The first 5th Maryland Regiment was organized on March 27, 1776 composing of eight companies of volunteers from the counties of Queen Anne's, Kent, Caroline, and Dorchester of the colony of Maryland and was authorized on September 16, 1776 for service with the Continental Army. It was assigned to the main Continental Army on December 27, 1776. On May 22, 1777, it was assigned to the 1st Maryland Brigade and re-organized on May 12, 1779 to nine companies. It was reassigned to the Southern Department on April 5, 1780. The regiment was reassigned from the 1st Maryland Brigade to the Maryland Brigade on January 1, 1781. The regiment would see action during the Battle of Long Island (1776), the Battle of Brandywine (1777), the Battle of Germantown (1777), the Battle of Monmouth (1778), the Battle of Camden (1780), and the Battle of Guilford Court House (1781). The regiment was furloughed January 1, 1782, at Round O, South Carolina and disbanded on January 1, 1783.