William Smallwood

William Smallwood (1732 – February 14, 1792) was an American planter, soldier and politician from Charles County, Maryland.[1] He served in the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general. He was serving as the fourth Governor of Maryland when the state adopted the United States Constitution.

For the Canadian politician, see William R. Smallwood.

William Smallwood
A portrait of Smallwood, c. 1780s
4th Governor of Maryland
In office
November 26, 1785 – November 24, 1788
Preceded byWilliam Paca
Succeeded byJohn E. Howard
Personal details
Born1732 (1732)
Charles County, Province of Maryland, British America
Died (aged 59–60)
Marbury, Maryland, U.S.
Resting placeSmallwood State Park
Military service
Allegiance Kingdom of Great Britain
United States United States
Branch/serviceUnited Kingdom Provincial Troops
Continental Army
North Carolina Militia
Years of service1776–1783 (US)
RankLieutenant
Major general (US)
Commands1st Maryland Regiment
North Carolina Militia (1780)
Battles/warsFrench and Indian War
American Revolutionary War

Early life and education

Smallwood was born in 1732 to planter Bayne Smallwood (1711–1768)[2] and Priscilla Heaberd or Heabeard (c.1715–1784).[3][4] He had six siblings: Lucy Heaberd Smallwood (c. 1734-1768, married John Truman Stoddert), Elizabeth Smallwood (born c. 1736, married James Leiper), Margaret Smallwood (born c. 1738, married Walter Truman Stoddert), Heaberd Smallwood (c. 1740–1780), Eleanor Smallwood (born c. 1743 married William Grayson) and Priscilla Heaberd Smallwood (c. 1750–1815, married John Courts in 1794).[3] His sister Eleanor and brother Heaberd served with him later in the American Revolutionary War.[5]

His parents sent the boys to England, for their education at Eton. His great-grandfather was James Smallwood, who immigrated in 1664[6] and became a member of the Maryland Assembly in 1692.[7] James' son Bayne (1685–1709) followed him later in the Assembly.[8] Bayne (1711–1775) and his sister Hester were the great-great-grandchildren of Maryland Governor William Stone; Hester (Smallwood) Smith's daughter-in-law Sarah (Butler) Stone was the grandmother of James Butler Bonham and Milledge Luke Bonham. A first cousin of James and Milledge Bonham was Senator Matthew Butler.

Smallwood served as an officer during the French and Indian War, the North American theater of the Seven Years' War, and was elected to the pre-Revolution colonial-era provincial assembly for the Province of Maryland.

Career

American Revolution
A July 1782 letter from George Washington to Smallwood asking for an update on Continental Army troop recruitment
General George Washington Resigning His Commission, an 1824 portrait by John Trumbull that now is on display in the United States Capitol rotunda, depicts Smallwood (the third person behind Washington).[9]

When the American Revolutionary War began, Smallwood was appointed a colonel of the 1st Maryland Regiment in 1776. He led the regiment in the New York and New Jersey campaign.

For their role in the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776, when the Maryland Regiment heroically covered the hasty retreat of the routed Continental Army, General George Washington promoted Smallwood to brigadier general. Washington bestowed on the regiment a future state nickname, "Old Line State", in reference to the extreme sacrifice of the Maryland 400 to hold the line at the Old Stone House against a vastly superior force of British and Hessian troops while suffering massive casualties, roughly 70 percent of whom were killed in action.[10] Shortly thereafter, Smallwood led what remained of his regiment to fight "alongside soldiers from Connecticut, Delaware, and New York" in the Battle of White Plains, when he was twice wounded but "prevented the destruction of the entire Continental Army".[11]

On December 21, 1777, Smallwood commanded 1,500 Delaware and Maryland troops at the Continental Army Encampment Site on the east side of Brandywine Creek, to prevent occupation of Wilmington by the British and to protect the flour mills on the Brandywine.[12] He continued to serve under George Washington in the Philadelphia campaign, where his regiment again distinguished itself at Germantown. He was then quartered at Foulke House, which was occupied by the family of Sally Wister.[13]

In 1780, he was a part of General Horatio Gates' army that was routed at Camden, South Carolina; his brigade was among the formations that held their ground, garnering Smallwood a promotion to major general. Smallwood's accounts of the battle and criticisms of Gates' behavior before and during the battle may have contributed to the Congressional inquiries into the debacle. Opposed to the hiring and promotion of foreigners, Smallwood objected to working under Baron von Steuben. Smallwood briefly commanded the militia forces of North Carolina in late 1780 and early 1781 before returning to Maryland, staying there for the remainder of the war. He resigned from the Continental Army in 1783 and later that year was elected to serve as the first president of the newly established Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland.[14][15]

Maryland governor
Gravestone of Smallwood at Smallwood's Retreat near Marbury, Maryland

Smallwood was elected to Congress in 1784, but before he could take his seat, the Legislature chose him to succeed William Paca as Governor of Maryland. He qualified on November 26, 1785, and served the customary three terms, retiring from his gubernatorial office on November 24, 1788. Smallwood had the misfortune of serving as governor during one of the most difficult periods in the history of the nation. Not only were the Articles of Confederation proving inoperable, but the country also found itself in the midst of an economic depression. In spite of the country's unsettled affairs, Smallwood was responsible for several major accomplishments, including convening the state's convention that ratified the United States Constitution, despite strong opposition to the proposed document in the State.[16]

Later years

Smallwood never married. The 1790 United States census reveals that he held 56 slaves and a yearly tobacco crop of 3000 pounds.[17]

When he died in 1792, his estate, known as Mattawoman, including his home the Retreat, passed to his sister Eleanor who married Colonel William Grayson of Virginia. William Truman Stoddert, Smallwood's nephew, was orphaned at age nine and raised by his maternal grandfather, Bayne Smallwood.[4][5][17][18] Stoddert also served in the Maryland Line and was admitted as an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati in Maryland.[19]

Legacy

Local historical signs in Calvert, Maryland, note that General Smallwood occupied the "East Nottingham Friends House" at the intersections of Calvert Road and Brick Meetinghouse Road (near the intersection of 272 and 273) about 6 miles east of Rising Sun, Maryland.[20] During his occupation of the building in 1778, Gen. Smallwood used the building as a hospital. Some of the soldiers who died in the building were buried in the graveyard directly outside.[21] Smallwood frequented the "Cross Keys Inn" (built in 1774), at the time a several-room inn and bar. This building stands as a private residence at the intersection of Calvert Road and Cross Keys Road directly down the hill. His restored plantation home, Smallwood's Retreat, and burial site is located in Smallwood State Park in Marbury, Maryland. Smallwood Church Road leads from the State Park toward Old Durham Church, where he was a vestryman.

Several paintings exist of Smallwood. One hangs in the Old Senate Chamber in the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland.[22] The portrait of George Washington resigning within the Maryland State House, which hangs in the US Capitol Rotanda, features Smallwood.

Featured in the Maryland Historical Society is The William Smallwood Collection, 1776–1791, MS. 1875.[23]

Honors

References
  1. "Inventory of Maryland Monuments by County".
  2. Maryland Genealogies: A Consolidation of Articles from the Maryland Historical Magazine, Vol II. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1980. p. 354. ISBN 0-8063-0886-9.
  3. Historical Society of Charles County Genealogical Files, Southern Maryland Studies Center, College of Southern Maryland, La Plata, MD
  4. Warfield, J.D., The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard County Maryland, Kohn And Pollock, p. 237 ff. (1905).
  5. Wister, Sarah, The journal and occasional writings of Sarah Wister, Derounian-Stodola, K.Z., ed., Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press (1987)
  6. Maryland Genealogies, pp. 325 and 326
  7. Maryland Genealogies, p 332
  8. Wilstach, Paul, Potomac Landings, Doubleday, Garden City, NJ, p.106 (1920).
  9. "General George Washington Resigning His Commission". Architect of the Capitol.
  10. Polk, Ryan (2005). "Holding the Line: The Origin of the 'the Old Line State'". msa.maryland.gov. Archives of Maryland Online. Annapolis: Maryland State Archives. Retrieved September 10, 2022. According to popular tradition, Washington bestowed his high esteem upon the Maryland Line after viewing their heroic stand at the Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn. Given the order to defend the American withdrawal from Long Island, the Maryland Line saved the Continental Army from annihilation in the first major battle of the war. 'Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose,' Washington remarked to Israel Putnam as he witnessed the Marylanders repeatedly charge Cortelyou House, effectively holding back the British advance. Later, Washington described their efforts as an 'hour more precious to American liberty than any other.'
  11. "William Smallwood (1732-1792)". msa.maryland.gov. Biographical Series. Annapolis, Maryland: Maryland State Archives. December 20, 2002. Retrieved September 10, 2022. Although Smallwood 'waited on Washington and urged the Necessity of attending [his] Troops,' Washington 'refused to discharge' them… Smallwood was therefore absent during the early portions of the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776. British soldiers outflanked the American soldiers under Major Mordecai Gist's command in a surprise attack. The Marylanders retreated, fighting their way toward the Gowanus Creek… Smallwood arrived later in the battle and provided covering fire for the retreating American soldiers with two cannons and some reinforcements… and subsequently faced a deadly British onslaught. The Marylanders led several charges against the British, holding them at bay for a crucial period of time that saved Washington's army… On October 28, 1776… in the Battle of White Plains, [Gen.] Smallwood's soldiers once again saved Washington's army… Positioned on Chatterton's Hill, the Marylanders charged British soldiers, pushing them back briefly. A series of British counterattacks forced the Marylanders to retreat, but prevented the destruction of the entire Continental Army. The 1st Maryland Regiment suffered greatly in the battle. Smallwood himself received two 'slight' wounds during the orderly retreat, receiving one in his wrist and another in his hip.
  12. Joan M. Norton (January 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Continental Army Encampment Site".
  13. Sally Wister, ‘‘Sally Wister's Journal: A True Narrative: Being a Quaker Maiden's Account of Her Experiences with Officers of the Continental Army, 1777–1779’’. Applewood Books, Bedford, Massachusetts, 1994. Entry for October 19, 1777.
  14. The Society of the Cincinnati webpage, accessed January 27, 2021
  15. Metcalf, Bryce (1938). Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783-1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc.
  16. Archives of Maryland, accessed January 29, 2021
  17. Klapthor, M., and P. Brown, The history of Charles County, Maryland: written in its tercentenary year of 1958 LaPlata, MD, Charles County Tercentenary, Inc., p. 89 (1958).
  18. Morgan, George, The Life of James Monroe, Small, Maynard and Company, Boston, p. 13 (1921).
  19. Metcalf, p. 299.
  20. "Revolutionary War Pension Application of William Beckwith".
  21. "National Register of Historic Places: East Nottingham Meetinghouse". Maryland Historical Trust.
  22. "William Smallwood Portrait". Maryland State Archives Online.
  23. "William Smallwood Collection". Maryland Historical Society.
  24. "Fort Smallwood Park". Anne Arundel County. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
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