William Smallwood (1732February 14, 1792) was an American planter, soldier and politician from

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. Charles County is part of the Wash ...

. He served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, rising to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. He was serving as the fourth Governor of Maryland when the state adopted the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

Early life

Smallwood was born in 1732 to planter Bayne Smallwood (1711–1768) and Priscilla Heaberd Smallwood (born c. 1715).Historical Society of Charles County Genealogical Files, Southern Maryland Studies Center, College of Southern Maryland, La Plata, MDWarfield, J.D., ''The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard County Maryland'', Kohn And Pollock, p. 237 ff. (1905). He had six siblings: Lucy Heabard Smallwood (born c. 1734), Elizabeth F. Smallwood (born c. 1736), Margaret F. Stoddert (born c. 1738, married Walter Stoddert c. 1760), Heabard Smallwood (born c. 1740), Priscilla Courts (born c. 1742, married John Courts c. 1760), and Eleanor Smallwood. His sister Eleanor and brother Hebard served with him later in the Revolutionary War.Wister, Sarah, ''The journal and occasional writings of Sarah Wister'', Derounian-Stodola, K.Z., ed., Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press (1987) His parents sent the boys to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separa ...

, for their education at Eton. His great-grandfather was James Smallwood, who immigrated in 1664 and became a member of the Maryland Assembly in 1692. James' son Bayne (1685–1709) followed him later in the Assembly. 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 Matthew Calbraith Butler (March 8, 1836April 14, 1909) was a Confederate soldier, an American military commander and attorney and politician from South Carolina. He served as a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American ...

Smallwood served as an officer during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the s ...

(the North American theater of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

). He was elected to the Maryland provincial assembly.

American Revolution

When the

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 The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between British forces under General Sir Will ...

, where the Marylanders served with distinction. For their role in the

Battle of Brooklyn The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yor ...

on August 27, 1776, when the Maryland Regiment heroically covered the hasty retreat of the routed

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establ ...

, General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of t ...

promoted Smallwood to brigadier general. More tragically, Washington bestowed upon the regiment a future state nickname — "Old Line State" — for the extreme sacrifice of the

Maryland 400 The Maryland 400 were members of the 1st Maryland Regiment who repeatedly charged a numerically superior British force during the Battle of Long Island during the Revolutionary War, sustaining heavy casualties, but allowing General Washington ...

to hold the line at the Old Stone House against a vastly superior force of British & Hessian troops whilst suffering massive casualties (≈70% killed). 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 The Battle of White Plains was a battle in the New York and New Jersey campaign of the American Revolutionary War, fought on October 28, 1776 near White Plains, New York. Following the retreat of George Washington's Continental Army northward ...

, when he was twice wounded but "prevented the destruction of the entire

". 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. He continued to serve under

in the

Philadelphia campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. British General William Howe, after failing to dra ...

, where his regiment again distinguished itself at Germantown. Thereafter, he quartered at the Foulke house, also occupied by the family of

Sally Wister Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military * Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting na ...

General George Washington Resigning his Commission

In 1780 he was a part of General

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battle ...

' 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 Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben (), was a Prussian military officer who p ...

. Smallwood briefly commanded the militia forces of North Carolina in late 1780 and early 1781 before returning to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, staying there for the remainder of the war. He resigned from the

in 1783 and later that year was elected to serve as the first president of the newly established

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

of Maryland. Letter from George Washington to General Smallwood, page 1

Governor

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 The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...

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

, despite strong opposition to the proposed document in the State. Gravestone of Gen William Smallwood

Later years

Smallwood never married. The 1790 census shows that he held 56 slaves and a yearly tobacco crop of 3000 pounds.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). 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 William Grayson (1742 – March 12, 1790) was a planter, lawyer and statesman from Virginia. After leading a Virginia regiment in the Continental Army, Grayson served in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming one of the first two U ...

of Virginia. William Truman Stoddert, Smallwood's nephew, was orphaned at age 9 and raised by his maternal grandfather, Bayne Smallwood. Stoddert also served in the

Maryland Line The "Maryland Line" was a formation within the Continental Army, formed and authorized by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in the "Old Pennsylvania State House" (later known as "Independence Hall") in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June 17 ...

and was admitted as an original member of The Society of the Cincinnati in the state of Maryland.

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 Rising Sun is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,781 at the 2010 census. History The town which became known as Rising Sun was located in the disputed “Nottingham Lots” along the border between colonial Pe ...

. 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. 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 Marbury is an unincorporated community in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It has been designated the zip code of 20658. Marbury is located 6.3 miles from Indian Head on Maryland Route 224. Marbury was the point at which the tornado of ...

. Smallwood Church Road leads from the State Park toward Old Durham Church, where he was a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

man. Several paintings exist of Smallwood. One hangs in the

Old Senate Chamber The Old Senate Chamber is a room in the United States Capitol that was the legislative chamber of the United States Senate from 1810 to 1859 and served as the Supreme Court chamber from 1860 until 1935. It was designed in Neoclassical style and ...

in the

Maryland State House The Maryland State House is located in Annapolis, Maryland. It is the oldest U.S. state capitol in continuous legislative use, dating to 1772 and houses the Maryland General Assembly, plus the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. In ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. The portrait of

resigning within the

, which hangs in the

US Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

Rotanda, features Smallwood. Featured in the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), . founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and inte ...

is The William Smallwood Collection, 1776–1791, MS. 1875.

Honors

* The Baltimore chapter of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promot ...

(DAR) is called the General William Smallwood Chapter (established 1907). * The General Smallwood Middle School in Indian Head is another namesake. * In

Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whic ...

, a coastal fortification developed in the late 1890s was named Fort Smallwood in his honor and the location is now known as Fort Smallwood Park. The road running from Fort Smallwood Park through

Pasadena, Maryland Pasadena is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 24,287 at the 2010 census. The areas of Lake Shore, Riviera Beach and Pasadena are collectively referred to as Pasadena by resident ...

and into

Baltimore City Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

is named Fort Smallwood Road.

References

External links

Biographic notes at Maryland's Smallwood State Park

Account of Smallwood's Revolutionary War Campaign and Governorship from J.D. Warfield (1905).

Stoddert Family papers
trace their roots back to General William Smallwood, located at the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...

The Society of the Cincinnati

The American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smallwood, William 1732 births 1792 deaths American slave owners Continental Army generals American people of English descent Continental Army officers from Maryland Governors of Maryland People from Charles County, Maryland People of Maryland in the French and Indian War Presidents of the Maryland State Senate Burials in Maryland People of colonial Maryland