Choptank River Trip - Col Richardson Revolutionary Trail

In June 1776, General Washington appealed to the Continental Congress for more troops.  Maryland responded by organizing the “Maryland Flying Camp” of 3400 militia troops. The Flying Camp was authorized to join the Continental Army, assigned to fight beside troops from Delaware and Pennsylvania in the area of operations stretching from Maryland to New York.

Caroline County’s battalions of minutemen were disbanded, and in August 1776, Richardson was appointed Colonel of the Eastern Shore Battalion of the Maryland Flying Camp.

Richardson’s battalion consisted of seven companies          from the various Eastern Shore counties, about 650 men in all.  Early in the conflict, troops were provisioned mostly from local stores.   Richardson also received supplies, including firearms, from Annapolis and Baltimore to be distributed among the various companies of his regiment.   Richardson may haveused the landing and storage facilities at Gilpin Point, and possibly his own sailing vessels, to import and supply his regiment at this time, and later during his Eastern Shore campaign.

Provisioning the troops was difficult and caused delays before Richardson and his 4th Maryland Battalion of the Flying Camp could join the Continental Army at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, on September 8, 1776.

Learn more about:

Enlisting in the Maryland Militia
Pay and Rations for Maryland Militiamen
Caroline County’s Militia Company Roster