The saga of Marylanders loyal to England is definitely one of the great untold stories of the American Revolution. Loyalists in general are greatly misunderstood by the citizens of the 21th century. Loyalist motives and viewpoints have been all but ignored in history books (and certainly in most movies about the Revolution). Tories from Maryland fared no better. Here is a brief telling of their story. . . This group of individuals collectively had some of the worst luck of any colonist to take the loyalty oath. Shunned by former friends and neighbors and forced from their homes on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, they fled to British-occupied Philadelphia. Some just wanted to escape the rebels. Some wanted to fight them.

The loyal Marylanders were a varied lot. Reverend Jonathan Boucher preached loyalty from his pulpit in Annapolis... with two loaded pistols in easy reach. Maryland's last British governor, Robert Eden, was well-liked in the Maryland colony, even by those who favored separation from England. Cecil County resident Robert Alexander was a former member of the Continental Congress. There was Philip Barton Key, future congressman and the uncle of Francis Scott Key, and William Augustus Bowles from Western Maryland. Many of the Maryland tories had experience as participants of loyalist marauding parties in their home state.

A regiment of Maryland Loyalists was organized in 1777 with Kent County planter James Chalmers as its Lieutenant Colonel. Although officially commissioned as The First Battalion of Maryland Loyalists, in truth, the name was somewhat misleading as less than half the unit was actually composed of Marylanders (according to Chalmers). The rest of the muster rolls represented poor and homeless tories who made their way into British-occupied Philadelphia and could be pursuaded to join up over a glass of rum and bold promises from a recruiting officer.

The unit left with the British army when they evacuated the city of Philadelphia in June of 1778. While the British rear guard clashed with Washington’s army in the Battle of Monmouth a short time later, the Marylanders were a day’s march away to the north. No military glory awaited them in this endeavor. As part of the advance guard, they had little to do except stand around and wait for the rear guard to finish battling the rebels and catch up. Upon reaching Long Island, desertions skyrocketed.

After spending the summer of 1778 on Long Island, they were shipped off to Pensacola, Florida to fight the Spanish (and small pox). Dismissed as "Irish vagabonds" by the commander of the post, it wasn't going to be an easy stay.

After a five-week siege by Spanish forces in the spring of 1781, the British and Provincial regiments at Fort George were forced to surrender. Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, the fort had held out much longer than expected due partly to the heroic defiance of the untested Maryland and Pennsylvania Loyalist units. The Marylanders had even executed a successful bayonet charge on one of the Spanish redoubts. This brief encounter would be their only real taste of battle.

Shipped back to New York, they uneventfully sat out the rest of the war. As with most loyalists, the United States offered no place for them and they were forced to pack up and leave for Nova Scotia. When their transport ship shipped out for Saint John in September of 1783, less than one hundred of the original three hundred members of the regiment were aboard. The rest had died of small pox or deserted. (In fact, half the unit deserted over time, which was not unheard of in loyalist units)

Bad luck, however, just wouldn’t go away. The transport ship Martha struck a ledge of rocks near the shore of Nova Scotia. Half the Maryland Loyalists and their families drowned. The survivors were brought to Saint John, without clothing, blankets, or weapons -- hardly a promising way to face the approaching Canadian winter.

The tiny group of fifty Marylanders received their land grants along the Northern shore of the St. John River at Fredericton, in the newly-created Province, New Brunswick, which had been carved out of Nova Scotia.

Aspects of the loyalist story have been lost forever. Their songs and poetry, showing their frustration & anger, can still speak volumes. Their propaganda rivals that of their revolutionary counterparts for its self-righteous fury.

The loyal Marylanders had one prolific writer among them: Lieutenant Colonel James Chalmers, who spent a large part of the war trying to convince British Commander Sir William Howe to adopt his plan to defeat the Revolution.

Chalmers's literary ambitions had started early. Consider his thoughts on war with England in March of 1776. . .

". . .It now behoves us well to consider, whether it were better to enter the harbour of peace with Great Britain, or plunge the ship into all the horrors of war.-- Of civil war. As peace and a happy extension of commerce, are objects infinitely better for Great Britain; than war and a diminution of her commerce. It therefore is her interest to grant us every species of indulgence, consistent with our constitutional dependence, should war continue, there can be no doubt of the annihilation of our ships, ports and commerce, by Great Britain."

--from the pamphlet, PLAIN TRUTH, March 1776.

Interesting Related Trivia

While on campaign at Pensacola, Florida, a number of loyal Marylanders were sent aboard the H.M.S. Mentor to serve as marines. Ironically, the H.M.S. Mentor was built in Maryland in 1778 and started life as a rebel privateer named Who's Afraid. It was later captured by the British and converted.
--source: Introduction to The Log of H.M.S. Mentor

James Chalmers' signature

View his signature. This is a facsimile of James Chalmers's signature from 1783 when he petitioned England for compensation of lost property. He got his money – although not quite as much as he wished.

All the information presented here comes from my book MARYLAND LOYALISTS IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, available from Tidewater Publishers.