Mordecai Gist

Overview

Mordecai Gist was a merchant and soldier from Maryland. He rose to prominence during the American Revolution and was involved with the Annapolis Tea Party. As the threat of hostilities with Great Britain increased, Gist organized, funded, and trained his own militia company, the “Baltimore Independent Company.” After the war started, he joined the Maryland Militia and then the Continental Army, where he eventually rose to the rank of Brigadier General. Gist saw significant action at the Battle of Long Island as one of the “Maryland 400” and at the Battle of Camden. Gist remained in the army for most of the war and was at Yorktown when the British surrendered. Afterward, he retired to a plantation in South Carolina. His two sons, who survived childhood, were named “Independent” and “States,” in honor of America’s independence.

Personal Facts

• Born: February 22, 1743, near Reisterstown, Maryland.
• Parents: Thomas Gist and Susannah Cockney.
• Spouse: Cecil Carnan (1768), Mary “Polly” Sterrett (1778), Mary Cattell (c. 1780s).
• Died: Sometime between August and October 1792, in Charleston, South Carolina, at 49 years old.
• Buried: St. Michael’s Churchyard, in Charleston.
• Significance: Mordecai Gist is important to American History because of his military service during the American Revolutionary War.

Biography

Early Life

Mordecai Gist came from a prominent family in Baltimore County, Maryland. He descended from Christopher Gist (also spelled Guest), who immigrated there around 1682. Mordecai was born near Reisterstown, Maryland, on February 22, 1743. His father was Thomas Gist, and his mother was Susannah Cockney Gist. 

• His grandfather, Richard Gist, was a prominent merchant who played an important role in the development of Baltimore.
• His uncle, also named Christopher Gist, was the famous frontiersman who surveyed the Ohio Country for the Ohio Company of Virginia and joined George Washington on his Expedition to the Ohio (1754).

Education and Business Career

Gist received an elementary education at a local parish school, Saint Paul’s Seminary. During the American Revolution, he operated a shipping business in Baltimore and appears to have dealt primarily in textiles (cloth or woven fabric).

• Gist was also involved in land speculating.
• Throughout his career, he bought and sold land in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.

Annapolis Tea Party

Gist was involved in the Annapolis Tea Party on October 19, 1774, in Annapolis, Maryland. 

After Parliament passed the Tea Act (1773), many ships’ captains refused to transport the British East India Company’s tea to the American Colonies. However, an agent working for a Maryland merchant tried to smuggle tea into Maryland by listing it as packages of linen.

• The tea was loaded on the Peggy Stewart, which was owned by a rival company, Dick & Stewart.
• Richard Jackson, the Captain, discovered the tea and informed customs officials.
• The ship arrived at Annapolis on October 14, with about 2,000 pounds of tea in the hold.
• The tea was not for Dick & Company, but for a rival company owned by Thomas Charles Williams, Joseph Willilams, and James Williams.

Anthony Stewart, who worked for Dick & Company, was informed the ship had arrived and the taxes needed to be paid for the tea. The cargo could not be unloaded until all the taxes were paid, and the ship carried more than just tea. It was also carrying 53 indentured servants. Stewart paid the taxes, transported the servants off the boat, and left the tea in the hold.

• Negotiations took place over the next five days, as merchants and citizens, including the members of the Sons of Liberty, discussed what to do with the tea.
• A mob from Baltimore, led by Gist, arrived. This mob demanded to have the tea and the ship burned.
• Gist and some of them went to Stewart’s home and seized him.
• Stewart and the other merchants agreed to burn the ship and set the fires themselves.

Baltimore Independent Company

In December 1774, as tensions increased with Great Britain, he was chosen as the Captain of the Baltimore Independent Company. It was Maryland’s first voluntary military organization, and Gist helped pay for its equipment, supplies, and training.

Gist’s “Dandy Fifth”

The American Revolutionary War started with the Battles of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), which led to the Siege of Boston (1775–1776). As the siege dragged on, Congress organized the Continental Army. Maryland and the other colonies provided regiments of troops for the new army.

Gist petitioned the Maryland Convention for a military position. The request was granted, and on January 14, 1776, he was commissioned as the second Major in General William Smallwood’s 1st Maryland Regiment in the Continental Army.

• Gist and the Baltimore Independent Company were reorganized as the 5th Maryland Infantry.
• The 5th Maryland was notable because they were one of the few companies that had bayonets.
• They were also well-dressed and nicknamed “the Dandy Fifth.”
• They arrived in New York City on August 12 and were transported to Long Island.

Battle of Long Island

When the Siege of Boston ended in March 1776, General Washington moved his army from Boston to New York City and prepared for a British attack. The British expedition, led by General William Howe and Admiral Richard Howe, started to arrive in late June, less than two weeks before Congress approved the Lee Resolution (July 2) and issued the Declaration of Independence (July 4).

• American forces were entrenched from Long Island to Manhattan Island, northward to the Hudson Highlands.
• The British moved from their camp on Staten Island to Long Island in late August.

On the night of August 26, British forces marched around the left flank of the American line. Early the next morning, they attacked in front of the Americans on Brooklyn Heights and then from behind.

• Gist and his men were on the right of the American line, near Gowanus Bay.
• General William Alexander, Lord Stirling, was in overall command of the Americans near the bay.

Alexander and his men started withdrawing when they saw British forces had moved into position to block their escape route.

• Alexander made a bold move and tried to escape to Brooklyn Heights by crossing Gowanus Creek, which was roughly 80 yards wide.
• He ordered the men to start crossing the creek, and then pulled a rear guard together with Gist and somewhere between 250 and 280 men from the Maryland Regiment.
• Instead of waiting for Cornwallis to pursue him, Alexander launched an attack on the British near the Vechte-Cortelyou House, or the “Old Stone House.”

Alexander and the men, who are known as the “Maryland 400,” covered the retreat for more than 30 minutes, allowing most of the Americans to escape to safety. 

• Most of the Maryland 400 were killed.
• Alexander was captured. 
• Gist gathered the nine survivors and escaped to the safety of the defensive fortifications at Brooklyn.

Retreat Across New Jersey

After the battle, Washington was forced to retreat to Manhattan Island and north to White Plains. 

• During the Battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776), Gist and his men helped defend Chatterton Hill against assaults by Hessian mercenaries fighting for the British. Gist’s Regiment held their position until they were outflanked and forced to retreat.
• By early November, Washington moved his army out of Westchester County and into New Jersey. The British followed, forcing him to retreat across New Jersey into Pennsylvania.
• Gist was with Washington’s Army for these movements and often helped defend the rear of the army as it moved southwest.

Trenton and Princeton

• Gist was promoted to Colonel on December 10, 1776, and given command of a regiment that became the 3rd Maryland.
• By late December, the enlistments for most of the Maryland troops had expired, and they returned to their homes.
• Gist remained with the army and participated in the Battle of Trenton, the Second Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of Princeton.

Philadelphia and New York

Inspired by Washington’s victories in New Jersey, Maryland troops re-enlisted and returned. Washington reorganized the army. Gist and the 3rd Maryland were assigned to the Maryland Brigade. 

• In the summer of 1777, British forces captured Philadelphia after several battles, including the Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777).
• Washington decided to attack British forces at Germantown, outside Philadelphia.
• Gist was on a recruiting mission when the Battle of Germantown (October 4, 1777) occurred.
• During the Winter at Valley Forge (1777–1778), Gist and his men were stationed at Wilmington, Maryland.
• The British decided to abandon Philadelphia and marched back to New York.
• Washington followed and attacked at the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778), where Gist and his men participated.

The Americans fought the British to a draw at Monmouth and prepared to resume the battle the next day. However, the British withdrew in the morning, resuming their march to New York City.

• Washington’s Army returned to New Jersey, and Gist helped protect Maryland from British raids.
• On January 9, 1779, Congress promoted him to Brigadier General and gave him command of the 2nd Maryland Brigade.

British Southern Campaign

Afterward, the war in the North came to a standstill. By the end of the year, the British decided to move ahead with a plan to capture the Southern Colonies. The British took control of Georgia and set their sights on Charleston, South Carolina. In April 1780, British forces laid siege to Charleston.

• Washington responded by sending Major General Baron Johann de Kalb to Charleston. Gist and his men were included in this expedition.
• General Benjamin Lincoln was forced to surrender Charleston on May 12.
• General Henry Clinton returned to New York City and left General Charles Cornwallis to command British forces in the South.

Battle of Camden

Congress responded to these events by sending General Horatio Gates south to organize an army and retake South Carolina. 

• Gates assembled his army near Rugeley’s Mill, South Carolina.
• This included de Kalb’s command, with Smallwood’s 1st Maryland Brigade and Gist’s 2nd Maryland Brigade.
• He overestimated the number of men he had who were healthy enough for battle, despite warnings from Otho Holland Williams and others.

General Cornwallis responded by marching his army from Charleston to Camden, arriving there on August 13. He sent Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his British Legion out to scout the American Army’s movements.

• Gates marched toward Camden on August 15, even though many of his officers disagreed with the move.
• Charles Armand led the advance force.
• Around 2:30 a.m. on the 16th, elements of Armand’s command and the British Legion encountered each other at Parker’s Old Field.
• After a brief skirmish, both forces retreated.
• Gates and Cornwallis made preparations to engage each other at daybreak.

The outcome of the battle was significantly influenced by how Cornwallis and Gates arranged their forces. Cornwallis put his best, most experienced troops on the right of his line, and Gates did the same.

• This was a mistake by Gates because it put his inexperienced, unreliable militia forces across from some of the most experienced and feared British troops.
• Gates should have put his best troops on his left, including Gist and the 2nd Maryland Regiment.
• Instead, Gist was on the right, under the command of General Johann de Kalb.

The Battle of Cowpens started on the left of the American line when American artillery batteries opened fire, and the militia moved forward and attacked the British.

• When the British retaliated, some of the American militiamen panicked and fled.
• The left of the American line collapsed.
• As the panic spread, General Smallwood and men from the 1st Maryland joined the retreat.

Gist and the 2nd Maryland held their ground as all British forces moved toward them. De Kalb called up the reserves, and Otho Holland Williams organized what was left of the 1st Maryland.

• De Kalb and Williams reinforced Gist.
• Cornwallis countered by sending in more troops.
• Gist and de Kalb held their ground for more than an hour.
• De Kalb tried to organize a counter-attack, but was wounded and captured. De Kalb died from his wounds a few days later.
• Gist gathered the survivors and organized a withdrawal.

Many of the Americans who escaped, including Gist, regrouped near Charlotte, North Carolina, leaving South Carolina under the complete control of the British.

Greene’s Southern Campaign

General Nathanael Greene replaced Gates as head of the Southern Department. He reformed the army and executed a series of maneuvers that forced Cornwallis to chase him through the South.

• The Maryland Line was reorganized into five regiments.
• Major General Smallwood commanded them at first, but was reassigned due to a conflict with General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben.
• Gist and Otho Holland Williams served as the Line’s Brigadier Generals.

Cornwallis eventually went to Yorktown, Virginia, where he was pinned between American forces and the Chesapeake Bay.

• General Washington marched his army to Yorktown, where he laid siege to the city.
• French ground and naval forces helped keep the British trapped in Yorktown.

The Siege of Yorktown ended with British forces surrendering on October 19, 1781. This brought an end to the significant fighting. However, skirmishes continued for at least a year, including the Battle of Combahee River.

• AHC Note — It is unclear how much Gist’s Brigade participated in Greene’s Campaign. Most sources indicate that Gist was primarily involved with recruiting for new regiments during this time. It is most likely that he did not have enough men to participate, or was with his dying wife, Mary. However, he was present when the British surrendered at Yorkton.

Battle of Combahee River

On August 25, 1782, Gist set out with an expedition searching for Major William Brereton and British soldiers who were foraging for supplies near Charleston, on the Combahee River. Colonel George Baylor and his cavalry accompanied Gist.

• Brereton has 300 British troops, 200 Loyalists, and 18 ships.
• Gist arrived on the river’s north bank on the 25th and learned Brereton had taken control of the ferry crossing.
• The next day, the 26th, 300 British troops crossed the river. Gist responded by sending a contingent of his men to engage them.

That same day, Gist was joined by Colonel John Laurens and his infantry. Gist sent Laurens with 50 men and a cannon to block the British escape route.

Laurens asked permission to take another contingent to Chehaw Point. This would allow him to cut off the British escape route. Gist agreed and sent 50 men and a cannon with Laurens. They spent the night on a plantation owned by a friend of Laurens and moved out on the morning of the 27th. However, Brereton anticipated the move and had men in place to ambush Laurens.

• When the British attacked, Laurens led his men in a charge.
• Laurens was mortally wounded in the attack and fell from his horse.
• The Americans fled.
• Gist arrived with the cavalry and helped cover the retreat..

Post-War Life

• Gist and the men who remained in the Maryland Line arrived in Baltimore on July 27, 1783.
• He was the first Vice President of the Maryland branch of the Society of the Cincinnati and a founding member.
• After the war was officially ended, he bought a plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, and moved there.
• He was involved with the local Freemason Lodge.

Death

• Gist died sometime between August and October of 1792 in Charleston.
• His will was written on September 1 and validated on October 19.

Family Life

Gist was married three times and had two children who survived.

1. Cecil Carnan — Married in 1768. She died giving birth to their daughter, who died in early childhood.
2. Mary “Polly” Sterrett — Married in 1778. They had a son in 1779, whom they named “Independent.” Mary became ill after the birth of their son, and Gist stayed with her and away from the army until she died in late 1779 or early 1780.
3. Mary Cattell — Married in the 1780s. Their first child, Susanna, died in infancy. Their second child was a son named “States.”

Appendix

The following is taken from Mordecai Gist and His American Progenitors. It was written by Katherine Blakeslee Walton in 1923 for the Mordecai Gist Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

• AHC Note — Minor text corrections have been made to the original text.

“Maryland, My Maryland!” An elfin sound to those who have loved her long since, but because of the out-flow of population have found themselves removed from her sunny borders and so have lost her for a while; but because she’s the place of their nativity, that place in which all childish fancies and ideals have had birth, she is particularly dear to them and they will not fail her.

For those to whom Maryland has given birth and who, because of happy circumstances, are still within her boundaries, enjoying the consequences of her fine traditions, we only need to pause a moment to congratulate them. Theirs is the special privilege of helping her hold true to her ideals, perpetuating memories and histories of those who have labored ardently and bravely to make Maryland what she is. Theirs is a loyalty that will continue because of such fortunate placing. On them, Maryland must depend for that fine patriotic devotion which will “carry on.”

For those who are daughters only by adoption, whose hearts turn back to the home of their childhood, to that State in which they first saw the light of day, that State out of which their ancestors marched to battle in 1776, what shall be their attitude toward Maryland? Maryland, their dwelling place by choice, and perhaps the birthplace of those they hold most dear, their children, and one of the Thirteen Original Colonies, shall not suffer by their indifference.

We, as representatives of all those who love Maryland, and as Daughters of the American Revolution, are going to fight her battles, but better still, foster that which is best in her, and guard the inheritance that has made her great. Emulous with this, a small group of Baltimore women met, March 19th, 1909, and formed a Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and to commemorate the courage and fidelity of one of Maryland’s eminent heroes, named it “Mordecai Gist.”

As Historian of this Chapter, may I present to you, General Mordecai Gist, nonetheless great because his name fails to stand out in bold relief on our pages of history, a fact due to unfortunate circumstances rather than to just cause. 

The prominent historians at the close of the struggle of 1776 were men of the North and, without meaning to do an injustice to the South, gave prominence to the achievements of those who belonged to their section. Because of this…the school children of Maryland have scarcely heard of the splendid Patriots of their own State. Therefore, a just pride is felt in presenting to you one who won renown, not only as a hero in arms, but because of effort, intellect, and goodness. Will you not help to cherish this memory?

General Mordecai Gist’s great-grandfather, Christopher Guest (not Gist), was his most honorable immigrant ancestor. He settled in Baltimore County before 1682 and owned considerable land on the south side of the Patapsco River. It is recorded that Christopher Guest was a member of the Grand Jury and was also one of the justices of Baltimore County. He married Edith Cromwell, daughter of Richard Cromwell, a member of that renowned English family.

If we quote from the wills of Mordecai Gist’s progenitors those paragraphs expressive of reverence to and faith in an Almighty Father surely some cause can he seen for the strength of purpose which characterized his life. They also illustrate the piety that gave to our country its firm basis, a piety that is quickly passing in form but one which we should he quick to hold in its reality.

Christopher Guest departed this life in 1690. Following are extracts from his will:

“In the name of God, the seventeenth day of February, A.D. 1690, I, Christopher Guest, of Baltimore County, being sick in body hut of good and perfect memory, thanks he to Almighty God, and calling to mind the uncertain estate of this transitory life, and that all flesh must yield unto Death when it shall please God to call, do make, constitute, and ordain this my last will and testament.”

Me gave his dearly beloved wife, Edith, full power to pay all debts, to dispose of all his earthly goods and to divide same between her and their only son, Richard. Two heifers were to he given to his mother Guest if she were alive; then he closed the document with these words:

“The Lord have mercy upon my soul. So I bid the world farewell.”

There seems to he some uncertainty as to the exact date of the death of his wife, Edith, our hero’s great-grandmother. She remarried twice, first Williams, by whom she had four children. Her third husband was John Beecher, but that devotion was of short duration, for she died soon after. Though married to Beecher, in her will she styles herself as Edith Williams. She was also deeply religious. The following is an extract from her will:

“I, Edith Williams, of Patapsco River in Baltimore County, in the province of Maryland, being of sound and perfect memory, though very weak in body, and not know¬ ing how soon it may please Almighty God to take me hence, do ordain and constitute this my last will and testa¬ ment, Imprimis: I commit my soul into the hands of my Creator, through Whose mercy and the mercies of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, I trust to enjoy eternal happiness.”

She made a request that after her death, her brother, Richard Cromwell and Mr. Thomas Staley, because of the great confidence she had in their fidelity and honesty, take into their custody her son, Richard Gest, whom she requested to be put to school and there be kept till he could write and cast accounts fitting for merchant business.

After her death, the name is no more spelt Guest nor Gest but Gist, or if fancy bids us, Gist.

Richard Gist, son of Christopher and Edith Gist and grandfather of General Mordecai Gist, was born in 1684 and died in 1741. In 1705, he married Zepporah Murray, by whom he had eight children. He was one of the justices and commissioners of Baltimore County and was appointed continually until his death.

An act for laying out and erecting Baltimore Town passed the House July 30th, 1739. It was signed by Governor Calvert on August 8th, and Captain Richard Gist was appointed one of seven commissioners to carry out its provisions. He also represented his County in the Provincial Assembly for the last two years of his life. He was commissioned a Captain in the County Militia. He was a man of unusual intellect and one whose life was exemplary. No doubt the qualities that fitted Mordecai Gist for leadership were in part molded after the splendid character that belonged to his grandfather.

There is no record of a will left by Richard Gist. His and Zepporah Murray’s second son, Thomas, father of General Mordecai Gist, was born in 1712 and died in 1787. He married Susannah Cockey, July 2nd, 1735, and they moved to their farm, which is now known as the McDonough School Farm, not far in the rear of Ten Mile House on Reisterstown Turnpike.

In 1780, we find Mr. Thomas Gist interested in church affairs. “The vestry of St. Thomas’ Parish empowered him to lay the state of that parish before St. Paul’s Parish, Baltimore Town, and request their Christian aid and attention by indulging them with the services of their minister a certain part of the time, for which service the vestry of St. Thomas’ Parish agree to pay him in such manner and such proportion as he, the said minister, and Thomas Gist should agree upon, provided that it did not exceed two hundred and fifty bushels of grain for one third of his time and so on in proportion.’’

Thomas Gist became a distinguished Revolutionary Officer. He was Commander of the Soldiers’ Delight Battalion and drilled the boys, sending them to his son Mordecai at the front when needed. A worthy life was missed when he passed away at the age of nearly seventy-five, but the fine example he set was reflected in the life of his son. Below is a paragraph from his will:

“In the name of God, Amen. I, Thomas Gist of Baltimore County and State of Maryland, farmer, being in perfect health and sound mind, memory and understanding, but considering the uncertainty of this transitory life, do make, publish and declare this my last will and testament in manner and form following, namely, that is to say and principally I commit my soul into the hands of God, my Creator; my body I commit to the earth to be decently buried.”

He had made provision during his life for several of his sons, and so states in his will. ‘The one whom we are considering was one of these sons. He was born February 22nd, 1742, and was the fourth child of Colonel Thomas Gist and his wife, Susannah Cockey. They named him Mordecai.

In reading the records of this man, one almost feels justified in assuming that his life was influenced and consecrated to his country because another Mordecai of long ago, one whose name he bore, said to Esther, “And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

I haven’t attempted to give you the history of any but the direct ancestors of General Mordecai Gist, but because there is no family in the country who contributed more officers to the service of our country in every hour of her need, preeminently in the Revolutionary War, perhaps it is fitting that we mention a few who were closely related to him.

Aside from his father, Colonel Thomas Gist, his uncle Christopher Gist, Jr., was also distinguished as a Colonial Hero. He was a noteworthy surveyor and had the honor of acting as Washington’s guide to Fort Duquesne in 1753, and he fought with him at Braddock. Nathaniel Gist, Ensign of the famous Virginia Regiment, commanded by his gallant uncle, Colonel Nathaniel Gist, was killed in company with his nephew, Richard Gist, at King’s Mountain. These were probably the first of tin’s noble family to make the supreme sacrifice for their country, although not the first of their line to offer their lives thus.

Colonel Joshua Gist, of Frederick, a brother of General Mordecai Gist, was the gallant leader of a militia regiment in 1776. Another of this fighting stock was John Gist, Captain of Gist’s Continental Regiment, March 1777, and yet another was Lieutenant Thomas Gist of the 12th Maryland Regiment.

This splendid military family intermarried with others of its kind, including the Howards, Ridgclys, Cockevs, Hammonds, Cromwells, Harveys, Murrays, Carmans, Sterretts, Orndorffs, Elders, etc.

Mordecai Gist, the most prominent of this noted family, was born at the old homestead known as Soldiers’ Delight, near Reisterstown. On this farm, he spent his boyhood. His birth is registered at Old St. Paul’s, and he received his education at St. Paul’s Parish School in Baltimore. When the war broke out, he was a merchant on Gay Street and was a leader among the young men of the City.

In December 1774, Maryland sent delegates to Annapolis, and they recommended that she prepare for the conflict which they foresaw as inevitable. In response to that call, a band of Patriots assembled in Baltimore and organized as the “Baltimore Independent Company”. Mordecai Gist was chosen Captain of this first Revolutionary Corps, organized in Maryland. When the Revolution broke out, he put himself at the head of a Company, the first recruited in Maryland, and led them forth to the defence of the Colonists.

The following letter, written by him to Hon. Matthew Tilghman in convention at Annapolis, not only settles the oft-disputed question as to when the first military company was organized in Maryland at the coming of the Revolution, but it also shows the character of the man and his fitness for leadership:

“Coffee House, December 30, 1775.

Sir:

Permit me to address you as President of that Honorable Body, whose rules I consider as sacred, and to which I have ever paid a ready and cheerful obedience. Prompted by the regard I owe my country, I did, at the expense of my time and the hazard of my business, form a company of militia, early in December, 1774, a company composed of gentlemen, men of honor, family and fortune, and though of different countries, animated bv a zeal and reverence for rights of humanity, they have acted superior to the narrow attachments that influence contracted minds whose sentiments are determined by the place of their nativity. Unanimously approved of by this company, I have twice been appointed to the honor of being their commander, since the last of which we remonstrated to the Council of Safety, praying to be confirmed as an independent company.

Having received no answer, I am induced to believe that such an establishment ought not to be acceded to; but still desirous of being of service to my country, I have entered my name among the number of applicants who are soliciting preferment from the Convention.

That cruel and unjust system of policy which has for many years influenced the British Senate has long since inclined me to lose sight of an honorable accommodation with the Mother Country, unless resisted by a brave and manly opposition.

This consideration led me to an early and constant attention to military affairs; and allow me, sir, to assure you that l have neither spared time nor expense in the acquisition of that kind of knowledge. In private life, I have ever been ambitious of being the useful citizen.

Emulous of that character, I wish to assume the soldier; and if appointed to an office (not beneath what my former rank entitled me to) I shall endeavor to acquit myself with honor to those who are pleased to appoint me.

I am, sir, Your most humble servant,

Mordecai, Gist.”

As a result of this fine-spirited letter, the Maryland Convention appointed him Second Major of General Smallwood’s First Maryland Battalion, January 1, 1776. The bravery of this heroic man was soon put to the test in the Battle of Long Island, August 1776. The Maryland Regiment of 450 men was under his command, while Colonel Smallwood and Lieutenant Colonel Ware were in New York attending court-martial. 

By his courage and the self-devotion of those under him, as well as their fine discipline, of which they were proud, they were enabled with fixed bayonets to charge upon the overwhelming forces opposed to them. 

Five times this little band charged the forces of Cornwallis. Each time it was driven back only to gather energies for a fiercer attack, until upon the sixth attempt the British gave way in confusion. 

It was the first time the American Continentals had dared to meet in the fierce encounter of bayonets of the British Regulars, and it was Maryland’s hero, Mordecai Gist, who taught his countrymen that they were equal to such a conflict. 

Washington witnessed this assault, and when he saw the great massacre, he exclaimed: “Great God, what must my brave boys suffer this day!” By their valor, they became known as “The Bayonets of the Revolution.”

On Washington’s retreat through New Jersey, Major Gist’s Marylanders had been reduced to 190 effective men. They, with a few others, covered the retreat. Soon after, Major Gist was made a colonel, and General Smallwood sent him with a detachment against the Somerset and Dorchester County Tories and Insurgents. They were put to flight, many captured, and others forced into obedience by his stern measures. 

The Battle of Brandywine was fought while Colonel Gist was at home to see his sick wife. On learning of the disastrous termination, he at once rejoined the army with reinforcements collected at home.

In May 1779, Maryland was threatened with a British invasion. Colonel Gist was requested to take command of its defenses. Shortly after this, he was made Brigadier General. At Germantown, he was in the thickest of the fight, and on the disastrous field of Camden, it was Gist who stood side by side with the noble De Kalb.

What finer record of any service have we than that given by those under whom or with whom one serves. General De Kalb, who was mortally wounded at Camden, spent his last moments in dictating letters to Generals Gist and Smallwood expressing praise and affection for them and their men, who had so nobly stood by him in that deadly battle.

General Gist subsequently was engaged in recruiting and forming new regiments and in laying the wants of the army before the Government. 

Returning to active service, he took part in the expulsion of the British from the Southern States and was present at the siege and capture of Yorktown. He rendered efficient service and aided materially in the operations that led to the surrender of Charleston by the British. 

It was Maryland’s hero who turned more than one disastrous defeat into a glorious victory. For almost ten years, he gave himself unreservedly to his country, never failing to show in his authority at all times those fine qualities of justice, mercy, and truth. We find them strongly illustrated in the following extracts from a letter he wrote from Pennsylvania to Governor Johnson, dated October 31st, 1777: 

“The ungenerous behaviour of Col. Hopper, who, when a scattering fire began, became immediately attacked with qualms of sickness that obliged him to leave his regiment and retreat to Maryland, lays me under the indispensable obligation to report his conduct to your Excellency, which thru regard to his connections and reputation I have heretofore declined. As mankind cannot be answerable at all times for the weakness and frailty of the human heart, his feelings demanded more pity than resentment and led me to conceal his error until I had the pleasure of waiting on you in person.”

Upon arriving in Baltimore with the remnant of the Maryland Line, July 27, 1783, from South Carolina, General Gist was received with an enthusiasm which testified to the satisfaction of Baltimore in his splendid achievements. Congress voted thanks to him for the valiant part he took in the battle of Camden, S. C. General Washington never disguised his admiration for him nor concealed his gratitude to him. Adversity often weakens the spirit, glory frequently intoxicates, but Mordecai Gist bore his sufferings bravely and carried his honors modestly. He was a big, modest man.

With the cessation of hostilities, General Gist purchased a plantation at Charleston, South Carolina, where he resided until the close of his life. This illustrates that great aftermath of war or any upheaval that affects people as a whole, that seeking of new homes and new surroundings. This is also history-in-the-making, and presents many potent realities to us, particularly this exodus that took place after the struggle of 1776.

General Gist was the first Vice President of the Maryland Branch of the Cincinnati, which was instituted at the close of the war. He was three times married. His first wife was Cecil Carman, of Baltimore County. She died in giving birth to a daughter, who lived only seven months. Mother and child lie in the same grave in the north corner of St. Thomas’ Churchyard, Baltimore County.

His second wife was Mary Sterrett, of Baltimore. She gave birth to a son, 1779, who was named Independence, probably by his father because he was born during that great struggle for Independence.

His third wife was Mrs. Cattell, of South Carolina, and she was the mother of his son, States Gist, whom he, too, doubtless named for patriotic reasons. One daughter, also, Susannah, was born of this union.

The richest wealth of any people is the fame of their great men; all other evidences of their existence may pass away, this alone remains. General Mordecai Gist died in Charleston, S. C., August 2d, 1792. Here he lies buried, close to old St. Michael’s Church of Revolutionary renown, where General Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and, later, General Robert E. Lee worshipped. 

The sixth monument erected to Maryland heroes by the Maryland Sons of the Revolution was to this noble man, Mordecai Gist. The handsome granite tablet was unveiled November 6th, 1915, at Charleston, S. C., with fitting ceremonies participated in by a delegation from Maryland and prominent South Carolinians.

Miss Waters, of the Mordecai Gist Chapter of the D.A.R. of Maryland, and a lineal descendant of this illustrious man, presented a wreath at the unveiling bearing these words, pregnant with meaning, “Lest We Forget.”

The Patriot heroes of 1776 are no more. One by one, they have passed to their final resting place. All the gallant leaders of the Old Maryland Line have gone, but that which they accomplished still lives. American Liberty achieved by their patriotic zeal and consecrated by their blood cannot die. 

May we who enjoy this richest inheritance labor to keep it sweet and strong and pass it on to our children, and to our children’s children, so that they in turn may rise up and call us blessed.