
vault  and  came  in  as  a  servant  to  this  Copely.  This  seems  to  be  the 
best  account,  and  most  probable.  After  spending  the  day  in  hard  labor 
we  replaced  them  as  before,  and  returned  home,  all  acknowledging 
themselves  perfectly  satisfied  and  abundantly  rewarded  for  their  trouble. 
Numbers  since  regret  their  not  knowing  it  as  they  might  have  been 
there.  Others  wish  it  again  opened,  and  some  are  displeased  at  its  being 
opened  at  all. 


.ALEX.AXDER  Mc  WILLI. A  MS. 


Index 


A  Page 

Abington  Creek   326,  355 

Abington,    Jolin,    Gent.,    curious 

-  warrant  to note     99 

Acknowledgments,    See    deeds. 

Addison,  Col.  Thomas 357 

Admiralty,  Court  of 134 

Alderman  of  St-  Mary's  City. .  22,  61 

Allerton,    Col.    Isaac 374 

All  Faith   Parish 201,206 

All  Saints  Church 198 

Alms  House   326 

Anacosta    18 

Appeals,    Court    of 143,  146 

Appeals,  Right  of 143,  145 

Ark  and   Dove 9,  10 

.\ssize.  Courts  of   •  ■ 135 

Assernbly,  The  General  48-49 

Attorneys.  Regulation  as  to 141 

Augusta  Carolina   317 

B 

Bachelor's    Hope 369 

Bailiff,  Court   116 

Baltimore,    Lady note  351 

Baltimore,  Lords,  instructions  of, 
14 ;  report  of,  note,  22 ;  makes 
religious  toleration  cardinal 
rule,  69;  home  of  Charles, 
43-350;  marriage  of.  note  351. 

wills  of    ■  • note    96 

Barber,  Dr.  Luke note  367 

Baron    and    Leet,    Courts   of....   122 
Barnes.  Major  Abraham  and  Col. 

Richard    3.19.  341-  3/6 

Barney,  Commodore    366 

Bashford    Manor    369 

Battle  Creek  366 

Battle  of  the   Severn    ■....     54 

Battle    Town    t 366 

Beall,    Brig.-Gen.    Resin 242 

Beaver   Dam   Manor 377 

Blackiston's    Island,   identified   as 

St.  Clement's   12,  13.  14 

Blackiston,     Col.     Nehemiah, 

12.  58,  60,  200,  371 

Blackiston,  James    T note  346 

Blackiston,  Gov.  Nathaniel 3.3^ 


Page 

Bladen,    Hon.    William note  350 

Bluff   Point   Estate    J 98.  371 

Burrough,  English  local  mode  of 

inheritance    .  .' •  • .  .note  103 

Bowes,  Timothy  ....•: 340,  341 

Bowles,  Hon.  James note  357* 

Bozman,  John  L....  11,  note  112,  319 
Brambly  Estate    . .  327,  372,  373,  375 

Brandywine,    Battle    of .  268,  269 

Brent,  Dep.   Gov.  Giles    ., 44 

Brent,  Mistress  Margaret 26,  44 

Bretton.  Hon.  William,  216,  note,  218 
Brice,  Jacob.  .\dj.  Md.  Line....  240 
Brome,  Dr.  John  Mackall. .  .note    45 

Brome's  Island    366 

Brooke,  Hon.  Baker,  marriage  of, 

•  • note    S3 

Lord  De  La  Brooke  Manor...  362 
Brooke,    Gov.    Robert,     pres.    of 
Council,     54;     commander     of 
county,  318;   deposed,  318;  re- 
ligion of,  361 ;  home  of .362 

Brooke    Place   Manor 366 

Budd.'r(or  Birds)   Creek 3-'0 

Bushwnod     108.  37-' 

C 

(Calvert,   Lady  Jane    35' 

Calvert,  Gov.  Leonard,  makes 
treaty  with  Indians,  16;  laid 
out  first  town,  16:  his  home, 
26:  his  manors,  .349:  aids  in 
laying  foundation  of  govern- 
ment, 52;  enforces  religions 
toleration.  70;  I-'irst  Chief  Jus- 
tice, m;  driven  to  Virginia, 
70:  expedition  against  Clai- 
l)orne.  235 ;  death  of.  52:  life 
and  character  of,  52,  53;  fam- 
ily of.  53;  Monument. of.  65; 
son  and  daughter  of note     ^3 

Calvert,    Hon.'   Phili]).    appointed 

governi  ir    .^6 

Hr.mc  of   46 

Chancellor   46 

Marriage  of    note  35' 

Calvert  County 318.  note  354 


384 


INDEX 


Page 
Calverton  Manor  and  Town,  107, 466 
Camden,  Battle  of,  284,  285,  286,  295 
Cannon  from  Fort  St.  Inigoes..  221 
Canon,  4,  Title,  2,  not  in  force, 

note  186 

-Capital,  Maryland's  First,  loca- 
tion of,  19;  erected  into  a  city, 
22;  map  of,  appendix  B;  char- 
acter of  improvements,  22; 
houses,  public  buildings,  24,  47; 
political  history  of,  48-50;  an 
historic  battlefield,  50-51  ;  re- 
moval of,  60-62 ;  historical  im- 
portance   of .  .  •  • 67-68 

Carberry,    Rev.    Joseph    221 

Carroll,  Arch.  Bishop note  355 

Carroll,  Charles  of  Carroll 

note  241,  307.  355 

Carroll,  Gov.  John  Lee. .  •  • .  .note  361 

Carthagena    376 

Carvel,  Atty.  Gen.  Robert 42 

Castle,    The    Governor's 41 

Causin,  J.  M.  S... 347 

Caution   Money   88 

Cedar  Point   355 

Certificates,   Land 89 

Chancellor    in,  132 

Chancellors   Point,  View   of--..     16 

Place    of    first   landing 16 

Chancery,    Court   of 132,  I34 

Chapel,  The  first,  used  conjointly 
by    "  Protestants     and      Roman 

Catholics ■  - ,37,  39 

Later  history  of 39,  40 

Its  graveyard  a  place  of  burial  40 
Chapel  of  St.  Clement's  Manor  198 
Chapels  of  Ease,   198,  203,  note,  206 

Chaptico  Manor    377 

Chaptico  Town  -  - . .    198,  3^7 

Chaptico,   King   o.f note  327 

Charter,    F"irst    Municipal 22 

Charlotte   Hall    3.15-  33^ 

Cherry   Field    Point • 344 

Cheseldine,  Kcnelm 44,  note  372 

Chesley's   Hill    366 

Churches,    Early .-.   190,223 

Church  Endowments,  Early,  194,  L98 
Church  Rstablishment,  Acts  re- 
lating to,  154,  189;  character  of, 
note,  T64,  165 ;  clergy  under, 
176,  r77;  their  tenure,  T74,  176; 
induction  of,  175,  176;  Mary- 
land and  English  contrasted, 
165,    179;   tax  under,    172,   180; 


Page 
swept  away  by  Revolution,  180 ; 
new  conditions  after,  180,   189; 
law   applicable   to- -...note  161,  185 
Church    Tax,    Controversy    over, 

note  179 

Church,    Trinity     35,  36 

Church  Wardens    161,  162 

Clergymen,     Protestant     first     in 

Province 154,    155,  note  155 

Tenure   of    -  - 170 

Character  of   176,  177 

Names  of  195,  200,  204,  2aS 

Clerks   of    Courts 115,   note  346 

docker's    Fancy     47 

Coade,    John    -• 58,    note  371 

Cohongoronta,     Early     name     of 

upper    Potomac note     18 

Commissary    General    132 

Coin,    Early   Maryland note     57 

Conveyancing,    Methods    of 

•  • 100,     102,     X03 

Colors,   for  Counties note  321 

Cool    Spring    335,  338 

Copley,  Thomas note  81,  219 

Copley,    Sir    Lionel,    first    Royal 

Governor -  • 59,  60 

Death  and  burial  of.... --note    60 

Copley  Vault    note  60,  ap.      A 

Confiscation,  Acts  of   95.  96 

Cornfield   Harbm^^^. . ._ . 349 

Cornwallis,  CaptJTTios.,  36^  notes, 
.  .-T-^-^--.-.^.-7-Tr-.-.-r:-. . .  .52,  350,  344 

Council   of  Safety .-..   340,  341 

Council   Chambers    28 

Court  Houses,  Ordered  Built....    117 

At  Leonardtown 322,  324 

Courtes,  Capt.  John.  .........  60-138 

Courts,  See  several  titles  of  Ad- 
-  miralty,  Assize,  Baron  and 
Leet,  Chancery,  County,  Oyer 
and  Terminer,  Prerogative, 
Provincial  Court  of  Appeals 
and  King  in  Council  County 
Court,  organization  of,  114, 
115;  judges  of,  116:  their  com- 
pensation, 116;  oath  of,  note, 
119;  quorum  of,  It6;  terms  of, 
117;  administrative  duties  of, 
T17,  T18:  rules  of,  note,  117; 
jurisdiction  of,  119,  120,  121; 
appeals   from,    t2I  ;   appeals  to,   113 

Countv  Committee   34^ 

C^wpens,  Battle  of   289,  293 

Cremojia    Estate     3^3 


r  X  ]:» !•  X 


Page 

Crier,    Court     ....•■ n6 

CromweH's    CoiiiiiiissiniKTs,    54,    228 

Cross   ^[anor    .?50 

Ciickholds  (St.  CuthluTt's)  Creek 

: ••..  .156 

1) 

Dalrytnple,  Confouiuls  St.  Clem- 
ent's with    Heron    Island 11 

Darnall.  Col.  Henry.  Eleanor 
Brook,     Mary,     John,     Rohert, 

' '. 354.    note  355 

Deeds,  Ackn<5\vledgnient  and  En- 
rollment of .  • 101,  note  loi 

DeBoore.   Brig.-Gen 266 

Deep   Creek •  ■ 349 

DeKalb,  Gen.   Baron 284-286 

Deep  Falls   367,  368 

De  La  Brooke   ••  .  . . .  362,  363 

Descent,    Rules   of 102 

Digges,  Col.  William,  Sec'y  of 
Province,  28 ;  in  command  of 
Sfr.  Mary's  at  time  of  its  evac- 
uation, 1689.  58;  his  manor  the 
site    of    Fort    Warl)urton,   now  * 

Forr  Washington note  3Si 

Districts.    Laying  out   of 321 

Dorsev,    Clement    •  • 347 

Dryden    Estate    377 

Ducking  Stool 117 

Dulaney.  Daniel,  His  Masterly 
Contribution     to     anto-Revolu- 

tionary    Literature note  241 

Dunmore's   l""leet    ■  • 343 

E 

Early    Court    Officers    344 

I'ast  Saint  Mary's 44 

Escheats     ■  • Of 

Egerton,  Charles    •  •  M^ 

Enrollment  of   Conveyances loi 

Entailments     104 

Eutaw  Springs.  Battle  <rf  .  .  206,  297 

F.velyton   Manor    s^77 

V 

Fealty    ■•••  Qi 

Fendall,  Gov.  Josias',  Rebellion  of 

55.   56.  .V3 

Fenwick's  Manor    ....•• 357 

IHag,  The  Maryland,   Design   of, 

opp.  234 

Earlv   uses  of    235 

I'ines  ' 92 

Fleet,   Capt.    Henry    ••...  I5 


I'agc 

hord,  Capt.  Benj 294 

Forrest    Hall    367 

Forts  Camden  and   Watson     ...  295 

Forts    Miffen    and    Mercer    271 

Fort    St.    Inigocs    24.  220,  221 

Fort   Saint    Mary's 24,  25 

Fort   Warburton    351 

Fort  Washington  .....  257,  258.  .^31 
Frederick  County  Court ...  .note  241 
I'rencli   Alliance,   The, 

i-:2-2y(\  298-300 

G 

Garrison   Mattapany    .' 59,  352 

General   Court,    Established    ....   146 

Abolished 146 

Gerard,  Dr.  Thomas.  .  12.  70,  yjQt-yj2 
Germantown,   Battle  of   ....   270,  271 

Gerard,    Justinian    . -.  .   374,  ,375 

Gerard's  Creek    370 

Gibbett    Hill . note  332 

Gist,  Col.  Mordecai,  his  Hero- 
ism at  Long  Island 245.  246 

Glebes   •  • .  167,  193,  194.  198.  207 

Graveyards,  Early,  40,  193,  194. 
203.'2i7,  222,  353,  note  361.  363. 
364,_  365,   368. 

Green's  Rest   45 

Greene,  Gen.  Nathaniel,  super- 
seded   Gates    in    Command    of 

Southern  Department    2S7 

His  campaign  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  in  the  war  for  inde- 
pendence   290,  298 

Ground    Rents    .  .  •  • 9395 

Guilford  Court  House.  Battle 
of    293.   204 

H 

Hamburg    yz^',   367 

Hanson.    Pres.    John.- note  241 

Harford.  Henrv,  last  Proprietary 

of   Md ' 95.  96 

Harlem   Heights.   Battle  of 235 

Harvey  Hundred  and  Town,  ,321,  326 

Heron  Island  .  .' Ii,  12 

Howard,   John    Eager,   the    Hero 

of   Cowpens    •  •   290.  296-297 

Hundreds,    Civil    Division' 321- 

Hunting   Creek THl 

1 

Indentures '02 

Indians,  Characteristics  and  Hab- 
its   of.    note.    10,    11:    religion 


386 


I  N  D  E  X 


Page 
of,    note,    16;    names    of,    note, 
18 ;  manners  of,  107 ;  money  of, 
note,    107;    attempted   coloniza- 
tion of   107 

Indian    Town    Estate    367 

Induction,  Its  uses  and  Abuses, 

170,   171,   176,   184 

Ingle,   Richard    51 

Inheritance,    Modes   of,    102,    loj, 
•  • note  103 


Jail,  First  Erected   

Jail    at   Leonardtown    324, 

Jellie's  Tavern   

Jenifer,    Daniel,    Home    of 

Jesuit  Fathers,  note  49,  note.  Si, 
•  •    notes  219, 

Jones,  John   Paul 

Jordan,    Jeremiah    339, 

Judges,  Appointment  and  Comp- 
ensation of,  116,  132,  136,  140; 
character  of,  153;  oath  of,  note, 

Judicial  System,  Development  of, 

115. 

Various  courts  under,  112,  113, 
122,  130,  133,  135,  137,  144, 
146;  Characteristics  of,  147- 
153- 

Jury,  Selection  and  Compensa- 
tion of,  118.  139,  140;  right  to 
trial,  by,  118;  of  manorial 
courts    

Justices  of  the   Peace    113- 

Jutland,   Estate    


34 

325 

34 

28 

221 
276 
342 


119 
122 


117 
3  SO 


Key,   Hon.  Ednnind   343 

Key,   Hon.   Philip 344,  note 

^346,    347.    375- 

Key's  Creek    • 24,  yj,  45 

King   and    Qiiecn    Parish....    192-201 
King     in     Council,     Appeals     to, 

• -note  144 

King's  Mountain,  P.attlc  of  .  .   288-289 


Lafayette,    IMarquis,    266-273,    296-300 
Land    Office,    Establishment    of.  .     90 

Records    of    07 

Land  Tenure,  Character  nf, 
81-86;  how  and  by  whom  land 
could  be  obtained,  86-90;  in 
what   f|uantity,   86-88;   methods 


Page 
of    transferring,     100-103;     de- 
scent of,  103,  104;  system  aris- 
tocratic in  tendency 107-110 

Law   Chambers    28 

Laws   of    Province    79- 1 1 1 

Lee,   Light   Horse   Harry....  280-297 
Leonardtown,    Llistory    and    map 

of    .' 322-325 

Levy,  First  County   321,  322 

Lewger,  Sec'y,  John,  his  home.  ..     42 
Conflict    with    Jesuits    ..•■..   78-80 

Little   Bretton  Manor    218 

Livery   of   Seizen    100 

Long  Island,   Battle   of 245-252 

Longworth   Point    ,   371 

Lowe,  Susannah  Maria note  261 

Lowentown    ?,2y 

Luckland    367 


M 


Mail    Route,   The    I' irst    330 

]\Ianors,    Privileges    and    Powers 

incident  to  83,  loi,  108 

Manorial  Courts.  ...  122,  note  122-131 

Map  of  Leonardtown    325 

Map  of  St.  Mary's  City app.      B 

Marriages,     Early     Records     of, 

•  • note  209-217 

.Market    Square    37 

Maryland,  Area  of note    86 

Loss    of    Territory note     86 

Maryland    Reports,    Early    ..144,  145 
Maryland  in  the  Revolution,  238, 

239,    note  241-243 

Maryland  Line,  One  of  the  Few 
Uniformed  and  Well  Disci- 
plined Organizations  in  the 
American  Army,  243;  its  her- 
oism and  valor,  240-302 ;  bat- 
'  ties,  240-302 ;  relied  upon  by 
Washington  for  the  most  haz- 
ardous   duties,    243 ;     Greene's 

high' estimate    of    297 

Mattapanv.  Street,    and   Estate, 

24.  40,  42 
Mayor     and     Aldermen     of     St. 

Mary's    City     61.    note    6t 

Middlebrook,  Washington  at,  266,  267 

Middle  Street   ■•....   27,  29,  37 

Mills;   Early 36,  37,  note     37 

Monmouth,"  Battle  of 273,  274 

Money,  Various  Kinds  in  l^se.  57 

■  • note    S7^  229 

l\f?irecroft,    lohn 22 


I X  n  K  X 


;vS- 


Page 

Morristown   264 

Mortmain,  Statutes  of  in, Force, 

79.    80,   88 
Mulberry  Tree,  Historic  old,  32,  .13,  65 

N 

Newtown  Manor  and  Church,  216-218 
Nicholson,   Governor    Francis, 

60,  62,   337 

Ninety-Six,  Battle  of 295,  29(5 

Notiey  Hall    370 

Notley,  Governor  Thomas,  22,  369,  370 
Niithead,     Richard,     The     First 
Printer 58 


Oyer  and  Terminer  Court  of....   135 

Oath  of  Fidelity  reserved  Liber- 
ty of  Conscience-  ■ 7^ 

Oath  of  Governor  prescribed 
Strict  Observance  of  Tolera- 
tion         70 

Oath  of  Judges  note  1 19 


Palatinate,  Maryland  a  83 

Nature  of   note  83,  84,  85 

Parishes,    Province   divided   into, 

note  171 

Patents  for  Land,  how  obtained. .     89 

Peake,    Indian    Money    107 

Paulus  Hook  280,  281 

Piepoudrie,  Court  of ...... .  .note    38 

Pillory 117 

Pine   Hill   River,  located...   318,   319 
Piney    Neck    Estate. ..  .349.  note  349 

Plains,    The    364 

Plater,  Hon.  George 357,  note  357 

Plater,    Governor     George,     358- 

•  • 360,  note  358,  359 

Point    Patience    366 

Point  Lookout   9 

Poplar    Hill    Church    ......    192,  196 

Preston.  Seat  of  Government  un- 
der   Puritans . .  .   36^^ 

Primogeniture,  Law  of.   102.   104, 

.  .. .  • '. .  .notes    103,  104 

Princeton.  Battle  of 263 

Prince  Frederick  366 

Printing    Press    51,  57.  58 

Protestant    Revolution    58.  59 

Provincial  Court   •  ■  .  .    137-131 

Judges   of    138 

Public  Roads,  Early 329.  330 


Q  Page 

Queen   Tree,    Place    327 

Quia   cmptores.    Statute  of.. note     85 
Quigley,   Capt.    John,    Builder  of 

First   State   House    29-30 

Quit  Rents 15.  94.  95 

R 

Rawlings,    Col.    Moses    at    F'ort 

Washington    257 

Relief 92,  93 

Religious     Denominations,     Rela- 
tive Early  Growth  of,  note,  171,  172 
Religious     Toleration*   in     Early 

Maryland    60-76 

Rent  Rolls 97 

Resolutions,  Stamp  .Act 343 

Resurrection    Manor 356 

Rifle  Companies,    The  Md.   Skill 

in  Marksmanship   239,  240 

Revolutionary  Fund  344 

Rhode    Island     note  73-74 

Roads,    Early    Public 329-330 

Roanoke,  Indian   Money note  170 

Rock  Creek  Parish 208,  209 

Roman  Catholic   Places  of  Wor- 
ship   37-41,  215-222 

Rosecroft 47 

Rousby,  Col.   Christopher   ......  353 

Rousby  Hall   354 

Rousby,  Col.  John 353,  note  354 

Royal   GoverniiK-nt    59-6o 

S 

Sacred   Heart  Church 222 

Saratoga,  Battle  of  267,  277 

Seal,  The  Great,  imique.  223;  the 
first  seal  lost,  223 ;  Great  seal 
of  1648.  224;  captured,  but  re- 
stored, 228  ;  lesser  seal  at  arms, 
229;  stamped  on  money,  230; 
Great  seal  retained  after  Revo- 
lution, 230,  231  ;  new  seal 
adopted,  231,  2,12;  second  new 
seal,  232;  third  seal  after  1648. 
232 ;  the  one  now  in  use,  232, 
233:  illustrations  of,  225,  228. 
229,  230,  234:  description  of, 
224-227 ;  under  royal  govern- 
ment. 231,  232;  great  seal  of 
the  Ignited  States  .  .notes  230-233 
School     System,      Early.     335-3.^8, 

note  338 

.Separation  of  Church  and  State, 
worked    out    by    Marylan<l.  .   77,  78 


INDEX 


Page 
A  momentous  issue   ....••....     '/^ 

How  accomplished    //-"^o 

Baltimore   at   war   with   Jesuits, 

80,  8 1 

Sheriff's,  Their  Appointment  and 

Duties   •  •    114-   115,  11^"^ 

Sniallwood,  Gen.  William,  Com- 
mander of  Maryland  Line  and 
second  in  command  of  South- 
ern Department,  240,  243,  246, 
note  248,  253-256.  259,  266, 
268,  270,  274,  2S5-287,  289,  297, 
300. 

Sotterly    356,  357 

Spring,  Governor's  42 

State  House,  Maryland's  first, 

29,  30,  31 

Picture  of   Z'2- 

Grant  of    64 

Destruction  of  65 

Staten   Island,    Battle   of 268 

Stocks     •••    IT7 

Stewart,    Major    Jack,    Stormmg 

of   Stony  Point   279 

Stewart,  The   Peggy ■  -note  241 

Stony  Point,  Storming  of .  .  .   279,  280 

Susquehanna     353 

Saint  Aloysius  Church   222 

Saint   Andrew's   Parish.....   205,  208 
Saint    Clement's    Island,    an    his- 
toric spot II 

Rescued  from  oblivion    ....   12,  13 

Saint    Clement's    Manor TH'^,  ZIS 

Courts  of... note  122,  129 

St.  Elizabeth's  Manor  350 

St.  Gabriel's  Manor  349 

St.  Inigoes  Church  and  Fort,  218,  221 

St.  Inigoes  Mission   note  221 

St.  John's  Church  222 

St.  Jerome's  Town  •  • 326 

St.  Joseph's  Church   222 

St.    Joseph's   Town 326 

St.  Joseph's  Manor   355 

St.  Catherine's  Island   13 

St.  Leonard's  Creek 366 

St.  Margaret's  Island  13 

St.  Mary's  City,  See  First  capital. 
St.  Mary's  County,  attractions  of,- 
^  315.   Ts^l^:.   character   of  houses, 

348;  civil  divisions  of,  "^17,  320; 
county  seat  of,  322,  323;  dele- 
gates to  convention  from,  339. 
343-347;  early  officers  of,  notes, 
344,  346 ;  after  the  Revolu- 
tion, 344-347;   features  nf,  31^, 


Page 
T^'i'],  governors  from,  347;  his- 
torical interest  of,  315;  limits 
of.  2)'^7-i^o\  officers  of  military 
companies  of,  342,  343;  old  es- 
tates of,  348-377;  other  towns 
of.  326-328;  ports  of,  328;  rep- 
resentatives of,  in  Congress, 
347;  seats  of  learning  in,  65, 
335-338;     traditions     of,     note, 

332;   will   records   of    332-3.34 

St.  Mary's  Parish   191-196 

St.   Mary's   River    19-20 

St.   Michael's  Manor 348 

Snow  Hill  Manor yjl 

Stars    and    Stripes,    History    of, 

.  . .  ., note  237 

Steubens,  Gen.  Baron   ....•■  272-273 

Sterling,  General   244.  246 

Stone,  Gov.  William,  26,  54. 

■ note  53.  54 

Sullivan.  Brig-Gen.,  244,  261,  267-  . 

270,  278 
T 

Tabhs,   Rev.    Moses....   193,  196. 

205,  appendix      A 

Taney,    Chief    Justice    Roger    B., 

note  53,  367 

Tavern     Rates     Established     by 

Law   note    35 

Taxation,   25,  y],    151.   note,   157, 

note  179,  321,  322 

Tenure,  Land    85,  86 

Thomas,  Governor   James, 

•  • : note  345.  347 

Thomas.  Captain  John  Allen,  339, 

•  •  • 341,    342,    note  345 

Thomas,    Jahn    Allen,    Jr .342' 

Thomas,  Captain  John..  327,  342,  347 
Thomas.   Maj.   William,   Sr.,   200, 

340.  345.  367.  370 
Thomas,  Maj.  William.  Jr..  note 

'^T,,  note  2>2^,  342,  note  342,  ,347, 

?^^?,- '      . 

Tilghman,"  Col.  Tench, note  241 

Toleration,     Religious,     Practical 

Existence   of    60-75 

Tomaquoakin    (  T  o  m  a  k  o  k  i  n  ) 

Creek 199.  370 

Trenton,  Battle   of   261.  262 

Trent  Hall  Estate  363 

Trinity   Church 35 

Trinity    Manor    349 

1\ubman.    Mai.    Henry.    336.    341, 

345.  34^> 


I  x  I)  i:x 


3^; 


Page 

Tudor  Hall   37^ 

Turner,  Edward note   I J4,  .?<xj 

Truman,  Maj.  Tlioin.i-.   ?(>?.  note.  ?6.< 

L 

Urquliart.    Rev.    John    .  .  ■  ■ ju.s 

V 

Valley  Forge ^7-'--'73 

Vault,   The   Copley,  .u.  note  33. 

note  60,  appendix      A 
Vestry,  Laws  Applicable  to,  156- 

164,'    169,    181-183.    notes    183,    189 
Vestrymen,   Names   of,    192.   200, 

202,  note  J08 

W 

Washington,  Gen.  George,  a  mar- 
vel in  tactics  and  strategy  and 
a   wonder   in  courage  and   en- 
durance,   243-265,    266-271,    272-280 
Waldron's   old    field,    site   of   St. 

Andrew's  Church   206 

Warden's  Church  161^  162 

Ware,    Francis,    Lieut.    Col.    Md* 

Line     24O 

Warrants,  Land  . ••....     89 

Warehouses,   Public   3-28 

West  St.  Mary's  ^L^nor 377 

Western  Reserve,  the  Extent  and 
Scope  of,  303,  309:  Maryland's 


Page 
movement  t<>  procure  it  f(»r  the 
Confederation,  305;  resolutely 
pursued  her  course  and  won 
lier  fight,  306.  308;  her  dele- 
gates in  Congress  during  the 
contest,  307;  importance  of, 
309;  bearing  of  on  National  de- 
velopment •  • 310,  3'4 

White,    I'athcr    .^nd^e^v.    note   9, 

.14,  17,  note    49 

Whipping   Post 117 

Wicomico  Town  .  .  •  • 326.  374 

Williams.     Gen.     Otho     Holland, 
Lieut,   of    First    Rifle    Co.    and 
Commander  of  Maryland  Line, 
2.TO,    257.    2f<?.    2i^).    292. 
"Let     Williams     advance     and 

sweep  the  field" •  • .  . .   296 

Wills.  Records  of 131.  .^3^.  3.15 

Williams  Roger  note  74-75 

White   Plains.  Battle  of 236 

Walstenhome.  Daniel •  • 47 

Wyoming  Valley  278 

Y 

Veocomico.  Iii<lian  Village  of.  ...      15 

Site  of  first  capital    20 

York-town,  Battle  of 298-.^oo 

Z 

Zachiah  Swaniii  I'A  329 


f/iS 


.;U\ 


St.  Mary'jp 


F1M     T42  c     1 

Chronicles  of  colonial  yaryland 

ThofMS.  James  it    (James  waiter).   1    CMOC 

ST.  MAOrS  COU£Q£  OF  MARYLAND  LJBRARY 


3    3127    00082    8444 


MARYLAND 

F      Thomas,  J.W. 

181+     Chronicles  of  colonial 

.TU2    Maryland. 


187 


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