3rd Maryland Regiment - Battle of Monmouth

Battle of Monmouth

At Monmouth, the regiment was commanded by Colonel Mordecai Gist while its second-in-command was Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Ramsey. Ramsey was detached to Colonel James Wesson's detachment under Brigadier General Anthony Wayne. Early in the battle, Wesson was wounded and Ramsey assumed command of his detachment. Surprised by a sudden British counterattack, the American advance guard began to retreat.

Washington personally asked Ramsey and Colonel Walter Stewart to hold off the British while he arranged the main line of defense. The two officers agreed and Wayne deployed their soldiers in a nearby wood. As the Brigade of Guards came up to their hidden position, the Americans opened fire into their flank. The Guards charged and cleared the wood after a tough fight in which they lost 40 casualties including Colonel Henry Trelawney wounded. Stewart was shot and carried off. The retreating Americans were set upon in the open by a troop of the 16th Light Dragoons. A dragoon rode up to the unhorsed Ramsey and fired at him with his pistol. The weapon misfired and Ramsey attacked the trooper with his sword, dragged him from his horse, and tried to ride away.

Surrounded by dragoons, Ramsey was badly wounded and left for dead. Later, the British picked him up as a prisoner. Impressed by his bravery, the British commander Sir Henry Clinton paroled Ramsey the next day. Ramsey was not exchanged until December 1780.