Mister Smith fights for Washington

Coincidence?

Lord Stirling

While writing The Patriot Spy, I researched and continued to explore various people, places, and events involved in the campaigns around New York in 1776. One key event in the campaign—and in the book—was the daring attack of the "Maryland 400." The number of Marylanders was about 250, with remnants of Haslet's Delaware Regiment joining in to make up the difference. 

This was a desperate hope attack led by New Jersey General "Lord" Stirling against a large force of redcoats commanded by General Lord Cornwallis. While Stirling claimed the title of lord (or, in his case, laird, as he claimed Scottish peerage), Cornwallis held real authority. 

Cornwallis had the advantage of good ground and about 2,000 of the best troops in the army, along with two guns, to face the small American force, which was now hopelessly cut off. Stirling led attacks that showcased some of the bravest moments of the entire eight-year war. Intense musket fire was exchanged, and the Americans from Maryland and Delaware made several attempts to reach the British line, but in the end, the force was decimated. All were killed, wounded, or captured, except for the Maryland commander, Major Mordecai Gist, and a handful of others, including the resolute Captain Samuel Smith.

Major Mordecai Gist

In The Patriot Spy, a young officer named Lieutenant Jeremiah Creed, a mysterious Irish immigrant, performs a daring withdrawal and escapes across Gowanus Creek. That act of heroism is observed from the American defenses by General George Washington, who then decides to recruit the talented Creed for an intelligence war against the British. The rest you will have to discover in the novel.

 

In my research, I, of course, read about the event and the escape of several, including Gist. However, with literary license, I included the fictional Creed, commander of the Maryland Light Infantry company. What I did not know at the time was that a very real commander of the light infantry had indeed escaped with a few of his men.

Haslet's Delaware Line on Long Island

Fact Meets Fiction

The high point of the Battle of Long Island

So, who was this real-life person I unintentionally channeled in my novel? His name was Captain Samuel Smith. Oddly, although he was born in Pennsylvania, he also had Irish roots, as his family came from County Tyrone. 

Smith's family moved to Baltimore when he was young, and he eventually worked in his father's successful merchant business. Young Smith sailed to Europe, where he traveled widely. The fictional Creed also visited various parts of Europe and other locations before settling in Maryland. 

Smith returned to America after the battles at Lexington and Concord in 1775. By early 1776, he was appointed commander of the 6th company in First Maryland, Colonel Smallwood's Regiment. 

As noted in The Patriot Spy, Smallwood was absent from the action on Long Island while serving (with Colonel John Haslet) on court-martial duty in Manhattan. Ironically, it was an espionage trial!

Mordecai Gist, urging the Maryland 400 to glory on Long Island

As an 18th-century company commander, Smith would lead his troops in the attack and be at the rear during the withdrawal. He likely faced enemy fire many times because, make no mistake about it, this was a battle of hellish proportions: massed volleys, withering skirmish fire, smoke everywhere, the crack of muskets, and the boom of cannon, overpowering the screams and cries of the dead and dying. 

The evacuation by Smith and his men was no small feat. To do this, they had to withstand enemy musket and cannon fire, avoid the close pursuit of bayonet-wielding regulars, navigate rough terrain, and finally cross swampland and the Gowanus Creek itself. 

During the battle, Washington watched the action from a redoubt on nearby Cobble Hill (the intersection of today's Court Street and Atlantic Avenue). Upset by the destruction of the best troops, he is reported to have said, "Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose!"

Captain Samuel Smith leads his men on Long Island

I should note that the action there was the largest and bloodiest of the war—and the first pitched battle fought by the United States as a nation, happening just weeks after the Declaration of Independence. Smith's military career kept gaining momentum after the action on Long Island. He fought prominently at White Plains and Brandywine. In 1777, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and tasked with defending Fort Mifflin, located on an island in the Delaware River.

Mifflin was one of two key forts protecting Philadelphia from Admiral Lord Richard Howe's British fleet. The fort was mainly made of mud walls and had a garrison of just 400 men. Still, Smith repelled a determined attack by a squadron of British ships in October. A ship of the line and a sloop-of-war both ran aground under intense fire from Mifflin's defenders. 

However, the British returned in force in November, this time with frigates, floating batteries, and land-based artillery. They battered Mifflin from all sides with a brutal bombardment, often at close range. The defenders fought bravely but paid a heavy price. They kept firing until all their guns were silenced by the more powerful British shot.

Toward the end, Smith was seriously wounded and had to be evacuated. Soon after, the remaining defenders also left the fort. But not before they had done an admirable job against great odds. Smith received a commendation from Congress for his actions and was awarded a commemorative sword. He recovered and went on to fight at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. After the battle, he resigned his commission and returned to Baltimore, where he became a privateer, sending ships out to harass and seize the British merchant fleet.

Sketch of British naval assault on Fort Mifflin in 1777

A Man of Peace... and then again of War...

 Following the war, Smith resumed his mercantile pursuits and became one of Maryland's wealthiest men. In 1791, he was appointed commander of the state militia to help suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. His popularity earned him a seat in the House of Representatives in 1792, where he served four terms. 

Smith supported Thomas Jefferson in the 1800 election and served as Acting Secretary of the Navy until 1803. Afterwards, he became a U.S. Senator. When tensions with Britain escalated, Smith opposed going to war. Yet, he donned his uniform again in 1814 when a combined fleet attacked Baltimore.

As a major general and militia leader once more, Smith organized the city’s defenses against a combined land and sea attack. The results are legendary: the naval victory at Fort McHenry (which inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner") and the lesser-known defense at North Point of the British landing force under another Irishman, British General Robert Ross. 

The British land forces at North Point were routed—a rare feat of arms that was overshadowed by the more famous defeat at New Orleans. In many ways, Samuel Smith saved the nation. If the British had captured America's most strategic port and split the states geographically, the outcome could have been disastrous.

Major General Smith  at Baltimore in 1814

Final Years

Smith served multiple terms in the Senate before becoming the mayor of Baltimore in 1836. During his career, he helped establish the Bank of Maryland and was among the founders of the Washington Monument and the Battle Monument in Baltimore.

Samuel Smith as Senator

The brave captain of the Maryland 400 passed away in his city on April 22nd, 1839. His funeral was a tribute to one of Maryland and Baltimore's greatest, as well as one of America's earliest patriots.

One of his biographers reminds us that these last rites were:

"...a tribute to the political achievements of the man who represented his State in the national legislature through the administration of seven presidents. As the procession reached Baltimore Street and turned east along the waterfront, the ships in the Patapsco lowered their colors to half-mast for the merchant whose ships had known the ports of the world from Europe to China. And as the throng of citizens watched the hearse with its military escort ascend Hampstead Hill, the guns of Fort McHenry boomed a final salute..."

Samuel Smith's life was noteworthy and well-lived by any measure. The former Captain of the Maryland 400 became one of the most popular and accomplished men of his time, although sadly, he enjoys little fame today. First Patriot Samuel Smith is buried at the Old Western Burying Ground, at the intersection of Fayette and Greene Streets, Baltimore, Maryland.

Samuel Smith Burial Site