Scottish Clan & Tartan Information Center

07/21/2025

Dale Ann Harsh

07/21/2025

Dale Ann Harsh

07/20/2025

Where the Saltire meets the Stars and Stripes.

07/17/2025

07/17/2025

07/16/2025

On This Day in History > July 16, 1776:
Maryland has its largest battle of the Revolution

"On this day in history, July 16, 1776, Maryland has its largest battle of the Revolution, the Battle of St. George's Island, when a fleet of British ships attempts to make a landing on St. George's Island, a narrow isle between St. George's Creek and the Potomac River in southern Maryland.
St. George's Island is in St. Mary's County, Maryland, which was Maryland's first settlement. During the American Revolution, St. Mary's County, and indeed, all of Maryland, supplied a large number of soldiers to the Continental Army, in spite of the fact that no major battles were fought in Maryland. St. Mary's County, in fact, lost over 2,000 men to the war.
Even though no major battles were fought in Maryland during the war, there were numerous skirmishes and "actions," especially along the coast. One such major event occurred in July of 1776. John Murray, the Earl of Dunmore, was the Royal Governor of Virginia. He was driven out of Virginia by the colonists in January after burning Norfolk to the ground. Dunmore had already been living on a ship for months for his own protection. After Norfolk, Dunmore continued to try to re-establish Royal authority in Virginia, making frequent raids on coastal towns up and down the Chesapeake Bay for supplies.
By July, Dunmore was sailing with a fleet of more than 70 ships and they were in desperate need of supplies. Maryland troops were amassing in Annapolis to leave for New York, where the next anticipated British strike would come. On July 12, warnings began to come in that a British fleet was spotted near Point Lookout, the southernmost tip of Maryland's western peninsula.
Calls were sent to Annapolis to quickly send back some of the soldiers to St. Mary's County to stop the fleet from landing. Meanwhile, ten boats full of British soldiers landed on St. George's Island on the 15th. They began foraging for water and food and dumping off the dead bodies of those who had died from smallpox on the ships.
The following day, the soldiers came back, but this time 100 of the local militia, under Captain Rezin Beall, held the landing party off. The militia lined up in bushes along the shore and fired on the landing boats when they came within range. They successfully kept the British from landing. By July 19th, more than 400 militia were on the island and Lord Dunmore was forced to abandon the idea of establishing any kind of base on St. George's Island.
The Battle of St. George's Island was one of the larger skirmishes in Maryland during the Revolution, but coastal areas and plantations were under constant threat of plundering. The locals even resorted to using "fire ships" against the British, lighting ships aflame and sailing them into British ships at night. Maryland's soldiers would go on to become some of the most celebrated of the entire war. In fact, Maryland got its official motto, "The Old Line State," because George Washington called the Maryland soldiers the "Old Line," because the original line of Maryland soldiers lasted so long in the war."
Revolutionary-War-and-Beyond.com
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John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore

07/15/2025

07/15/2025

in 1780, the Battle of Williamson's Plantation otherwise known as Hucks Defeat took place in York County, SC.

Before the engagement at Williamsons Plantation, the fall of Charles Town had left the South virtually defenseless due to the loss of the Continental Army. Following this significant victory at Charles Town, Sir Henry Clinton returned to New York, leaving Lord Cornwallis in charge of the British forces in the South. In response, backcountry militias began forming and electing leaders to continue the fight in South Carolina against what they perceived as the “senseless cruelty of the Tory militia” and other actions carried out by the British Legion, a highly feared British Dragoon regiment.

By June 1, British forces had established an outpost at Rocky Mount near the North Carolina border. Captain Christian Huck, a Philadelphia lawyer serving in Tarleton’s British Legion, was ordered to locate patriot rebels and force them to swear loyalty to the king. Having lost all his possessions to confiscations by the patriots in Pennsylvania, he held a deep bitterness toward them.

Huck went on to burn several farms, churches, and homes belonging to patriot influencers and sympathizers. He eventually arrived at the house of Martha Bratton, looking for Colonel William Bratton. During this encounter, one of Huck's soldiers, enraged by Martha's refusal to divulge William's whereabouts, pressed a reaping sickle to her neck. Although Huck's second-in-command disciplined the soldier, word of the confrontation quickly reached William.

Huck and his men then made their way to Williamson's Plantation to set up camp, while a loosely organized patriot force under Colonel William Bratton advanced toward the plantation. By dawn, the patriots struck hard from two different directions, taking careful aim with their rifles.

Within ten minutes of arriving, the patriots completely surprised the loyalist troops. Out of 115 loyalists, 81 were either killed, captured, or wounded, with Christian Huck being among those killed. The patriots, numbering 250, only lost one man killed and one man wounded.

The battle of Huck's defeat, while a small-scale revenge mission executed by militia forces, became a rallying point in the revolution in South Carolina. Militias from across the region began to unite, including forces led by Thomas Sumter, to continue fighting in the backcountry. The victory achieved at Huck's defeat also laid the groundwork for greater successes, such as the battles of Cowpens and King's Mountain, which ultimately helped bring about American independence.

Image: A British Legion soldier threatening to kill Martha Bratton if she did not reveal the whereabouts of her husband William. (Mid-nineteenth century illustration, Harper's Weekly), Wikimedia Commons.

07/15/2025

, July 11, 1780, the Comte de Rochambeau, along with approximately 6,000 French soldiers, sailed into Newport, Rhode Island. Expecting cheering crowds and artillery salutes to welcome them, French officers and soldiers lined the decks of their ships and sported their best uniforms in anticipation of being triumphantly received by their new hosts. Unfortunately, they received the opposite. Owing to a bitter taste left in the mouths of the town’s residents after the failed Franco-American venture two years earlier, coupled with a fundamental suspicion of the French, barely anyone turned out to greet the American allies.

Even with the unexpectedly cold welcome, Rochambeau quickly set out to earn the trust of the town’s residents. He ensured them that his army, desperate for supplies after a long voyage at sea, would not steal or plunder as the previous British occupiers did. Instead, they were ordered to pay for everything they received. Outgoing and cordial, Rochambeau started to reverse Newport’s mistrust of the French as early as the next day.

Throughout the following year, he continued to foster a harmonious relationship between his army and the town’s residents until the French forces left Rhode Island in July 1781. From there, they rendezvoused with Gen. George Washington and his army on the Hudson River in New York before embarking for Yorktown, Va., to surprise and capture the British army under Gen. Charles Cornwallis.

Image: Detail of Landung einer Französischen Hulfs-Armee in America, zu Rhode Island. am 11ten Julius 1780 etched by Daniel Chodowiecki, 1784. Berlin, Germany. Collection of the Society of the Cincinnati.

07/15/2025

Celebrate 250 Years of Marine Corps History with a Legacy That Endures

As we honor the 250th Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, you have the power to protect and preserve the stories of courage, sacrifice, and service that define our nation.

Through the Legacy Challenge, your planned gift will unlock an immediate 10% matching contribution—up to $50,000 per gift—to support the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s mission today.

Join a community of patriots ensuring that the next generation will always remember the values that make Marines extraordinary. Learn how to leave your legacy: http://1775society.pgmsites.com/challenge/

07/15/2025

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