Washington's Immortals

by Patrick K. O'Donnell

  As they trudged toward Charleston, the Marylanders protected Greene’s right flank with orders to “strike at [the British] wherever you may find them.” As usual, supplies were scarce and the countryside had been picked clean by both armies, prompting Gist to opine, “[The surrounding area was] so much ravaged” that it was “impracticable” to forage for food. With the end of the war in sight, the men began to worry about whether they would receive their back pay. Most had fought without payment for nearly two years.

  The war had left many injured and in poor health, limiting their abilities to provide for themselves and their families. One of those injured officers was the indomitable John Eager Howard. Shortly after Eutaw Springs, rumors spread north that the Baltimore native had fallen in the battle, prompting his brother James to journey south. In reality, Howard had been seriously wounded in the left shoulder. Doctor Richard Pindell and later another physician treated the gaping wound. With the British spymaster John André out of the way, Howard courted Peggy Chew with a barrage of love letters sent during his convalescence. Eventually, she “surrendered unconditionally to the noble colonel, and the couple became engaged” and after many weeks of rest, James and John made the six-hundred-mile journey back home, where the Maryland hero, with Miss Chew by his side, recuperated until the war was over.

  In late August, Greene positioned Gist, now in charge of the southern army’s light infantry, near Johns Island, a sizable isle located due south of the city of Charleston. Starved for supplies, the British were dispatching foraging parties, and Greene ordered Gist’s Marylanders and the Delaware Regiment along with Light Horse Harry Lee’s cavalry to protect the area where the enemy had been sighted. Formed into a quick reaction force, the light infantry and cavalry mobilized to deal with British excursions. On August 27, Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens, one of George Washington’s favorite aides, was leading an element of this task force to join Gist when the British, hiding in the tall grassy wetlands, ambushed the young officer’s group, cutting down many of the Continentals. Gist quickly marched his men to help Laurens, but they were too late; the brilliant young officer died in the clash. After Gist arrived, the British made a hasty withdrawal, but not before the Marylanders captured a British galley that mounted two nine-pound cannon.

  Since Greene didn’t have enough troops to seize the heavily fortified port of Charleston, skirmishing continued around the islands surrounding the city, culminating in what some consider one of the last engagements of the Revolution. Captain William Wilmot, known for his “love of adventure” and inability to resist a fight, led several raiding parties across the river to James Island, also located outside Charleston. On November 14, 1782, just one month prior to the evacuation of Charleston by the British, Polish-born Thaddeus Kosciuszko, the engineer who had conducted the siege operations at Ninety Six, suggested the idea of ambushing a group of woodcutters on the neighboring island. Kosciuszko and Wilmot planned the raid with an African American who was later believed to be sent by the British to lead the Americans into a trap. Historians recorded, “The enemy was well prepared for the ‘surprise’ and poured into the little party so deadly a fusillade that Captain Wilmot was killed instantly. . . . Kosciuszko escaped injury, although ‘his weapon was shattered in his hand and his coat pierced by four balls.’” Marylander John Boudy remembered that “our Colonel Laurens, who was far in advance, fell in the outset of the engagement. I remember seeing four men carry him into our rear, where it was said he died before we left the field.” Boudy recalled the deaths of “Lieutenant James Bettis and some five or six privates.”

  According to Greene’s biographer William Johnson, “This was the last bloodshed in the American War.”

  But Wilmot wasn’t the last Maryland soldier to die during the Revolution. Tragically, an accident claimed one of Maryland’s bravest officers. Word of Cornwallis’s surrender had spread fast, and the recently liberated William Washington had married Jane Elliot, a wealthy Charlestonian who owned Sandy Hill Plantation on the outskirts of town. Jack Steward was riding to Sandy Hill for an “evening given in entertainment to the officers of the army” when his horse fell. “And the Colonel pitching on his head in a ditch, dislocated his neck. He lived till Sunday morning about seven o’clock and then died.” Maryland’s indestructible man, who had survived Brooklyn, escaped a prison ship, led the forlorn hope at Stony Point, and fought at Cowpens and Yorktown, died in a freak accident. The officers of the Maryland Line, his friends, gathered to mourn. The next day they interred Steward with every military honor in the burying ground of the old church near Sandy Hill. “This gentlemen, whose untimely death is much to be lamented, had served with great reputation during the war, and was much beloved by the army.”

  The Americans had won the war, but negotiating the peace dragged on for many months. Representatives from both countries met in France to hammer out the details of what became known as the Treaty of Paris. Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens (father of the late John Laurens), and John Adams met with British representatives David Hartley and Richard Oswald. The group signed a preliminary agreement on November 30, 1782. The treaty between Britain and the United States did not include France; this was remarkable considering that the negotiations took place in France. That evening, Franklin rode to Versailles and broke the news to the French king. He had the confidence to ask for additional loans, which he secured along with French consent to the treaty.

  Meanwhile, the Marylanders settled into routine garrison duty at Johns Island and James Island while waiting for the British to leave Charleston, which they did on December 14. Under the terms of a truce, the Americans could enter the city as long as they allowed the British to leave freely. Led by Wayne, Gist, and Greene, the triumphant Marylanders and other American troops entered the city. “The British moved out of town unusually slow, and repeatedly complained to our General that we pressed too close upon them,” recalled Boudy. “Whereupon Wayne ordered us to march ‘more slowly.’” When the Americans arrived near the statehouse, the officers gave them permission to visit the town. Boudy added, “Discipline now being almost suspended in the afternoon all the troops were liberally treated with the most choice spirits, and that much ceremony and parade was used—General Greene, Brigadier General Gist, the governor and others marched in procession into the City, followed by the whole of the light horse belonging to the Army. The doors I remember and windows were thronged with the people of Charleston, cheering the procession and giving it many a hearty welcome.”

  Up north, the bulk of the army waited another year for the British to evacuate New York City. On April 11, 1783, the fledgling American Congress issued a proclamation “declaring the cessation of arms, as by sea as by land, agreed upon between the United States of America and his Britannic Majesty.” Congress approved the preliminary treaty articles on April 15, 1783, which many colonists considered to be the end of the war. However, the countries didn’t officially sign the treaty until September 3, and Congress didn’t ratify it until January 14, 1784. It encapsulated the dreams of the Americans who had fought so long and hard, declaring, “His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz. New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free, sovereign and independent states: that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs and successors, relinquishes all claims to the Government, propriety and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof.”

  On April 21, 1783, Baltimore celebrated the end of the war. The residents set the city ablaze with lights and constructed a temporary building especially for the party. Thirteen times they toasted their victory, and thirteen cannon sounded in salute after each toast. Afterward, they held a ball and a dinner for local dignitaries, who, according to the Maryland Gazette, “with unfeigned satisfaction congratulated each other on the blessings of
Peace—the rising glory of their country—the prospects of her commerce, her future grandeur and importance in the scale of nations.”

  Far removed from the glitz of Baltimore, what was left of the Immortals moldered away outside Charleston. Relief finally came that spring when the state furloughed the Marylanders. Without money, new clothing, transport, or food, the men began the six-hundred-mile journey home. Many, including John Boudy, were able to sail home on Lady Washington, a ship provided by the Maryland government. Among those who had survived to the end were Private James Gooding, who was twice taken captive by the British and twice escaped to rejoin the Patriots; John Bantham, who had been severely wounded when serving on the forlorn hope at Ninety Six but recovered and fought through the battle on James Island; Thomas Carney, the African American who had fought in most of the Maryland engagements since Brandywine; and the surviving leadership of the Maryland Line, including Otho Holland Williams, Gassaway Watkins, Mordecai Gist, and William Smallwood. The Marylanders were finally going home.

  Chapter 43

  “Omnia Reliquit Servare Rempublicam”

  On December 23, 1783, General George Washington solemnly entered the State House in Annapolis wearing his finest buff-and-blue uniform. His commanding presence attracted every eye in the chamber. In anticipation of the day’s events, several prominent women had crowded into the upper gallery, and numerous dignitaries filled the room, including the entire Continental Congress, the consul general of France, and the leadership of the Maryland Line: William Smallwood, Otho Holland Williams, Samuel Smith, John Eager Howard, and Mordecai Gist. In November, the Continental Congress had moved from Princeton to Annapolis, where it was then in session. As Washington gracefully made his way to his reserved seat, the members of Congress remained seated with their hats on, but the numerous other men in attendance stood and removed their hats as a sign of respect.35

  35. Artist John Trumbull immortalized the scene in a painting called General George Washington Resigning His Commission that proudly hangs in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

  After Washington found his seat, the president of Congress stood and announced, “The United States in Congress assembled, are prepared to receive your communications.”

  His countenance etched with dignity, Washington rose and addressed the room. He clutched a prewritten speech in his right hand, which trembled until he used his other hand to steady it. Reading aloud in a voice that occasionally faltered with emotion, he congratulated Congress and announced that he was “retiring from the service of my country.” He expressed his gratitude to God and his fellow Americans, and committed the new country to “to the protection of Almighty God.” He closed, “Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of action, and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life.”

  Washington then turned to the president of Congress and handed him his commission.

  Those in attendance understood that Washington’s resignation was a momentous event in the establishment of the young nation and in the history of the world. Rather than remain in control of the army, possibly setting himself up as a dictator, the general chose to keep the army under civilian control. This decision influenced the course of United States history from that day forward. Those present felt a wellspring of emotion, as the event marked the culmination of their cause, the realization of the liberty from Great Britain they had fought so long to attain. Many that day felt overcome by gratitude for Washington’s leadership and for his humility in leaving his position when his task was accomplished. The editor of the Maryland Gazette, who attended the speech, wrote, “Few tragedies ever drew so many tears from so many beautiful eyes as the moving manner in which his Excellency took his final leave of Congress.”

  Afterward, Washington warmly greeted many Marylanders, including the officers who were present. He then left Maryland and quickly rode home to Mount Vernon, arriving in time for Christmas Eve. There he wrote, “I feel eased of a load of public care. I hope to spend the remainder of my days in cultivating the affections of good men, and in the practice of the domestic virtues.”

  It ended much as it had begun—in a tavern. On November 7, 1783, the officers of the Maryland Line assembled at Mann’s Tavern in Annapolis. The men formed the Maryland Chapter of the Society of the Cincinnati, a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the American Revolution. The group took its name from Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a farmer who temporarily ruled the Roman Republic during a time of war but who resigned and went back to his fields when the emergency was over. The society chose the motto Omnia reliquit servare rempublicam, which means “He relinquished everything to save the Republic.” Its stated goals were “to preserve the rights so dearly won; to promote the continuing union of the states; and to assist members in need, their widows, and their orphans.” Brigadier General Otho Holland Williams served as the temporary chairman, with Nathaniel Ramsay as treasurer.

  Washington’s Immortals were true citizen-soldiers—a group of men of family, fortune, and honor who followed the same path throughout the Revolution. When the war was over, they hung up their muskets and uniforms and began the hard work of building a nation. Many of the men were as successful after the war as they were during it.

  John Eager Howard recovered from his wounds and married the love of his life, Peggy Chew, whose former home sat on the site of the Battle of Germantown. He built a magnificent mansion called Belvedere in the heart of Baltimore and owned a vast amount of real estate in the city. He was elected governor in 1788 and was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and then the Senate.

  William Smallwood never married but returned to his plantation. He later became governor of Maryland after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

  Otho Holland Williams remained active in the Society of the Cincinnati. He was appointed commissioner of the Port of Baltimore and was later elected to the House of Representatives. He suffered from repeated bouts of influenza and attempted to mitigate his ailments by traveling south to Barbados. He died in Virginia in 1794.

  Mordecai Gist relocated to South Carolina and remained an ardent believer in individual freedom and states’ rights. Reflecting his beliefs, he named his two sons Independent and States. He also remained active in the Freemasons, serving as Grand Master in South Carolina. He died on September 12, 1792, at the age of fifty and was laid to rest in Charleston.

  Gist’s friend Samuel Smith recovered from his wounds and after the war became a member of the Maryland House of Representatives. He later rose to the rank of major general in the Maryland militia and successfully commanded Baltimore’s defenses during the siege of Fort McHenry and Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. After the war, Smith was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. His final position in public service before he died in 1839 was mayor of Baltimore.

  The statuesque Gassaway Watkins lived to the age of eighty-eight. He settled in Howard County, Maryland; built a home called Walnut Grove; and raised a family.

  Like many of the men of the Maryland Line, the intrepid Doctor Richard Pindell went west, settling in Kentucky. He applied for and received a pension. Later he was the personal physician for Speaker of the House Henry Clay.

  Captain Bob Kirkwood continued to serve his country. After moving west into the Northwest Territory, he once again took up arms for the United States. He was killed in November 1791 by Native Americans led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket in the Battle of the Wabash (also known as St. Clair’s Defeat), one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an American army, a battle that left 623 Americans dead. One of the lucky survivors recorded Kirkwood’s demise: “There resting beneath the tree, lay old Kirkwood, scalped, his head smoking like a chimney.” It was Kirkwood’s thirty-sixth battle fighting for his country.

  Ge
neral Cornwallis returned to Britain in 1782; having been released on parole after his surrender at Yorktown, then he sat out the rest of the Revolution. In 1785 he went to Prussia as an ambassador to the court of Frederick the Great, and 1786 he became the governor general and commander in chief of India, where he enacted many important reforms. He later served as master of the ordnance during the French Revolutionary Wars, as lord lieutenant and commander in chief of Ireland during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and as plenipotentiary minister to France during the negotiation of the Treaty of Amiens. He returned to his post as governor general of India in 1805 and died the same year.

  Banastre Tarleton was elected to the House of Commons in 1790 and became an outspoken advocate for the slave trade, frequently mocking well-known abolitionists. He later recounted his activities in the Revolution (and criticized Cornwallis’s decisions) in a book titled A History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces of North America. He died in 1833, leaving behind a wife but no children.

  Like Tarleton, General Sir Henry Clinton served in Parliament and also published a book that blamed the loss of the war on Cornwallis. He died in October 1793.