Battle of the Severn The Battle of the Severn was a skirmish fought on March 25 , 1655 , on the Severn River at Horn Point , across Spa Creek from Annapolis , Maryland , in what at that time was referred to as " Providence " , in what is now the neighborhood of Eastport . The capital of Maryland was moved from St . Mary ' s to Ann Arundel Town in 1694 , and Ann Arundel Town name was changed to Annapolis in 1695 . It was an extension of the conflicts that formed the English Civil War , pitting the forces of Puritan settlers against forces aligned with Lord Baltimore , Lord Proprietor of the colony of Maryland at the time . It has been suggested by Radmila May that this was the last battle of the English Civil War . Background . The background surrounding the Battle of the Severn flows from the early days of Maryland as a colony , and acts as a mirror to the events simultaneously occurring in England . It pitted the forces allied with the royal proprietor , who was a Catholic and perceived to be a royalist , against forces allied with the Commonwealth of England who were Puritans . Royal proprietorship . Maryland was founded by the first Baron Baltimore , who had previously been the principal secretary to James I . Baltimore resigned from his position after the death of James I following his conversion to Catholicism . After a visit to what would be Maryland in 1628 , Baltimore requested that Charles I make a grant of land for a colony in which Catholics could worship freely . Following Baltimore ' s death on June 20 , 1632 , the grant of land was made to Cecilius Calvert , now the new Lord Baltimore . The Charter of Maryland was unique in that it made Lord Baltimore and his heirs the " absolute Lords and Proprietaries " of the new colony . In effect , the grant created a county palatine , and , indeed , the name of Durham , a county palatine in its own right , is used in the charter . The effect of this document was to create a semi - independent colony , ruled by Lord Baltimore as Duke . Sending his brother Leonard Calvert , the first settlers , a party of Catholic gentry and Protestants , of the new colony landed in present - day St . Mary ' s City on March 27 , 1634 . Using his absolute powers bestowed by charter , Cecilius Calvert named his brother as Royal Governor of the new colony , a post he held from 1634 – 44 , and again from 1646 until his death in 1647 . William Claiborne , however , had an earlier claim to Kent Island arising from 1631 when he had landed and set up a fur trading post on behalf of the colony of Virginia . Using the language of the charter that allowed him to take possession of land between the Delaware Bay and Potomac River " not cultivated or planted " , Cecilius Calvert lay claim to Kent Island . Following the arrest of one of his agents for trading in Maryland waters without a license in 1635 , Claiborne fitted out an armed ship , and there ensued a naval battle on April 23 , 1635 by the mouth of the Pocomoke River . Following this battle , Leonard Calvert captured Kent Island by force in February 1638 . The ensuing fallout from the capture of Kent Island , and the vengefulness of Claiborne , would resonate through Maryland for many years to follow . The Plundering Time . The three part English Civil War , starting in 1642 and ending in 1651 , had a direct effect on Maryland . The war itself was fought between the supporters of Charles I and the supporters of the English Parliament . The civil war was followed by a period of time known as the English Interregnum . During this time the English monarchy was abolished , the Commonwealth of England was proclaimed , and England was ruled by Oliver Cromwell , its Lord Protector . The conflict did not finally resolve itself until 1661 with the coronation of Charles II , an act known as the English Restoration . In April 1643 , aware of the problems besetting the home - country , Leonard Calvert departed Maryland to consult with his brother Cecilius Calvert , leaving Giles Brent as acting governor in his absence . During this time , St . Mary ' s City was visited by Captain Richard Ingle , an ardent supporter of the Parliamentary side of the conflict , who was placed under nominal arrest for making disloyal comments concerning the King , but who was allowed to escape following his arrest . Upon Leonard Calvert ' s return , he discovered that Ingle had joined forces with Claiborne and they were planning an invasion of the colony . In September 1644 , Ingle captured St . Mary ' s City , and Claiborne recovered Kent Island , forcing Calvert to seek refuge in Virginia . What followed became known as the Plundering Time , a nearly two - year period when Ingle and his companions roamed the colony , robbing at will and taking Jesuits back to England as prisoners . This ended only in 1646 when Calvert returned from exile in Virginia , recaptured St . Mary ' s City , and restored order . The settling of Providence . Following the death of Leonard Calvert in 1647 , Cecilius Calvert named William Stone as governor in 1649 . Stone ' s appointment was carefully made , as he was a Protestant – as were the majority of the members of his council – and a friend of Parliament . By choosing Stone , Calvert could avoid criticism of Maryland as a seat of Popery , where Protestants were allegedly oppressed . Stone and his council , however , were required to agree not to interfere with freedom of worship . In 1649 , the colonial Assembly passed the " Act Concerning Religion " ( or the Toleration Act as it is more commonly known ) , ensuring freedom of religion within Maryland . During the period of Parliamentary rule , Virginia remained faithful to then King Charles II , though Parliament , which had declared England a Commonwealth under their rule , had decreed that support for Charles II was treason . Baltimore and Stone stayed mute on the subject , but almost immediately after taking office , Stone allowed a group of persecuted Virginian Puritans into the colony , who then settled at Providence , present - day Annapolis . The issue of which side Maryland stood was finally settled , at least in appearance , when Thomas Greene , deputy to Stone and a Catholic , declared on November 15 , 1649 that Charles II was the " undoubted rightfull heire to all his father ' s dominions " . All acts taken by the Maryland Assembly would further require an oath of fidelity to Baltimore as " Lord Proprietor " . The new Assembly . In 1651 there began a set of rumors indicating that Lord Baltimore would lose his charter . Parliament had appointed two Commissioners , one of whom was none other than Claiborne , to force Maryland to submit to Parliamentary authority . In March 1652 they removed Stone as Governor , only to reinstate him in June 1652 . On March 2 , 1654 , Stone decreed that although he was faithful to the Commonwealth , all writs should " run in the Proprietary ' s name as heretofore " . On January 3 , 1654 , the Puritans who had settled at Stone ' s invitation in Providence communicated to the commissioners that they objected to the oath of fidelity to Baltimore as a Catholic . On July 20 , 1654 , Stone resigned as Governor under duress . The Commissioners became " de facto " governors of the colony , and the first general assembly under their authority was held on October 20 , 1654 . Catholics and any other individuals who had borne arms against the Parliament could not be members ( effectively limiting the membership to Puritans ) , and among the 44 Acts passed by this group was a repeal of the Toleration Act , and another that forbade Catholics from practicing their faith . Stone ' s return to power . On January 31 , 1655 , " The Golden Lyon " , a merchant ship commanded by Captain Roger Heamans , arrived in Maryland , and Stone reported to the Captain that he was no longer Governor of Maryland . At about that time , another ship , " The Golden Fortune " arrived in the colony with a letter from Oliver Cromwell , by this time Lord Protector , addressed to Captain Stone , Governor of Maryland . Using this as a form of recognition , Stone challenged the authority of the commissioners , seized back the records of the colony , and mustered his troops to deal with the Puritan settlers allied with them . Recruiting from St . Mary ' s County , Stone recaptured the Assembly records located on the Patuxent River , and sailed with a small fleet up the Chesapeake Bay north towards Providence . The Battle of the Severn . Heamans was informed of an alleged plot to kill the inhabitants of Providence , as well as to burn his ship and kill his crew and officers . Following the removal of the women and children of Providence to " The Golden Lyon " , a war council was convened , and appointed William Fuller of the Puritan settlers of Providence as its leader . On March 23 , 1655 , the council issued a warrant to Heamans to serve as a counselor , with Heamans relating to Stone that he was bound to do so , ignoring his contrary orders . On March 24 , 1655 , Heamans fired on sloop s and boats heading toward his ship , forcing their retreat . Heamans then ordered an armed sloop to bar their escape by blocking Spa Creek , the inlet of the Severn to which Stone ' s forces had retreated . On March 25 , after Fuller retrieved the only Commonwealth flag in the colony for use as his colors in battle , the forces met on Horn Point , with Fuller ' s forces driving Stone ' s small force to the end of the peninsula . In less than one half - hour , the battle was over , with 17 of Stone ' s forces being killed , including Thomas Hatton , secretary of the colony , and 32 wounded , including Stone . Only two of Fuller ' s force were killed . Stone surrendered after he was promised mercy . Following hostilities , however , the war council issued death sentences for Stone and nine others . Four of the prisoners were executed , but the remainder were saved when the women of Providence begged that their lives be spared . Aftermath . The primarily Puritan assembly retained powers until April 27 , 1658 , when proprietorship was restored to Lord Baltimore , religious freedom was ensured , and an agreement of general amnesty was entered into . Thus , in the end , Lord Baltimore not only retained his lands and powers , but was able to avoid the grisly fate of many of his contemporaries in England during this time . The proprietor appointed Josias Fendall to succeed Stone as governor for his loyalty during the battle . The issue of the ongoing Claiborne grievance was finally settled by an agreement reached in 1657 . Lord Baltimore provided Claiborne amnesty for all of his offenses , Virginia laid aside any claim it had to Maryland territory , and Claiborne was indemnified with extensive land grants in Virginia for his loss of Kent Island . Governor Fendall soon had a falling out with Lord Baltimore and led a bloodless revolution in 1659 whereby he and Fuller reorganized Maryland ' s government to resemble the Commonwealth ' s . However , the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 forced Fendall into exile and restored the proprietorship . Fendall was replaced as governor by Phillip Calvert . In addition , Fuller ' s estate was confiscated and Claiborne never recovered his former holding of Kent Island .