Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1904-04-30

heritage Oi the glorious Maryland Line
must come to the front and proudly
proclaim that heritage. Your State was
the first to respond To the call for troops in
-, after Lexington aud Bunker Hill. 1t
was the famous Maryland Line, about
/ 100 men and two rifle companies under
SmallwoOd, that started on foot through
virgin forests for Boston. Beginning
with that march, cruel in its hardShipS,
through all the battles of the North
from Boston To Germantown, Washing
ton depended upon these troops. AT
Long Island under Sterling. though op-
posed by six times their number, they
would not yield; broken, they rallied /;
defeated, yet victorious in death, over
go brave men lying dead on the field.
At White Plains they stood stubhornly
and Were the last to retreat from the de-
fense of Chatterton Hill. At Trenton
under Sterling. at Princeton under
Mercer, that Gal had of the Revolution.
they held their place To the fore. Al
Monmouth was called out To Col. Ram
scy, commanding the Maryland Line
Il rely upon you to check the enemy
this day"
When the conflict moved To- the South
they equally well sustained their rcputa-
ilOn.
At Eutaw they stood to the death
Ordered to advance, the flower of Mary
land chivalry responded with ii shout,
needless of the close and continuous fire
poured upon them by the Bluffs, IA stall
wart Irish Regiment. Neither would
yield; crossing bayoncts, their ranks
mingled till they sank down pierced each
with the bayonct of his antagonist,
nd hn. ~,
death the Irish Buff streaked with
scarlet blood, had taken upon itself the
colors of its foe.
AT Cowpens the weight of the battle
fell upon the Maryland Line. Here
Gen. Howard held in his hands at one
time the swords of seven British officers
who had surrendered to him.
AT Long Island fragment of Il
battalion shook with repeated charges Il
whole brigade of British Regulars.
AT White Plains they held the enemy
at bay.
AT Harlem Heights they drove The
British from the ground.
At Germantown, with fixed bayonets
they swept far ahead of the whole army
through the British camp.
At Cowpens and at Eutaw they bore
down all opposition.
At Guilford and at Camden they stood
in serricd ranks, shoulder to shoulder,
ever quick to advance loath to retreat,
ready to obey, ready to endure.
III every State where the Revolution
was fought MARYLAND blood was shed.
In the councils of peace Maryland men
stood to the front. Governor johnson
in the Continental Congress June 10,
l115, nominated Colonel Washington to
be COMMANDMENT chief of the Cont
mental armies. He was member of the
convention at Annapolis i'll 1716, and of
the committee to prepare form OF
government for the State, and which
Alexander Hamilton said was 1.-THE best
of all State Constitutions.
Many names of your statesmen were
prominent on the Committees of Safety
and of Observation, and i'll the Courts OF
Justice that declared the invalidity of
the Stamp Act.
These deeds are your heritage.
Such works, however, We're wrought
by men of every State. | speak of
Maryland because | know her history
best In the glorious field of patriotism
are no sectional distinctions. Patrick
Henry said" -"America is thrown into
one mass; there are no landmarks, no
boundaries of colonies"
As a Maryland Chapter you may feel
a just pride in the deeds N her sons.
Rich, indeed, will he your recompense II
one word you say shall give vigor TO the
interest that Americans should fcelin her
early history and new life to the great
principles of Republican loyalty. This
binding us together by veneration of a
glorious ancestry is the Re public's hest
security.
Preserved by the government to-day is
the Roster of the Soldiers of the Revolu
ton; cherished in the Archives of each
of the thirteen States is the Roster Of
that States sons. On these Rosters
stands your name. Are you not. then,
in honor bound to enroll your name in
the Roster of the ID. A. r.. Does not
the blood of a noble ancestor call out to
you for recognition? Why should thous-
ands upon thousands of women, with no
nobler heritage than yours, honor their
sires, and your name be missing?
With such ancestry, with such a
record of work well done you owe il to
your Sires, to yourselves, to your chill
dren, to join this Society, whose aim it
is to teach patriotism, honor and rever-
tnce for those who gave their all that
you might be blessed. 'Tis too rich an
inheritance to lose.
In the formation of this Frostburg
Chapter pcrpetuate them and pray for
boys with hearts as bold as those who,
with
lloratius, kept the bridge
In the brave dayS of old.