peace and the recognition of our freedom as a nation was forced upon Great
Britain."
Those interested in Maryland history are more or less acquainted with the
fact that the Maryland Brigade, usually referred to as the Maryland Line, played
a distinguished role in the American Revolution from the Battle of Long Island
to the siege of Yorktown, which ended the war.
Yet Col. John Gunby, who was an officer in the Maryland Line and
considered by some as probably the most brilliant soldier whom Maryland
contributed to the War of Independence, is little heard of or known by the
present generation.
The Gunby's, coming from England in the 17th century during
the time of the third Lord Baltimore, took up a grant of land in Queen Anne's
County. Around 1710 the grandfather
of Col. Gunby moved to Somerset County . The
family exercised substantial influence wherever they settled.
The father of John Gunby was the owner of many acres of land and also a
number of vessels with which he engaged in coastal trade.
John Gunby was born on March 10, 1745, on a farm at Gunby's Creek just
a few miles from present day Crisfield. As
the Gunby home was considered somewhat of a rendezvous for the people of the
neighboring country, young John Gunby had the opportunity to mingle with persons
from different walks of life. Although
the Gunbys were considered loyalists and active supporters of the Church of
England, somewhere along the line the seeds of liberty were planted in the mind
and heart of John Gunby.
When the Revolution broke-out, the father sided with the loyalists, which
was not unusual when one remembers that Somerset County was a leading Tory
stronghold. But in the spring of
1775 John Gunby volunteered as a minute-man for which his father warned him that
he was running the risk of being hanged as a traitor.
John Gunby is said to have replied:
"I am determined to join American forces; I would sooner
sink into a patriot's grave than wear the crown of England."
John Gunby not only joined the American forces but formed an independent
military company at his own expense. The
equipping and maintaining of this company, which was among the first to be
organized, cost Gunby most of his wealth. The
company, including officers, numbered a hundred and three men.
- : -
At first Gunby and his men spent much time in breaking up Tory camps
which were to be found on the lower part of the peninsula; but after the company
was made ready, it was marched to the front in the north.
Gunby took part in Gen. Washington's campaigns, especially the Battle
of Long Island where the Maryland line first achieved fame.
A report of this battle gives an account of Gunby's bravery with other
Marylanders exhibited while covering the retreat of General Washington's main
force-action which, although it cost more than half of the Marylanders
engaged, saved Washington's army. This in itself was not unusual, for, as one
man written, ," Wherever the Maryland Line met the enemy they made their mark
and wrote their names high in the annals of fame."
Gunby, by devotion to duty, sound military judgment and outstanding
courage on the field of battle, soon rose from lieutenancy to higher ranks.
On Dec. 10, 1776, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 7th
Maryland Regiment and on April 17, 1777 he was commissioned colonel and
transferred successively to the Second and First Regiments.
During 1779 and the early months of 1780 heavy fighting took place in the
south, where Generals Lincoln and Gates were not able to save Charleston nor
hold back British forces.
The Southern Department being hard and pressed, appealed to
the Continental Congress and General Washington for aid.
Washington sent General De Kalb with 1,400 Maryland and
Delaware troops to help stem the British side.
But this force did not arrive in time to prevent the surrender of
Charleston.
- : -
NATHANIEL Greene, probably the most outstanding American general, next to
Washington, took command of the Southern Department in December, 1780.
Most of Greene's men were untrained or at least not battle-wise; yet
fortunately he had two strong assets. He
had a very good array of military officers to serve under him and he had the
Maryland and Delaware veterans, especially the regiment commanded by Col. Gunby.
The fame of the 1st Marylanders was great that it had become
known as the "Tenth Legion" of the Continental Army, in reference to the
famous Tenth Legion in the Roman Army under Julius Caesar.
Early in January, 1781 the American troops won a victory at the famous
Battle of Cowpens, after which Gen. Greene dallied until he again brought his
forces together to give battle to Cornwallis, March 17, 1781, at Guilford Court
House. This was one of the hardest
fought battles of the war. Lord
Cornwallis, when he saw the Marylanders under Col. Gunby fighting at Guilford
Courthouse, exclaimed, "I never saw such fighting since God made me!" During
this battle Gunby's horse was shot and fell on him but still the Colonel was
able to carry on. One source says
that through it all Gunby showed promptitude of cool and decisive action in the
most perilous crisis, and the 1st Maryland could not have been what
it was, "if its Colonel had not been a brave and able leader, every inch a
soldier." The writer went on to
say that Gunby and his men made a charge which has not been surpassed in the
annals of war.
However, the writer did not mention the Battle of Hobkirk's Hill, which
Col. Gunby and the Marylanders have been accused of losing-justly or unjustly.
Howard H. Peckham, in his recent military history of the Revolution,
claims that when one of the Maryland companies fell back in disorder when its
captain was killed in this battle, Col. Gunby, instead of rallying it, ordered
the whole regiment to withdraw and re-form.
"This error in judgment opened a hold which the British came whooping
through. When the colonel of the
other Maryland regiment was hit his men began to retire.
Only the Virginians were holding... A court of inquiry blamed Gunby for
his 'extremely improper and unmilitary' retreat in the midst of battle."
- : -
WHEN GEN. Greene complained that Gunby's action caused the loss of the
battle, Gunby requested a court of inquiry.
The supporters of Gunby maintained that Greene's premature withdrawal
was the true cause for defeat; that Gunby's action in steadying his men had
prevented a complete rout by enabling Greene to form his own broken units behind
this firm regiment. Although the
court of inquiry found Gunby's retreat "extremely improper and unmilitary"
and the single reason for the Americans not winning a complete victory, it was
decided that Gunby had actively exerted himself in rallying the retreating
companies, that the regiment was again formed, and that it did hold back the
enemy when they appeared in the attack.
Gunby continued in the army and on September 30,1783 was promoted to the
rank of brigadier general. Shortly
thereafter, Gunby retired from the army to his farm near Snowhill.
He was one of the original founders of the Maryland Branch of the Society
of Cincinnati and was chosen presiding officer of the local chapter.
But Gunby refrained from taking part in politics of holding public
office.
For the remaining twenty-four years of his life he wanted peace and
quiet. He became greatly interested
in the building of roads and houses for the poorer classes.
It has been said that he would put up houses for the poor and await their
convenience for repayment. He was
also very interested in the work of the Presbyterian Churches in the lower part
of the peninsula, and his son, Dr. John Gunby, is supposed to have erected the
Gunby Memorial Church at Stockton, Maryland.
It should also be noted that he displayed a sincere and generous interest
in the welfare of his comrades in arms, and it is said that he maintained at his
own expense the families of several officers who were slain in the Southern
Campaign.
He died May 17, 1807 at his farm in Snow Hill, and was buried in the
family plot.
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